Dates: 5th – 7th August 2016
Location: Katowice, Poland
Let’s face it, with names like Mudhoney, Lush, Napalm Death, FIDLAR and Thundercat OFF’s 2016 line up was already looking like a pantheon of alternative music deities. The latest non-comformist slice of action further establishes its reputation as one of the most forward-thinking European festivals.
Perhaps the most audacious thing about OFF is its total and complete lack of respect for any genre tags or audience demographic marketing ploys. The new raft of names includes Devendra Banhart, whose art is a marriage of music and visual arts in which North American folk resonates with Latin beats, while psychedelic hippy trips contrast with his intimate, contemporary lo-fi style. Then there’s is Kiasmos, an Icelandic duo that won the hearts of electronic music fans with their unique take on emotional minimal techno. Canadian Basia Bulat is a practitioner of freak pop folk, whose latest album Good Advice has been gathering plenty of critical praise on both sides of the Atlantic. Finally, Rosa Vertov is a big new band sensation from Warsaw, brimming with attitude and original “straightforward yet disturbing” song vision.
All this plus artists like Anohni, whose dance beats with political lyrics touch upon subjects like mass surveillance and drone warfare; Chicago’s experimental singer Willis Earl Beal and Kaliber 44, one of Poland’s first hip-hop bands whose psycho-rap style continues to inspire legions of imitators.
Click here for OFF festival and camping passes.
