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‘There was a grim irony to the demise of The Stool Pigeon earlier on in the year, such was the hyperbolic doom mongering assumed to speak of the then lingering uncertainties over the future of All Tomorrow’s Parties – a once in a lifetime kinda festival held in dilapidated holiday camps across Southern England, if you’ve not yet been. That is to say that mercifully, though the ‘Pigeon may have croaked it, organisers Barry Hogan and Deborah Kee Higgins live on to call upon variegated curators once more, thus making ATP so much more than an in every respect one-time jamboree. You’re doubtless already aware of May’s I’ll Be Your Mirror – a two-day shindig at the height of Alexandra Park, London which is to be headed up by the returning Yeah Yeah Yeahs and widely lionised Warpsters Grizzly Bear – though that tad deeper into the now imminent summer months reside two further three-dayers down on the South Coast. Taking place at Pontins, Camber Sands (a venue which, by ATP’s own admission, is ‘getting along in years’ and is ‘obviously not Club Med’) the two estival weekenders will be the third and fourth to take place down beside this particular bit of scummy seaside since December’s relocation for their Shellac and The National curations.

So great British meteorological caprice aside, both should (though more probably only could) be sun-speckled affairs but with events transpiring exclusively indoors, there is to be no rain on the respective multicoloured musical parades of either TV On The Radio or Deerhunter. The former take the reins over the weekend of May 10th–12th, while Bradford Cox’ latter do the honours June 21st–23rd and are to perform seminal contemporary recordings Cryptograms, Microcastle and Halcyon Digest in full on each of the three evenings. It is elsewhere, however, that both bills begin to take alluring forms.

Dave Sitek et al. favour a more energetic flair, with acerbic hip hop the genre des trois jours: kingpins De La Soul and DOOM loom large over the likes of El-P, the newly announced Death Grips and Saul Williams, while respite is to be provided by Ruban Nielson’s Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Nona Marie Invie’s Dark Dark Dark, only for the irrepressibly ebullient !!! to ratchet it right back on up again with an indefatigable dance vim. We ought then, at this juncture, not only condone heading southwards in the first instance, but so too heading to see washed out New Mexico duo North America, as well as Baltimore’s latest muzzy dream-pop ensemble, Celebration. And that’s about that for the first weekend…

For it’s that compiled dual-handedly by Bradford Cox I full well imagine which is that bit more enticing still, for not only is he performing nowhere short of four times (inclusive of a rare Atlas Sound outing) but so too The Breeders are to do Last Splash in full. Other than that, there’s to be ruination from Black Dice and rather more melodious rumination courtesy of Noah Lennox’ Panda Bear getup. Fellow AnCo critter Avey Tare also features on a line up elsewhere comprising Stereolab’s Laetitia Sadier, a collaboration between Kim Gordon, Ikue Mori and Bill Nace, and experimental rabble-rousers Pere Ubu. Though most pertinently, none other than neo-classical luminary Steve Reich is to team up with The London Sinfonietta to recite a clutch of his defining compositional pieces, including Clapping Musicand Electric Counterpoint.

I’ve yet to absorb that particular piece of news fully, though the above makes the two line ups now read as below:

ATP Weekend 1 Curated By TV On The Radio

TV On The Radio & De La Soul & DOOM & Death Grips & Spank Rock & Why? & El-P & !!! & Saul Williams & Tinariwen & CSS & Doseone & Shabazz Palaces & Thee Oh Sees & Antibalas & Daniel Higgs & Dragons Of Zynth & Light Asylum & Celebration & Talibam! & Lone Wolf & Cub & Dark Dark Dark & North America & Unknown Mortal Orchestra & Bouquet.

ATP Weekend 2 Curated By Deerhunter

Deerhunter performing Cryptograms, Microcastle and Halcyon Digest & The Breeders performing Last Splash & Steve Reich & The London Sinfonietta & Tom Tom Club & Atlas Sound & Rhys Chatham with Oneida & Panda Bear & Robyn Hitchcock & Kim Gordon, Ikue Mori & Bill Nace & James, Roj & Julian & William Basinski & Avey Tare & Pere Ubu & Dan Deacon & Black Dice & Tim Gane & Laetitia Sadier & No Age & Black Lips & Ex Models feat. Kid Millions & Samara Lubelski & Blues Control with Laraaji & Eric Isaacson.

Information on both curations can be found over at the official All Tomorrow’s Parties site, with TVOTR ticket options here and Deerhunter equivalents here.

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“Upon a summer wind there’s a certain melody/ Takes me back to the place that I know, down on the beach.”

So sung Chris Rea back in the summer of ‘86, and on a given weekend of May 2013 the melodies perfuming the littoral airs of Brighton are sure to be that bit more dulcet still. The first wave of acts announced to play this year’s edition of what is – at least to our ears – the UK’s finest metropolitan festival, The Great Escape, caused something of a tempestuous stir as the likes of Darkstar, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Mac DeMarco and Indians were all swizzled in. Though as another deluge of bleeding-edge artists tumble on in this morning like florid ichor in the shark pool, the fervour is surely only to be furthered.

Taking place over the weekend of May 16th–18th, there’s an unmistakably oceanic vibe to many of the monikers to have been newly swept in: from epic Helsinki prog practitioners Big Wave Riders to the polychromatic down under pop of Deep Sea Arcade; Catfish and the Bottlemen to Foam Lake, there’s an unfathomable abyss of thalassic influence in there. So too with Girls In Hawaii, the previously confirmed Cloud Boat, Mutiny On The Bounty, Is Tropical, SHARKS and Lab Coast all in on the deal elsewhere, if you’re angling for a slot on the 2014 bill, you could seemingly do worse than to derive inspiration from time whiled away down on the beach.

