Six for 6Music: who should play the festival?

Bristol has been announced as the host city for next year’s 6Music Festival. Primal Scream top the bill, while local acts announced so far include Tricky, Roni Size and The Blue Aeroplanes. 

Expect a few more Bristol people to be added to the bill between now and February, and with only Pinch and Beak> to represent music that’s emerged from the city in the last ten years or so there are more than enough to choose from. 

We asked our regular music writers to each nominate six Bristol bands or artists they’d like to see booked for the festival. There’s a bit of everything here – metal to jazz, grime to indie, synth explorers to singer-songwriters.

But we know we’re just scratching the surface though. Who do you think should play?

LOU TRIMBY: MY SIX FOR 6

Trust Fund 
Grungy indie-pop with a subtle lo-fi sensibility, Trust Fund combine disparate influences to stunning effect as reviews of their albums No One’s Coming For Us and Seems Unfair attest. If they play, see them. 

Idles
Some of the fiercest, heaviest and most intense post-punk you’ll hear all decade. Idles (pictured top) also have great tunes and a do-not-miss-their shows reputation, which they always live up to. Album coming in 2016.

This Is The Kit 
Kate Stables and Co. make some of the finest indie-folk music you’ll hear. Clever, heartfelt lyrics and superb arrangements make for a spellbinding band. 6Music love them so they’d be mad not to book ‘em. 

Oliver Wilde 
Making lo-fi bedroom indie electronica sound effortless, Oliver Wilde could be the soundtrack to a hip yet accessible film where the geek gets the girl and almost keeps her. 

The Fauns 
Squalls and walls of guitar, electronic washes and subtle, almost-there vocals. The Fauns make shoegaze interesting again by twisting it into all sorts of cinematic shapes. 

She Makes War 
A supremely gifted singer, songwriter, arranger and multi-instrumentalist, Laura Kidd makes astonishingly good multi-layered, heartfelt songs. At times they have a woozy psychedelic tilt; at times they’re fierce and sharp as hell.

TONY BENJAMIN: MY SIX FOR 6

Get The Blessing
Powered by Portishead’s rhythm section, this lot have taken the UK jazz world by storm. They add demented jazz-rock sax and trumpet to seethingly driven rhythms – shaking it good and hard.

Three Cane Whale
Cerys loves ‘em and rightly so – their delicate acoustic constructions combine ancient folk and contemporary classical ideas to weave an entirely original new musical tradition.

Koan Sound 
Like so many worthy Bristolian predecessors these two bedroom boffins of the post-dubstep world deconstruct electronic dance music into abstract electronic confections at the fringe of danceability.

Will Gregory Moog Ensemble
When Mr Goldfrapp lets this host of local keyboard wizards loose with his collection of vintage synth technology they make the ultimate analogue soundscapes rich in textures they just don’t make anymore.

Eyebrow 
Bristol’s answer to Nordic Noir, the spare precision of a drum kit paired with haunting FX-mutated trumpet echoing back from a cliff-bound fjord has an ageless simplicity that belies how subtle and clever the music is. 

Bristol Fantasy Orchestra 
Where else will you hear a 40-piece orchestra with a 20-strong choir make an impeccable rendition of I Am The Walrus or a classic Ennio Morricone theme tune, let alone a full orchestral treatment of Foxy Lady? ‘More is more’.

ADAM BURROWS: MY SIX FOR 6

Kahn
While best known for grime and dubstep, Bristol producer Kahn has bossed everything from speaker-wrecking dancehall dub (Gorgon Sound, with regular collaborator Neek) to strung-out electronica (Young Echo collective). 

The Dead Astronaut
James McKeown’s debut as The Dead Astronaut contrasts the glamour and danger of the space age with the earthbound struggles of a man in crisis. One of the most ambitious and well-crafted albums of 2015.

Split Prophets
The Bristol rap scene is worth a 6Music (or 1Xtra perhaps) showcase in its own right. This lot have played with everyone from Wu-Tang Clan to DJ Premier and their rowdy, booze ‘n’ weed infused bars sound as good on wax as they do on stage. 

The Hysterical Injury
An exquisite missing link between Fugazi and Kate Bush, this sister and brother duo combine bruising noise-rock with sparkling melodic hooks. For evidence check out their 2015 EP Blood Burst. 

Vessel
Leftfield sounds have long thrived in Bristol, with everything from doom metal to improv and experimental electronica on offer. Vessel’s blend of techno, industrial music and home-made instruments is a wonderful place to start exploring the city’s outer reaches. 

Sam Binga
Bristol’s contributions to urban dance music didn’t end when Reprazent won the Mercury Prize. Sam Binga’s 2015 album Wasted Days is an irresistible cocktail of jungle, grime, hip-hop and footwork featuring a serious array of hard-hitting guest vocals. 

ROBIN ASKEW: MY SIX FOR 6

Onslaught
One of Bristol’s great musical exports, thrash metal veterans Onslaught actually got even better after their 2005 reunion. Their Live at the O2 Academy DVD is out in February.

Gonga
Ultra-hairy, ribcage-rattling instrumental metal trio who do a brilliant version of Black Sabbath with Portishead’s Beth Gibbons on vocals.

ANTA
Hugely impressive, trippy instrumental prog-metallers, with a strong emphasis on melody amid all the excellent musicianship.

Tax the Heat
Sharp of suit and heavy of riff, Tax the Heat hark back to old-school r’n’b (when it actually meant rhythm and blues) with a metal-friendly edge that has just landed them a deal with the Nuclear Blast label.

BlackWolf
Vulpine, cliche-dodging, soulful classic rockers with a truly excellent vocalist in Scott Sharp. Their second album’s out in early 2016.

