ROSKILDE FESTIVALEN er klar for 2008
- Posted on 17-04-2008
Roskilde Festival is ready for 2008
The interest is already enormous, tickets are selling fast, and the music programme is now ready. Gear up for a summer with cool concerts and unique community spirit at one of Europe's largest music festivals.Below you can gain an insight into the events at Roskilde.
A dazzling range of music
180 names. From Western stadiums to African provinces. Buckle up and get ready for a musical rollercoaster ride. Roskilde's music programme has variation and scope like none other Western music festival.
Royal hip hop visit
The big stadium-size names are always eye catchers on a festival poster, regardless of the richness of music displayed below. Therefore, we are happy to present another headliner on this year's purple scream of a poster.
A piece of American music history awaits. JAY-Z is one of the most successful names ever in hip hop, and you can look forward to hear extracts from his voluminous catalogue. His latest concerts show an artist at the peak of his game, and Jay-Z performs at Roskilde with a fully equipped backing band. A world-class hip hop show awaits.
THE BIG ONES
Roskilde Festival drew up the lines early this year. Back in late November we announced RADIOHEAD. It has been 11 years since their last visit, and in the meantime they have become an institution on par with the British royal family and The Beatles. Furthermore, NEIL YOUNG, SLAYER, THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS and JUDAS PRIEST are ready to deliver king-size and wide-scale experiences.
KEEP ON ROCKIN' IN THE FREE WORLD…
Roskilde act Neil Young may have put it best as he does in this headline. Rock can defy the lack of freedom and offer a relief as long as it is playing.
Vigorous rock riffs, sexual energy and slops in the beer mugs are inextricably linked with any Roskilde Festival. Therefore, we are proud to welcome THE HELLACOPTERS. This summer's round of concerts will be the very last for the Swedish garage rockers. They have previously delivered fantastic shows at Roskilde Festival and have decided to say farewell in style.
THE CULT do not plan on quitting. They prove so on the reunion album Born into This which gives all fans of the classic British band a splendid lecture in riff-oriented rock somewhere between Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin.
MOTORPSYCHO mix epic rock with 60s pop, acid, metal and indie. The joyful message of rock resounds with a undiminished strength with the acclaimed Norwegians. KINGS OF LEON, CLUTCH, BLACK MOUNTAIN, THE GRAND and VON HERTZEN BROTHERS are also ready to bring us a tad closer to a free world.
Girls, girls, girls
Do not expect Roskilde Festival only to have lumber jackets, oil-strined pants and greasy hair on offer. We also have a breathtaking batch of female artists on this year's programme.
ADELE, DUFFY and KATE NASH are darlings on the British scene, and they have become everybody's favourites all over Europe. The young women make wonderful pop hits that have already taken the charts. One of their more alternative sisters lives in Sweden and moves audiences everywhere under the name LYKKE LI.
The sisters get a race down to the wire from other places in the world. American band GOSSIP delivers a potent interpretation of girl power with hot and energetic soul-punk.
SHARON JONES could be the mother of these female stars. Together with THE DAP-KINGS she plays a round of classic, authentic soul from the genre's original heyday in the 60s and 70s.
We have already had the pleasure of introducing the female warrior M.I.A. – a great fury with attitude, sense of style and a musical devil-may-care approach. Her sister in spirit is called SANTOGOLD who delivers a mix of dub and new wave. She is expanding the attention given on loads of music blogs and shaping up as the next big thing.
CAT POWER has become a stylistic icon and a face for Chanel, and her former desperate sadcore sound has become airier and more self-reliant in the company of The Dirty Delta Blues Band. JOAN AS POLICE WOMAN has mingled with the big stars since she was a child. The New Yorker with the heartbreaking songs steps convincingly into the spotlight on her own. GOLDFRAPP has been a maladjusted disco queen for a couple of years, but on the latest album, she and her sidekick, Will Gregory, move towards a more organic sound – not unlike Kate Bush.
