Words by Ed King / Pics by Rob Hadley
On Saturday 25th July, One Beat Festival returned to the outdoor Arena at mac – promoting a mixed bag of local acts & beyond.
Formed in 2010 by Ian Light and Jon Brookes, One Beat Records has played a huge part in championing acts from the West Midlands – with their annual showcase & eponymous festival being a badge of honour for those on local music scene.
Birmingham Review’s stalwart photographer, Rob Hadley / Indie Images, was there to capture the day for THE GALLERY – with a quick cherry picked editorial introducing some of the acts below.
Headlining One Beat Festival 2015 were God Damn, the Wolverhampton spawned two piece that have been steadily climbing the Rock rudders over the past year. Having recently released and toured their debut album, Vultures (One Little Indian), across the UK (including a packed out Sunflower Lounge) the time is nigh for God Damn. Eighteen months can be a crucial curve for a band on the rise and BR is keeping it’s fingers crossed for this healthy thrash of fresh air.
For more about God Damn, including online purchase points for Vultures, visit http://goddamntheband.com/
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Ocean Cold Lies were a little further down on the One Beat ’15 bill but high on the BR radar – with ‘The Game’ and ‘Fade’ a couple of tempting precursors to their impending debut album. The four piece Indie Rockers from Lichfield are still relatively early doors, having formed in 2013, but have already churned out some serious 4AD homage – enough to grab us by the short and curlies anyway.
Remember, remember the 13th of November; for more on Ocean Cold Lies, visit https://www.facebook.com/ColdOceanLies
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Representing London Town, the Finchley three piece have been enjoying a pretty hectic festival season so far – stopping off at One Beat ’15 between bookings at Secret Garden, Tramlines and Y Not. Self releasing their debut single/EP, ‘Faultlines’, in 2014, Jagaara gained some deserved adulation and attention – with their latest release, ‘In the Dark’, being an even more serious contender. Melodic, strong and refreshingly fresh, Jagaara are a genuinely exciting addition to their genre; if they nail down an album before Christmas, expect big(ger) things from this band in 2016.
For more on Jagaara, visit http://jagaara.com/
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Elsewhere on the bill were The Magic Gang, Youth Man, Kioko, Faux Palms, Field Harmonics, Kagoule – with the appropriate links to each act available by clicking on their name.
Birmingham Review would further like to express thanks to Dan Whitehouse (words not music) at mac for aiding & abetting.
For more about One Beat Festival, visit http://www.onebeatfestival.co.uk/
For more about One Beat Records, visit http://www.onebeatrecords.co.uk/
For more from mac, including a full programme of events and workshops, visit http://macbirmingham.co.uk/
