It is, as ever, a stellar lineup this year for Green Man festival and I’ve picked the four key artists that are essential viewing. I think it’s clear from the cross-section I’ve picked that Green Man is wonderfully eclectic, it doesn’t stick to one genre or mood. Where else are you going to see Sleaford Mods and Shirley Collins? These four artists all share a desire for innovation and revolution, and they are single-minded in their pursuit and disregard of boundary and standard.
Sleaford Mods
The Sleaford Mods are probably one of the most exciting things to happen to music in the last few years. The Nottingham duo have created a wonderfully original sound, made up of tight, sparse beats, fizzy, post-punk bass, and spit-flecked, shouted vocals, at once funny, wise, profound, and mundane. Their live show is a far cry from the modern tendency towards enormous synthesizers, a guitar for every song (I’m looking at you Kurt Vile), and all manner of electronics, blinking and winking and humming – there’s nothing wrong with this, nothing at all, but the Mods set up of just one mic and a battered laptop seem to represent their music perfectly: stripped back, essential, vital, with all the fat trimmed away. It’s clear that the way the Mods play live isn’t some cynical, contrived effort to break away from the norm. Instead, you get the sense that this is born out of necessity (in that they only use what is completely necessary), and also that any extraneous equipment is surplus to requirements. Their live show is pure punk and it’s a force to be reckoned with. Everyone mentions the binary of Williamson and Fearne, and their ying and yang kind of vibe, but both have equal intensity in their own way. Sure, when playing live Fearne stands back, but his beats more than make up for his calmness onstage, and this is equalled by Jason Williamson’s white hot rage. Obviously it’s nigh-on impossible to talk about the Sleaford Mods and not stray into clichés (see all of above), but all things aside, they are truly pioneers and deserving of every plaudit and platitude that gets bandied around.
Shirley Collins
Where to begin with Shirley Collins? Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, genre-definer, folk magician, all-round don seems a good place to start. Despite her profound influence on the musical landscape, she still remains relatively unknown for some reason. Her music is timeless. It’s magical, pastoral English folk that makes you want to live in a yurt and make stuff out of mud. It’s the kind of music you imagine the Dark Ages sound tracked to. She’s got a new album out at the moment, Lodestar, which is marvellous. It sounds dry, and a little bit frayed around the edges, and shabby, even, but this is what the best kind of folk sounds like. Her new LP was recorded in one single room by Collins and her band, and it’s beautiful and wistful. Others clearly thought so too, Lodestar was ranked in the top album of 2016 by The Wire, and consistently-excellent The Quietus. Seeing Collins live will be a magical experience, no matter whereabouts or what time it is. I highly encourage you to go experience it.
Madonnatron
Madonnatron are one of the UK’s most exciting new bands. They’re on Trashmouth Records’ roster which tells you most of what you need to know about them. I interviewed them a while back (check it out here: https://www.indiependent.co.uk/interview-madonnatron/). They seem entirely independent and not willing to be caught up in the whole Saaf Landan Fat White Family hype which is great. They’re angry and funny and really good. Although they haven’t got much stuff out online, what they do have is thrilling. Their sole track on Spotify, ‘Sangue Neuf’, is just great – go listen to it. They’re releasing a self-titled album on the 30th of June that is going to be one of the best things to come out all summer. The tracks from it that have been teased already are fuzzy post-punk beasts with more attitude than a Leonard Cohen sneer. Zsa Zsa Sapien, from label mates Meatraffle (who played Green Man in 2k16), said that ‘If Madonnatron [were] an amplifier, it would be a mutha of a Krell beater, a class A with plenty of power in reserve. Better than Led Zeppelin’, this coming from a high fidelity nut is high praise indeed. If Zsa Zsa likes them then you should too. A wonderful band.
Daniel Johnston
Oh. My. God. Daniel Johnston is playing Green Man. Like, Daniel Johnston, e.g as close as anyone has ever come to pure art. He makes Lou Reed seem like Will Young and Syd Barrett like East 17 (well, not really, but you get my point). It’s hard to put DJ’s music into words because if you haven’t listened to him, or you aren’t aware of the myth and mystique that surrounds him it’s hard to properly explain him. I’ll try but will fail. He makes music that comes from his heart, and there is no pretension, no artifice whatsoever. His songs are beautiful and heart-breaking. The Green Man website calls his music ‘gut-wrenching’ and that’s about as perfect a description as I could ever come up with so we’ll go with gut-wrenching. When you listen to Daniel Johnston, a lot of the music you had previously listened to seems to pale in comparison. You’ll know what I mean when you listen to tracks like ‘Story of an Artist’, ‘Monkey in a Zoo’, and obviously ‘True Love Will Find You In The End’. Frank Carter summed it up perfickly when he said “’Outsider Music’ is a tough term because it implies he’s not welcome here, but those types of characters are beacons… I think it’s insider music.’ There you go. If I could only pick one artist to see at GM17, it would be Daniel Johnston.