Though if you’re left scratching at some of the above as though you’ve an infinity of sand granules down your proverbials, then there are some rather more familiar (and still loosely shoreline-styled) names submerged in an ever expanding bill. Fresh from this week releasing our album of the year thus far in Untogether, Raphaelle Standell-Preston and Alex Cowan who combine in becoming Blue Hawaii are due a beyond rare UK appearance that may yet transpire to be their début on our esteemed shores. And breaking free from Captured Tracks confines along with DeMarco and indeed Beach Fossils is Zachary Cole Smith, whose DIIV return having shaken things up rather vigorously last time around. Further scuzz is scheduled to ooze from every pore of their fellow Brooklyn rabble-rousers Parquet Courts, while the soothing coos of soon to be omnipresently cherished soul trio London Grammar and rimy Norwegian songstress Susanne Sundfør ought to add a little tranquility to the invigorating turbulence on offer elsewhere.

The full line up thus far for this year’s edition now looks somewhere along the lines of the below:

1975 & A Tribe Called Red & A.A. Wallace & Allah-Las & AlunaGeorge & Andy Shauf & Arcane Roots & Atlas Genius & Awaken I Am & Babe & The Balconies & Bastille & Beach Fossils & Bear’s Den & Big Wave Riders & Billy Bragg & Blackeye & Blaudzun & Blue Hawaii & Brodka & Brooke Candy & Cairo Pythian & Cairo Knife Fight & Caitlin Park & Catfish and the Bottlemen & [Champagne] & Charlie Straight & Childhood & Christine And The Queen & CHVRCHES & Cloud Boat & Concrete Knives & Cousins & Cub Scouts & Dan Croll & Dancing Years & Daniel Drumz & Darkstar & David Rodigan & Deep Sea Arcade & Del Barber & Diane & DIIV & Dingus Khan & Dinosaur Pile-Up & Drenge & Dune & Eagulls & Echo And The Empress & Ed Harcourt & Eddi Front & Elisapie & Eliza And The Bear & Eye Emma Jedi & Farao & Fimber Bravo & Findlay & Fist City & Foam Lake & Gallops & Girls in Hawaii & Golden Fable & Hactivist & Highasakite & Houndmouth & How To Dress Well & Humans & Hungry Kids Of Hungary & Husky Rescue & Iggy Azalea & Indiana & Indians & Is Tropical & Jacco Gardner & Jackie Onassis & Jagwar Ma & Jenny Hval & Joe Banfi & Kamp! & Kimberly Ann & King Krule & KINS & Kodaline & Lab Coast & Lawrence Arabia & Lewis Watson & Little Green Cars & London Grammar & Lord Huron & LostAlone & Lowell & Luke Sital-Singh & Mac DeMarco & Made In Japan & Marika Hackman & Marmozets & Mausi & Mazes & Mel Parsons & Mikal Cronin & Mø & Mo Kenney & Monophona & Mutiny On The Bounty & Murder By Death & Murmansk & Neighbourhood Youth & Nick Mulvey & NO CEREMONY/// & ON AN ON & Only Real & Owlle & Parlour & Parquet Courts & Phantom & Phosphorescent & PINKUNOIZU & Plaster & Portasound & Rah Rah & Rainy Milo & Rebekka Karijord & Royal Canoe & Rubik & Ruen Brothers & Ryan Keen & Saint Michel & San Zhi & Sarah MacDougall & Say Yes Dog & Scrufizzer & SHARKS & Skaters & Skip&Die & sleepmakeswaves & Snakadaktal & Spectres & Stevie Neale & Stonefield & Story Books & Susanne Sundfør & Superfood & Sweet Baboo & Swim Deep & Syron & Tall Ships & Teleman & Temples & The Black Heart Rebellion & The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster & The Elwins & The Griswolds & The Hounds Below & The Midnight Beast & The Naturals & The Neighbourhood & The Other Tribe & The Strypes & The Trouble With Templeton & The Upskirts & Three Trapped Tigers & Thumpers & Title Fight & To Kill A King & Toddla T & Tom Odell & Tomorrow’s World & Towns & très.B & Tripwires & Troumaca & Unknown Mortal Orchestra & UNNO & Velcro Hooks & Velociraptor & Wall. & Warm Myth & White Fence & Wolf Alice & Woods & Yan Wagner & Young Rival & Your Favourite Enemies.

The Great Escape takes place between May 16th–18th in a plethora of venues throughout Brighton. Further information is available on the official festival site, with a wide variety of ticketing options available here. DIIV on into a select playlist below, too.

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Here’s some info on the initial line up announcement for this year’s The Great Escape down beside the South Coast seaside, and below is a hurriedly compiled playlist comprising various supposed highlights:

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‘Whilst some may say that the best of performers possess an unerring ability to whisk the room away, Nielson instead plays as though it, and indeed we, were never there to begin with. He’s a child of the revolution and although Bolan only knows to which he belongs, his interactant aptness consequently leaves a little to be desired. Again, it’s to be expected – their bodies still at loggerheads with crippling “stomach aches and stuff” having played Japan just last weekend, there’s a sense that they’re not quite all there either. Though we don’t exactly abet, and there’s none of that same unhinged hysteria stereotypically expected of the years back to which the ‘Orchestra’s outpour harks. Yes, lyrics are momentarily lost in the ether of unintelligibility, his monitoring of the sporadically groggy sound system is apathetic at best (“It wasn’t too turgid for you, was it?” he at one point quips lethargically), and his insults are as retrograde as some of his less impressive oeuvres (“Hey! Get out, short hair!” being a particularly choice jibe). Though even for EC2, our reaction is woefully muted.’

Dots & Dashes review Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s understated, and lamentably underappreciated London return…