HEAD-SHAKING METAL
With SLAYER and JUDAS PRIEST, any metal programme is well on its way. But of course, the legends need some company of more recent names. Three fresh, Nordic names are Swedish PATH OF NO RETURN, Danish RAUNCHY and the Finnish extremists in ROTTEN SOUND.
These younger names complement the Scandinavian death metal legends AT THE GATES who delivers one of few irrevocable goodbye shows at Roskilde Festival. THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN are loved by critics and the audience for their innovative mix of math-rock and hardcore. The courage in seeking new paths has earned them a status as this decade's answer to Faith No More.
THE BEARDED ONES
Today's rock scene is full of beard. Trimmed moustaches, explosive Father Christmas lengths or just stubles on the cheek. Roskilde Festival has invited some of the best bearded musicians in music to play.
GRINDERMAN is Nick Cave's side project in which he gives vent to frustrations that he probably sees improper for The Bad Seeds. The result is raw garage rock that makes fans of the Australian genius remember his early band, The Birthday Party. Now with more hair growth compared to back then.
BONNIE 'PRINCE' BILLY is one of the strongest names in naked and soulful Americana. BAND OF HORSES touches the same sense of the deep American sound with sad and star-gazing guitarrock – and by the way, singer Ben Bridwell has been spotted with the most handsome beard growth that U.S. indierock has to offer at the moment.
SUNBURNED HAND OF THE MAN belongs to the inner circle of the alternative folk scene. The experimental folk sound is made for long-bearded acid-heads with their ears turned towards distant galaxies.
Denmark also has its own bearded wizard. His name is Frederik Thaae, and when you switch around the letters in the civil name you get A KID HEREAFTER. He offers no less than three concerts – a gaudy pop show, a round of heavy and fast grindcore and a unique, quiet show with strings and choirs.
BEARDYMAN did not get his spot in the programme because of his name but for his terrific skills in human beatboxing.
BEATS AND SWINGING RHYTHMS OF THE CITY
GNARLS BARKLEY is one of the hottest names right now. Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo have recently proved that the hit single "Crazy" was not a one-off. The Odd Couple (that is actually the title of the new album) is loose on the charts and on stereos around the world.
The American psych-soul duo is backed by other strong acts: THE STREETS have new material on the way so we could expect new samples from the white British everyday poet. CADENCE WEAPON is called Canada's answer to Dizzee Rascal. He is a rapper of the new school: more a music geek than a gunslinging gangsta. SWOLLEN MEMBERS are also from the maple leaf country. Their characteristic hip hop has made them one of the best selling hip hop names in Canada.
BOY BETTER KNOW is the name of a small British underground label with specialty in grime hip hop. A number of representatives from the label presents highlights from their catalogue.
Again this year, we focus on the numerous expressions that sprout up in all cities of the world, from Cape Town to Havana. The ethnic roots come through the concrete and create new raw and vital expressions. This happens with Cuban latin rappers ORISHAS who mix traditional sounds of the island with American inspiration. It also happens in Angola's slum where FRÉDÉRIC GALLIANO KUDURO SOUND SYSTEM plays a mixture of African zouk, techno, house and Miami bass and demonstrate why the genre, kuduro, means 'hard ass' in Portoguese. Kenyan KENGE KENGE delivers the most raw reproduction of Africa one can imagine. A challenging mix of the country's rumba style, benga, and the Luo population's age-old music.
The dancehall genre's absolute queen mother is LADY SAW who makes even the toughest men blush with her explicit lyrics. Cuba's TELMARY may be a slightly more modest type, but her mix of Afro-funk, R&B, rap and salsa can easily heat up those cheeks anyway.
FLASHING GUITARS
Any fan of alternative rock has waited for MY BLOODY VALENTINE to return from their long exile and bathe everybody's ears in their distorted and sublime guitar noise. The four Brits are joined by 18TH DYE who has also returned to the stage from the noise rock history book. With THE RAVEONETTES we welcome back Sune Wagner at Roskilde Festival. His and Sharin Foo's band is becoming a reference in the international music media when you want to signal noise rock with sweet nostalgia.
