TGE 2014 TOP SIX HIGHLIGHTS - MAMMUT (ALTERNATIVE, ICELAND)
It seems like ages since Brighton's prestigious little scamp of a music festival, The Great Escape popped up across a variety of clubs, bars and secret locations to showcase new music from several hundred artists around the globe. The ominous thuds of drum sets, the warm smell of spilt beer residue, the fluttering of self-important delegate passes in the coastal breeze, we remember it fondly. So, with all that retrospective sop out of the way, we have come up with a list of our top six highlights (two from each respective day of the festival) of who entertained and who left us baying for more after the lights went down and the club doors closed.
Mammút (Iceland // Above Audio, Saturday 10th May).
One of the big surprises for us over the duration of the festival was Icelandic band Mammút. Now, any music connoisseur worth their weight in salt will know that Iceland is renowned for nurturing some extraordinary artists. There must be something in the geothermal waters or Arctic air that keeps Icelandic people so in tune with their senses and creative output.
This Reykjavik five piece led by the charismatic and enchanting Katrína 'Kata' Mogensen produced a memorable set delivered with quirky Nordic charm and rousing visual aesthetic; Mogensen's pagan incantations and ritualistic dancing served as the perfect conduit, bathing the crowd in a noxious blend of guitars, bass reverb and imposing drums. Each song played continued to build, harnessing each instrumental input into a huge mood-rock beast. Mammút work in equilibrium, the static non-entities of the other band members as they concentrated on their craft were excellently balanced against the seemingly 'possessed' Mogensen; the desolate introductory sequences are complimented by a stampede of sound towards the end. Balance. Music for those seeking an aural utopia.
Check out the single "Salt" via the Soundcloud link below then be sure to share, re-tweet, re-post this review and spread the new music love.
Mammút (Iceland // Above Audio, Saturday 10th May).
One of the big surprises for us over the duration of the festival was Icelandic band Mammút. Now, any music connoisseur worth their weight in salt will know that Iceland is renowned for nurturing some extraordinary artists. There must be something in the geothermal waters or Arctic air that keeps Icelandic people so in tune with their senses and creative output.
This Reykjavik five piece led by the charismatic and enchanting Katrína 'Kata' Mogensen produced a memorable set delivered with quirky Nordic charm and rousing visual aesthetic; Mogensen's pagan incantations and ritualistic dancing served as the perfect conduit, bathing the crowd in a noxious blend of guitars, bass reverb and imposing drums. Each song played continued to build, harnessing each instrumental input into a huge mood-rock beast. Mammút work in equilibrium, the static non-entities of the other band members as they concentrated on their craft were excellently balanced against the seemingly 'possessed' Mogensen; the desolate introductory sequences are complimented by a stampede of sound towards the end. Balance. Music for those seeking an aural utopia.
Check out the single "Salt" via the Soundcloud link below then be sure to share, re-tweet, re-post this review and spread the new music love.
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