8 Musical Artists We Recommend Seeing at Capitol Hill Block Party 2014!
I hope your anuses are prepared, because this weekend, the Capitol Hill Block Party will be taking over Seattle for an explosive three days (July 25-27)! Similar to our article about the annual Bumbershoot festival, we thought we’d take the opportunity to share with you 8 musical artists we recommend you see at this year’s Capitol Hill Block Party, in no particular order.
Angel Olsen
Sunday, 2:15pm, Main Stage
In the world of contemporary indie folk music, Missouri singer-songwriter Angel Olsen is one of the finest in the genre. With a fantastic singing voice, great lyrical chops, and a unique hazy aesthetic to her music, Olsen is definitely one to check out, and with an impressive sophomore LP with Burn Your Fire for No Witness under her belt, released in February of this year, her performance is definitely one everyone attending should go to.
Hundred Waters
Saturday, 7:15pm, Vera Stage
Electronic art rock quartet Hundred Waters is one of the greats in the modern day indie scene. Home to one of the most vocally-impressive frontwomen in contemporary indie rock with Nicole Miglis, as well as a great and surreal tone to their music, Hundred Waters is an indie scene-adored band that deserves to have a mainstream breakthrough in some form or another. Having recently caught their live performance on the Pitchfork Music Festival livestream last weekend, I can tell you that their live show is fascinating to watch, and is presumably even better when you’re actually there.
Manatee Commune
Sunday, 3:15, Neumos Stage
Chillwave producer Grant Eadie – also known as Manatee Commune – is a musician who makes very chill, serene and relaxing electronic pieces. With a number of different influences ranging from Baths to Four Tet to the godlike Books, Manatee Commune definitely has an ear for writing catchy chillwave, and we highly recommend you come to see his set with us.
Iska Dhaaf
Friday, 7:00pm, Vera Stage
Iska Dhaaf is one to watch in the Seattle rock scene. Taking on a very dreamy, sometimes somewhat experimental approach to post-punk music, Iska Dhaaf is a breath of fresh air amidst all the similar-sounding indie folk artists and rock bands trying their hardest to be the next Godsmack. Click the link above to hear their song “All the Kids”. We hope you enjoy it.
Haunted Horses
Sunday, 5:45pm, Cha Cha Stage
Take the surrealistic, industrial-ambient-drone-shoegaze-esque post-punk majesty of Have a Nice Life and mix it with dark ambient elements similar to that of the Haxan Cloak, and what you just imagined best describes Seattle-born Haunted Horses. We’re beyond curious to see how Haunted Horses’ genuinely creepy rock aesthetic will translate into a live show.
A$AP Ferg
Friday, 6:30pm, Main Stage
A$AP Ferg’s music is moronic. Anything that seems like it was created using even a single brain cell is absent in favour of songs with titles like “Murda Something” and “Fuck Out My Face”. With that said, A$AP Ferg is also one of the most entertaining and fun rappers in today’s burgeoning trap-rap scene. Ferg has an ear for fantastic beats and carefully chooses his producers, resulting in fantastic instrumentals that take cues from trap, cloud rap and southern hip-hop. If you’re up for a good time, join us for A$AP Ferg’s performance.
Slow Magic
Sunday, 7:30pm, Vera Stage
Even though the Flying Lotus-led Los Angeles chillwave movement has mostly passed us by, its influence is still felt today with artists such as Slow Magic. The ever-enigmatic electronic producer builds their sound upon a great style that channels the likes of Washed Out and Fuck Buttons, with maybe a little bit of Jon Hopkins and Tim Hecker vibes at times. If you’re into that sort of thing, check out Slow Magic and his Sunday performance.
CYMBALS
Saturday, 2:15pm, Main Stage
Revivalist bands are all the craze nowadays, but there are few who channel the spirit of old in the same way as London group CYMBALS. I once heard a critic describe their music as being “indebted to bands like New Order and Depeche Mode”, which sounds about right. Their electronic-heavy post-punk definitely channels the spirit of 1980s new wave rock. If you’re a fan of that style of music, give CYMBALS a listen.
We hope this list has helped you discover some new music you enjoy, and giving you exposure to artists you’ll want to check out when the festival arrives this Friday, July 25th. If you have any suggestions for musicians that attendees need to check out, feel free to leave them in the comments box.
If you’d like to purchase tickets to the event, you can do so here. Act fast, because we have a feeling tickets will go off sale soon.