Friday, June 15, 2018

Robert's BBC 6 playlist


Missed it or want to hear it again? Listen here.

Psychedelic Furs - India
Placebo - The Bitter End
65daysofstatic - Radio Protector
Vessels - Radiart
Alcest - Kodama
Eat Static (with Robert) - In All Worlds
Suzanne Vega - Small Blue Thing
God is an Astronaut - Shores of Orion
Death Cab For Cutie - The New Year
Maybeshewill - Sanctuary
Kiasmos - Drawn
MONO - Halo
The Libertines - Heart of the Matter
The Notwist - Boneless
Manic Street Preachers - A Design for Life
Deftones - Anniversary of An Uninteresting Event
NIN - Every Day Is Exactly the Same
Low - Point of Disgust
Kristin Hersh - Crooked
My Bloody Valentine - Blown a Wish
Frightened Rabbit - I Feel Better
Mogwai - Batcat
The Cure - The Same Deep Water As You
Posted by Craig at 3:07 PM

Robert on BBC 6 Music today





Posted by Craig at 9:30 AM

Full schedule of Meltdown events


Thought it might be useful, or at least interesting, to compile the full list of Meltdown events here. If I missed anything, please let me know. And to everyone going, whether to one event or all of them, have a fantastic time! It's an amazing lineup, and if I could be there, I'd be at every show possible. Excellent job of curating, Robert! Congratulations on such a superb event, and best wishes on everything running as smoothly as possible with the minimum amount of hassles. Cheers!


June 15th

Royal Festival Hall
Friday Lunch: I'm in Love
7:30 PM Psychedelic Furs and The Church⠀
Friday I'm in Love Party

Queen Elizabeth Hall
Friday Tonic: I'm in Love
7:30 PM 65daysofstatic and Tropic of Cancer⠀
11 PM Concrete Lates: Kiasmos DJ set

Purcell Room
7:45 PM Joycut and Indian Queens


June 16th

Royal Festival Hall
Buskers Stage
7:30 PM Placebo and kaelan mikla⠀

Queen Elizabeth Hall
7:30 PM The Notwist and Drahla
11 PM Concrete Lates: Vessels DJ set and live

Purcell Room
7:45 PM Jambinai and Tropic of Cancer


June 17th

Royal Festival Hall
Sunday Surprises
1-1:30 PM False Advertising
2-2:30 PM De Rosa
3-3:30 PM Is Bliss
4-4:30 PM Midas Fall
5-5:45 PM The Penelopes
6:15-7 PM Kagoule

7:30 PM The Libertines and Yonaka⠀

Queen Elizabeth Hall
7:30 PM Alcest and Emma Ruth Rundle

Purcell Room
7:45 PM Loop and Planning For Burial


June 18th

Royal Festival Hall
7:30 PM Death Cab for Cutie and Fear of Men

Queen Elizabeth Hall
7:30 PM God is an Astronaut and Jambinai

Purcell Room
7:45 PM Emma Ruth Rundle and Planning for Burial


June 19th

Royal Festival Hall
7:30 PM Manic Street Preachers and The Anchoress

Queen Elizabeth Hall
Frightened Rabbit and Pumarosa
"We are deeply saddened by the recent loss of Scott Hutchison. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and the band at this difficult time.
In agreement with their management, we have decided not to replace Frightened Rabbit for the forthcoming show on 19 June as part of Meltdown. That night, out of respect to Scott and Frightened Rabbit, Queen Elizabeth Hall will stay dark. All ticket holders will be fully refunded.
Pumarosa, who were due to support Frightened Rabbit, will now perform on our riverside stage during Meltdown on 24 June, free to the public.

7:30 PM Mental Health and the Music Industry
The music industry has seen a number of devastating losses of life in recent years, and ever-increasing numbers of musicians are speaking out in the media and in their songs about struggles with mental health.

Musicians Kristin Hersh (Throwing Muses), Stefan Olsdal (Placebo) and Dizraeli, along with mental health professionals from Help Musicians, discuss the current state of mental health in the music industry. The conversation is moderated by clinical psychologist Dr Jay Watts.

This special event replaces the cancelled Frightened Rabbit performance in Queen Elizabeth Hall on 19 June.


Purcell Room
7:45 PM Vex Red and Douglas Dare


June 20th

Royal Festival Hall
7:30 PM Deftones and pg.lost⠀

Queen Elizabeth Hall
7:30 PM Low and Jo Quail
Jónsi, Alex Somers & Paul Corley: Liminal

Purcell Room
7:45 PM Moon Duo and Hilary Woods


June 21st

Royal Festival Hall
8 PM Mogwai and Kathryn Joseph⠀

Queen Elizabeth Hall
7:30 PM Kristin Hersh and Matt Holubowski
Jónsi, Alex Somers & Paul Corley: Liminal

Purcell Room
7:45 PM pg.lost and Thought Forms


June 22nd

Royal Festival Hall
Friday Lunch: I'm in Love
7:30 PM Nine Inch Nails and Black Moth Super Rainbow⠀
Friday I'm in Love Party

