Festival Preview - Simple Things

On Oct. 12, Simple Things storms into Bristol to take control of the cities’ iconic venues and jam them full of - by the looks of their website - as many sort-after musicians as they can fit. The third iteration of this now very talked about one day festival invites its 4000 guests to 17 hours of electronic, indie, dance and a leftfield version of any genre you can put a name to.

Visitors to the mainstage in Colston Hall will be treated with the likes new-age jazz/electronic act Portico Quartet, the bombastic taste of These New Puritans, German electronic legends Pantha Du Prince and Modeselektor, and finally Nicolas Jaar, who will no doubt be spinning some of his brand new Darkside material. It’s a diverse bill, and you can’t help but wonder Modeselektor will pull off their beat driven techno in a seated venue, or even whether they’ll follow through with a habit of soaking the audience in champagne. In both cases: I hope they do.

Elsewhere the festival is far less astute. Crazylegs presides over a session in The Courtroom: laying down justice with Motor City Drum Ensemble and dubstep hero DjRum. It looks to be the perfect place to get lost in rhythmic, bass-driven hysteria - especially if you feel the experience would be enhanced by going wild in a witness box, which we’re sure it will.

If this doesn’t seem quite messy enough for you, Planet Mu are lending the cream of the crop from their ridiculously extensive roster to The Police Cells. The plan seems to be to set up shop at nine and start dropping bangers until the trains start again the next morning, which is hard to disagree with. With a new album on the way to add to a very tasty discography, iTAL tEK is definitely the one to watch here.

Some more big names can be caught at The Firestation, including Jon Hopkins, who lept from relative obscurity to Mercury award nominee this year with Immunity. He’ll be joined by similar up-and-coming electronic acts like Letherette and Benjamin Damage, rounding off this particular venue as the place to be to catch the stars of tomorrow and a perfect warm up for forgetting your own name in an abandoned police cell later on in the night.

Alternative rooms hold alternative music for the more alternative, with indie-leaning music finding a home in the second rooms of Colston Hall and The Firestation. The selection doesn’t hold a candle to the electronic menu, but excellent performances can be expected from No Age, Darkstar and Tall Ships. Similarly, anyone after a more local vibe will feel comfortable jumping around to the Bristol disco/house sound of Futureboogie, as well as Pardon My French’s rooftop party.
The final tier of tickets are still on sale, so there might still be a chance to attend if you’re interested in things like music, partying and fun. A full lineup and information about venues can be found on the festival’s website.