Bakin’ on a pretty daze: An introduction to the first Free Vibes of August

These baking hot summer days might find you in the festival mood, but if you’re pinching the pennies or fleeing the sun, we have a month packed with fantastic, free entry gigs this August. Free Vibes returns on Thursday 2nd August, with DJ and co-curator Shell Zenner spinning tunes throughout the night. Four fierce and creative groups take to the stage, each with their own well-wrought sound and singular stagecraft. Without further ado, here’s an introduction to each and every one.

The Goa Express

Having supported some of Band on the Wall’s Northern psych favourites, such as Deja Vega and The Lucid Dream, we’re excited to hear The Goa Express cut loose for this headline set. Their live at AATMA collection plays like a classic sixties bootleg, while their AA side Kiss Me pairs Blues Magoos keyboards with springy Britpop guitars and a splashy backbeat.

Dream English Kid

Followers of Grimm Twins and the affiliated Bleichpop Corporation Ltd. may already be familiar with Dream English Kid. Operating out of similar disused industrial spaces, they craft a softer, synthier sound than the twins grimm, that fans of Beach House and Molly Nilsson should instantly respond to. Produced by Grimm Twins’ lead guitarist, BLEICH4, their single Ophelia was described as ‘Twin Peaks evoking dream pop’ by Secret Meeting. Its achingly beautiful vocal harmonies and lyrics such as ‘isolated stranger in the world of passing shadows’, fuel its melancholic beauty and new wave sensibility. They and the corporation are approaching the crest of something special and we’re sure their set will be something special to behold!

Electric Viper Club

Having heard them support Jonny Brown of Twisted Wheel fame at Band on the Wall in December, we’re glad to welcome Electric Viper Club back to our stage. Although they draw from many of the classic movements of British Rock ‘n’ Roll: Blues Rock, Glam Rock and the sound of the ‘British Invasion’, they have a sound which is bang up to date. The Basement has a swaggering four four rhythm, a brooding, hard rock melodic progression and a bluesy lead riff.

Kyogen

Opening the show are the experimental dreampop duo Kyogen. The project began as the solo project of singer, songwriter and guitarist Kyoko Swan’s in 2015, before keyboardist and producer Daniel Broomhall hopped aboard the following year. Like Bleichpop, they work in unusual spaces, which shapes their musical aesthetic. Their loop building, immersive and melancholic material is laden with synthetic snares, swells of reverberant guitar and feather light melody. Why So Happy? encapsulates it all. Their sound is unique and we can’t wait to hear it in the live setting.