Queen Elizabeth Hall
Friday Tonic: I'm in Love
7:30 PM Mono and Jo Quail
Jónsi, Alex Somers & Paul Corley: Liminal

Purcell Room
7:45 PM The Joy Formidable and Kidsmoke


June 23rd

Royal Festival Hall
Buskers Stage
5:30 PM Meltdown Big Busk
7:30 PM My Bloody Valentine and The Soft Moon

Queen Elizabeth Hall
7:30 PM Suzanne Vega and James Walsh
11 PM Concrete Lates: Eat Static DJ set

Purcell Room
7:45 PM And Also the Trees and A Dead Forest Index


June 24th

Royal Festival Hall
Sunday Surprises
1-1:30 PM Kite Base
2-2:30 PM Martinez
3-3:30 PM Blue Crime
4-4:30 PM Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard
5-5:30 PM Skinny Girl Diet
6-7 PM Pumarosa

7:30 PM CURÆTION-25 - Robert Smith and 'Curious Friends' and The Twilight Sad
10:30 PM Melted afterparty

Queen Elizabeth Hall
7:30 PM Maybeshewill and I Like Trains

Purcell Room
6:30 PM The Soft Moon and The KVB
Posted by Craig at 9:20 AM

Tuesday, June 12, 2018

Important Meltdown ticket info

Anyone waiting for e-tickets for Meltdown:
'We identified a glitch in our system which meant that not all e-tickets were generated as expected. We’re in the process of rectifying the issue, They’ll come in a separate email from no-reply@southbankcentre.co.uk. Some email providers often move these to your spam/junk folders. If for whatever reason they don’t arrive by the day of the show please bring your confirmation email with you to the ticket office and we’ll happily print these onto physical tickets for you there." Thanks, @mattsmudge.
Posted by Craig at 11:51 AM

Last chances for a Meltdown




Posted by Craig at 11:49 AM

Robert interview with Time Out London


Another new interview with Robert, this one in Time Out London. Some excerpts:

Let’s talk about Meltdown. Have you been to Meltdown shows as a fan before?
'I came to see Bowie when he put on his Meltdown [in 2002]. I saw all his [Meltdown] shows, actually. And I saw Tricky one year. I think the curator was… Oh, I’m terrible. Reggae bloke, wears a tinfoil hat.’

Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry?
'Yes! I saw Tricky at that festival. It was one of the weirdest backstages I’ve ever been to in my life – you could cut through the smoke with a knife. So yeah, I’ve been to a few over the years, and it’s an honour to be able to put it together.'

Does it feel weird doing something like this solo, not as The Cure?
'I’ve never done anything this public where it’s just me. It wasn’t how I intended it at all – it was going to be The Cure’s Meltdown. But this big Hyde Park show came up at the same time and they were very iffy about exclusivity, so it became my Meltdown. It’s actually a good thing, because it would have been utterly impractical to have a five-piece curating a festival. We can’t even agree what to listen to on a tour bus.’

A lot of the bands you’ve picked are from the same sort of era and genre. Was that deliberate?
'I wasn’t trying to be everything to everyone. I listen to loads of stuff, and none of it’s suitable for Meltdown – if I started to bring it all in, it’d be a right hotch-potch. So I limited it to bands that were really great live bands. I’ve always been drawn to more emotional music, and they all wear their hearts on their sleeve.’

They’re major acts too.
'I went on Wikipedia and looked at everyone else’s line-ups and thought: Right, I’ll just aim ridiculously high. So my first invitation was to The Rolling Stones. They knocked me back,
but my next shortlist of acts all said yes, which I was incredibly honoured by.’

You announced Frightened Rabbit for the line-up a month before the tragic death of their frontman Scott Hutchison. How did that make you feel?
'It’s awful. They were one of the bands that I was really, really looking forward to seeing. I’ve been listening to them for ten years. I’ve never met him, but I feel I know him because of his voice.’

I’ve heard that you want to watch every single band at the festival. Is that possible?
'Theoretically it’s possible. I’m not sure if it’s physically or mentally possible, but I intend to try. How I will feel by day six, I’m not sure.’

And what are you planning for your own show: Curætion 25?
'The show that I’m constructing for the final night is utterly different to anything we’ve done for a long time. There was something on the website saying the audience is encouraged to stand. I was like, hold on! I’m putting together a show that is utterly morose! Hyde Park’s a big festival vibe, Meltdown’s going to be two hours of doom and gloom. We probably won’t be playing the big singles.’

Did you expect to still be playing shows at all, at nearly 60?
'No. If I had ever been intent on being the number one band in the world and was still relentlessly banging my head against that particular wall, I would hopefully be dead – and if not, I would just be a moron. The process was what I enjoyed: to be an artist, if I want to be poncy about it. Everything The Cure’s ever done is purely selfish. I’ve only got one life, and I should really be doing stuff that brings me satisfaction. Anyway, one day my hair will all fall out and I won’t look gothic any more. So just wait for that.’
Posted by Craig at 8:04 AM

Jetstream Pony with Robert

Posted by Craig at 7:50 AM

Meltdown posters, prints, postcards, t-shirts


Posted by Craig at 7:45 AM
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