I returned to the Latitude Festival after a hiatus of a few years and it was a pleasure to wander around the beautiful Henham Park once again. There were more people there this year, but there seemed to be enough space to handle it and there was the usual broad selection of music and arts. As always the people who attended made the atmosphere- dressed up, sparkly and having a wonderful time.
Gill Landry
Funnily enough, I didn’t watch too many bands, the atmosphere was plenty to soak up. But I did enjoy what I did see and I was happy to speak to a few of the artists involved and it was great chance to play the recordings on tonight’s show.
I really enjoyed the appropriately meandering conversation with Gill Landry. We seemed to cover everything from his songwriting process, if any healing can come from it and his experiences with travelling and the other forms of artistic expression he has tried.
Margaret Glaspy
I also managed to speak to Margaret Glaspy straight after her performance on the Sunrise stage in the forest. It was wonderful to hear about her journey with her career, as well as her physical journey at all of the amazing sounding festivals she has experienced.
The variety of arts I mentioned always provides some treats and some highlights for me were at the Waterfront stage, which on the Saturday hosted performances arranged by Sadlers Wells. I had the pleasure of speaking to Katy Arnander– Director of Artistic Programme at Sadlers Wells who talked about the ten years she has seen at the Latitude Festival, with all of the changes and wonderful performances over the years.
Speaking of which, I also had a great conversation with Victoria Shulungu– Artist & Rehearsal Director of Far From The Norm, the dance collective who performed a piece called ‘Da Native‘, commissioned by Sadlers Wells for the festival. She enjoyed sharing her experience at the festival, the connection with the audience and the cultural impact of their work.
Far From The Norm – ‘Da Native’
Also performing on the Waterfront stage was another Sadlers Wells performance- Sisters Grimm‘s Voices Of The Amazon, featuring my friend Kay Elizabeth, who has been featured many times on Musical Meanderings with her music, particularly with the Black Orchids. I managed to see the show at Sadlers Wells the previous week and it was wonderful to then see the contrast in the open of the Waterfront stage. The performers really enjoyed it too. The Black Orchids will be performing this coming Sunday at the Afropunk Festival in London.
Sisters Grimm’s The Voices Of The Amazon
Disco Shed
The evenings, after the live music finishes, can be a fantastic time to wander around and see what else is happening. Now there is a great variety of electronic dance music at some of the stages and areas in the festival. In earlier days, such as the first time I attended the festival, it was slightly trickier to find places to continue to party and dance. But ensconced under a grand, beautiful tree in the park was a small, but loud and bright shed, blasting fun music and surrounded by colourful and happy festival goers. They call themselves the Disco Shed and they’ve been providing night time fun and dancing at the festival for years, in their usual base under the tree. I had the pleasure of speaking to one of the founders, Peepshow Paddy, who talked about their origins and how fun it is to share fun.
Disco Shed
You can listen to the show again here:
The conversation with Gill Landry is also available here:
Here is the playlist for 20th July 2017
1. Desperate Journalist – Be Kind (Grow Up – 2017)
2. Placebo – Bionic (Placebo – 1996)
Katy Arnander chat
3. Fleet Foxes – Lorelai (Helplessness Blues – 2011)
Victoria Shulungu chat
4. Jesus & Mary Chain & Hope Sandoval – Sometimes Always (Stoned & Dethroned – 1994)
5. EZ Rollers – Walk This Land (Weekend World – 1998)
Disco Shed chat
6. James Brown – I Got The Feelin’ (Sex Machine – 1970)
7. Funkadelic – Standing On The Verge Of Getting It On (Standing On The Verge Of Getting It On – 1974)
8. Margaret Glaspy – Emotions and Math (Emotions and Math – 2016)
Margaret Glaspy chat
9. Margaret Glaspy – Somebody To Anybody (Emotions and Math – 2016)
10. Gill Landry – Waiting For Your Love (Gill Landry – 2015)
Gill Landry chat
11. Gill Landry – Between Piety & Desire (Piety & Desire – 2011)
12. Gill Landry – Funeral In My Heart (Gill Landry – 2015)
13. Beth Orton – I Wish I Never Saw The Sunshine (Trailer Park – 1996)
14. The National – Available (Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers – 2003)
Gill Landry
Latitude Festival 2017
