The quaintly affordable but highly intelligent Pitchfork Music Festival will be celebrating a decade of its run at Chicago’s Union Park this weekend, with an eclectic mix of incredible music talent.
One can trust the euphoniously fluent Pitchfork media to put together a festival that renders good service to the best music has to offer. This can explain why the Pitchfork Music Festival line-up has continued to remain one highly admired for its inclusion of names that go on to provide quality addition to musical culture.
The three day festival is modestly priced at a $65 for a one-day pass. It’s averagely sized, and is armed with some of Chicago’s better known local vendors, for company. This includes local artists and food connoisseurs, along with a dedicated record fair, so the music lover can walk away with a ton of festival memories and a few vinyl records to boot.
The festival’s 10th anniversary line-up too handpicks some of the most exciting names in the music industry today, as it brings together artists, old and new, who continue to make music that is slowly revamping music as we know it. Pitchfork Music Festival is hence an exciting place to be for a newbie music dilettante and a dabbled professional alike, as it presents a neat blend of musicians to check out.
The Sherp picks the 10 best names from the 2015 line-up, which you must know quickly if you don’t!
1. Caribou
Caribou has remained one of the most interesting musical projects for a long time now, as it combines neo-psychedelia with synth based sample within an effortlessly tight pop framework. One of Dan Snaith’s several avatars, Caribou stands out with the distinction of fostering its own unique sound, as the producer continues to explore profundity in dance music as we see it.
2. Jamie XX
The producer and handler of all things electronic and percussion based on the Indietronic Brit band, The XX, has had somewhat of a dazzling electronic solo career, right from him resampling Gil Scott-Heron’s work in We’re New Here to his eponymous work in his debut solo EP, In Colour. The young producer is credited with being able to work around the synth and existing samples to create a myriad of ear-pleasing sounds, and from what we hear, he makes for a sound stage performer.
3. Chance The Rapper
Chicago homeboy Chance The Rapper is making the right noises in commercial rap circuit with his stylistic take on definitive rap music. He tends to fuse it seamlessly with jazz, electronic and house outtakes along with singing vocals to create a more cohesive sound. After the critical and commercial success of Acid Rap, where he incorporated several other artists and producers to create one hell of a mixtape, he’d be one artist to check out at Pitchfork Music Festival. Plus, he’ll be getting his own beer debut at the festival.
4. Run the Jewels
This American hip-hop duo has a pretty interesting rise-to-fame story. But what’s even more interesting is the stories their songs have to say, their unabashed take down of some moral code and the manner in which they continue to challenge some hegemony almost haphazardly. But what’s more important to note is the live wire that the pair is when performing live.
5. Kurt Vile and The Violators
Kurt Vile has successfully amazed strong indie cred for a long while now, so if you haven’t tuned into his lo-fi work, you better do so especially with his promised best writing in tow with his 2015 album, ‘B’lieve I’m Goin Down’. With his band, Kurt Vile makes for inimitable stage presence when performing live.
6. Mr. Twin Sister
This charmingly named lesser-known indie act will raise a few curious eyebrows for its inclusion in the line-up, but their electronic sound is reflective of the dreamy chill-pop genre. Not only is their music ethereally pleasing, but is quite the work to turn into during the famed solitary hour. The band would be an interesting watch at the festival, for sure.
7. Tobias Jesso Jr.
The singer’s former stint as the bassist of The Sessions notwithstanding, the pleasantly baroque sound of his debut album Goon, released around three months back has earned him quite the reputation, deservingly. His soulful voice, armed with ornamental music arrangement has given him several admirers, one of who is Adele herself.
8. Iceage
Fans of noise rock must stop right here, because Iceage is the band that is continuously pushing the threshold of its punk rock sound into serious post-punk and rock territories. While the barely adult members of the band are often discussed for how young they really are (or were, at the time of formation), the boys have amassed rave reviews for their gradual growth in punk music popularity.
9. Panda Bear
The co-founder of the experimental, freak psychedelic band, Animal Collective, Noah Lennox will be there at Pitchfork Music Festival as Panda Bear, his electronically enthused neo-psychedelic avatar. Fans of freak electronic-synth sounds will have a gala time at his set.
10. Ought
The Canadian art-punk musicians have an abstract sense of music making, with speak-song vocals accompanying their underdeveloped instrumental style. Their impressive, yet nascent discography is enough to get listeners hooked to their idiosyncratic style.
(all images courtesy: Pitchfork Music Festival Facebook)