Thursday 14 August saw the first live music event at Prime Skate Park. The event started at 3pm with the opening act Ella a local singer songwriter whose set contained a mixture of covers and great signs of a promising future with original songs that clearly demonstrated Ella talent is worth keeping an eye on.
Talented local singer Oli Hannaford showed that the South West has a number of new vocalists performing at a very high standard.
First band of the day Propeller whose punchy set of covers and new wave originals acted as a nice warm up for the headline acts.
Antimatador are an eight piece electronic, jazz, hip hop group whose high energy set was one of the highlights of days entertainment. The band featuring dual frontmen performed a set of original tunes that the audience truly enjoyed. I am sure there a band we will be hearing a lot about and songs such as No Shame and Step Forward would not sound out of place on national radio. Their debut album is being recorded in September/ October and judging by the performance at Prime will be a must listen.
The headline act Land of the Giants have been setting the festival circuit alive this year. It was very easy to see why as songs such as The Drop and Whattcha Gonna Do showed a depth to frontman Andy Quick’s songwriting allied to huge performance musically from the band. The closing song Joanna set the crowd into manic appreciation and 2015 could just be the year of The Giants.
Check out Antimatador and Land of the Giants on Facebook and Twitter.
Formed in October 2009 and with lofty aspirations, Land of the Giants have been busy pounding dance floors with their raucous, feel-good, highly-addictive shows. With another epic summer of festivals already in the bag for 2014 including Glastonbury, Bestival, Boomtown and a tour of Ireland, it seems that many more people will be enjoying their unique sound – a mongrel blend of indie, reggae, hip hop and blues.
Land of the Giants
With ideas too big to be pigeon-holed, the Giants fuse many a musical style and are quite frankly genre-defying. You can expect pumping drum and bass licks, scorching guitar, soulful yet commanding vocals and a jumpin’ brass section; inspired songwriting with a heavy dance floor sensibility.
This spring has seen Land of the Giants travelling the length of their homeland on their debut ‘Pleased to Meet You’ tour, bringing a huge sound to a number of major cities as far as Glasgow. This 17 date marathon boasted 4 sold out shows; impressing audiences, winning hearts and cranking up the hype already surrounding this upbeat ensemble at every stop along the way.
Last year the six piece scooped Best Band of 2013 in the Southwest Music Awards, a title previous held by the likes of Joss Stone and Muse. Their original material combines a remarkable depth of musicianship with sincerity and raw captivating energy. Coupled with an infectious stage presence, it’s this energy that has given the Giants their reputation as one of the best emerging live bands in the country.
2013 also saw them grace the stages of Glastonbury, Lemonfest, Maker, Looe Music Festival, Bris Fest, and Landed in Wales, among many others. They were billed on the main stage at Boardmasters warming up for Basement Jaxx, The Vaccines, and Ben Howard, and have opened shows for The Levellers, Roots Manuva, and Neville Staple. Land of the Giants have gained national airplay from Tom Robinson on BBC 6 Music and BBC Introducing with their distinctive sound and original music.
The Giants are one of the hardest working independent acts, averaging around 200 gigs a year since starting out in 2009. With their shows now selling out and two EPs and a live album receiving great reviews, the band are really starting to see the fruits of their labours. There truly is no one out there making music the way these boys do, with extraordinary passion and a cheerful swagger that has them tipped by many to be THE ones to watch in 2014.