Turbowolf
Further vulpine rockers, albeit of an entirely different hue, who scavenge sounds from a variety of genres (metal, psychedelia, garage rock, electronica, etc.) and somehow manage to patch it all together superbly.

SERENA CHERRY: MY SIX FOR 6

The Weary Band
Beautiful folky indie combined with philosophical lyrics.

The Naturals
A dreamy wall of climactic indie noise.

Robin Allender
Bristol’s answer to James Yorkston.

Scarlatti Tilt
Hauntingly dark, piano based songs.

Onedice
The greatest metalcore band ever to emerge from the UK.

Burning Skies
Complex, energetic thrash / grindcore.  

NGAIO ANYIA: MY SIX FOR 6

Eva Lazarus
The former frontwoman of Dub Mafia, Eva Lazarus is sprinkling her magic over a range of genres guaranteed to get the crowd moving. Sweet three part harmonies, strong lyrics and interesting melodies make each show a treat for the ears as well as the eyes.

Mr Woodnote & Lil Rhys
Fresh lyrics over on-the-spot beats by Mr Woodnote on sax, clarinet and a beast of a loop pedal. A new album dropped this year featuring the previously mentioned Eva Lazarus.

Jackson
An eight-piece band organised around grooves written by keyboard extraordinaire Jack Baldus. If you’re after a night of funky, soulful, groove-tastic music then this is the band for you. Their energy is fire!

Armchair Committee
Sweat-drenched swamp rock, full of energy and melody. What a busy year these guys have had! Touring, expanding their fan base by the day – they’ve even been given Doc Martens. True rock star status! 

Sounds of Harlowe
Frontman and lyricist Solomon O-B brings thoughtful lyrics to the stage, telling stories atop big band sounds. Each song takes the listener on a journey, building to satisfying heights. Definitely a group to watch.

Mama Jerk and the Ladyfingers
Multilingual gypsy dub fresh from the hills of the Dordogne, bottled in France and enjoyed in venues all over the South. Interesting chord changes and surprising breakdowns. They will have you dripping with sweat by the end of the show. 

ADAM QUARSHIE: MY SIX FOR 6 

Ishan Sound
It would be impossible not to mention the Young Echo crew, all of whom deserve a mention in their own right, but Ishan Sound stands out as a purveyor of particularly cantankerous dubs.

Sasha Steppa
A young DJ tirelessly pushing Bristol’s roots heritage.

Giant Swan
Recently supported the incredibly intense New Jersey hardcore/rap band Ho99o9, this Bristol band makes unpredictable psychedelic noise using only guitars, effects and pedals.

Kayla Painter
Audio-visual artist and producer making glitchy soundscapes floating in a post-garage ether. 

Clarity
Another young producer keeping Bristol’s drum & bass heritage alive, creating dark, minimal and ominous beats, influenced as much by the sparse production of techno as by jungle. 

Boofy
One of Bristol’s new generation of grime producers – creating a West Country version of an east London sound.

MY SIX FOR 6:  JONATHON KARDASZ 

Flowerpot
A great young outfit, full of confidence and greater than the sum of their influences; they cite grunge as an inspiration but they’re much more than a generic 21st century rock outfit.

Ulysses
They can’t make their mind up whether they want to be a psychedelic beat group or a riff stomping 70s glam monster so happily they do both, with the addition of exquisite harmonies. [they’re actually from Bath – Ed].

John E Vistic 
John plays superbly crafted Americana but put him on a stage with the John E Vistic Experience and he’ll pin your ears back with balls-out, primal rock n roll; a man for all tastes? You betcha.

Rita Lynch
A local legend – purveyor of short, sharp songs, refreshingly free of solos, delivered with passion, verve and commitment; underpinned by a Motorik beat anchored with muscular melodic bass.

Husky Tones
Their first recording Time for a Change is a superbly crafted modern blues record. With their second Husky Tones promise to stir up the mix with some genre twisting sounds to invent a new blues.

Billy in the Lowground
It is a mandatory requirement of all West Country festivals that there is a copious supply of cider, and a copious supply of Billy in the Lowground. They deliver a massively catchy folk / rock / whatever the mood calls for vibe that requires, no, demands dancing like a loon.

SIX OF THE BEST: VARIOUS CONTRIBUTORS

The St Pierre Snake Invasion
One of the most intense bands to emerge from Bristol in years, TSPSI are punk in every sense of the word, with scorching live shows and biting lyrics. The aural equivalent of being flayed in a sandstorm. (Lou Trimby)

Buggsy
This rapid-flow Rasta is widely thought of as Bristol’s most skilful rapper. Equally at home at hip-hop shows, dub soundsystems or grime and jungle raves, he has a well-earned reputation for burying the competition.  (Adam Burrows)

Rhain
Bristol’s answer to Joanna Newsom, pianist and singer Rhain’s moody and playful songs are delivered with growing poise and power. (Louis Emanuel)

SJ Esau
Bristol excels at the wonkier end of pop, and somehow SJ Esau’s blend of hip-hop, rock and electronica remains one of its best kept secrets. His superb 2014 album Exploding Views was one of that year’s most mystifyingly overlooked releases.  (Adam Burrows)

Goan Dogs
Still waiting for their big break, this “calypso sleaze” band have already had 6 Music airtime and praise from Guy Garvey himself.  (Louis Emanuel)

False Lights
New project from award-winning folk genius Jim Moray. Imagine Fairport Convention with a ‘this one goes up to eleven approach’. Traditional folk songs played louder, harder and faster and with an unparalleled, inventive joyousness. (Lou Trimby)

We could go on and on, but it’s over to you. Who have we missed?