Time: 8pm - 12am
This UK trio have been labelled everything from dance-punk, to the new nu-wave, electro-pop, melodic song, and disco dance. Call them what you will, we can safely say that U.Ks Friendly Fires are undeniably one of the most exciting bands of 2009. We are pleased to announce their debut Australian tour surrounding an appearance at Splendour In The Grass this July.
Ed Macfarlane, Jack Savidge, and Edd Gibson have been playing together since they met at age 14, although they have come a long way since the days of their first band, post-hardcore outfit First Day Back. Nowadays they consider the artists on the German techno label Kompakt the greatest influence on their sound, and have been called leaders of the intelligent disco revolution.
The band released their debut self-titled record this year through XL Recordings in the UK also home to Peaches, The White Stripes, M.I.A. , Sigur Ros, and Vampire Weekend, just to name a few. Their track Paris received massive radio airplay and has been named Single Of the Week by The Guardian and NME, not to mention being amongst Pitchforks Best 100 Tracks Of 2008. Locally, the record was triple js Feature Album of the Week, and several tracks from the record have been added to high rotation nationally on both commercial and community radio.
The surprise is their sophistication; like Klaxons, theyre just fluorescent enough to keep club kids interested, but their real commitment is to sparkling, modern pop The Guardian (UK), 4 stars.
So after playing sell-out shows throughout Europe and the UK and opening for acts such as Interpol and Blur, we are very excited to finally have Friendly Fires heading our way in 2009. They will be appearing at the Splendour In The Grass in Byron Bay, along with as club shows in Perth, Sydney and Melbourne.
