With just two weeks to go, Body & Soul today reveals the final additions to its line-up. The festival takes place over three nights this June in the unique location of Ballinlough Castle, Co Westmeath.
Body & Soul has already won a number of awards for its combintion of stunning visual art and excellent music acts. The theme for this year’s festival is the “Ouroboros” dragon, the serpent with regenerative powers.
The final additions to the line up are:
Lee Fields, WhoMadeWho, Trojan Sound System, Jacques Greene, Fish Go Deep, New Jackson, Land Lovers, Patrick Pulsinger, Vondelpark, Reid, SertOne, The Bambir, Moscow Metro and West Cork Ukulele Orchestra.
Lee Fields is an artist in the middle of a regeneration. With releases that span over 40 years, the North Carolina native has never sounded so good thanks to his releases on Truth & Soul Records. Appearing together with the Expressions, Fields is sure to perform songs from his acclaimed ‘My World’ and ‘Faithful Man’ albums – and his soulful, tender music is the perfect soundtrack for sunny Ballinlough.
WhoMadeWho are also inspired by funk, but the Danish three-piece’s music is driven by the punk-funk and no wave of New York in the 70s rather than southern soul. Having recently released a new album, ‘Brighter’, for Michael Mayer’s Kompakt label, Tomas Barfod, Tomas Hoffding and Jeppe Kjellberg are sure to wow festival-goers with cheeky cover versions and their angular funk workouts.
Taking the tempo down will be the Trojan Sound System, who perform at the new Body & Soul Upstage. Representing the long-running UK reggae label, Trojan Sound System comprises Earl Gateshead on the decks and Superfour and Chucky Banton on vocals. The Soundsytem members have worked with everyone from Lee Perry to Tippa Irie, Horace Andy and Gregory Isaacs, so expect some serious sub-bass, stepping rhythms and the best of new and old reggae.
From reggae to house music, Body & Soul encompasses a wide range of styles and sounds. Jacques Greene, also performing at Upstage, represents the new wave of house producers and the precocious Canadian DJ/producer has released his melodic, evocative grooves on the Lucky Me label as well as on Bok Bok and L-Vis’ Night Slugs imprint.
Joining Greene at Body & Soul’s Upstage are two great Irish house acts. Fish Go Deep is the stage name for long-serving Cork DJs Shane Johnson and Greg Dowling, who were the resident DJs at Cork’s long-running Sweat night. Fish Go Deep scored a big hit with ‘The Cure & The Cause’ back in 2005 and are set to unveil deep, blissed out tracks from their upcoming album, ‘Draw the Line’ on their own label, Go Deep.
New Jackson is the house music alter ego for Dublin singer/songwriter David Kitt. Having released an excellent EP on Pogo last year, Kitt brings his melodic, vocal-tinged music to Body & Soul.
On a different tip are five-piece band Land Lovers. With two albums to their credit, the Dublin act evokes memories of classic 70s guitar pop like Television and Stiff Little Fingers and will bring a rousing, edgy energy to the rolling green fields of Ballinlough.
If festival-goers are looking for a more experimental experience, they should check out Patrick Pulsinger at Upstage and Vondelpark. Vienna-based electronic music producer Pulsinger has been making cutting-edge music for twenty years. Releasing mainly on his own Cheap label, Pulsinger’s music includes left of centre electro, abrasive techno and brooding ambience.
By contrast, Vondelpark is a relative newcomer and has just a few records out on R&S, but the UK producer’s fusion of dreamy vocals with indie guitars and broken beats have won him acclaim.
Eoghan Reid from Cork works as Reid and is sure to seduce the Body & Soul audience with his melodic, playful deep techno, while SertOne’s cosmic synths and heavy hip-hop beats will provide a more laid-back soundtrack for festival-goers to relax to.
From the electronic to the organic, Body & Soul also plays host to raucous folk-rockers The Bambir and the glacial art rock of Limerick band Moscow Metro. Meanwhile, festival favourites the West Cork Ukulele Orchestra complete the line-up, and are sure to entertain with inspired cover versions of popular songs like The Cure’s ‘Love Cats’.
Apart from the music, revellers can enjoy the labyrinth of stone-walled gardens and woodland walks or get spirited away to the lakeside Zen Gardens, where there will be over 30 therapists on hand to provide treatments.
Body & Soul also offers artisan foods, chilled cocktails, green crafts, a secluded Soul Kids garden and a range of stunning art installations as well as bubbling hot tubs in the forest, where festival goers can really escape the everyday world.
If this doesn’t tickle your fancy don’t forget Body & Soul’s flamboyant Saturday night masquerade ball. This year’s theme is ‘Shapeshifters’ and revellers are encouraged to put on a costume, don a mask and dance away underneath the stars.
