Israel’s first international music festival*(update: festival cancelled, see comment below), at the lowest point on Earth: not bad for a unique selling point. This will be Plugfest of course, Israel’s first genuinely international music festival, Glastonbury-style but in a Bedouin-style camping village and with the (almost certain) guarantee of decent weather to boot.
Organisers Plug Promotions have pulled together an impressive – if decidedly eclectic – line up for the three-day festival, taking place between the 9th and 11th of next month. Venue is Kfar Nokadim, between Arad and Masada in the south of the country and, with an entertaining array of events to accompany the main events spread over three stages, promises to offer something to please pretty much everyone.
The first night kicks of on the evening of May 9th with Israeli folk-rock trio Jack in the Box (think Joanna Newsome crossed with Regina Spektor, with a bit of reverb chucked in), and other highlights of the day/night including post-post punk stalwarts !!!, Brazilian electro-pop grrrl group CSS ( Cansei de Ser Sexy, literally “I got tired of being sexy”) and British electronic music duo Simian Mobile Disco, before rounding off in the very early hours with a set from Spanish DJ John Talabot, whose debut album ƒIN garnered rave reviews last year.
Wage-slaves (at least outside Israel) lament Friday is always the longest day, but this time it will be in a good way: Proceedings kick of with Trifonas, Israeli master of the Bouzouki and a much-loved a crowd-pleaser too, by all accounts. Jamaican Reggae producer and performer Lee Scratch Perry can rightly stake claim to being the Godfather of his genre: his Black Ark recording studio produced classics for Bob Marley & the Wailers, Junior Murvin and Max Romeo, as well as employing his considerable production skills on his own outfit, The Upsetters. (Black Ark burnt to the ground in the early 80s, allegedly by his own hand: Perry has the reputation of being one of the most eccentric men in music, an impressive accolade given just how high that bar is set.) Two local disciples of Perry’s gospel of Dub, Yossi Fine and Dub LFO will be on stage after him, testament to the global reach of the One Love creed.
Tinariwen may once have seemed like a novelty act, but the Tuareg outfit’s blend of the blues, rock and a distinct mid-Sahara melodiousness has endured and endeared for a decade. Their last album, 2011’s Tassili won a Grammy: their performance is a guaranteed treat for fans of the “World” music genre, and will win them new fans too, I’d wager.
New Yorker Azealia Banks makes her first trip to Israel on the back of a growing reputation as the new face of Hip-Hop. Her much-delayed, much-anticipated debut album Broke With Expensive Taste is due out soon, and fans can expect to get a taste of what – beyond twitter beefs and a beguiling refusal to play stereotypes – has made her the most talked about rapper of 2013.
DJ sets from Israeli outfit Bonafide and 2ManyDJs are also both must-sees. Bonafide, who combine electronic loops with live instruments, have a reputation for an onstage intensity; 2ManyDJs (a spin-off from the Belgian rock group Soulwax) were one of the first to embrace mash-up culture: their legendary As Heard On Radio Soulwax Pt. 2 is the classic of the genre.
Saturday, the day after the night before, has a real treat in store: Jessie Ware, the British singer who has single-handedly engineered the renaissance of 80s British soul music. Channeling Sade, Loose Ends, and the SOS Band, her breakthrough album Devotion was a feature on many best-of lists last year, and picked up nominations for both the British BRITs and Mercury Music Prize awards.
Three days in the desert. Lots of music. Convivial company. Nights out under the stars. What’s not to like?
Plugfest, 9-10-11 May 2013, Kfar Nokadim, Israel.
For full line up, further information and tickets, go to www.plugfest.co.il.
Link to the facebook event page here.
* Due to a low response of ticket sales, the producers have had to cancel Plugfest. All those who bought tickets will have their money refunded, details on the website.
