Connect Festival

Sparks - seminal finalists

17 Jul 2008

Sparks have been blowing minds for nearly three decades with their unique off-kilter magic. Hamish Brown gets down and worships With their foray into mainstream consciousness amounting to one song ('This Town Ain't Big Enough for the Both of Us'…

MIA

23 Aug 2007

Were we to try and describe the precise sound which London-born, Sri Lanka-raised MIA makes, we’d be here all day. While she can be very broadly described as an electro-grime act whose vocals are a combination of hip hop cajoling and reggae rhythm…

Hydro Connect Festival 2008 - lineup in detail

17 Jul 2008

Oyster Stage Kasabian There’s a new album on the way from this swaggering fivesome so expect first plays of recently penned material alongside their by-now trademark electro-rock anthems. Manic Street Preachers Following the return to form of last…

The Breeders - The freed seed

17 Jul 2008

Death to the Pixies (again) meant a new lease of life for The Breeders. Doug Johnstone traces the musical highs and chemical lows of Kim Deal. The Breeders are not what you'd call prolific. But that's OK, good things are worth waiting for. The on-off…

Hydro Connect Festival - Glasvegas

City limits

21 Aug 2008

It’s hard to think of a band that sums up the Glasgow experience as succinctly as Glasvegas. Primal Scream and The Fratellis may have captured the hedonism, Biffy Clyro the anger and Franz Ferdinand the art, but Glasvegas are the streets of Glasgow writ…

Glasvegas interview: Full transcript

21 Aug 2008

Henry Northmore talks to singer and songwriter James Allan and his cousin and guitarist Rab Allan from Glasvegas, the hottest band in Glasgow, as they get set to play Hydro Connect as well as their own headline dates How did Glasvegas first get…

Hydro Connect Festival - Spiritualized

Alivestock

21 Aug 2008

Technically dying twice is, needless to say, not an experience you want to relive too often. But because of its intrinsic link to Spiritualized’s sixth studio album Songs in A&E, Jason Pierce’s two times trip to the Pearly Gates and back (one for each…

Hydro Connect Festival - Eco-friendly

How green is my valley?

21 Aug 2008

Carbon neutral is a precise cocktail. It is a recipe that Geoff Ellis, director of T in the Park and creator of the Hydro Connect Festival, has learned by heart. He committed to making T in the Park carbon neutral in 2006, transforming it into the first…

Hydro Connect Festival - Acts you might not know

Fresh Connections

21 Aug 2008

Friendly Fires Their biggest influences are the Kompakt label, Carl Craig and Prince, and they’re named after a track by Blackpool post-punk confederacy Section 25. St Albans trio Friendly Fires (Ed MacFarlane, Jack Savidge and Edd Gibson) are one of…

Goldfrapp - Your lovely head

17 Jul 2008

Mildly obsessive fan Kirstin Innes pays a personal tribute to the ever-changing faces of Alison Goldfrapp A confession: I just don't see the point of Madonna or Kylie. Sorry. I don't see that anything they've done past 1990 has had the slightest bit…

Food & drink - Good & plenty

17 Jul 2008

Connect offers no end of culinary goodness, as Malcolm Jack discovers when he peruses the festival's extensive larder and speaks to the producers of every food delight you could possibly imagine, from oysters to sticky toffee pudding. Judging by…

Grinderman - Man alive!

17 Jul 2008

Less is always more. Inevitably, however, there are times where that worn analogy just won't stick. In the case of Grinderman, the rock band that includes Nick Cave in its line-up, more is most certainly more. Now, Cave has never been backward at…

Mercury Rev - Original soundtracks

17 Jul 2008

They've refused to stand still musically in their 20 year career, and with this latest chapter Mercury Rev are pushing their music farther out than ever. Doug Johnstone revels in their sonic adventures Describing what Mercury Rev sound like is a…

Home work - Tipis and pods

17 Jul 2008

Home work A festival that is boutique in all the right ways, Hydro Connect offers some truly original bespoke accommodation options, as Emma Newlands discovers Ideally, all camping experiences would take place in Jellystone Park with Yogi Bear, or…

