This weekend will see a some of the best weird and wonderful bands descending on an oft-overlooked London postcode for two days of skronking sonic mayhem. This is the Yes Way festival, organised by those good folks at Upset The Rhythm, and is intended to showcase the fact that the UK noise underground is currently in fine fettle indeed.
Playing at the festival, which happens at Auto-Italia in Peckham, will be host of artists including Pens, Cleckhuddersfax, Gentle Friendly, Graffiti Island, The Sticks, a.P.A.t.T., Chops, Drum Eyes, Wet Dog, Team Brick and more. For the full line-up, ticket details and information about the art exhibition that’s also part of the Yes Way do, visit the Yes Way website.
We got in touch with Yes Way organiser Chris Tipton to find out more about the festival.
So Mr Tipton, what was the thinking behind Yes Way?
"I’m completely inspired by the wealth of underground music across the UK, it’s always been there but in the last few years something of an explosion has taken place with the formation of so many bands making music on their own terms, for the right reasons. I felt it was about time there was an event to attempt to celebrate their efforts and to try and build bridges between our disparate cities and towns that bubble with creative abandon, often in isolation.
"We’re trying to encourage a sense of community but at the same time want to hold up a spotlight of recognition to the idea that the UK actually DOES have an abundant and fertile DIY music scene, which is something often goes unreported or openly denied by journalists and the mainstream. We’ve never wanted to do a "festival" before but we all feel so enlivened by the state of things right now that Yes Way seems just like a natural extension to our work of support UK acts through our normal program of shows.
"A lot of the ideas going on above have been rattling around my head for some time but to be honest it all came to a head when we found the perfect space for the festival. We were asked by the girls behind the Auto-Italia space, which usually operates as a gallery / artist hub, if we wanted to put on a show there and with the idea behind Yes Way in the back of mind I went to meet them. It became quickly apparent that the way Auto Italia operated was a parallel in the art world of what we try and accomplish with music and so we thought it would be fun to combine both of our worlds in the event.
How did you go about choosing the groups?
"We worked together on curating the bands and artists involved in the dual event, it was important to us that there was a dialogue between the art side of things and that of the music too, everyone united by a common spirit of wanting to make stuff for the hell of it, no hidden motives. just an honest meeting of ideas.
Would you say it’s a healthy time for British leftfield music?
"More now than for at least 15 years in my opinion. I’m super excited about the music coming out of London and regionally, it’s a really sincere time of experimentation, there’s no pretentions, and a lot of bands are doing great things through a love of making music and also through friendships rather than the depressing ‘make it big’ model of old that used to colour a lot of London bands. It’s a very optimistic time for British leftfield music whether it’s outsider noise, ecstatic punk, broken dance music or avant folk and everything in between, it’s time to throw a party!"
