 |  |
 |  |  |  |
| The Music Arenas at Latitude Festival 08 are already bursting with fantastic eclectic line-ups, encompassing established bands and artists alongside up and coming talent from all over the world. Providing the perfect soundtrack to the weekend’s festivities, these bands have been handpicked especially and are an incredibly exciting element to the festival as a whole. As if to tease those who didn’t get a ticket in time before they sold out, yet more thrilling acts can now be announced across the Obelisk, Uncut and Sunrise Arenas. The young Norwegian singer who is about to take the pop world by storm, Ida Maria brings her unique performance to the Obelisk Arena on Saturday. Her energetic and powerful performances have in the past resulted in her bleeding profusely from head-butting a guitar, cracking her ribs so badly she couldn’t walk and attempting a punch up with the frontman of another band. Couple this with her breathtaking songs wrapped in melancholy but simultaneously life-affirming and you have a star in the waiting. Over on the tented Uncut Arena, Texan indie rockers Okkervil River join the Sunday line-up. Famed for their intelligent lyrics, intricate instrumentation and thematic albums, Okkervil River have enjoyed huge critical acclaim in the United States , released four albums and can count Lou Reed as a massive fan. With their fifth album due out later on in the year, this is great chance to catch them before they head back to the States. Ready to slap down the skinny jeans parade in true rockabilly rebel style Glasvegas have been spreading their noisy doo-wop style since first emerging from the Glaswegian undergrowth in 2006. Sounding like The Meteors meets Elvis Presley, they’ve been winning fans all over the country and their unique sound and onstage antics landed them the prestigious Hall Radar Award at this year’s NME Awards. Soon after that, the band jetted off to New York to record their much anticipated debut album with Franz Ferdinand & Interpol duo James Allan and Rich Costey on production duties. An album that promises to be one of the defining releases of 2008 with the bands sole objective being to bring a new life to the genre they all hold so dear to their hearts. Singer songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and the French representative at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest Sebastien Tellier joins Saturday’s line up on the Uncut Arena. Eclectic in his musical influences ranging from lo-fi electronica to cabaret, many people will know his work through his track ‘Fantino’ which featured on the sound track to the movie ‘Lost In Translation’. This year sees him move away from Eurovision (he came 18th out of 25) and release his third studio album ‘Sexuality’ which is an eleven track meditation on love-making, produced by one half of legendary DJ duo Daft Punk. The Satin Peaches are ready to take the UK by storm. The hotly tipped Detroit youngsters will be rocking out in the Uncut Arena on the Saturday playing tracks from their eagerly anticipated mini album ‘Morning Maid’. The four piece have been causing a stir on both sides of the Atantic with a sound that incorporates the best aspects of Placebo and Smashing Pumpkins. Come and check them out first in Henham Park this July. When Rolling Stone magazine describes you as “David Bowie if his Berlin Trilogy was a collaboration with Kraftwerk and Faust” you know that you’ve got something original. For Australian indie psych 3 piece Midnight Juggernaut these varied influences and comparisons are based on pure originality and a fearsome live reputation. Their debut album ‘Dystopia’ is a dance floor charmed explosion of distorted fuzz, harrowing vocals and rhythmic bass lines with the kind of lo-fi production that even Crystal Castles would envy. Catch them on the Sunday at the Sunrise Arena. Dan & Olivia are The Do – a delightful two piece band from Paris via Helsinki . Taking their name from the noise of the first note on a standard musical scale, The Do are inspired by jazz and classical music which has helped them form a beautiful blend of European pop-folk. If you want to witness something a little bit different then it is time to come and check out The Do at the Sunrise Arena on Friday at Latitude. Cult status is something many bands aspire towards throughout their careers but in the case of New York American-indie band The Virgins, it came to them without even trying. Through a reputation amongst the cool kids as ‘the next big thing’ the band already had a dedicated following on the back of word of mouth alone. Having no record deal, no shows or even a release to their name the band set to work on writing material for their