THE1234 Festival is as unlike the many mainstream music festivals as you can get which is a very good thing. I now feel a sense of nausea when the latest plug for the next bloated festival hits our inbox. Glastonbury is now so big it can be seen from space and even many aliens are beginning to complain about the amount of coverage the BBC gives the festival on its extraterrestrial service. Plus Glastonbury now creates enough methane gas to power the town of Milton Keynes for a whole year.
THE1234 Festival is nothing like that. Which is why we asked them if we could be its media sponsor. It takes place in London’s Shoreditch on 9 July. The music policy leans towards the fresh, raw and spirited. The line up includes Black Lips, Lydia Lunch, The Raveonettes, Two Wounded Birds, Black Strobe, Damo Suzuki, as well as some hotly tipped emerging acts such as Christian Aids and Becoming Real. So rather than trying to please every single person on the planet, 1234 goes for the jugular and reintroduces passion and swagger which is the way it should be in our humble opinion.
THE1234 Festival was founded by Sean McLusky, one of London’s bravest, radical and most influential promoters. We remember Sean when he ambled into the Flux office to get into our heads back in the day – with his latest project Sonic Mook Experiment. He has always had the passion, crazed vision and will to ensure some kind of spark around the things he initiates. This year’s event will continue in the tradition of catching bands on the tipping point and putting them on stage, with an emphasis on raw creative talent and fresh energy, as opposed to the usual suspects doing the summer rounds.
“The 70’s was Notting Hill. The 80’s were Soho. The 90’s were Camden. In the 2000’s it’s all about Shoreditch and the East London music scene. We are not interested in booking agents and record label schedules. We are interested in the sheer audacity and bluster of the Rock n Roll Beast.”
And so say all of us Sean. And so say all of us….
For more info see www.facebook.com/1234festival
