This fortnight we’re taking a closer look at Australia’s most revered mid winter music festival – Byron Bay’s legendary Splendour in the Grass. Each year music fans eagerly anticipate Splendour, as the event is widely regarded as one of the world’s premier boutique music festivals. Is it the lineup, the location, or the laidback attitude of the festival’s punters that make it so unique? We’d say it’s a combination of all three, and in 2008 the event sold out all tickets in record time once again. For our special edition podcast we’re going to feature some of the dance and hip-hop acts appearing at this year’s festival. If you’re a first time listener this is an enhanced podcast, so be sure to enable the artwork in your audio player and click the images at any time to find out more about the artist you’re hearing.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE ON SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS ON INTHEMIX

SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS
Sat 2nd Aug – Sun 3rd Aug, 2008
Belongil Fields, Byron Bay
www.splendourinthegrass.com

On this podcast…

1. Soft Tigers – Mr Ice Cream [Below Par]
Starting things off, the Soft Tigers with their summertime classic ‘Ice Cream’. Mixing indie with a healthy serving of electronica, the band caught the attention of music fans with their debut album ‘Gospel Ambitions’. They’ll be DJing at Splendour this year playing a classics set, and we’re told they’ll be in the slot between Pnau and MSTR KRFT. Make sure you check them out!
>> softtigers.com

2. Bag Raiders – Fun Punch (Bag Raiders Mix) [Bang Gang 12 Inches]
The club hit ‘Fun Punch’ from Sydney duo the Bag Raiders, no doubt one of the biggest locally released tunes of the past year! It was recently picked up for a US release by A-Trak’s label Fool’s Gold and has had a rather amusing film clip made – check it out on YouTube if you’re a fan of the Power Rangers.
>> bagraiders.com

3. Hadouken! – Get Smashed Gate Crash [Atlantic]
Is it indie or is it grime? If you believe NME magazine Hadouken! are a combination of both – and they even gave them their own genre to celebrate; ‘grindie’. Regardless of the absurd genre tags they’re getting in the press, Hadouken! are one of the most exciting new bands to have emerged from the UK, and this is their single ‘Get Smashed Gate Crash’.
>> hadouken.co.uk

4. Operator Please – Two For My Seconds (The Teenagers Remix) [EMI]
There’s not much left to be said about Gold Coast upstarts Operator Please, who’ve gone on to achieve global acclaim with their debut album ‘Yes Yes Vindictive’. They return to Australia to play Splendour for a second year in 2008, and this is their third single ‘Two For Me Seconds’, given a remix by French electro duo The Teenagers.
>> operatorpleaseband.com

5. Pnau – Embrace [etcetc]
Riding high on the success of their self-titled album released late in 2007, Pnau return to Australia from their new homebase in the UK for Splendour this year. Their newest single is ‘Embrace’ and it’s released to coincide with their upcoming visit, as this August they’ll play massive headline shows along the east coast, including Splendour.
>> pnau.net

6. Tricky – Council Estate (Pow! Pow! Remix) [Domino]
UK trip hop icon Tricky makes his long awaited return with a new album ‘Knowle West Boy’ this August. The album’s first single is ‘Council Estate’, and here we’ve got the Pow! Pow! Remix of the track, which was done by locals Raye Antonelli and Mathew Ladgrove. Tricky also plays shows along the east coast in August, and the tour is proudly presented by inthemix.
>> trickyonline.com

7. Lyrics Born – I Like It, I Love It [Quannum Projects]
One of the most successful artists from US hip-hop collective Quannum Projects, Lyrics Born released his album ‘Everywhere At Once’ earlier in 2008. No stranger to Australian festivals, he’s played events like Good Vibrations and Parklife in the past, and this winter he’ll add Splendour to the list. From the album, this is his track ‘I Like It, I Love It’.
>> lyricsborn.com

8. Bliss N Eso – Woodstock 2008 [Illusive]
To finish our special edition Splendour podcast, a rather fitting festival ode by local hip hop outfit Bliss N Eso. Called ‘Woodstock 2008’, clearly named in honor of the legendary American festival from the 60s, it’s taken from their latest album ‘Flying Colours’.
>> blissneso.com