YO!FEST 2017 | Maastricht, 6-7 February
THE WINNERS
Callum Stewart
Pop
Northern Ireland, UK
Raised on the North Coast of Ireland, singer/songwriter Callum Stewart picked up a guitar at the age of 12, and within a year was writing his own songs. Now 19 years old, Callum has an affinity for the craft of songwriting and musicianship far beyond his years, making him one of the most promising
promising young artists in Ireland. With swelling arrangements and heart stopping melodies, Stewart creates climactic, alt-pop marked by real emotion and raw passion.
Since the release of his second single 'Gold', on OLD FANG, Callum has sung with Nile Rodgers and Rudimental on the remix of the classic Chic song 'Le Freak', and has been writing with some of the UK's best songwriters, as well as performing at the famous Metropolis Studios in London. His newest single ‘Parachute,’ co-written with Jimbo Barry (The Script), Andrew Jackson (Bastille & Lana Del Ray) and Tre Sheppard was released on Friday 17th June via Hope & Fury Records. Parachute’s aching melody and soaring chorus underscore the darker themes of loss and heartbreak; a soundtrack for coming of age, an anthem for a journey well travelled, but somehow only just begun.
Climbing Trees
Cymrucana / Alternative / Indie / Folk
Wales, UK
Welsh four-piece CLIMBING TREES blend multi-instrumentalism with pin-point harmonies to create their distinctive Cymrucana sound.
The BBC Introducing favourites have made numerous television, radio and festival appearances over the past few years, as well as recording a live skkss
session at London's legendary Maida Vale Studios and performing with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.
Described as 'marvellously expansive' and 'the sound of your soul soaring' by critics, the band released their latest album 'Borders' through Staylittle Music to rave reviews this summer before being shortlisted for the 2016 Welsh Music Prize.
Efecto Venturi
Indie Rock
Spain
Efecto Venturi are a band formed by Daniel Durán (singer and bassman), Lucas Olazabal and Jonás Batuecas, that alternate between guitars and drums.
About a year and a half ago they decided to take their music and show it to the world, and since then have distinguished themselves as an upcoming band
band in the Spanish music scene. They have won the Madrid "Lanzadera" contest, played in the prestigious Sala Caracol and recently recorded a video clip for their song 'Las chicas vienen a vernos'.
Effervescence
Dubstep Trap
France
Effervescence is a 17 years old bass music producer from France. He has been producing for over 5 years now, and plays guitar in a metal and a jazz band. His main influences are Virtual Riot, Skrillex and Barely alive. He gets regular support on his production from acts such as Excision, PhaseOne and Downlink,
and he finished second on a worldwide contest hosted on Wavo. He is actually finishing his first album, however, there already around 10 tracks available on his soundcloud. He played lots of shows in the east of France, mainly in Besançon and Strasbourg, but he's willing to take this project to a whole new level, with the album , and playing shows outside of France.
THE HEADLINERS - FEB 6
Tout Va Bien
Pop / Electronic
Belgium
Tout Va Bien is a Belgian artist with a unique, deep, melodic and soulful voice. He has shown himself a natural talent in writing spherical songs, moody melodies and heartfelt lyrics on a layer of subtle electronic music.
Tout Va Bien released his debut album ‘Kepler Star’
in April 2015 in the Benelux countries (Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg) to critical acclaim. He was nominated for a Belgian MIA (Music Industry Award) in the category ‘Breaktrough’ in 2015.
‘Goodbye’ is the first single from a new – yet untitled – EP, scheduled for release in February 2017. Recorded and produced in London in March 2017 by noted producer & mix engineer Tim Bran (London Grammar, Birdy, The Verve, Halsey, La Roux,…). Additional producing by Ozan Bozdag.
