It is needless to say that Parklife Festival is something of a rite of passage for Manchester students, who take part in a mass exodus to Heaton Park every year as soon as exams are out of sight. Parklife 2017 was an immense success, with headliners including Frank Ocean, The 1975, Eric Prydz and Two Door Cinema Club. This year the festival, which started in 2010 in Platt Fields Park, will take place on the 9th and 10th of June.
At the top of the bill are indie/dream pop trio The XX and legendary grime artist Skepta. Manchester rock icon Liam Gallagher also features, returning to Heaton Park for his first headline gig there (please note, potato peelers are banned from Parklife this year). American artist Pharrell Williams will also be making an appearance with his hip-hop group N.E.R.D.
The line-up also includes multi-award winning and chart-topping pop icon Lorde, whose 2017 album Melodrama won over both critics and fans. Other pop acts include Norwegian singer Sigrid, who stormed UK charts with her single ‘Strangers’ last year and singer/songwriters Jessie Ware and Nina Nesbitt.
Grime and rap artists make up a fairly big proportion of the line-up: Giggs, Bugzy Malone, J Hus, Dave and Iamddb are all coming to Manchester, as well as American rappers Vince Staples and Earl Sweatshirt. In comparison, there is a distinct lack of indie acts on the bill this year, although Everything Everything are bound to be a popular addition to the festival. They will be followed by Scottish synth-pop act Chvrches will appear on the Parklife stage on Sunday, performing tracks fresh off their newest album, which is out on the 25th of May.
Head to the Sounds of the Near Future stage on the Saturday for some chilled electronica, with sets from Bicep and Tom Misch, who blends hip-hop beats with jazz elements to create a unique alternative sound. Other notable acts include Ross From Friends, ex-Manchester student Four Tet, and headliner Bonobo.
As always, at Parklife, you will be spoilt for choice in terms of DJ sets. Dance away your exam stress at The Palm House stage, which is celebrating its second appearance at Parklife with a line up curated and headlined by DJ the Black Madonna on Saturday. Acts include Motor City Drum Ensemble, Jackmaster, Peggy Gou and Mall Grab. The Palm House will be headlined by The XX member and Parklife veteran Jamie XX on Sunday night.
So grab your mates, your bio-degradable glitter and the last few tickets and convenient travel passes while you still can and join the other 140,000 festival goers heading to Heaton Park. Just be sure to have some wellies at the ready just in case!
The Viktator, Europe’s bad-boy, has secured another resounding victory in Hungary’s most recent election.
Viktor Orbán, once a liberal hero and professional football manager has now become the face of Europe’s illiberal, nationalist, and Eurosceptic political forces.
Now, after a resounding victory, he will only continue his campaign to erode Hungary’s democratic institutions and push its hard nationalist, anti-migrant, and anti-EU message.
In the 21st century, Orbán’s rise and dominance of a European country is alarming and worrying, and it is something we should all be worried about.
His authoritarian rule of Hungary should remind us all how precious democracy actually is, and not to take it for granted.
The Viktator has manipulated democracy in Hungary for his own means. Like Putin in Russia, Orbán has tightened control of the Hungarian media and judiciary, making it difficult for his opponents to outmanoeuvre him.
His degradation of these two key institutions, which are a key part of any democratic society, has allowed him to remain in power unchallenged.
Elections in Hungary, like those for seats within the Hungarian Parliament, just serve as a rubber stamp for all his wishes.
Orbán has changed the constitution so many times during his time in office, it looks unrecognisable to what it did before his administration when democracy was first established after the collapse of communism.
As a result of Orbán’s rule in Hungary, Hungary is ranked as a “flawed democracy” according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) in their Democracy Index.
Since 2002, Orbán’s Fidesz party has never gotten below 40% of the vote in a national election. A clever tactic Orbán has exploited is the fact Hungary’s opposition to him is so divided and ineffective.
His disgusting anti-migrant and anti-Islam message has managed to keep him in power for far too long.
Using fear, Orbán has contributed to the rise of Hungary’s Jobbik movement, a party so far-right that one of its members referred to the Holocaust as the “Holoscam“, and until recently it had its own paramilitary wing.
Alarmingly, it has now become Hungary’s second largest and main opposition party!
