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The popular genre-mixing band have been blending electronic influence with trip hop psychedelic rock, blues and pop since 1995 when vocalist Skye Edwards and brothers Paul and Ross Godfrey formed the band. Since their debut album in 1996 ‘Who Can You Trust’, The band have released 10 albums and produced soundtracks for legendary Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh. The band’s musical innovation has been evident throughout their discography with tracks ‘Blaze Away’ and ‘Mezcal Dream’ from the album ‘Blaze Away’ showing their 90s psychedelic rock influences in an album released in 2018. Whilst 2021 album ‘Blackest Blue’ combines trip hop, dance and blues sounds. The band released their first single since 2021 in January this year, titled ‘Call for love’. The track has relaxed reverb and emotional electrics which has left fans anticipating their upcoming May album.

The festival will commence after the release of Morcheeba’s album ‘Escape the chaos’ on May 23 which commemorates the band’s 30 year anniversary. UNKLE, who will join them at this event have been touring their Rōnin Live show around the UK throughout 2024 and will bring this to the South Facing festival in August. Their experimental alternative rock trip hop performance is electrifying and produces an undeniable energy which will transform the Crystal Palace Park at this festival which has hosted huge names such as hip hop band The Roots and 60s soul and R&B icons The Originals. Rapper and record producer Skepta has also announced this month that his festival ‘Big Smoke’ will be held here on August 9.

Lavelle explains in an interview with xsnoise his goal with the Rōnin tour, stating that ‘The project started as a DJ-based performance and we aimed to push the limits of what we thought DJing was at the time, incorporating visual elements along with the music. We want people to dance, celebrate and have a great time.’ This is clear by fans’ sharing of the performance on social media.

#UNKLE / @frontonmexicoce / Rōnin pic.twitter.com/oC5TbcTCLA

— Prissssss (@prismejia_) September 24, 2023

 

It will be exciting to see how the two artists’ musical style will pair together and create a sensational atmosphere at the festival, especially with the inclusion of special guest DJ Shadow who rose to fame in 1996 with his iconic album ‘Endtroducing’ which has since been sampled by several notable names from Metallica to Bjork.

This iconic line up is exciting for any trip hop fan and the blend of these prominent names in the scene will make a show to remember.

Ashcroft’s headlining appearance at the festival was announced in March, with support yet to be announced at the time of the announcement. Now, Ashcroft has revealed his special guests for the show, which include British DJ Steve Lamacq, Hull-based shoegazers bdmm, Canadian singer-songwriter Tess Parks, and Alan McGee. South Facing Festival debuted last year, and featured performances from Dizzee Rascal, Supergrass and The Streets. The festival this year will run from July 29^th to August 21^st. This year’s event will include performances from Becky Hill, London Grammar, Jungle and Bombay Bicycle Club.

Richard Ashcroft’s headlining show on August 6^th will also mark a big day for Ride, who will be performing their debut album Nowhere in its entirety for the record’s 30^th anniversary. The album was originally released in 1990.

For any shoegaze fan, this is an absolute dream come true, given Ride’s status as pioneers of the beloved genre. The group’s debut is a feverish wash of lush, reverberating soundscapes and what sounds like an orchestra’s worth of screaming guitar noise that swirls around dreamy, lethargic vocals and thick, catchy basslines; an essential listen for any lover of rock music.

Ride originally broke up in 1996, but reformed in 2014 to play a series of shows across Europe and North America, which eventually resulted in the group releasing new music in 2017, starting with a single called “Charm Assault”. In June of that year, the band released Weather Diaries, their first full-length album in twenty-one years. The band also went on to release another album after their reunion; 2019’s This Is Not A Safe Place, which received favourable reviews from critics, with NME saying: “It’s fitting that Ride would choose to call their new album ‘This Is Not A Safe Place’. After spending the last two decades of his career very much playing it safe, (Andy) Bell is back in brave, progressive, creative territory.”

Ride also announced earlier this year that they will be re-issuing some past releases, including their debut Nowhere, and their sophomore full-length effort Going Blank Again. The re-issues will be released on November 4^th, via Wichita Recordings. You can pre-order them here.

Sleaford Mods took to Twitter to write: “Yoo. Chuffed to be Headlining the Saturday for this badness at @SouthFacingFest at Crystal Palace bowl, August 7th. Loads of other wick acts on too. It’s gunna be fucking wick. Come down, say hello. Dance. Scream. Get twated.” 

Yoo.

Chuffed to be Headlining the Saturday for this badness at @SouthFacingFest at Crystal Palace bowl, August 7th. Loads of other wick acts on too. It’s gunna be fucking wick. Come down, say hello. Dance. Scream. Get twated.

https://t.co/46XYNJT5tF

— Sleaford Mods (@sleafordmods) April 15, 2021

Marcus Weedon, the director of the festival, said: “After what’s been an extremely difficult 12 months for the live music industry, we can’t wait to put on a fantastic series of events that people can really get excited about.”  

“Not only do we have some amazing artists who are itching to put on a great show, we also have the privilege of being able to stage the festival at an iconic and important outdoor London venue, which has sadly been dormant in recent years. We’re all working incredibly hard to make sure South Facing is a fitting return to glory for the Crystal Palace Bowl!” 

Other artists set to perform as part of South Facing Festival include Dizzee Rascal and The Outlook Orchestra on Saturday 14th August, Supergrass on Friday 20th August, and Max Richter on Saturday 28th August. Tickets for the festival are available to buy here. 

Sleaford Mods, made up of vocalist Jason Williamson and musician Andrew Fearn, began in 2007. They are known for lyrics focusing on politics and working-class culture. Their most recent album Spare Ribs, released in January this year, hit number four in the UK Albums Charts. They are set to tour the UK in November and December 2021, visiting cities such as Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool, and Brighton.