AMONG the undisputed crowning glories of the UK’s constantly expanding festival landscape, the 2017 edition of Electric Fields is approaching at a rate of knots and the anticipation is high.

Harbouring an expansive line-up that celebrates the toast of the world’s finest genres, the sheer amount of talent that is set to descend upon Drumlanrig Castle is staggering and we’re elated to be hosting an astounding selection of it on our own Tenement TV Discover Stage.

Ranging from burgeoning talent that will look to use their set as a springboard to greater appeal to established artists that are primed to deliver bonafide festival moments through their gripping material, here’s the acts that we can’t wait to see on our stage next week.

Kate Tempest

An artist that transcends the notion of art for art’s sake and truly utilises every exhalation and utterance for a purpose, Kate Tempest is quite simply one of the most culturally important artists that Britain has to offer in the modern era. The driving force behind a varied career that has seen her become a critically acclaimed playwright, author and more, her intermingling of spoken word and hip-hop has yielded two utterly spellbinding bodies of work in 2014’s Everybody Down and last year’s Let Them Eat Chaos. 

In a time of great upheaval for the world, artists that not only critique the status quo but implore their audience to become the change they wish to see in society are vital and no one is more prescient than Tempest at the moment. Expect hard-hitting instrumentals and even more ferocious proclamations from an artist that refuses to yield and has inspired droves of people since she came to prominence.

Arab Strap 

There are few bands that can coax the sort of raw emotion out of you that Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton can conjure up with little more than the plaintive sound of an acoustic guitar and a wry, playful and at times insightful turn of phrase. After parting ways in 2006, the legend that surrounds the band known as Arab Strap has continued to grow in leaps and bounds as their influence became all the more apparent.

Capable of drawing on an extensive library of material which ranges from indie to pop and Balearic dance, no-one quite sums up what it is to be young, idealistic and wayward like the two men that’ll hold the audience in the Electric Fields audience in palm of their hands and it’s bound to be a resoundingly cathartic experience for all in attendance.

Temples 

Purveyors of dizzying, kaleidoscopic psychedelia that bridges the gap between the genre’s illustrious past and a mesmeric future, Temples have been thoroughly impressing ever since they first made their way on to the scene with their fantastic debut album Sun Structures in 2014. Having returned to the fray with authority on this year’s Volcano, its re-imagining of their trademark sound and tracks such as ‘Certainty’, ‘I Wanna Be Your Mirror’ and ‘Mystery Of Pop’ demonstrated that their creativity hasn’t weaned and it’ll be glorious to see them bring it to the masses.

Car Seat Headrest 

One of the most resolutely creative singer/songwriters that we’ve seen in the 21st Century to date, Will Toledo’s rambunctious brand of alt-rock is one that never fails to deliver. Enduring a slow but steady rise since he began to prolifically release albums via Bandcamp in 2010, the one-time bedroom project would begin to expand at a obscenely fast rate after 2015’s Teens Of Style before last year’s follow-up Teens Of Denial registered as one of the finest albums that’s been produced in recent memory. Filled with urgent guitars and thrilling yet lighthearted choruses, Car Seat Headrest are sure to incite absolute chaos when they descend upon the festival.

Real Estate

Emanating from Ridgewood, New Jersey, Real Estate’s luscious take on dream pop and indie rock has been leaving audiences entranced for years. A band that were formed in their adolescence and have continued to morph and expand in the years that have passed, the band have been the toast of tastemakers ever since their prodigiously brilliant eponymous debut album and that deep-seated adoration has only been nurtured by records such as their 2014 magnum opus Days. Swathed in beauty yet never saccharine, not even a line-up change has impeded the band’s progress and their new record In Mind was another stellar collection that’s proven that they are still progressing from a sonic standpoint and as virtuosic songwriters.

Anna Meredith

The architect of wonderfully inventive music that can leave you stopped in your tracks or enable you to soar among the clouds, Anna Meredith’s unique brand of electronica has risen from humble beginnings to now command a worldwide audience. Elevated by the release of the incredible, Scottish Album Of The Year Award-winning Varmints, the momentum has taken former BBC composer-in-residence Meredith far and wide and made her an irrefutable force in the world of contemporary music.

Medicine Men 

Stalwarts of Scotland’s diverse music scene, 2017 saw Medicine Men realise their massive potential with the release of their tremendous debut album Into The Light. A wholeheartedly original and unfettered fusion of everything from funk to krautrock and mind-expanding psychedelia, it presented a band that were firing on all cylinders creatively whilst also having the technical verbosity to pull off such an intimidating smorgasbord of genres. Led by the emphatic vocals of frontman Ian Mackinnon, expect them to bring a vibrant set that won’t tolerate anything less than your transfixed attention.

Crash Club

Invigorating dance music that brims with the strident, self-assured swagger of indie rock at its most potent, Crash Club are the missing link between the heady days where DFA ruled the roost and the sort of arms aloft anthems that dominates main stage headline slots at events around the globe. Having compiled their ingenious electro-fuelled concoctions into their debut EP CC.101, the band have relented from the rigorous cycle of gigging that they’ve undertaken in recent years in order to head back into the studio and; judging from the reports of their recent performance at Carnival 56, they’ve continued to hone their sound whilst losing none of that spark that makes their live shows so effortlessly thrilling.

