Giants of electronic beats, leading character of American hip-hop and the most important artists of the alternative music. Ten new names added to Open’er 2020 line-up: The Chemical Brothers, Playboi Carti, BANKS, YUNGBLUD, Angel Olsen, Seasick Steve, RÜFÜS DU SOL, Flohio, Inhaler and Sea Girls.
THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS
Several days ago, they had captured their 5th and 6th Grammy Award and today we announce – The Chemical Brothers are joining Open’er 2020! 25 years ago they released their debut album "Exit Planet Dust" and while many artists would have suffered from burnout, Ed Simmons and Tom Rowlands confirm their greatness with each new album. "Born In The Echoes" (2015) was their 6th record in a row, which reached the top of the best-selling albums in the UK. Their latest release "No Geography" (2019) was undoubtedly one of the most important albums in electronic music, which was confirmed by Grammy Awards in Best Dance/Electronic Album category and Best Dance Recording category for the song "Got to Keep On". Their spectacular show will close Orange Main Stage on the last day of Open’er.
PLAYBOI CARTI
In both music and trendsetter terms, Playboi Carti is undoubtedly one of the most promising characters in hip-hop culture today. His career breakthrough came in 2015, when he met one of his mentors - A$AP Rocky and then started working with the A$AP Mob collective. His first commercial mixtape was released in 2017 and it immediately attracted the general attention thanks to the pieces such like "Magnolia" and "Woke Up Like This". A year later, he released debut album "Die Lit", which hit number 3 on the Billboard 200. This year, Playboi Carti announced, that he has a new album on the way and on July 2 he will perform at Open'er!
BANKS
Even as a child, Jillian Banks loved to putting thoughts into paper. Her diary was full of notes, where she gave vent to all restless thoughts. With each subsequent year, this routine evolved into the ability to write unique lyrics and then music. Today, BANKS is one of the most interesting alternative artists. After the first Eps - "Fall Over" and "London" (2013), she released her debut album "Goddess" (2014) and opening acts for The Weeknd during his tour gave her international recognition. Releasing her second album "The Altar" (2016), she already had a strong position among the most important artists of her genre and her name was mentioned in a row next to Lorde or Lana Del Rey. Last year she released her third album “III”.
YUNGBLUD
Dominic Richard Harrison, known as YOUNGBLUD, broke into the music scene like a firecracker. His debut album "21st Century Liability" instantly gave him international recognition and his characteristic, inspired by rock and hip-hop style brought him legions of admirers. It was the bond that formed between the artist and his listeners that became the basis for last year's EP "The Underrated Youth". He said: “My fans are constantly telling me about the incredible things they’ve gone through, like coming out to their parents or transitioning to another gender. With every day, every gig, every DM, it’s become less and less about me and more about this whole collective of people coming together to fight for what we believe in.”
ANGEL OLSEN
Since her debut album "Half Way Home" (2012), Angel Olsen has been building the status of an extremely sensitive artist, exploring the dark recesses of human nature. After subsequent albums "Turn Your Fire for No Witness" (2014) and "My Woman" (2016), her latest record "All Mirrors" (2019) turned out to be groundbreaking and made her one of the most promising characters of the alternative music in recent years. According to Q Magazine “All Mirrors” is “startling and breathtakingly beautiful”, while Pitchfork immediately named it Best New Album and the promo track “Lark” was called Best New Track.
SEASICK STEVE
"I live in the world of going out and rocking, you know. We do our best, every night. If someone has taken the trouble to spend their money to come and see us play, then we owe them to deliver" - this quote says everything about raw, blues-rock energy of Seasick Steve. Although his long, gray beard could suggest otherwise, the artist has been present on the music scene for only a dozen years. During this time, he managed to release 9 albums, and announced a new record for this spring. Welcome to Open'er!
RÜFÜS DU SOL
The Australian trio RÜFÜS DU SOL is a real treat for fans of electronic music. The group consisting of Tyrone Lindqvist, Jon George and James Hunt, has released three albums so far - "Atlas" (2013), "Bloom" (2016) and "Solace" (2018). As they admit, with the last one they are charting new territory and exploring deeper subgenres. The whole also translates into phenomenal live-acts, which in recent years have become the flagship of RÜFÜS DU SOL.
FLOHIO
Flohio becomes one of the most interesting newcomers in the British rap scene. Her recognition began to increase after recording the song "Bands" for the popular COLORS series. Soon after, the single "Watchout" was released, which received the title of Best New Music from Pitchfork. However, on the EP released in 2018, 'Wild Yout' developed its dynamic flow. Since then, Flohio has become more and more often called the "artist worth watching". Guardian baptized her as " UK rap's most vital new voice" and the BBC listed her on the BBC Sound of 2019.
INHALER
Members of the Irish formation met at a school in Dublin and they quickly noticed that they share the love to the same kind of music - dirty rock under the sign of The Stone Roses, Joy Division, The Strokes, Interpol and The Cure. Last year, they released 3 well-received singles - "It Won't Always Be Like This", "My Honest Face" and "Ice Cream Sundae" which has already been streamed over 8 million times. The band will perform at Alter Stage.
SEA GIRLS
Sea Girls is a band formed by school friends from Leicester, united by their love of rock giants like Arctic Monkeys, Foals, Kings Of Leon and The Killers. Although at the beginning all members performed in other bands, after the first concert together they decided to focus on Sea Girls. They released their first EP "Call Me Out” in 2017, and year after that new releases appeared on the market - "Heavenly War" and "Adored". Sea Girls are planning to release another EP in March.