With Orbán attacking and degrading his opponents from every angle, nobody has emerged to challenge him, and his dominance over Hungary has continued with fear serving as his main tool of rule.
With Jobbik now becoming the main opposition to Orbán, he won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. Orbán has made it impossible for a credible alternative to exist, and it has reinforced his rule over Hungary.
Orbán has continually used people’s fears to remain in power. Hungary has pursued one of the harshest policies towards refugees and asylum seekers.
Orbán has famously compared the refugee crises consuming Europe as a “Muslim invasion”.
By invoking nationalism and Hungary’s right-wing, Orbán has remained both popular and in power despite the numerous allegations of corruption and abuse of power. Orbán has in effect become a ‘democratic dictator’.
What is most alarming about Orbán’s dominance in Hungary is the lack of a response from the European Union. The President of the EU commission famously joked that Orbán was “a dictator” at an EU summit.
However, this is no laughing matter, as while the EU might be taking a hard line against the UK in Brexit negotiations, Orbán’s style of politics is gaining traction with parties within other EU member states.
Law and Justice in Poland, following Orbán’s examples of reforming the media and judiciary, slowly and steadily are turning Poland into another Hungary.
While in Austria, Sebastian Kurz’s populist Orbán-style campaign on immigration and refugee policies resulted in him becoming Austria’s Chancellor. If the European Union is not careful, ‘mini- Orbáns’ could pop up everywhere and push their hardline anti-migrant and Eurosceptic messages to the heart of Brussels.
A message which will clearly be anti-EU and potentially catastrophic for the European project. The failure of many leaders in the EU like Macron or Merkel to condemn Orbán and his type of politics is alarming and shows the amount of fear Orbán is spreading across the EU.
His anti-migrant and Islamophobic rhetoric is clearly striking a chord with many voters in the EU as well as his own country.
For the future of European politics and democracy itself, Orbán’s victory is a sign that the line between illiberal rule and democracy is becoming more blurred.
It is likely Trump has taken note of Orbán’s tactics and has copied them in his bid for re-election in 2020.
Orbán’s successful re-election is a worrying sign that this plague of populist and authoritarian attitudes sweeping across the EU and the Western world is not over yet, and if it is not contained soon, many countries could end up in the hands of politicians like ‘The Viktator’.
The weekend of the 7th June marks the end of exams, summer being right around the corner, and the start of Gottwood festival.
Set in the tranquil Carreglwyd Forest in the Isle of Anglesey, this quirky festival is where the majority of University of Manchester students seem to be going this year. Parklife’s time has come and gone. The artists attending the Manchester-based festival may be incredible, but the effort to get to and from the festival each day is no longer worth it.
Being at a non-camping festival means you’re unable to just sit down, grab another can, or even just a bite to eat without having to fork out a fortune. But more importantly, as students napping is just a part of our everyday life – which is why having the ability to just pop back to your tent and have a little snooze at any point is essential.
What’s more is, year on year, Gottwood really bring it when it comes to the line-up. With the likes of Avalon Emerson, Ben UFO, Rodriguez Jr, and Dominik Eulberg gracing their festival this year, it’s sure to be a weekend to remember. Check out their official Soundcloud playlist here to get a feel for their electronic dance music vibe. Although I’ve never gone to the festival myself, the number of my friends, family and strangers who rave about it, really does show just how good of a festival it is, and why it shouldn’t be missed.
What’s particularly good about this festival is the focus they put on art and the experience their festival goers get. With various weird stages and insane laser shows – you’d be doing yourself an injustice if you didn’t attend. Another great aspect of this festival is the fact that they support local, emerging talent and others you probably just won’t have heard of before such as Felix Dickinson and Kate Miller, which means you’ll more than likely find yourself stumbling upon artists you’ve never heard.
Be warned though – tickets are quickly selling out, so avoid that disappointment and buy yours now that student loan has officially dropped. Click here for the link.
With final exams fast approaching, and the impending doom of graduation looming, here are just a few festivals this year to give you something to look forward to… consider them the light at the end of the tunnel.
Sound City Friday 4th – Sunday 6th May
@ Baltic Triangle and Cains Brewery, Liverpool £55 for the weekend wristband
Liverpool is famous for its buzzing and vibrant music scene, and here’s yet another reason for that reputation.