Declan Welsh & The Decadent West 

A multi-faceted artist that refuses to condone the apathetic droves that meander through life and never think to  contest the systemic injustices that are all around us, Declan Welsh has continued to forge ahead on his own path and the results tell the tale. Garnering a stellar reputation in his native land as an indie rock-indebted firebrand that mixes the anthemic with anathema for the oppressive, close-minded and bigoted, his set at Electric Fields will not only be a reaffirmation for the initiated but a chance to bring his thought provoking material to new coverts.

Aldous Harding

Tipped for greatness by a myriad of music critics, the uniquely menacing folk sound of Aldous Harding has been entrancing listeners since she first arrived with her debut album in 2014. Now three years on from her intentive opening gambit and she is back with Party, a truly awe-inspiring body of work that attests to all of the potential that was exhibited in the formative stages of her career and then transcends expectations. Capable of embodying both pensive contemplation and shamanic exaltation, her set is sure to be an immensely affecting experience.

PINS 

Inventive and biting punk rock from Manchester, the band known as PINS have continued to raise their game in recent years and the plaudits that they’ve rightfully received attest to their hard work paying off. A fixture on our collective radars for years, their transition from the sound of  Girls Like Us to Wild Nights and their recent, Iggy Pop-assisted EP Bad Thing has been nothing short of a pleasure to behold and their live shows are every bit as engrossing and incendiary.

SHOGUN 

Sometimes all it takes is one moment of serendipity to catapult you into the forefront of the zeitgeist and that’s exactly what happened when Shogun unleashed the riveting ‘Vulcan’ on the world. A menacing and deeply confessional track that exemplified his lyrical dexterity and hard-hitting flow, the time that has elapsed has placed him at the forefront of Scotland’s current crop of MC’s and he proved himself to be far more than a mere one hit wonder on June’s Katana EP. 

FOXYGEN
California duo Foxygen are famed for their extravagant sound and often bonkers and bizarre live show. Exploring a phenomenal range of styles and influences, every one of the band’s five albums is as distinct as the next; from their adventurous debut Jurrassic Exxplosion Phillipic in 2012 to this year’s acclaimed album Hang, each record finds them shifting their focus and exploring new sonic territories. Described by many as a return to form following a brief two year hiatus, Jonathan Rado and Sam France are back to their eccentric best; and the Electric Fields crowds can expect a raucous set full of Mick Jagger swagger and stomping, harmony-filled tunes.

ROLLING BLACKOUTS COASTAL FEVER

Hailing from Melbourne, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever have received critical acclaim from all corners of the industry for their two beautifully crafted EPs Talk Tight and The French Press. The latter, which arrived earlier this year, built on the success of its predecessor with a rich supply of hooks, polished guitar dynamics and pulsating rhythms. A band who will appeal to all generations, the five-piece have effectively taken the indie rock blueprint and injected it with much needed vigour and vitality; offering everything from blistering rockers to acoustic anthems to dreamy guitar pop.

NOTHING

With two albums to their name, US rock quartet Nothing are ready to blow Electric Fields away on the Tenement TV Discover stage with some meaty rock & roll tunes. Offering a hearty blend of shoegaze, hardcore and alt-rock, the band have gone through their fair share of personal tragedies over the years but have emerged with two brilliant albums that demonstrate fierce strength and hope for the future. They may wear their nineties influences on their sleeve, but Nothing are a force to be reckoned with.

AND YET IT MOVES

Abrasive, unhinged and delightfully macabre, the next evolution of Dale Barclay has arrived but And Yet It Moves’ hostile siege of your brain is just beginning. Culling aspects of post-punk, jazz-inspired improvisation and noise rock and aligning it with a succession of twisted and wildly surreal narratives that transport you on a journey that holds no place for the fainthearted, the band will preface the release of their upcoming debut album All Welcome, No Prisoners by descending upon the constrastingly tranquil surroundings of Drumlanrig Castle. For those who’ve watched either of the tracks from our recent session with the band at Glasgow’s Saint Luke’s, it’s safe to say that their set is going to be a no holds barred depiction of their wonderfully anarchic agenda.

MODERN STUDIES

Renowned for a sound that is both expressive and guarded yet insular, the soundscapes that Modern Studies are capable of creating are nothing short of fascinating and require repeated visits in order to comprehend the scope of their talent. Formed in 2015 by a litany of  neo-folk figures in Emily Scott, Pete Harvey, Joe Smillie and Rob St. John, thir debut album Swell To Great flits from  forlorn to sumptuous and graciously uplifting over the course of its 12 tracks. Currently working on their sophomore record after signing to Fire Records, their set is sure to not only bask in the glory of their first outing but point towards what’s sure to be a similarly natural evolution.

BRAT AND THE BONEMEN 

Whilst they might not be a household name at present, don’t let ignorance prevent you from making your way to bear witness to the viscous rock ‘n’ roll of Scottish trio Brat And The Bonemen. Traditional in structure but subversive in delivery and intent, the band’s sound has been reared on a hearty diet of libido-filled blues, malicious punk and Nick Cave at his most lyrically lurid and depraved. One for those looking for something to disrupt any civility that may reign, their gritty track’Cannibal Holiday’ serves as an auditory manifesto and it’s one that is certain to appeal to the darker corners of your mind that often lay dormant.

Electric Fields will take place on the 1st-2nd September with  last remaining tickets for this year’s event can be found here