From the depths of the wasteland in Ghent comes a new festival, aptly named Wastelands, taking place Saturday August 11 2012. Though only on their first edition, Wastelands have managed to put together quite the line-up, programming no less than 5 quality acts for your ears.

All of them completely exclusive too! From the enigmatic, cathartic John Maus to cult figure nick nicely and from trance doll Pictureplane to subtle disco diva Maria Minerva, with some crooning by Street Gnar to top it all off.

Unique not just for their line-up, but also for their organic and ecological approach, Wastelands is sure to turn a few heads. Catering will be taken care of by Vegan Peasant, bringing vegan food with a creative spin all the way from Hackney, London.

Location is DOK, a former industrial site turned all-round venue.

Line-Up

John Maus (US)

With songs that act as manifests and an intense live performance, John Maus is perhaps the most unique artist of the last decade. Having played keyboards for friends Ariel Pink, Animal Collective and Panda Bear, he was inspired to do his own thing. Last year he released his third and best album We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves to critical acclaim.

Nick Nicely (UK/DE)

This one’s completely exclusive for Wastelands. Now residing in Hamburg but originally from the UK where he caused quite the stir in the 80s organising illegal raves. Though at the start underrated as psychedelic songwriter he gained cult status over time. Leading indie label Captured Tracks (cfr. Dum Dum Girls, Beach Fossils) recently released an LP that featured a compilation of his stand-out tracks.

Pictureplane (US)

Travis Egedy has been doing his thing since 2004 but stayed under the radar till 2009 when Dark Rift was released after which he toured with both HEALTH and Washed Out. His 2011 follow-up Thee Physical gained him an even more dedicated following. Bringing eurohouse and trance back to the forefront, Pictureplane’s performances turn into a rave time and time again.

Maria Minerva (ESTONIA/UK)

Calling her own music 21^st-century folk music, Maria Minerva dissolves the boundaries between the bedroom and the dancefloor by creating a sort of subtle disco music that’s entirely her own. Being involved with both Not Not Fun and 100% Silk – the most cutting edge labels when it comes to electronic music right now – Maria showcases that she’s not just another fish in the (musical) sea.

Street Gnar (US)

Kentucky born and raised youngster Case Mahan felt a little lonely having moved to NY and so decided to work on his film projects. Eventually he turned to music and made accompanying videos. In a short period of time he churned out two excellent albums that you can stream on his Bandcamp account.

His songs are all heartbreaking, sneery, delightful pop gems. For fans of Kurt Vile and The War on Drugs.

More info:

Wastelands Festival
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