From the Southbank Centre:
"We are very excited to announce that musician/visual artist Antony is this year's Meltdown director.I am full of optimism for a change about the Meltdown with Antony Hegarty in charge! For the past few years, there has been so little worth seeing we just haven't bothered. In fact the last one we went to was Patti Smith's in 2005 (ironically featuring Antony)!
Since 1993, some of the world's most distinguished musicians including Nick Cave, John Peel, Laurie Anderson, Patti Smith, David Bowie and, most recently, Ray Davies, have directed Meltdown, hand-picking their ideal festival by inviting their favourite artists to play, perform and exhibit their work at Southbank Centre.
Meltdown 2012 sees Antony create a line-up of twelve days of music, debate and performance that reflects his interests, influences and passions.
Having begun his career in the New York underground scene, Antony emerged with Antony and the Johnsons in 1998 and shot to prominence with the Mercury Prize-winning album I am a Bird Now. Since then critical acclaim has followed each of his projects including the albums The Crying Light and Swanlights. His performances have ranged from collaborations with symphony orchestras and performance artists.
Antony has collaborated with a wide-ranging group of artists and musicians including Björk, Yoko Ono, Devendra Banhart, Rufus Wainwright, Laurie Anderson, CocoRosie and Lou Reed."
What surprises might we get from such an eclectic curator this year? Bjork? Yoko? Marc Almond?
We'll have to wait and see - the full list doesn't get published till summer. Meanwhile, here are some samples of the lovely Mr Hegarty's work:
And my personal favourite, with Hercules and Love Affair:
Antony's Meltdown takes place from 1st-12th August 2012 (just in time for my birthday!)
Meltdown Festival at the Southbank
I have all his albums - sadly I have never played any of them (it tends to happen when you have a huge music collection). I have always been waiting for the right mood to hit me - the songs I have heard are amazing!
ReplyDelete"it tends to happen when you have a huge music collection" - you don't have to tell me dear, we have more than 1000 CD albums alone (without counting vinyl LPs or CD singles, or the tracks stored on the PC waiting to be burned)... It's fun, if unmanageable! Jx
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