Maybe slightly just before exams, (this weekend!) but if you can find the time this is the one to go to! The line up includes the likes of Peace, DMA’s, The Slow Readers Club, Picture This, Sunset Sons, King Khan & The Shrines, Yellow Days, Idles and so many more, 250 acts to be precise… This is the perfect festival to put a flying kick into your 2018 summer.
Sound City will be taking over iconic warehouses, intimate spaces and pop-up places which form the renascent Baltic Triangle and Cains Brewery areas of the city. This festival should be like none other, so make sure you get down.
Farr Festival takes much more of a chilled vibe. Despite only being less than an hour away from London, this festival lets you escape into distant mesmeric world of Mount. The festival goes on for a full four days, this weekend-long adventure is a blend of cutting-edge music with real heart and soul, an edifying and enriching experience for mind and body alike. Kimbie, Tom Misch, Dixon, Daphni, Maribou State, Moodymann, George Fitzgerald (live), Mr G (live), Hunee, DVS1, Zip (4 Hour Set), Optimo, Antal, Young Marco, Shy FX etc.
The festival spreads itself across six stages, and now in its ninth year, it has now been claimed that Farr Festival is one of the UK’s most intimate experiences, drawing a vibrant crowd from across the country and beyond to a verdant oasis rich with life and colour, a labyrinth of trees and glades filled with surprises. Working with leading icons and up-and-coming talent across a dizzying array of sounds and styles, the summer days and nights will capture a true representation of electronic music culture in its many facets.
Farr Festival encapsulates a unique energy, that pulsates across the stunning forest-y woodland location, a sublime journey joining the dots across a soundscape of live artists and DJs. Adding artisanal food and drink, holistic activities at The Shala including workshops, yoga and meditation, plus hot tubs, talks and cocktail workshops, Farr Festival 2018 offers a beautifully balanced weekend of music, arts, wellness and lots of fun, an essential destination for festival lovers which continues to flourish.
Nozstock The Hidden Valley – celebrating 20 years Friday 20th – 22nd July 2018 @ Rowden Paddocks, Bromyard, Herefordshire, HR7 4LS Tickets: From £115 for adults / From £95 teens / 12s and under free Website / @Nozstock
Looking to go somewhere in the UK but not too far? Then this is the one for you, acts like Chase & Status (DJ set + Rage), Goldfrapp, Grandmaster Flash, The Selecter, Dub Pistols, Electric Swing Circus, Kiko Bun, The Lovely Eggs, Oh My God! It’s The Church and DJ sets from DJ Marky & G.Q, Black Sun Empire, S.P.Y, Audio, Dillinja, Randall and a whole range more across the weekend.
Nozstock The Hidden Valley is reaching its 20th anniversary, and it’s clear to see why its managed to be so successful. Nozstock offers not only a genuine weekend of escapism and far from the madding crowds, but also one which has kept the same flourishing spirit from the beginning; it’s a festival with abundant charm, lots of integrity and authenticity at every turn, as well as amazing fun across the beautiful site set on a working farm in Bromyard, attracting one of the country’s most wonderfully diverse audiences whether newbies coming for the very first time, or seasoned festival goers.
There is a unique charm and energy to Nozstock unlike anything else in the country. The festival features a huge range of entertainment, activities and inspiration for families and kids, with games, pop-up performances, and workshops at every turn.
Soundwave Festival – the 10th and final edition Thursday 26th – Monday 30th July 2018 @ The Garden Resort, Petrica Glava 34, 22240, Tisno, Croatia £129 for 5 days Website / @soundwavecro
As if you needed another reason to get down to Croatia this summer, but with an added bonus of seeing Loyle Carner, Mr Scruff, Romare (full live band), Jordan Rakei, Calibre, Submotion Orchestra, Horse Meat Disco, DJ Marky, Sons of Kemet, Channel One and so many more amazing live performances, well that is reason enough in itself!
But even more than this, this is the tenth and final edition that will ever be held. The last Soundwave is an opportunity to return to the idyllic Dalmatian coastline one more time and savour some of the world’s finest live artists and DJs from across broken beat, reggae, afro, acid jazz, hip-hop, soul, funk, drum and bass and much more.
