Festival-goers may only just be getting into the swing of things with the dawn of summer, but it looks like one of Australia’s bigger winter festivals is already at work behind the scenes for their 2014 edition.
Fans of UK buzz trio London Grammar are already getting excited to see the Londoners for their forthcoming visit to Australia for a series of festival appearances at Falls Festival, Southbound WA, and Field Day, but as the band tell The Vine, they could be back for Splendour In The Grass next July.
“Yeah they’ve already been talking about that,” guitarist and electronic-wrangler Dan Rothman tells The Vine when asked about a possible appearance at they long-running Byron Bay festival.
In fact, Rothman reveals, London Grammar were originally set to appear at this year’s edition. “We were supposed to play it this year but they couldn’t get us out there in time. It wasn’t going to work, so I think it’s always been the plan to go back next year.”
Strengthening the likelihood of a Splendour In The Grass 2014 lineup appearance is that London Grammar’s January headline sideshows are being presented by Splendour promoters Secret Sounds, who are affiliated with Brisbane label Dew Process, to which London Grammar are also signed.
Secret Sounds have done similar Splendour ‘warm-up’ tours for the likes of James Blake, Lana Del Rey, and Foster The People in the past, as FasterLouder points out. By that logic, it also pegs Dew Process signee Mikhael Paskalev, who is hitting Australia in March to promote his I Spy EP, as another Splendour 2014 lineup contender.
If You Wait, London Grammar’s debut full-length album, went straight to #2 on the ARIA charts upon release in September. Characterised by Hannah Reid’s falsetto vocals and its lush trip-hop moods, our Tone Deaf reviewer remarked, “at their best, London Grammar are intimate, eerie, and mysterious… an intimate and emotional experience.”
Speaking to Tone Deaf ahead of the album’s release, Rothman discussed the band’s swift rise to fame off the back of their ‘Hey Now’ single and follow-up EP Metal & Dust that preceded their Australian-loved debut.
“The thing about the internet and new bands is that if you have something of good quality … someone will find it, someone will play it and eventually whether it takes a month or six months it will get picked up by a blog or a radio station,” said Rothman. “So there’s no doubt that the internet is an incredibly important tool.”
This year’s sold out Splendour In The Grass featured The National, TV On The Radio, The Drones, (Not So) Mystery Band Alt-J, and Lorde (but not Frank Ocean) among a huge lineup. The festival’s environmentally friendly efforts also recently earned Splendour an ‘Outstanding Award’ commendation by UK body A Greener Festival in their annual awards.
London Grammar Australian Tour 2014
Tues 7th January – Metro Theatre, Sydney
Thurs 9th January – Prince Bandroom, Melbourne
Tickets: http://www.secret-sounds.com.au/
Also performing at:
Falls Festival 2013 Dates
Marion Bay, TAS: December 29, 2013 – January 01, 2014 (All Ages)
Byron Bay, NSW: December 31, 2013 – January 03, 2014 (18+)
Lorne, VIC: December 28, 2013 – January 01, 2014 (18+)
Field Day 2014
1st January, 2014 – The Domain, Sydney NSW
Tickets: http://fielddaynyd.com.au/
Southbound 2014
January 3 & 4, 2014 – Sir Stewart Bovell Park, Busselton WA
http://www.southboundfestival.com.au/tickets
