Our Stockholm correspondent GUSTAF VON ARBIN checks in, with the latest on summer in Sweden. Peep his account of this month's Way Out West festival, which featured some of our fave artists like Kendrick Lamar, James Blake, Julia Holter, Public Enemy, Skaters, Autre Ne Veut, Grimes, Tame Impala, and more!
After a fantastic Swedish summer full of magical adventures and long, bright summer nights spent chasing sunrises, I dove into a shoal of music-lovers at Way out West in Gothenburg! This year's graphics (created by the Stockholm-based design studio Leon&Chris) took us into the ocean for a summer dip: amid the fluorescent jellyfish patterns brilliantly applied onto the trees, the audience was like small plankton moving in the constant stream of music flowing from the stages.
Way Out West has been steadily growing every year since it started in 2007. Now, it's one of the biggest and best music events in Sweden. The three-day festival is held in a park in the center of the city. After midnight, the festival spreads to clubs, churches, studios, and random places around town. Like the past years, this year's line-up was great. Unfortunately, one of the biggest names––Neil Young––canceled the day he was supposed to perform. But there were lots of fantastic moments and highlights. Here are a few.
After the first day, which featured bands like Tame impala, Johnossi, and Beach House, I rushed out of the festival to see the Shout Out Louds play in a huge, jam-packed film studio hangar in one of their best shows I have ever seen. When they left the stage, the audience broke into the band's "Tonight I Have to Leave It" song until the DJ started. It was like a bizarre heavy metal concert.
The second day, I unfortunately missed the awesome new band Amason, but managed to catch Bat for Lashes before Grimes, like a siren, lured everyone into the tent where she played. With her dreamy voice and dirty dance beats, she got the whole place bouncing! Right after that, it was time for Håkan Hellström, who made everyone at the festival stop and drop what they where doing. From a stage built to look like a cartoon of a Gothenburg street, he gave a performance like a sunset––becoming more and more beautiful, and ending in an explosion of confetti.
As midnight rolled around, an exploration of lights and lasers started at the big stage, where The Knife did a show––or was it a performance? Once again the siblings Dreijer managed to bend the concert concept with a group of dancers/musicians who played or lip-synced the songs. They made everyone dance and had everyone talking the next day. The day ended with a great hip-hop/gospel choir act in a hotel lobby in town.
The last day's line-up included great bands like Phosphorescent, Cat Power, Dungen, Ravi Coltrane, Taken by Trees, El Perro del Mar, Public Enemy, and James Blake. But my favorite highlight was Goat, who put everyone in a trance with their psychedelic-trip grooves. And Kendrick Lamar, who caused everyone to whip out their cellphones to capture the moment, with what looked like modern Zippo lighters. The festival ended like a funeral––in a church with the fantastic voice of Mariam the Believer.
Thank you for the music, Way Out West!
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A couple at the festival lake
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Håkan Hellström making hi
After a fantastic Swedish summer full of magical adventures and long, bright summer nights spent chasing sunrises, I dove into a shoal of music-lovers at Way out West in Gothenburg! This year's graphics (created by the Stockholm-based design studio Leon&Chris) took us into the ocean for a summer dip: amid the fluorescent jellyfish patterns brilliantly applied onto the trees, the audience was like small plankton moving in the constant stream of music flowing from the stages.
Way Out West has been steadily growing every year since it started in 2007. Now, it's one of the biggest and best music events in Sweden. The three-day festival is held in a park in the center of the city. After midnight, the festival spreads to clubs, churches, studios, and random places around town. Like the past years, this year's line-up was great. Unfortunately, one of the biggest names––Neil Young––canceled the day he was supposed to perform. But there were lots of fantastic moments and highlights. Here are a few.
After the first day, which featured bands like Tame impala, Johnossi, and Beach House, I rushed out of the festival to see the Shout Out Louds play in a huge, jam-packed film studio hangar in one of their best shows I have ever seen. When they left the stage, the audience broke into the band's "Tonight I Have to Leave It" song until the DJ started. It was like a bizarre heavy metal concert.
The second day, I unfortunately missed the awesome new band Amason, but managed to catch Bat for Lashes before Grimes, like a siren, lured everyone into the tent where she played. With her dreamy voice and dirty dance beats, she got the whole place bouncing! Right after that, it was time for Håkan Hellström, who made everyone at the festival stop and drop what they where doing. From a stage built to look like a cartoon of a Gothenburg street, he gave a performance like a sunset––becoming more and more beautiful, and ending in an explosion of confetti.
As midnight rolled around, an exploration of lights and lasers started at the big stage, where The Knife did a show––or was it a performance? Once again the siblings Dreijer managed to bend the concert concept with a group of dancers/musicians who played or lip-synced the songs. They made everyone dance and had everyone talking the next day. The day ended with a great hip-hop/gospel choir act in a hotel lobby in town.
The last day's line-up included great bands like Phosphorescent, Cat Power, Dungen, Ravi Coltrane, Taken by Trees, El Perro del Mar, Public Enemy, and James Blake. But my favorite highlight was Goat, who put everyone in a trance with their psychedelic-trip grooves. And Kendrick Lamar, who caused everyone to whip out their cellphones to capture the moment, with what looked like modern Zippo lighters. The festival ended like a funeral––in a church with the fantastic voice of Mariam the Believer.
Thank you for the music, Way Out West!
A couple at the festival lake
Håkan Hellström making hi