FARA
Electronic
The Netherlands
Live electronic music from The Netherlands
Kakkmaddaffakka
Indie Rock
Norway
Kakkmaddafakka is a Norwegian indie rock band formed and based in Bergen. The band was formed by brothers Axel and Pål Vindenes, together with school friends Jonas Nielsen and Stian Sævig. All classically trained musicians, the band was formed to play a one-off show at a local youth centre, Ungdomshuset
Ungdomshuset 1880, but after positive response the band continued to play many live shows around Norway. Kakkmaddafakka released its first LP Down to Earth on 24 September 2007, which reached number twenty on the VG Topp30 Album list and brought the band nationwide attention in their native Norway. Since then, they went on to perform at numerous festivals including Iceland Airwaves, Montreux Jazz Festival, NXNE, CMJ Music Marathon, Southside Festival, Hurricane Festival, Eurosonic Festival, by:Larm, Area 4 Hove and Melt! Festival in Germany, where they were introduced on stage by prominent Bergen musician and friend Erlend Øye. In 2008, Kakkmaddafakka was also nominated as Best Norwegian Act in the MTV Europe Music Awards. The band has also released 3 more albums: Hest (2011), Six Months Is a Long Time (2013) and their latest one KMF (2016).
Weekend Safari
Indie
The Netherlands
Weekend Safari are a Maastricht based band with high ambitions but little diva behaviour, despite their pretty faces. They make indie music which can be described as fun, catchy, noisy, smooth, sexy, unpretentious, punky, uplifting.
THE HEADLINERS - FEB 7
Merdan Taplak Orkestar
Electronic / Balkan / Pop
Belgium
Merdan Taplak is a Belgian DJ, playing live with a party beatbrassband aka The Orkestar. One deejay, one accordionist and four brass musicians, all originating from Antwerp. No golden teeth, no suspenders or hats, no gipsy roots, but one hell of a
fiesta balkananica! Mashed up with electronica, bridging the gap between balkan- and popclassics.
Coely
Hip Hop / Soul
Belgium
Coely started her career at the age of 17 after someone heard her singing in a youth centre in downtown Antwerp. She signed to the independent record label Beatville (2012) while still in school. It was the start of an amazing rollercoaster ride.
Coely was born to be on stage and perform. At every concert, she’s visibly happy, displays a variety of skills and wins the hearts of the audience with her explosive energy. Her rapidly growing live reputation created new opportunities like opening for renouned artists such as Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Nas, Jessie Ware and De La Soul.After being crowned ‘Queen of the Festival Season’ by Studio Brussel in 2013, she will continue performing at major festivals like Dour (BE), Les Ardentes (BE), Sakifo Festival (FR), Marsatac (FR), Splash Festival (DE), Berlin Festival (DE), Dockville (DE), Paaspop (NL), Solar (NL), Welcome To The Village (NL) and about sixty other shows throughout Europe.
Roy Habets
Techno
The Netherlands
Roy Habets, part of the southern based Linke Soto collective, has been crawling in the Dutch underground for some time now. Being a genuine record collector, he has explored techno's depths in every sense of the word. For some time now Roy has
been working on Obscure Times, a project focusing on experimental techno and giving it an expression through music and abstract visuals. His efforts on putting his trademark dj sets and mixes out there, lead to performances at Axe City Parade in Brussels, Das Schiff in Basel and Doornroosje in Nijmegen, to name a few. Roy has been pushing boundaries ever since in pursuit for the perfect vibe on the dancefloor, but also for the home listener. Creating the ultimate atmosphere is also what thrives him as being a promotor for the Linke Soto parties. Together with good friend Dayak he can be held responsible for more experimental bookings in the region of Maastricht. Showing that promotors should try to educate people rather than showcasing them the known and expected.Lately Roy has been putting some work into his own music, exploring the studio space and achieving the ultimate goal of catching his musical imagination on tape.
Volt.mar
Techno
Switzerland
Volt.mar's DJ sets are contemplative journeys into deep hypnotic techno and dubby grooves. Being a passionate vinyl lover, he is fascinated by the purism, immediacy, warmth and unique aesthetics of the black wax and plays vinyl only. Recently, volt.mar has turned towards production and is working on his ooooo
vision of dubby and deep techno in the studio. In particular, together with his friend kelo he forges on fusion soundscapes of drone, experimental and dusky techno as kelovolt. Moreover, volt.mar runs the well-established minimood imprint and has just recently formed the new concept label project randform which intends to revive studio 1 type ultra-reduced minimalist techno.
Steve O'Sullivan
Techno / House / Dub
England, UK
Deep techno with a side helping of dub & house.