debut self titled album and before even half of it was written were snapped up by Atlantic Records and opening for the likes of Sonic Youth and Patti Smith. After its much anticipated release earlier this year ‘The Virgins’ proved to be more than worth the wait, with the kind of swagger that The Strokes would be proud of. See what all the fuss is about at the Sunrise Arena on the Friday. True rock ’n’ roll swagger comes to Latitude’s Sunrise Arena on Saturday afternoon in the shape of Liverpool six-piece The Maybes? With their knack of writing “Jingle-jangle pop perfection” (Sunday Times), The Maybes? have honed their songwriting skills and live performances so they shift effortlessly from catchy melodic indie pop to groove-laden dance anthems that have won over fans all over the country. With their debut album ‘Promise’ due out later this year on the Xtra Mile label, The Maybes? are ones to watch out for in 2008. Half English - half French singer-songwriter, Jeremy Warmsley fuses Aphex Twin-esque electronica with Beatles inspired melodic pop for a truly unique and compelling style. His live performances can be wildly unpredictable with Warmsley swapping instruments or being backed by a seven piece backing band called the LMNOPs, including laptop and trombone section. With brand new material out this summer, the Sunrise Arena on Sunday afternoon will be the perfect time to catch this incredible talent. 800 songs is not a bad back catalogue for an artist of 22 years old to have accomplished but it’s something that Essex-born wallflower Polly Scattergood seems to take very much in her stride. After the release of her debut single ‘Nitrogen Pink’ it has been an uphill joyride with her experimental sound enrapturing all who hear it. The samples she’s given audiences from her as yet untitled debut album have been a beautiful collection of epic build ups, unique instrumentation and lyrical content that provokes thought, a smile and a tear or two. The perfect accompaniment to a Sunday afternoon at Latitude, be sure not to miss her capturing hearts and imaginations alike at the Sunrise Arena. ELSEWHERE AT LATITUDE: Headlining this year’s event on the Obelisk Arena, Scottish art-rock heroes Franz Ferdinand play their only English festival show exclusively at Latitude on the Friday night; the majestic and soaring Icelandic post-rock outfit Sigur Rós head up Saturday’s line-up and New York titans Interpol close the arena on the Sunday with their unique brand of powerful and atmospheric inventive indie rock. Friday night over on the Uncut Arena will see an incredibly special performance from “Africa’s funkiest band” (Evening Standard), the remarkable Amadou and Mariam and throughout the rest of the weekend the Obelisk and Uncut Arenas will host stunning performances from Nick Cave’s Grinderman, the beautiful poetry of Martha Wainwright, epic musicians The Mars Volta, the charming Death Cab for Cutie, the superb Elbow, legendary alt rockers The Breeders, and legendary performer Julian Cope. Latitude 2008 has the very best bands, artists, actors, authors, poets, writers, dancers, films and directors performing across four Music Arenas and seven Arts Arenas., Latitude can also boast the exclusive involvement of Michael Nyman, BAFTA and Mark Lamarr presenting God’s Jukebox with Buzzcocks in the Film and Music Arena; a quite astonishing comedy line-up including Bill Bailey, Omid Djalili, Ross Noble, Frankie Boyle and Rich Hall in the Comedy Arena. The Literary Arena is packed full of top authors including Simon Armitage, Hanif Kureishi, Irvine Welsh and Iain Banks as well as Latitude favourites Vox ‘N’ Roll, WordTheatre and Marcus Brigstocke’s The Early Edition. The National Theatre, The Hammersmith Lyric, Royal Court Theatre , RSC , Paines Plough, nabokov and The Bush all bring exciting new shows to the Theatre Arena. Plus stellar poets Adrian Mitchell, Jo hn Hegley and Carol Ann Duffy are all confirmed for the Poetry Arena hosted by Luke Wright. The Cabaret Arena welcomes the ever hilarious and inventive Lenny Beige, Vauxhallville and Gawkagogo and plenty more exciting performances to announce in the pipeline. And that’s not to mention the awe-inspiring Sadler’s Wells who will be presenting Wayne McGregor/Random Dance, Gauri Sharma Tripathi and Boy Blue Entertainment on a beautiful stage floating in the middle of the lake as will The Irrepressibles with their orchestral brilliance. WEEKEND TICKETS FOR LATITUDE FESTIVAL HAVE NOW SOLD OUT Tickets for Friday day are still available to buy. Day tickets are £55 plus booking fee and include car parking. C/Card line 0870 060 3775 Or online here: www.festivalrepublic.com - www.seetickets.com - www.latitudefestival.co.uk |