Issue 83 / November 2017

REVIEWS
Träd, Gräs Och Stenar (Keith Ainsworth / arkimages.co.uk)
Songhoy Blues (Keith Ainsworth / arkimages.co.uk)
Liverpool International Festival Of
Psychedelia
Camp and Furnace, District – 22/09-23/09
Two of our reporters attempted
to explain the PZYK phenomenon
by experiencing as much as they
could over the two days. The
80-something bands and myriad
visual experiences on offer left
these indelible marks on their
minds. Here’s what Tom Bell and
Georgia Turnbull made of it.
When entering Liverpool International Festival of Psychedelia,
there are a few things you need to know: expect the unexpected;
expect an interactive, mind-blowing weekend; expect to discover
so much new music you never knew was out there, from all over
the world; expect to enter a completely unique environment,
surrounded by the most interesting characters you can imagine.
Every year, Psych Fest opens my eyes to the ever-changing
face of psychedelia, revealing iterations that can sometimes
be forgotten. On the Friday night within Blade Factory, I
reacquainted myself with NOVELLA, an East London fourpiece
well established within the shoegaze spectrum of neopsychedelia.
Playing a selection of songs from their two LPs Land
(2015) and Change (2017), their live show truly encapsulates
the hazy, girl group psychedelia that you hear on record, with
striking visuals throughout the set adding to their dream-like
noisescapes. And there are more than just bands warming the
stages: within the nearby tents there are some amazing DJs
to catch, such as Finders Keepers Records’ ANDY VOTEL’s set
spinning only Turkish disco tunes, an unexpected highlight of my
Psych Fest weekend.
Friday night is topped off with a groove-laden headline show
from SONGHOY BLUES, the Malian desert blues heroes proving
that there’s more danceable groove to be found in this genre
than you might at first assume. This is stretched further in ACID
ARAB’s late-night showing in District, where the Parisian DJs
stretch out their North African beats in a thrilling techno party.
On the Saturday, I make my way to the shimmering Furnace
stage – dominated by video walls suspended from the ceiling – to
catch L.A. wanderers COSMONAUTS, who describe themselves
as “too psychedelic to be punk, too punk to be psychedelic”.
It’s dark, it’s booming, and it gets you hooked: just like superior
shoegaze should do. I turn around at one point away from the
stage to see someone dressed as a panda dancing with random
punters on the front row, which can tell you a lot about the
spontaneity and madness of Psych Fest (or PZYK, whatever you
want to call it).
Outside District, a queue is forming for PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS
PIGS PIGS PIGS, who I’ve heard a lot about but never properly
listened to. I manage to catch a few songs of their set, and it’s
enough: a doomy juggernaut of sound hits me when they get up
to full speed, the Newcastle five-piece kicking, screaming and
half-naked as they take PZYK for a trip into the heavier side of
psychedelia, bordering on doom and stoner metal.
Later on in the evening things take a turn towards the mellower
end of the spectrum, in the company of Chilean dreamscape
lords THE HOLYDRUG COUPLE. Like most bands on the Sacred
Bones label, they certainly don’t disappoint. The Latin duo create
an ethereal soundscape of noise that hypnotises you from the
first chord, and stays with you forever. This is followed by the
long-awaited appearance of THE BLACK ANGELS at this festival,
which comes in the charged atmosphere of the Furnace, a setting
purpose built for their earthy-yet-trippy rock aesthetic.
Just when I think I’ve seen all the festival has to offer, I poke
my nose inside the Bold Street Bedouin Boudoir tent to catch a
secret set from ACID HOUSE RAGAS (aka Rishi Dhir, sitar player
from Elephant Stone). Comprising a traditional Indian sitar jam
session set to otherworldly drones within the Moroccan shishatent
atmosphere, this is a breath of fresh air from the assault of
sound coming from the festival’s four stages.
And then, like that, it disappears, leaving you wondering if you’ve
imagined it all.
Georgia Turnbull / @jurrjurrtbull
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