Festival Focus

Metropolis Festival

The free festival has long served as a springboard for upcoming bands that go on to make a big splash (Wu Tang Clan, for example, and The Strokes). This year’s line-up features a diverse mix of new and established Dutch and international acts, with a particular penchant for garage rock, indie pop and dance music.

 

06 July – Zuiderpark, Rotterdam

 

Jagwar Ma

This danceable indie-rock trio from Australia follows in the footsteps of Cut Copy but is sonically more indebted to Madchester-era bands like the Stone Roses and Happy Mondays.

 

//www.youtube.com/embed/azFW4bZY5EY

 

Elliphant


This Swedish MC/producer’s bass heavy, dubstep- and reggae-influenced take on synth pop and ex-model good looks have nabbed her collabs with Diplo and Skrillex and comparisons to M.I.A. and MØ.

 

//www.youtube.com/embed/QTRGx6kv3ps

 

Blank Realm

Like labelmates Scott & Charlene’s Wedding, this Aussie quartet makes fuzzy, surprisingly addictive pop destined to blare out the speakers of clunky old cars as they hit the highway this summer.

 

//www.youtube.com/embed/0BdVJ0dC3IE

 

New Build

Featuring members and collaborators of electro-pop visionaries like Hot Chip, LCD Soundsystem and Planningtorock, this British trio starts synth-pop parties enjoyed by nerds and normies alike.

 

//www.youtube.com/embed/m68fF3wKS9U

 

Woman’s Hour

Seamlessly fusing ethereal female vocals with buzzing synths and delicately funky beats, this London-based art-pop band evokes Beach House and fellow Kendal hometown heroes Wild Beasts.

 

//www.youtube.com/embed/dGitM0sAmoU

 

Afterpartees

These fresh-faced fellas from Limburg cook up juicy slabs of bratty garage pop that smacks of a less-greasy version of bands like King Tuff, Hunx and His Punx and The Strokes.

 

//www.youtube.com/embed/X_SxHRF5zos

 

For more information, go to www.metropolisfestival.nl