PITCH Festival 2016

PITCH Festival returns to Amsterdam’s Cultuurpark Westergasfabriek in the heart of of the city for its 2016 edition. This year the event will be held across 1 and 2 of July with the action shared between six stages. The lineup is everything you want it to be; it’s huge, diverse, exciting and jam-packed with current names. The 2 day celebration includes DJs and live acts covering house, grime, soul, hip-hop and pop. With a busy schedule, we’ve decided to arm you with a forecast of highlights…

1. Skepta & Stormzy 

OK, so this is two in one but we couldn’t pick between them. There’s Skepta – the pioneer and Stormzy – the heavyweight. These London born talents have been helping spread grime like fire this past year thanks to their music, style and personality. We know it’ll be fast, fun and full of energy so we advise attending all three performances (and wearing trainers!)

Skepta & Stormzy take on PITCH festival on Saturday, 2 July.

2. Grimes

Canadian born Claire Elise Boucher, aka Grimes, is a singer, songwriter, video director and record producer. Her sound takes from everything in a way that makes it sound like nothing before. It’s confident, experimental, and catchy. Her latest video, California, is a glittery mirage of changing identities and outfits so we’re curious to see what she brings to the stage.

Grimes performs on Friday, 1 July.

3. Floating Points (live)

Floating Points needs no introduction. His impeccable taste in music is notorious and his record collection a pile of gold dust. More recently he’s been touring with a live show that’s built up from a big band arrangement, which seems apt for anyone familiar with his own productions. Finally it’s a chance to hear all his different musical elements coming together to maximum effect. Aside from what we can expect to hear, the sight alone promises something magical – a big band on the festival stage? Pure Bliss!

Floating Points will perform on Friday, 1 July.

4. Robert Bergman

Real noise from a real analog setup – that’s what you can expect from Bergman. He’s already dominating the Amsterdam scene, but often confined to small intimate spaces. We’re keen to hear his scuzzy productions out in the open.

Robert Bergman will dominate the stage on Saturday, 2 July.

5. Dollkraut

He’s not a conventional guy, and that’s partly why we’re drawn to Pascal Pinkert, aka Dollkraut. With a tendency towards cinematic lo-fi recordings and old synthesizers there’s always a spaced out soundtrack feel to Dollkraut’s productions which fits perfectly with festival setting.

Dollkraut plays on Saturday, 2 July.

PITCH Festival runs from Friday, 1 July until Saturday, 2 July in Amsterdam’s Westergasfabriek.