“Yorkshire festivals? Yorkshire festivals!? When I were a lad we were lucky if we were allowed to rub gravel into our ears while two of Shed 7 performed an impromptu cover version of Cliff Richard’s ‘Wired For Sound’!”, as the famous Monty Python sketch didn’t go. Things have changed an awful lot since that partially made-up past and one sign of Yorkshire’s ongoing cultural renaissance is the Recon Festival, now in its second year. The festival features heaps of pioneering, experimental and underground music, film and art events and exhibitions across multiple sites and venues in Leeds and Bradford from the 18th to the 29th of September.
Amongst the local acts that will be showcasing their crackpot noises include: Sheffield’s “anti-choir” Juxtavoices teaming up with the specially-formed Bradford Scratch Orchestra. Leeds rock duo That Fucking Tank will be playing “silent gigs”, surrounded by trained and untrained dancers (headphones will give audience members the option of hearing the amplified version). And Leeds-based Stoke émigrés Ashtray Navigations celebrate their twentieth anniversary by curating a day of music, print and film at the Hyde Park Picture House.
Those making the trip from further afield include Blixa Bargeld and Teho Teardo performing their Quietus-acclaimed Still Smiling album, a solo appearance from Mr Stephen O’Malley of the almighty Sunn O))) (earplugs advised!), Detroit rap crew Slum Village on their J Dilla tribute tour, Ghanaian kologo maestro King Ayisoba, and a showcase from the Portland-based wunder-label Mississippi Records.
And by ‘eck lad thar’s a right load of other arty gubbins going on an’ all. As we say in Yorkshire. Sometimes. It’s actually a lot more cosmopolitan than you might think. Join us at Recon to find out for yourselves. Full info here.