Soundwave has very much always taken its own adventurous path, staying true to its original roots built across a beautifully diverse music spectrum whilst weaving a mesmeric holiday and festival into a glorious weekend. This is the last chance to experience what is widely regarded as one of Europe’s finest boutique events, go down and celebrate its final party for the decade!
A Wrinkle in Time is a fantasy movie based on Madeleine L’Engle’s book entitled “Wrinkle”. The story revolves around a girl — played by Storm Reid — searching for her physicist father — played by Chris Pine — who has disappeared for four years as he had found his way into other regions of the universe.
As her father discovers the possibility to “tesser”, or in other words, the possibility of teleportation, he sets in motion a chain of events that lead his two children Meg and Charles Wallace, and their friend Calvin, into a journey that spans the universe.
With the guidance of three ageless female astral travellers — played by Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, and Mindy Kaling — the children embark on a journey of self-discovery, that ultimately leads to an encounter with an evil force. The emotional adventure they go on explores important social messages.
A Wrinkle in Time is a more or less a satisfying movie. The extreme use of CGI still provides stunning shots. In fact, the cinematography and the colours dominate the story at some points. This commitment to special effects, however, fails to compensate for other issues. The story ultimately feels guided and sometimes lacks freedom, there is a lack of depth in the characters, and the dialogue is sometimes clunky. The artificial aesthetic beauty of the movie can also be a source of distraction.
For that reason, A Wrinkle in Time isn’t what I had expected it to be. Its slow start contradicts the speedy pace of the rest of movie. The leaping from one activity to the next can detach the observer rather than pull them in. Accordingly, the power of the moving and sensitive ending is dampened, somewhat. The inability of the observer to fully be invested and attached could potentially lead to boredom in some viewers.
On the other hand, it deserves high commendation for its diverse inclusion and important social messages. It features many women of colour — including the lead actress — playing important roles which in the past have largely been seen to be played by white actors.
Oprah Winfrey takes the role of a giant wise astral being that serves to guide the children. In that way, the movie breaks stereotypes in an industry that has recently faced heavy criticism for its lack of diversity. Furthermore, the movie deals with issues about bullying, self-abasement, and fear, and promotes love and courage. Though this messaging sometimes borders on the cliché, it is what holds the movie together and what makes it important for today’s youth.
Overall, A Wrinkle in Time is an enjoyable movie, but its $100 million budget could have been spent more wisely, and, given its talented cast, ultimately fails to reach its potential.
A new website, microtransaction.zone, has been launched with the sole purpose of informing prospective buyers on a range of practices considered anti-consumerist, including — as one might expect — microtransactions, but also ranging from loot boxes to pay-to-win and even a category called ‘horse armour DLC’ — which is defined as “some cheap, minor DLC.”
In their mission statement, creators Taylor Bartman and Jake Sulyvahn explained that they felt “big-budget video games in 2018 are a hellscape of microtransactions, loot boxes, cosmetic DLC, and subscription fees,” and that they wanted to build a site that would “catalog games based on what kind of real-money transactions they contain.”
The site is essentially intended as a user-friendly one-stop resource for the ever-increasing body of the global games audience who are becoming increasingly concerned about the creeping monetization of video games as a whole.
Each game in microtransaction.zone’s database is ranked on 8 categories. Each category is represented by a badge which is coloured purple if the game in question contains a given feature. If a game contains none, it achieves a ninth badge: the ‘spotless’ badge – described on the website as, “you buy the game, you own the game. Full stop.” Full information on the categories can be found here.
photo:Microtransaction.zone
In many ways, it is unsurprising that this kind of service has popped up. The gaming community has become increasingly vocal in its resentment of flagrant financial demands from major publishers, with this attitude reaching its indignant climax following the fallout of EA’s mismanagement of Star Wars: Battlefront II.
However, it is also clear that the site is mainly made in response to ‘AAA’ monetisation tactics and, as such, its binary category system is perhaps most effective in relation to premium-priced games.
Indeed, some games with jaw-droppingly reasonable monetization models like the free-to-play Fortnite or Team Fortress 2, look, at first glance, like they may be distinctly anti-consumer as they flag up a number of issues that, whilst considered unreasonable in games that cost a considerable amount at the outset, are necessary for games that cost nothing up front.
