The best of British at Sziget 2012
- By Nick Hagan -
- Jul 12, 2012
Let's face it – as much as we'd like to think we do, the UK rarely makes a big splash when it comes to international gatherings. Euro 2012? Nah. Eurovision? No chance. Wimbledon? Not quite. Olympics? Maybe a bit.
But if there's one cross country congregation us Brits always shine in, it's the festival circuit. Do that thing where you close your eyes, hover your finger over a map and prod at random and the chances are you'll pick a country that will soon be hosting some of Blighty's finest musical talents. We hear Coldplay are doing North Korea Fest this year. Seriously.
All of which brings us to Sziget, undoubtedly Hungary's most bombastic, enticing festival. Spanning a remarkable seven whole days and featuring music, film, talent shows and much more, this bad boy is the marathon of European summer bashes. Don't worry, there are plenty of showers to go around…
Add to this the fact that Sziget takes place on an island in the middle of the Danube and has won numerous awards for best European festival and it's not hard to see why people are ditching an overpriced, rainy weekend at Reading for something a little more exotic.
So, without further ado here's Virgin Red Room's line up of the best British bands and artists flying the flag at Sziget this year.
Anna Calvi
Sure, there's been a fair bit of fuss about Anna over the last year or so, but now that the hype mists have subsided it's evident she's as awesome as the day you first heard those sultry, surf guitar-laden slithers of pouty, dark pop.
Also listen to: 'No More Words', 'Suzanne And I'
The xx
After making the world's collective jaw drop with the haunting, Cure-inflected coolness of their Mercury Prize-snatching debut, genre-mashing Londoners The xx have been hinting at a more club-directed follow up, and will no doubt be dropping a few new belters at Sziget this year to prove their point.
Also listen to: 'Crystalised', 'Intro'
Wild Beasts
Cumbrian maestros Wild Beasts made one of the albums of the year with last year's elegant, sex-drenched 'Smother', and certainly have the live charm to translate new material and classics alike to the festival arena.
Also listen to: 'Bed Of Nails', 'We Still Got The Taste Dancin' On Our Tongues'
High Contrast
Drum 'n' bass may have been eclipsed by the unstoppable path of dubstep in recent years, but wunderkind producer High Contrast pushed it firmly back into focus through much of the noughties. Performing latest album 'The Agony and the Ecstasy' at Sziget, hopefully he'll throw in a few classic remixes to further fuel the rave.
Also listen to: 'Blue Orchid' remix, 'The Agony & The Ecstasy'
Stone Roses
Well, did you really expect us not to mention them? 2012's uber-renuion heroes have thrown their hat into Sziget's ring – expect a stream of evergreen indie rock classics to sweep the whole island into one big whirlpool of beautiful, loved-up vibes.
Also listen to: 'She Bangs The Drum', 'Fool's Gold'
By Nick Hagan. Blogs at nickhagan.tumblr.com/
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