NO AGE takes some of the refreshing noise from My Bloody Valentine and throws in a punk feel. LIARS play artistic noise rock, and JAY REATARD is an underground legend in derailed punk rock despite his only 30 years of age. ANTI-FLAG defies the system and sticks it to the man with catchy three-chords tunes. This is the American punk band's first visit in Denmark.
THE LAND OF SKEWED GENRES
Much music does not really thrive in the public libraries where it is typically labeled rock, pop or techno. The following bands make today's music freaks drool – and cause the music librarians endless worry! BATTLES and HOLY FUCK deliver their own patched-up post-rock, EXTRA GOLDEN hips and hops between the U.S. and Kenya, THE NOTWIST mixes electronica with melancholic pop, MUGISON does everything a traditional singer-songwriter must not do, and SUPERSILENT and EFTERKLANG seek out new gossamer, sonic territories.
The spectucularly dressed drummers and dancers in SIDI GOMA all have Indian passports, but their fascinating and ceremonious concerts are tributes to their African great-great-great-(etc.) grandfathers who went to India centuries ago. DENGUE FEVER mix psychedelic indie rock with Cambodian pop music from the 60s. The American acid-heads with an Eastern princess in front are a unique phenomenon that you will not find elsewhere in music history in Cambodia or the U.S.
DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY
Roskilde Festival's offer for people with an itch in the dancing shoes is wider and more varied than ever before. Some of the wildest party concerts in the U.S. are delivered by DAN DEACON and GIRL TALK. The first mixes his own mad blend of electro, punk and old hip hop on his laptop. The latter is one of today's most daring mash-up artists who borrows from dusty hip hop records one monent and the next from The Verve.
Europe also has lots to offer, and Roskilde Festival supplies the freshest names right now. DSL is the latest shoot on the Ed Banger label's branch which has previously given us Justice. THE COUNT & SINDEN set the dance floors on fire with the forceful "Beeper", and DIGITALISM continues what Daft Punk and The Chemical Brothers have started. HOT CHIP may have written the dance hit of the year with "Ready for the Floor".
DEEP, DEEPER, DUBSTEP
In London's night life people enjoy a different, gloomy sound. Dubstep wins over still larger crowds with moody and bass-oriented midnight atmospheres – including music fans far away from the British clubs. We are looking forward to presenting two of the genre's very best representatives, SKREAM and BENGA. These two princes of darkness have joined forces in a collaboration called MAGNETIC MAN. Another influential flagship on the dubstep scene is the label Skull Disco. It is run by SCHACKLETON who is known for mixing both techno and Middle Eastern sounds with the nightmarish bass grooves. VARIOUS PRODUCTIONS add beautiful female vocals to dubstep's sound abyss.
AFRICA'S STARRY SKY
The world is so rich on music that no festival programme could ever plumb all its depths. Roskilde Festival is willing to give it a try, nonetheless. A band such as YEASAYER plays American indie rock but makes great use of moods and atmospheres from African and Arabic music.
Naturally, we also have "the real thing" on the programme. MAMAR KASSEY comes from the neglected desert country Niger and mixes various Northern African impressions and expressions into the cheerful Afro pop. From the same upper part of the giant continent comes VIEUX FARKA TOURÉ, son of guitar legend Ali Farka Touré. The son continues in his father's footsteps but makes his own footsteps by implementing elements of rock and reggae.
EXOTIC SOUNDS FROM RIO TO TIRANA
Some of the most energetic bands on the programme come from Brazil. ORQUESTRA IMPERIAL has given samba its second youth in Rio de Janeiro where this huge act has started a true samba flood. The fellow countrymen in SPOKFREVO ORQUESTRA play carneval music that makes you all dizzy. A counterpart in tempo and fervour is found in Balkan band FANFARA TIRANA. In Barcelona lots of things are going on. Hear for yourself in concerts with LA KINKY BEAT and DJ WAGNER PÁ, who start true Catalan parties that resound all the way down at the Rambla. LA SHICA is trained at one of Spain's finest dancing schools, and she breathes new life into traditional flamenco with hip hop, jazz and reggae.
