A brand spanking new festival that loves Dalston as much as you do (or ought to), Land of Kings is a two-night celebration of the people and places that make this part of London special.
Taking you gently by the hand then running you down Dalston’s main drag, Land of Kings will mix favourite spaces with undiscovered gems; from cafés to basement clubs, warehouses to forgotten pubs. And did we mention Stoke Newington International Airport? (No passport required. No 100ml rule)
Keeping it local, most of Land of Kings’ artists, DJs, promoters and labels have connections with the area, or call the place home. And the soundtrack? A genre-busting melting pot of afro, disco, gypsy punk, electro, jazz and techno. ‘All-you-can-eat’ for your ears and feet..
Speaking of eating, no Dalston jaunt would be complete without taking in the area’s ocakbasi and mangals, some of which’ll be offering festival specials to those with wristbands; fine fare fit for a King.
A.human
A.Human’s electronic-adled pop music and chaotic live performances have been mesmerising audiences in the U.K. and Europe over the past year. Just as likely to cause a riot using an acoustic guitar as they are an electric one, the humans have recently collaborated with James Yuill, Manumission and The Hayward Gallery; as diverse as they are prolific.
An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump
NME said it all really “the authentic face of the gothic post-rock lot with an impressively arty name to match, and look like they could properly do us over if we met them in a dark alley. It's The Jesus And Mary Chain meets Kim Gordon in a post-apocalyptic world. Watch them through your fingers…prepare to fall in love”
Bass Clef
Hackney’s no.1 dubstep export – trombone toting, bassbin worrying and seriously talented. Expect an unmissable live show brimming with local flavour. As close to electronica or reggae as dubstep whlst name-checking places like Clapton Pond – Clef’s gonna be big.
Ben Westbeech
Brownswood vocalist, classically trained cellist, producer and DJ who has managed to smash underground clubs AND “Later with Jools Holland”. At Land of Kings he’s on he decks armed with a selection of classics for Tayo’s party.
Eames
Having previously released on Fat Fox records, DJ/producer Eames will be serving up the kind of disco-laden-electronic-house-meets-cowbell-rave that defies you to keep your arms below shoulder level. Seriously fun
Eeek Empire
Building an empire from basements in Brooklyn to supporting Stevie Wonder in London, Eleanor Scott and Emma Sutton’s DJ sets are a combination of Challenge Aneka, Stars in Their Eyes and Casualty rolled into one with a disco to krautrock soundtrack.
Faze Action
The boys call him Faze, the girls call him Action - make way for the original disco warrior. Re-energised, re-vitalised and back with a brand new LP ‘Stratus Energy’, Simon Lee shows the current breed of disco johnny-come-latelys exactly where to step-off.
Firas (Filthy Few)
Firas is the man behind Filthy Few. He makes great podcasts, puts on stonking live events, runs a record label and, of course, DJs. Look forward to an amalgamation of digital pop, bass-heavy electro and foot-shufflin’ fare.
Get The Blessing
Get The Blessing's distinctive sound, described by BBC Music Magazine as 'Gloriously powerful' and The Times as 'startling and seamless', is down to their pathological distrust of chords and free improvisational style. They will be previewing tracks from their forthcoming LP ‘Bugs in Amber’
Hugo Mendez and Sofrito Combo
Deep digging Dalston afro-latin funker, Hugo Mendez, is joined by his Sofrito Combo; tropical rhythms, scorching live percussion and hot dancing action guaranteed
Joe Ransom
Fabric resident, Kiss FM presenter and Basement Jaxx tour warm-up, Joe Ransom, has come a long way from promoting nights in Bristol. An expert DJ showcasing the very best in British urban music; hip-hop, breaks, dancehall and beyond – it all goes into the mix.
Johnno Burgess (Bugged Out)
Yacht rock? Erection Selection? Bugged Out acid house? Yep, yep and yep, Johnno is your man. It’s also his birthday celebrations at Land of Kings, so he’s going to be busting out the classics with Tayo and co.
Johnny Dett (Work It)
Founding member and resident selector of Dalston’s legendary monthly Work It, Johnny Dett (aka Rory McCartney) drops 90s R&B classics to the grinding masses.
Kathy Diamond
Songwriter and vocalist Ms Diamond has got the disco scene on lockdown. Her Maurice Fulton-produced LP set the scene, she’s already worked with Aeroplane, Toby Tobias and Soft Rocks to name 3, and things are only going to get better in 2009.
Kerry Jean Power (Feel Up) and ISA (All Ends Up)
Kerry Jean and Isa know how to throw a mean (warehouse) party. Expect soulful, leftfield, dancefloor sounds and who knows where it’s all going to end up?
