10 essential acts to see at Electric Picnic this weekend

There are dozens of groups and singers playing at the Stradbally event over the weekend. Ed Power selects the best of the international bunch

Thu, 30 Aug, 2018 - 01:00

There are dozens of groups and singers playing at the Stradbally event over the weekend. Ed Power selects the best of the international bunch

Kendrick Lamar

The Los Angeles rapper made history when he was recently awarded the Pulitzer Prize for music for his 2017 album Damn.

The record chronicles his upbringing in the violent Compton neighbourhood where gang-warfare and police brutality were part of everyday life (several family members ended up in prison, as he recounts in his lyrics).

It was an astonishing pivot from Lamar who, on 2015 predecessor, To Pimp A Butterfly, had contemplated the African American experience through the prism of jazz, funk and gospel music.

Put them together and you have a singular voice in modern pop, whose appeal extends beyond hip hop’s traditional boundaries.

Dua Lipa

The pop star of the moment, Kosovo-born, London-based Lipa owned last summer with her mega hit ‘New Rules’.

She confirmed her star credentials with two sell-outs at Dublin’s Olympia in early April and her profile has soared even further since.

She brings undeniable star wattage, allied to powerhouse vocals and an occasional glimmer of vulnerability (on stage, she’s a respectable dancer yet not polished to the point where it’s effortless).

St Vincent

Perhaps the closest modern pop has to a David Bowie figure, Annie Clark has reinvented herself with each new LP.

Her latest guise, debuted on last year’s Masseduction album, is of a sad pop robot, her unflinchingly personal songs — the record is rumoured to be about her breakup from model Cara Delevingne — juxtaposed with icy techno tempos (and production by Taylor Swift collaborator Jack Antonoff).

In concert there’s an added secret ingredient in the shape of her imperious stage presence, which she mixed with vulnerability in a concept-heavy show at the Olympia, where she performed music from her catalogue chronologically.

N.E.R.D.

Pharrell Williams is one of the greatest producers of the past 25 years, his work as head of the Neptunes sprinkling stardust over Missy Elliot, Justin Timberlake (to whom the Neptunes gifted the imperious ‘Cry Me A River’, having written it with Michael Jackson in mind).

With band project N.E.R.D. he doubles down on the alien grooves and perfect pop.

Massive Attack

On the 20th anniversary of the still mighty Mezzanine, Daddy G and Robert Del Naja are taking their iconic trip hop troupe out on the road.

They released an EP, Ritual Spirit, two years ago but expect the focus to be their rich repertoire of menacing slow-jams and claustrophobic grooves, bolstered by a no-doubt stunning light show.

Hopefully, they’ll be able to hit the spot in their late-night Saturday slot.

Earlier this year, Massive underscored their dedication to progressive politics by withdrawing from Facebook because of what they described as the tech company’s “continued disregard for your privacy, their lack of transparency and disregard for accountability”.

Garbage

It’s been literally decades since Nirvana/Smashing Pumpkins- producer Butch Vig brought his hard-rocking project to Ireland, with mesmerising singer Shirley Manson fronting.

The group reformed several years ago and put out an agreeably crunching comeback LP in 2016, Strange Little Birds.

But they will also dip into hits such as ‘Stupid Girl’ and ‘Milk’ — showcases for Vig’s dizzying talents as an arranger and for Manson’s drop-dead vocals.

Wolf Alice

Named after an Angela Carter poem, Wolf Alice are perhaps the most exciting indie band in the UK at the moment — partly because they often don’t really sound much like an indie band.

Instead, the specialty is gothic confessional pop — delivered with stunning clarity by front-woman Ellie Rowsell on latest album Visions of A Life.

Filmmaker Michael Winterbottom (The Trip, 24 Hour Party People), was so arrested by the group that he made them the focus of his most recent film, the semi-fictional On The Road (in which roadies played by actors set off with Wolf Alice, including a stop off at Dublin’s Olympia).

George Ezra

If you couldn’t get tickets to Ed Sheeran, here’s the next best thing. Easy-going songwriter Ezra specialises in an unthreatening blend of romantic lyrics and balmy pop — a formula that has just seen his second album, Staying At Tamara’s top the Irish.

Purists will sniff — but he will bring an important strain of mainstream rock to Electric Picnic as well as countering the argument that the event is pitched at the over 30s.

He’s a troubadour who doesn’t pretend to be anything else – and may draw one of the biggest crowds.

Jorja Smith

The London soul singer (shortlisted for the start-of-year Brits Critics Choice Award) won a huge new audience when her song ‘I Am’ appeared on the soundtrack to Black Panther.

The rest of her music is an equally breathtaking mash-up of r’n’b, hop hop and pop — all elevated by the 21-year-old’s razor blade vocals.

Her debut album was released in June 8, and she has made little secret of her ambition, recently stating: “I want to be worldwide, international, in everyone’s ears.”

Sigrid

She became a sensation in 2017 with Don’t Kill My Vibe, her hard-punching ode to self- empowerment.

This year, Norwegian pop star Sigrid has gone from strength to strength with a string of agreeably tumultuous singles, including top ten hit ‘Strangers’ and a well received EP, Raw. By the time, the Picnic comes around the 21-year-old Bergen native will no doubt verge on super-star.

“I was thinking about studying law,” she said last year.

“I had several long talks with my parents, and they never forced me to do music, but they were just keen to letting me do what I wanted to do and not feeling like I had to do something that I didn’t really love.

“So they told me that it would probably be a good idea for me to try music — that I’d regret it if I didn’t try.”