DANISH DYNAMITE
THE FASHION, ALPHABEAT, VETO and SPLEEN UNITED all provide a Danish sound. They are attempting the same feat as the international stars in alternative pop music. The sound is partly electronic and very danceable – and an effective supplier for the international charts.
TINA DICKOW has a sense of classic songwriting that has placed her in the major league of Danish music. TEITUR is originally from the Faroe Islands but he is often considered a Danish answer to Rufus Wainwright or Nick Drake.
PAVILION JUNIOR
The bands of tomorrow – playing today. This is the theme for the festival's warm-up period running from 29 June to 2 July.
The parade of the upcoming acts is available on our website and can be seen on the poster. This year they are playing on the Pavilion Junior stage – in a couple of of years they may be playing on the Orange Stage – as has been the case with Nephew and Baby Woodrose.
Eight days long Roskilde party
Roskilde Festival provides the framework for an eight days long party where quality is the golden thread. During the warm-up period from 29 June to 2 July, the audience are at the centre of things when the camping area transforms into a vibrating city, rich on events and activities for and together with the festival-goers.
They can spend some hours in the dark of Roskilde's own cinema, go for a swim in Roskilde's swimming lake and test their courage and skills at Roskilde's skating ramps or brand-new ice skating rink. Of course, the warm-up days also offer lots of music: Nordic upcoming acts play at the Pavilion Junior stage.
New ice skating rink gets audience out on thin ice
In 2008 a new skating rink is set up at the camping area, so the audience can skate even under a hot sun. No, we shall not expect any sudden climate changes, nor do we plan on freezing our popular swimming lake! The 1,000 m2 large skating rink is made of solid plastic, and it can be used freely during all eight days. Skates can be borrowed, free of charge.
Audience create Roskilde
The audience's creative urge is the focal point at the Construction agora which is a veritable construction playground. The audience are to build a monument. It is designed by the audience prior to the festival, and during the festival they will build it at the camping area. 11,000 users on the festival website have already participated in the vote for the monument design.
Construction is a platform from where the audience can realise their own ideas. A possibility of surprises, experiments and the chance of creating something together with others that would not be possible single-handedly.
Urban space at Cosmopol
Last year's new stage, Roskilde Cosmopol, was a successful hot spot for urban cultural contact and the city jungle's flora of genres. In year two, the area surrounding the stage tent is once again transformed into a creative urban space with a dense and multi-coloured atmosphere.
At Cosmopol, the audience can create street art, buy cool designer's clothesand meet the creative people behind the squatter environment, Ungdomshuset – all in the same 'hood. Cosmopol is the urban space where the audience can print their own posters, learn about ecology, eat a little sushi or dance to hot rhythms in or outside of the Cosmopol stage tent.
Roskilde says: 'Fair Phone – Fair Future'
How fair are our mobile phones really? In 2008, the festival's humanitarian focus is on electronics. We demand fair conditions when big companies trade minerals that are part of the production of mobile phones, a.o. The campaign is called 'Fair Phone – Fair Future'.
Fair trade has to be about more than coffee and bananas. Therefore, Roskilde Festival and DanChurchAid join forces in the campaign 'Fair Phone – Fair Future.' The goal is to increase the festival consumer's awareness of the fact that big product lines such as electronics still trail with regards to fair world trade.
In connection with Fair Phone – Fair Future, a humanitarian refund collection is arranged. The audience can donate refund from their bottles and cans to about 700 collectors at the festival area. The goal is to collect refund corresponding to DKK 700,000 (approx. € 94,000).
The profit from this year's refund collection goes to humanitarian projects in DR Congo, an African country which is in many ways a victim of unfair world trade in minerals. DR Congo would have been rich if the citizens could get a share of the mineral wealth that the country contains. These include minerals such as cobalt that is used for producing batteries in mobile phones.
