After last night getting back to tent in the much more peaceful and smaller press/volunteer area was a much welcome relief,only to wake up to a rather overshadowed Dour. That aside we made our way to the press area to get started on the days previews and missed breakfast – today would prove to be just as breathtaking as the first night. Dour Festival is, quite simply, a festival you have to come to!

The Antlers – The Magic Tent

The New York trio have come quite a way to play here, and it’s to a relatively small crowd considering the size of the tent. Being a huge fan of their work, I was intrigued to see how different it would be live to recorded. To begin with, I got the feeling that some people were purely there by chance, as I couldn’t see that many people singing along or recognising the tracks. numbers from their incredible concept album Hospice come across nicely, with their use of keys and long delayed guitars.

The keyboardist has got his work cut out too, as he’s triggering the bass notes with a controller by his feet (barefooted), whilst playing, and also doing a bit of singing too. Their set was very atmospheric, and although I’m a huge fan, I felt his voice was a little lost in a big tent like that; It’s much more suited to a more intimate setting.

Interview with the guys will be up soon.

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble – Dance Hall

Chicago based Hip hop influenced brass band, with some truly groovy beats and a totally new one for me on my band radar. All bopping along as they play, these guys were clearly really enjoying themselves. Lots of one armed trumpet playing with hand waving. Simple catchy melodies just repeated worked so well throughtout all their songs.

The 9 guys, all blood brothers we where told towards the end of their show, had a talent for brass playing that I have never heard. The first part of their set was more traditional and their mix of high upbeat tracks mixed with their one arm playing was something special. Midway through the guys changed and started fusing their brass playing with hip-hop, changing their tops and getting more feedback from the audience – who where loving every minute of their show!

One of the highlights was when they asked everyone to get down, low (even the cool guys) and then all come up slowly. The visual of this was beautiful and everyone did as was told. The band had a real appreciation of the crowd and whether this was their first time at Dour or not they seemed genuinely excited to be here and at the end of their set came to the side of the tent and sold CDs they had brought.

Chromeo – The Magic Tent

Canadian Electro duo Chromeo took to the stage of a packed out Magic Tent. Their 80′s influenced electro house was so groovy it was pretty hard to not dance along. Doing the majority of the parts live is something I’ve always appreciated, and one of the guys even had a guitar. The tent was pretty packed and the crowd started to get a little restless as the guys where taking their time, ten minutes after they where meant to come on they appeared…and the noise was deafening!

Chromeo – Fancy Footwork from Vice Records

The real star of the show was the vocoder, which worked perfectly with the style and had people smiling as he ‘sang’ things like ‘are you having a good time?’ in a stupidly high pitched synth voice.

They even cracked out a few bars of ‘Money For Nothing’ by the legends Dire Straits, but it didn’t amount to anything sadly, as I personally would have loved to hear an electro version of that…

Highlights included tracks like Bonafied Lovin which is so 80′s Electro it hurts. Catchy synth lines, cheesy guitar solos and great 2-Step rhythms. Fancy Footwork was also pretty great, and I’d highly recommend anyone to check these guys out live.

Our Road To Dour 2010 was always meant to be something of a wild an crazy summer adventure and after one of the smoothest rides on a train I have even been on (though the decor left something to the imagination) we got into Belgium. With no map and a city that certainly needed new planner we managed to get on a less attractive train to our final destination, a bus, and after a near death experience we made it to Dour.

We had loads to sort out and a ‘free meal’ to enjoy before heading to our first show:

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Faith No More –  The Last Arena

In the main arena to see legendary 1980′s American rock band currently making good use of the European festival circuit having already played Portugal earlier. There was something that on the surface made the band seem like a mixed collective not really sure what they wanted to do, but by the end, they left you wishing you had done something, anything else.

This might come across like I am just being mean for the sake of it but halfway through their set the guys started to do covers, Easy Like Sunday Morning, Boom Boom Pow – I turned to Mark and shouted ‘It’s not a ringing endorsement that a band as old as they are have run out of material so soon.’ He said ‘He sounded more like a crooner at a karaoke bar than a headlining act.’

And just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, it did. In their infinite wisdom the guys decided to do a Michael Jackson cover of Ben which was nothing more than an offence to anyone who could hear! This was just bad and if there was a worse word I could use to describe how bad this was I would use it, but alas all I have is bad. Their show seemed nothing more than former heavy weights rockers wanting to reclaim their youth – think Pamela Anderson trying to run down a Californian Beach now – in their day the guys no doubt had some power. Now all they came across like was a bunch of your dads drinking buddies getting up in the pub, to them they sound good, but reality is another beast all together – this certainly was Faith No More.

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Moderat –  Club-Circuit Marquee

Moderat hail from Berlin, and took the stage tonight to a huge number of fans. Their album has gained quite a cult following in the UK, but it’s clear that their effect on the continent is much greater. Their work is hugely diverse, with the main bulk of it from their self-titled album released in 2009, incorporating Electronica, Dubstep and even some vocal work, which fits perfectly.