Make It Stop, Mum!
A night so raucous, you'll be begging someone to pull the plug... Make It Stop, Mum! is the newest basement party on the block, with persistent disco, rock, rave, 90s wrongness, and the songs you thought had been banished for good rearing their ugly heads once more.
Matty J & Ben Terry (Tirk)
Carrying Tirk records’ soulboy torch round the globe, Matty & Ben cater for those who want to jack AND Fleetwood Mac. Matty also runs internationally respected agency, erm, The Agency, whose artists appear all over Land of Kings.
Michael Cook
LA acid house instigator, DJ’s DJ, and man about town, Michael Cook goes from nought to dancey seamlessly. He is one of the residents at one of London’s finest underground nights Lowlife, is a fixture at all the best festivals and provides the soundtrack for some of the capital’s more happening bars. His favourite colour is beer.
Moustache Mamas
The Moustache Mamas breakout in energetic Jane Fonda-esque lunging behind the decks and incite moustached madness from dance floors wherever they play. With residencies at London's "Loose" & Berlin's "Cookies Cream," be sure to bring your party-pants...
Joel Martin (Quiet Village)
Vinyl archeologist, soundtrack compiler, half of Quiet Village and one of Churchill’s Leopards, Joel Martin has a record collection to make grown men cry and knows exactly what to do with it. He plays genres of music we haven’t even heard of, but we’re expecting some dancefloor jazz, afro, disco and deep deep house at Land of Kings.
Rinse FM Presents Spyro and N-Type
Bastard kings of the airwaves and the original purveyors of Dubstep, Funky, Grime and all the associated cousins, Rinse FM descend on Land of Kings bringing the intensity of FM to the dancefloor. Desribed by The Independent as “the unquestioned king of unlicensed radio in London, Britain, the world”
Sypro
Dubbed "Sir Spyro" by artists including Mobo award winner Chipmunk, Wiley, Spy races through Grime, Garage classics and Bassline, mixing close relations with the vigour of a yokel from the southern states. His ability to keep a dance at boiling point has seen him play Glastonbury and warm up for acts including Jack Penate, Kano and Bedouin Soundclash; you may also have caught him on Channel 4's T-Mobile Transmission as Tinchy Styder's DJ.
Russ Jones, The Hackney Globe Trotter
Hackney globetrotting legend bringing you the finest global dancefloor flavours, from Balkan beats to baile funk. If we didn’t have Russ Jones on the Land of Kings bill, frankly we’d probably just cancel. Simply essential.
Slutty Fringe
Bloggers, promoters and gentleman DJs, the Fringe are equally adept in writing about music as making you dance to it.
Sportsday Megaphone
Described by The Guardian as producing ”dinky, lovely bedroom pop … indie at its very best", Sportsday Megaphone's 'Untold Riches in The Land of Kings' comes to Dalston on Thursday evening, featuring tracks from last year’s debut longplayer on Sunday Best as well as new music written exclusively for the festival.
Steve Kotey
Do Chickens have lips? Do Bears have funk? Steve Kotey is the man with all the jackin’ discoid answers. Starting off in Akwaaba before whipping through a plethora of pseudonyms and then being poached by Chicken Lips for his dynamite turntable skills, he’s recently dropped the wicked Afrobutt LP on Electric Minds and DJs all over the globe.
Stoke Newington International Airport present The Christmas Bullet
Following on from their hit production, The Christmas Bullet, STK Int crash land in the Arcola theatre’s Studio 3 presenting the further adventures of William Whitney Christmas; a man with a dream. The performance delves deep into the psyche of this one man whirlwind to see where genius ends and madness begins. Join them for a collection of short performances spread throughout the evening mixing together theatre, poetry, live music, DJs and much more besides.
Tahita and Andy (NYPC DJ set)
As 2 quarters of electro-pop foursome New Young Pony Club, Andy and Tahita have unleashed numerous sunny day synth-laden hits, played just about every festival worth playing and all without losing their infectious joie le vivre. Bravo
Tayo
As comfortable rocking the big room as plying dubstep and bassline in a grimy basement, Tayo hosts a weekly Kiss FM show, records for myriad labels including Soul Jazz, and is fond of a tracksuit to boot. At Land of Kings he’s pulling out the genre-spanning classics for what looks to be a road-blocked party.
Tickets
*£15 - LTD EARLY BIRD 2 DAY PASS
*£20 - 2 DAY PASS
*£12 - THURSDAY PASS
*£12 - FRIDAY PASS
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