More on the floor

17 Jul 2008

As if all that music and gorgeous food wasn’t enough, they go and put on a whole wealth of other delectable nuggets for your delectation, as Malcolm Jack discovers As that posh woman off the Ferrero Rocher ad might say: at this Hydro Connect…

Joan As Policewoman - Feel the force

17 Jul 2008

No, we don't understand the bizarre name either, but Joan As Policewoman's songs are truly breathtaking. Camilla Pia is bewitched Musically, there isn't much that Joan Wasser hasn't done. From violinist in the Boston University Symphony Orchestra…

Conor Oberst - The simple life

17 Jul 2008

From teen folk troubadour to big band instigator, Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst has always been a musical force of nature. Camilla Pia finds the joy in his latest adventure: the Mystic Valley Band You may not consider there to be much difference between…

The missing link

17 Jul 2008

Camilla Pia trawls the far reaches of the inter-web so you don't have to, and presents some digital delights from the stars of this year's Hydro Connect Trawling the internet for new music is something of a favourite past-time here at The List, so…

Camera Obscura - Field trippers

17 Jul 2008

Camera Obscura guitarist Kenny McKeeve gives Malcolm Jack some top tips for taking on a summer festival and winning. Usually we must bring salt and vinegar crisps – there never seems to be enough of them around. And a couple of extra bottles of wine…

The Roots - Hip hop's best live act

17 Jul 2008

Originally ignored by rap audiences in the US, the band gained notoriety on the 1994 Lollapalooza tour where the alt.rock crowd took to them with gusto. They have slowly broken through and carved a niche for themselves. The eclecticism On paper The…

Duffy - Souled out

17 Jul 2008

In an age of stack ‘em high, sell ‘em out record company profile maximalisation Aimee Anne Duffy is a true original. Instead of tumbling off the BRITs school production line, Duffy found a collaborator and mentor in former Suede guitarist Bernard…

Santogold - Hot metal

17 Jul 2008

This genre-bending 32-year-old ex-punk has been proving the pundits right this year, after bringing out her self-titled debut album in May. She was one of those lava-hot ‘ones to watch’ for 2008, and if the response to the Philadelphia-born lady’s…

Bloc Party - A weekend out of the city

17 Jul 2008

'Alluding to a stadium moment is not something to be ashamed of,' grins Bloc Party frontman Kele Okereke, 'if it can be done well...' The band's 'agit-jitter guitar pop' not only led to their 2005 debut album Silent Alarm selling a million copies, it…

Dave Clarke - The eloquent rebel

17 Jul 2008

The last true generation of musical mavericks in Britain weren't indie kids or punks or rockers, but DJs. They blazed a trail, setting heads alight with a singular style and fevered musical vision. Among those deserving of such praise are Kirk…

Manic Street Preachers - Return from exile

17 Jul 2008

From feather boa-swinging, vitriolic misfits in eyeliner to masses-pleasing masters of the soaring rock anthem, it's been a long and rocky road for the Manic Street Preachers during their staggering 22-year career. The band are currently on a…

Industrial light and magic - Ladytron

17 Jul 2008

Since their debut album 604 in 2001 Ladytron have been writing, recording and touring relentlessly. With a fourth album now under their belt the band have an expansive repertoire with which to wow the crowds at Hydro Connect. They make electronic pop…

Hydro Connect festival line up 2008

17 Jun 2008

The Hydro Connect Festival takes place in the stunning countryside around Loch Fyne within the grounds of Inverarary Castle between Friday 29th and Sunday 31st August 2008.

Franz Ferdinand, Kasabian and Manics announced for Connect

3 Apr 2008

The line-up for this year’s Connect festival has been announced with Franz Ferdinand, Manic Street Preachers and Kasabian headlining the three-day shindig at Inveraray Castle, Argyll. The festival, now in its second year, takes place over 29-31…

Connect Festival: Music, massages and mud, glorious mud

3 Sep 2007

Connect Festival, Inverarary Castle, Sunday. Festival gossip has it that Mike D from the Beastie Boys took a shine to the castle and challenged the Duke of Argyll to a duel. Jarvis Cocker is acclaimed as the best thing about Friday by fans still…

