It’s almost time. The Great Escape – Europe’s key new music showcase event – opens next week, with countless fresh acts aiming to catch your attention. A vital platform for new music, the Clash team are busy packing their bags and checking the train timetables, ready to descend on Brighton’s labyrinthine network of venues, stages, and bars galore.
Continuing our close relationship with the festival, we are delighted to be hosting not one, but two stages at this year’s Great Escape. A very special two-stage takeover, we’ll be joined by post-punk firebrands and Chicago wordsmiths, by synth voyagers and pop risers, representing the full span of our output.
Taking place on Thursday, May 11th, we’ll be touching down at two venues – the beautiful One Church and Shooshh, right on the waterfront – for twin parties, featuring some of our favourite new acts.
Here’s the lowdown.
One Church
Benefits
Teeside project Benefits built their reputation the hard way, the only way that matters. Show to incendiary show, they unveiled material that spoke eloquently about our broken country, and the people left to fend for themselves amongst the ruins. The group’s debut album is out now, and it is receiving breathless praise in all quarters – a stunning, virtuoso display, it moves from electronic bedlam to caustic word play, while embracing an almost jazz-like sense of freedom. Opening our One Church stage, this will undoubtedly rank as one of the weekend’s highlights.
Bingo Fury
Bristol artist Bingo Fury has a singular sound, packed with idiosyncrasies and a daring sense of originality. But then, that’s the only way he can operate – in place, his work is reminiscent of another Bristolian, the late Mark Stewart, fusing together daring aspects of post-punk with free jazz tendencies.
Clash caught Bingo Fury live at the close of 2022, and left enraptured. A daring set, full of poise and drama, he stands alone in British music. Time to get caught up.
RVG
The Great Escape is international in scope, and that is something we want to reflect across our twin stage line-ups. Australian group RVG may have travelled a long way, but they seem to slot perfectly into British music’s ongoing post-punk rejuvenation – angular, sharp-edged, and intense, their live sets blend blistering, techno-adjacent electronics to dubby baselines, and urgent vocals.
We aired the video for recent single ‘Birchall & Kings’ – out now via the ever-excellent Fire Recordings – and dubbed it a “puzzle waiting to be solved”. Find the solution for yourselves at this year’s Great Escape.
McKinley Dixon
Chicago has a rich heritage of spoken word. Arguably the world’s premiere hub for slam poetry events, this lineage seeps into all aspects of the city’s creative communities – just look at hip-hop artists like Noname and Saba. Hailing from the Windy City, McKinley Dixon is in love with words, in thrall to communication – a wonderful songwriter, his lyricism stands apart, due to its measured, emotive qualities, and the lasting impact of his performances.
A rare visit to UK soil, this show at the beautiful surroundings of One Church could easily rank as one of the highlights of the festival itself. With new album ‘Beloved! Paradise! Jazz?!’ incoming, McKinley Dixon is on the form of his life.
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SHOOSHH
FIZZ
We seem to have stumbled into a fresh era for the super-group. A union of songwriters, FIZZ may be a relatively new name, but the talents involved will undoubtedly be familiar to you.
Each have their own special skills, but together FIZZ is like an Avengers Assemble of bedroom pop, replacing the MCU with killer hooks, and all-too-relatable lyrics. One of the most in-demand Great Escape showcases, FIZZ touch down at SHOOSHH for a very special performance.
ADMT
ADMT has a knack for communication. A songwriter with a huge online army of fans, millions of people have already intersected with his music, bathed in his creativity. A string of projects have built his voice, with 2022’s ‘Lost’ EP – and its acoustic alternative – becoming a real breakout moment. Strident songwriting, emotive musicality, ADMT feels just right for 2023.
Making his Great Escape debut, you’ll catch him on the Clash stage.
COLE BLEU
An old friend of Clash, Cole Bleu has already packed a huge deal into their life. A trans-Atlantic relocation, a group endeavour, and now precocious solo success, her recent single ‘Homewrecker’ was an all-out bop, a triumphant call-to-arms.
A full EP is incoming, with this daring alt-pop futurist set to lay out her plans at the Great Escape. Be the first to know.
POLAK GDP
An artist who exists between genre lines, Polak GDP pulls from multiple sources to craft his lawless sound. You can hear strands of UK drill in his flow, while aspects of boundary-pushing electronics light up the production. Drawing on his Slavic roots, he toasts cross-cultural diversity, pulling from English, Polish, and other languages to cement his pan-lingual creativity. Completely unique, and definitely an artist to savour.
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