To counterbalance this, the site provides an explanation of each game’s monetization tactics in more detail.
Perhaps understandably, it is also unable to provide information on upcoming games.
Nonetheless, for gamers that want a one-off purchase that will not make any further demands on your wallet, or that want to ‘vote with their wallet’ in defiance of in-game purchases, microtransaction.zone will doubtless prove an invaluable resource.
The 2018 Pulitzer Prize for music went to none other than Compton, CA’s very own Kendrick Lamar for his enthralling album DAMN.
He may have been beaten out by Bruno Mars for album of the year in the Grammys, but this win is not just a win for Kendrick, but for hip-hop as a whole.
As the genre is blamed for an increase in violence, this award signals to the world that hip-hop is an art form truly worth the attention of your ears and mind.
Often hip-hop is criticised for being a music genre full of braggadocios lyrics, vapid themes, and sexist overtones, and is generally considered a ‘youth genre’ that appeals only to the lowest common denominator of people.
But hip-hop has done something only classical and jazz music has done: win a Pulitzer.
From humble beginnings in the Bronx, hip-hop has grown from the shadows of disco music to not only become a part of the mainstream but arguably the mainstream music genre, influencing popular culture far more than any other single genre of music.
Former President of the United States Barack Obama often made hip-hop references in his speeches. Jay-Z, P Diddy and Dr.Dre are all worth close to $1 billion, and now Kendrick Lamar has a Pulitzer Prize.
But what Kendrick’s win shows isn’t that hip-hop is mainstream, something that hasn’t been in dispute for years, it’s that hip-hop as an art form is getting the respect it finally deserves from the traditional music outlets.
This award has opened up a conversation in which hip-hop, jazz, and classical music are being spoken of together. Hip-hop now parallels two genres that are often considered to be ‘high art’ and ‘cultured’ due to their rich history and heritage, and it’s about time hip-hop was considered the same.
Despite only originating in the 1970s, it has a history as rich as any other. Hip-hop is not only just music, it is a culture that represents the plight of African-Americans and other urban youth in the wake of poverty, gang violence, police brutality, and just about any form of adversity one can face.
What truly makes Kendrick’s win remarkable is not that he is some underground rapper; he was the best selling rapper of 2017 selling over 350,000 copies of his new record in its first week of release.
For the most popular rapper of 2017 to win this award shows that the face of hip-hop is no longer perceived as bling and gangs (not that those are inherently bad things), but as the lyrically and artistically complex genre that it is.
No other genre of music has the storytelling capacity that hip-hop does, and no other modern rapper represents that spirit of storytelling than Kendrick does.His latest album, DAMN, chronicles the human condition from love to lust, from fear to God.
Despite DAMN not being Kendrick’s best album in terms of storytelling or complexity (those accolades, in my opinion, go to good kid, m.A.A.d city and To Pimp A Butterfly respectively), it is very fitting that DAMN is the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize.
In the second track, DNA, Kendrick samples Fox News host Geraldo Rivera’s tirade against hip-hop in which he claims that “hip-hop has done more damage to young African-Americans than racism in recent years.”
This is not too dissimilar of a sentiment being touted on this side of the pond, blaming drill music (a derivative form of hip-hop) for an increase in knife crime in London.
The notion that hip-hop is some violent genre that possesses young men to commit crimes has not fully disappeared, but it is slowly eroding away when artists like Kendrick Lamar, J Cole, and Joey Bada$$ continue to put out conscious work that displays the full potential of what this genre can be.
And when respected institutions such as the Pulitzer Prize also recognise this, it’s only a matter of time before the perception changes.
But ultimately this award (and awards in general) should not be the barometer for how you judge a genre or piece of music. Whether a genre or piece of music is derided by the mainstream or whether it’s the zeitgeist itself shouldn’t influence your opinion on it.
There is certain significance, of course, to this award as mentioned above, but you should listen to music for what it means to you and not what it means to others. And if that’s listening to Lil Pump say ‘Gucci Gang’ 53 times in the space of 2 minutes and 4 seconds, then so be it.