Tonight’s performance was a big one, and they managed to pack one of the larger dance tents with festival go-ers. Like any electronic act, the sound is a crucial key to getting things right, and things were spot on. Everything was crystal clear, as the bass shattered your chest while the four of them danced about bouncing off one another. Opening with A New Error was a perfect way to kick things off, with the simplistic synth and marching basslines.

To make things even better, an awesome visuals display behind them constantly changed, ranging from simply their name going backwards and forwards, to hugely imaginative videos.
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Simian Mobile Disco (live) – The Last Arena

James Ford and James Shaw started SMD back in 2005, and since then their name as producers and remixers has grown and grown. Their blend of Electro, Minimal Tech and House is particularly popular here in Belgium, and they played to an enthusiastic crowd as the night on The Last Arena drew to a close. The two James’s darted about a huge circular consol of synths, computers and controllers, twiddling and triggering all over the shop. Known for numbers like Hustler with its infectious lyrics and synth lines, this was a huge crowd pleaser of the night.

The light show is what really made their set however, with huge strobes and more dry ice than I think is legal on a stage. One other thing to note about Dour, unlike many if not all UK fests, the music here goes on till 5am, even though bizarrely you can see a house from the main stage, and it’s situated in what looks to be a quarry.

*Pending Re-Edit

A week of solid sunshine was the perfect backdrop to Breakestra’s and Chali 2na’s Brighton leg of their ‘Dusk Till Dawn Summer Tour’. Kicking off shortly after the showing of England’s dismal dumping out the World Cup, and fresh from their stint at Glastonbury, Breakestra brought some Joy and Flavour back to a dejected nation.

Miles Tackett’s assembly of a live funk band while jamming locally in Los Angeles in the 90’s and playing homage to some of the greatest sounds in hip hop, funk and soul has brought respect, collaborations and admiration from artists such as DJ Shadow, Cut Chemist, the Black Eyed Peas and more, not to mention Jurassic 5. It is probably from these associations that the friendship between Brekestra and Jurassic 5’s Baritone M.C. Chali 2na came to fruition.

After a few numbers by Breakestra, Chali came out to add another dimension to the group. Each song rolled into the next giving a feeling more of a continuous mix and kept the energy alive throughout. Familiar breaks from James Brown as well as hits from their albums, Dusk Till Dawn and Hit the Floor, were thrown in to crackles of recognition in the audience and some of Jurassic 5’s biggest hits such as Quality Control, In The Flesh and What’s Golden executed just brilliantly live. The crowd reciprocated with praise throughout and encouraged a 15-minute encore to bounce along to, drawing it out for as long as possible.

Definitely the best show at Concorde2 that day!

This is SO hot we have had to give it a few days to calm down.  But now the Dour Festival line-up has been announced we are waisting not time to bring you one the the biggest competitions we have ever been able to bring you.  The guys at Dour Festival in Belgium have give us 5 pairs, Ill say that again, FIVE pairs of tickets for this years incredible Dour Festival.

The 15th-18th July SHOULD be dates you have scribbled out, sick notes planned for work, and travel planned and booked for Belgium’s premier summer festival.  We are still pretty stoked and after last weeks line-up announcement I am telling you now if you don’t go, and have one of the best summer festival experiences you will ever have, I run naked up and down Regents Street in London!

Some of the 2010 Line Up:

Faith No More  - July 15th

These guys are back after something of a spell in the wilderness and they have never sounded hotter, reunited at Download Festival in 2009 they are sure to be welcomed with big open screams!  This is a real coup for Dour and is one heck of a introduction to four days of music (and not a bad way to celebrate their 22nd Birthday).

Hadouken! . Netsky . The Count & Sinden . Peter Digital Orchestra . Murdock . Moderat [(Modeselektor + Apparat) & VJ Pfadfinderei] .

Bacon Caravan Creek – July 16th

These Belgium natives are Vincent, Nicolas, Xavier, Adrien, & Benjamin.  Things seem to be going pretty well for these guys and am really looking forward to getting to see and hear them live. You should really checkout their myspace!

Chrome Hoof . Zenzile . Java . La Ruda . Aba Shanti vs The Disciples * . AKS * [feat. Selah Sue] . * . Dark Sensation * . Black Heart Procession.

We are going to be bringing you MORE PREVIEWS, EMAIL INTERVIEWS & FEATURES so watch this space.

The Competition

This we will keep simple, email us why YOU should get a pair to tickets* for this years Dour Festival 2010.  Email you reason to competition@thenewcurrent.com

*Please note the tickets are for the festival only and does not include travel.

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Competition Update 24th May 2010

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Today has been a great dat for the Dour Competition with us getting 11 emails that really stood out.  So what we are going to do is make this as democratic as possible, we want YOUR FRIENDS to comment and tells us that you REALLY SHOULD get the tickets.  The person with the most comments will will the tickets – we will be giving ONE PAIR of tickets away at the end of the Week!  So get this piece on your Facebook and get your friends to comment.