What did you do for your 25th birthday? If the answer involves hosting some of the world’s finest live acts, restructuring your diet around the twin pillars of gelato and espresso, and a giant inflatable pink robot, then congratulations: you are Ypsigrock Festival, the boutique Sicilian festival that somehow overdelivers on charm and quality every year.
Sharing in the celebrations this year was Bella Union, marking its own quarter-century since Cocteau Twins started their own record label and then, later that year, split up. Simon Raymonde – who began running the label by himself in 2000, and has since been joined over the years by a team that includes his wife, Abbey – offers some fascinating insight into the label’s history during the festival, which showcases a range of acts they’ve signed over the years.
One of those bands, Penelope Isles, were invited out a week early for an unusual opportunity: to spend a few days soaking up the beauty of Castelbuono, the mountain town built around a 14th century castle and stunning views that hosts the event, and collaborate with local artists to create new music inspired by the area. The result is one of the week’s first astonishing performances, with the music – written Jack Wolter, Lily Wolter, and Joe Taylor from the Brighton band, alongside Go Dugong’s Giulia Fonseca – and visuals from Ionee Waterhouse combining for a electrifying show.
Speaking to Jack and Joe moments after their stunning set, the pair talk about the struggles the industry has faced – not least with the twin spectres of Brexit and covid still looming large – but also exercising positivity and gratitude that they’ve made it here. Or as Joe, who gleefully tells Clash that he’s eaten gelato every single day across the eight days he’s been here, puts it: “Hell yeah, we’re in a castle!”
“It’s been a really unique, special, heartwarming trip for us,” the drummer continues. “We’ve been living here for a week, getting to know the town. It’s been so nice being able to get to a festival days beforehand and soak it up, because it’s usually just in and out. It’s been beautiful, actually.”
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In spite of all the additional pressures the industry has faced in recent years, both remarked upon the sense of community that has been strengthened since the return of live music. During their own set the following night, the band even get a thumbs up from one of rock’s elder statesmen.
“I had a moment at the end of our set when I looked out at the space we were playing in, and the number of people there, and just thought: this is really special,” Joe explains. “I was at my capacity of what I could soak up. I turned to look at Jack, and Wayne [Coyne] was there, and I feel my brain had a mini malfunction. I was like, ‘That’s too much for me to take in right now!’ I think he digged it.”
“We got the Wayne Coyne seal of approval,” Jack adds.
Ah yes, The Flaming Lips. If there were any doubts that the band’s party box of zorb balls, glitter and inflatable props wouldn’t make it across to the island, the delighted – albeit surprisingly small – crowd were treated to a greatest hits set that included just about every shiny or explosive set-piece going. As the set finally comes to an ecstatic close on ‘Race For The Prize’, Coyne holds up a giant inflatable sign: ‘FUCK YEAH YPSIGROCK’. It feels apt. Later on, a fan is spotted carrying in inflatable letter P off into the night. Why not?
Elsewhere, the castle plays host to some of the most critically adored acts of the year. Self Esteem puts in a faultless set, drawing heavily from 2021’s ‘Prioritise Pleasure’, while Yard Act manage to overcome some minor sound issues to deliver a raucous and well-received performance. Over on the beautiful but significantly smaller Ypsi & Love stage, Denise Chaila’s Saturday set somehow manages to whip up the most rapturous applause of the week – and deservedly so, the Limerick artist also being one of the festival’s undisputed highlights.
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The Irish capital steals the show a second time an hour later when Pillow Queens bring their crunching indie rock to the main stage, closing with a devastating ‘Liffey’. Speaking to Clash straight after, the four-piece were also in thrall to the unique nature of the festival and surrounding area. “It’s an unusual setting – I didn’t know much about the festival beforehand,” guitarist Cathy McGuinness says. “But looking at the previous years and all the amazing people who’ve played the festival – hell, of course we want to play here!”
“We looked at where it was, and the pictures, and we were like, ‘Yeah, no, we’re going.’ It’s so fucking beautiful,” bassist and vocalist Sarah Corcoran adds.
Alongside C Duncan and Lowly, who both put in majestic sets across the week, both The Flaming Lips and Penelope Isles talk about Bella Union as being something more than a record label, a part of their lives that strives to do things differently. “For us, it’s quite a special relationship,” Jack tells Clash. “It’s always felt quite natural, we’re good friends [with Simon and Abbey], we often have dinner together. It feels like family.”
Anyone who’s been to Ypsigrock before will know that passion, kindness, and a fierce independent spirit run through the veins of the festival in much the same way that they do at Bella Union. It’s in that sense that they really are twins, their joint birthday this year a timely reminder of the very best that the music industry can produce when it puts music and community first.
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Words: Matthew Neale // @matthewgneale