Jarvis Cocker

23 Aug 2007

During the heady days of Britpop I was a Jarvis Cocker obsessive; following Pulp around from town to town, skipping school to buy concert tickets and waiting outside venues and hotels for autographs and photos until all hours of the morning. Once the…

Björk

23 Aug 2007

It is a muggy summer’s afternoon, and although she has been doing interviews in an airless west London hotel suite for several hours, the Queen of Quirk is in fine form and fizzing with energy. Having recently released Volta – touted as her most…

Beastie Boys

23 Aug 2007

Take an objective look at the Beastie Boys’ musical output over the last 25 years and in all honesty it’s pretty patchy. Patchy but fun-filled. Rarely do we see a group so switched on – they’ve been rocking their whole implausible career for kicks. Who…

Bobby Gillespie

23 Aug 2007

Fire Engines ‘I’m a big Fire Engines Fan. They were a big influence on us: fifteen minute sets, very intense. ‘Get Up and Use Me’ – their single. ‘Candy Skin’, ‘Meat Whiplash’, ‘Sympathetic Anaesthetic’, you know? Big fan of the Fire Engines…

Bonus points

23 Aug 2007

The Unknown Pleasures Tent Kicking off the fun in the Manicured Noise Field on Friday will be Glaswegian dubsters and reggae-ska lovers, Mungo’s Hi-Fi. Their party mix of mellow, feelgood beats has already gone down a storm at the Knockengorroch…

Flavour of the month

23 Aug 2007

Food at festivals is too often hit and miss. At best you may find some culinary treat that shocks and delights the pallette, while others are there to fill a hole as you rush from stage to stage between bands. But the organisers of Connect are…

The sound of progress

23 Aug 2007

Hand-picked from the regular industry showcases at King Tut’s, 20 of the top bands in Scotland have been selected to play the YourSound Band Stand. Among the Friday line-up: North Atlantic Oscillation, Le Reno Amps, Frightened Rabbit and…

Idlewild

23 Aug 2007

‘We’ve always been the band of bad timing, haven’t we?’ laughs Idlewild singer Roddy Woomble. ‘We’re perennially called underachievers or underdogs, because we’ve always put out records that are out of sync with what’s being played on the radio. We’re…

Room to roam

23 Aug 2007

Summer festivals are attended by two kinds of people. Those who think camping is fun and those who think it is a near manifestation of hell on earth. If you’re the former, you revel in every muddy, messy moment. If you’re the latter, you are conflicted…

Modest Mouse

23 Aug 2007

When I call for a chat, Modest Mouse’s Isaac Brock is at home in Washington State. He’s been hard at work all morning trying to replace the starter on his van, and seems excited at the prospect of getting his hands dirty. Not the sort of pastime you…

The Jesus and Mary Chain

23 Aug 2007

Jim and William Reid drew out their plans for their rock’n’roll band down on paper long before they ever picked up their instruments. They knew how they wanted to sound and look but it was surely not in their master plan to be playing their first London…

Vashti Bunyan

23 Aug 2007

From Stones protégée to modern folk icon, Stewart Smith counts down the four ages of effervescent folk singer Vashti Bunyan

Hot Chip

23 Aug 2007

Hot Chip will break your legs, snap off your head. At least, that’s what they claim on The Warning, the title track of their magnificent second album. Apparently the London-based electro-pop duo of Alexis Taylor and Joe Goddard met at school, where they…

Hitlist - the best rock, pop and folk

23 Aug 2007

The Black Lips Atlanta, Georgia may be hoaching with hip hop stars for the most part but there’s also lowdown rock’n’roll dogs like this bunch. Come feel their twang. Optimo, The Sub Club, Glasgow, Sun 2 Sep. (Rock & Pop) Connect Festival Hopefully…

Paths of glory

23 Aug 2007

By Coach Citylink will be providing buses to and from the festival throughout the weekend and you can purchase your shuttle bus ticket at the same time as purchasing your festival ticket. This way you can sit back, enjoy the ride and take in the…

The Directors

13 Nov 2006

It may not be very apparent yet, but Scotland’s summer festivals are feeling seismic tremors. On the one hand there are new chiefs heading up two of Edinburgh’s prestigious festivals. On the other, there’s a new, upmarket music festival outside Glasgow…