Roskilde continues the battle against garbage
Roskilde '08 was the cleanest festival so far! The expensive and long clean-up after the festival in 2007 was a tough one, but the audience have shown that they are willing to help.
For the first time the audience can now sort their own (and others') garbage in fractions at a newly established recycling centre.
The competition 'Beer for garbage' continues untiringly in 2008. The audience can exchange a full garbage bag for a cold beer! In spite of mud and rain, the dedicated audience collected 13.7 tons of garbage in 2007. Let's break that record in 2008.
Festival-goers' behavour and attitude are important parts of Roskilde Festival's work with the environment. A number of fun and informative activities, that will help make the festival more climate-friendly, take place at the Climate agora. Dull garbage is transformed into artistic and useful installations, and the artist group Viva la Renovation spices up the atmosphere by playing garbage jam. Even the toilets are illuminated by renewable energy, and the festival-goers can wash their hands in solar-heated water (while stock lasts).
Roskilde Festival's collaboration partners
Tuborg is Roskilde Festival's main sponsor and is present at the festival because Tuborg is Denmark's best music beer. Tuborg and Roskilde Festival are close collaboration partners. Both parties' objective is to improve live music in Denmark year-round. Together we look at ideas and approaches that aim at improving the conditions for music in Denmark.
Other larger collaboration partners – also called Orange Partners – are BEC, Diesel, Fairtrade/Max Havelaar, Ga-Jol, Lay's, Oticon, Polar Is, Spejder Sport, National Board of Health, TrygFonden, Vans og X- Large A/S. Transportation partners include Swebus Express (SE), Kruse Busser (DK), Momondo.com, DSB, Gomore.dk and Argon Events (UK).
The Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) is a close collaboration partner who handles concert recordings at Roskilde Festival from several stages. Concerts are broadcast in large parts of Europe. Roskilde Festival collaborates with MTV who makes numerous TV spots from the festival and supplies the audience with great experiences. Roskilde Festival collaborates with metroXpress on the festival newspaper Orange Press that is printed daily at the festival.
Moreover, Roskilde has a number of media partners, e.g. Close-Up (S), Denizine (S), Festivalinfo.se, Gaffa (DK), Go-Card (DK), Kingsize (S & N), Live XS (NL), Monitor (IS), MyMusic (DK), MySpace.com, NATT&DAG (N), NME (UK), Norsk Rockforbund (N), Nöjesguiden (S), Oor (NL), Panorama (N), Piraja (S), Pitchfork (US), POP Media (FI), RockPhoto (DK), Sonic (S), Soundvenue (DK), STV (DK) and Vice Magazine (S, N & DK).
Facts about Roskilde Festival
- The festival takes place in 2008 for the 38th time.
- The dates are 3 July to 6 July. The camping areas open on Sunday 29 June.
- 75,000 tickets are for sale, and the ticket price is €220. Tickets cover all eight days – and one-day tickets are not available (except for Sunday when a one-day ticket can be bought for DKK 750 (approx. € 100)).
- The audience come from all over the world – and about 50 % are expected to come from other countries than Denmark.
- A total of about 175 bands play on Roskilde Festival's 7 stages.
- Roskilde Festival is organised by The Roskilde Festival Charity Society – a society with the purpose of donating funds for non-profit humanitarian and cultural purposes. All profits made from Roskilde Festival are donated to charity, and over the years more than € 13 million have been donated.
- Roskilde Festival is arranged on the basis of committed volunteers. More than 25,000 volunteers step up and create the unique service, quality and atmosphere at Roskilde Festival.
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De bedste hilsner / best regards
Anders Hjortkær Christensen
Informationsmedarbejder / Information officer
ROSKILDE FESTIVAL
Havsteensvej 11, DK-4000 Roskilde.
anders.christensen@roskilde-festival.dk
Tlf: 46 34 03 62 (arb) | 51 90 77 76 (mob)
www.roskilde-festival.dk