Festival
Plus the ones you shouldn't miss in 2017...
This month sees America's favourite desert festival return to Indio, California over two stacked weekends. The 2017 Coachella lineup might've lost a heavily pregnant Beyoncé (she'll now headline in 2018), but it's still stacked with big names including Kendrick Lamar, Radiohead, the xx, Bon Iver and Justice.
It wouldn't be Coachella, though, without a strong contingent of Australian acts. This year, everyone from The Avalanches to Anna Lunoe to Jagwar Ma will be there, plus of course Kiwi success story Lorde. The festival has been a rite of passage for many big names over the years, so we've taken a closer look at Coachella's Australian invasion. Read on for five standout sets from the past decade, and five acts you shouldn't miss in the desert this year.
FIVE AUSSIE ACTS THAT ACED COACHELLA THIS DECADE
Sia [Coachella Stage, 2016]
Coachella 2016 was a major event for Sia. The Adelaide-born superstar had an hour slot on Sunday's main stage, right before Calvin Harris closed it all out with a blitzkrieg of lasers and EDM anthems.
The festival marked Sia's first full live set in several years, so the setup was shrouded in mystery. The singer took a break from performing around 2010 to be a songwriter for hire, and when she returned with ‘1000 Forms of Fear’ in 2014, it was with a bold new aesthetic that hid her face in videos and press shots.
That enigmatic approach carried over to Sia’s Coachella set. The star performed stock-still with her face obscured by a wig, ceding the spotlight to her dancers and actors including Paul Dano and Kristen Wiig. While the choreography onstage was pretty experimental for a Coachella headliner, the crowd still had the thrill of Sia’s voice belting out her hits.
Tame Impala [Outdoor Theatre, 2013]
Perth psych-rock adventurers Tame Impala made a strong impression when they stepped up to Coachella's Outdoor Theatre in 2011. At that time they had a head-turning debut album, ‘Innerspeaker’, and a dreamy, reverb-soaked live show perfectly suited for a desert festival.
When Tame Impala returned to the Polo Fields in 2013, their following had really grown. The band scored a coveted evening slot on the Outdoor Theatre after Dinosaur Jr., and you can watch a section of the set below. It's a perfect snapshot of Coachella just as the sun is setting through the palm trees. By 2015, these boys from Perth were billed on Friday's main stage right before AC/DC.
The Presets [Mojave Tent, 2011]
Life was pretty crazy for The Presets following the release of their second album ‘Apocalypso’ in 2008. They sold out huge headline shows across Australia, played prime slots at festivals, and even made a sports stadium go ballistic at the Sound Relief benefit.
That momentum also carried the Modular Records recruits overseas, and in 2011 they landed a closing slot on Coachella's Mojave stage. By then, the Presets live show was a well-honed machine with non-stop ravey highs, which is exactly what you need at the end of a long day in the desert. The set earned the duo a tent full of fans who lost their collective shit for the ‘My People’ finale.
Cut Copy [Mojave Tent, 2011]
2011 was a busy year for the indie/electro sound at Coachella. Along with the Presets barnstormer you can see above, the line-up included Yacht, !!!, Robyn, Scissor Sisters, Yelle and Boys Noize. Then there were Melbourne favourites Cut Copy, who played on Friday after Sleigh Bells in the Mojave tent.
At the time, Cut Copy had just released their third album 'Zonoscope', following the success of 2008’s 'In Ghost Colours'. They had a strong American fan base at Coachella (plus the Aussie expats), so the tent packed out for their high-octane evening slot. As Pitchfork's Ian Cohen raved at the time, “Cut Copy did nothing other than hit one peak after another.” His conclusion? “Australian bands get the livest crowds here.” The sound in the video below is pretty rough, but you get the picture.
Flume [Gobi Tent, 2014]
It's almost surprising that Flume didn't make his Coachella debut until 2014. By then, the Sydney dynamo had been on the road for two years touring his self-titled debut album, with its follow-up ‘Skin’ still a work in progress.
Flume's first crack at Coachella was overdue, but at least he landed a prime slot on the Gobi stage. With a hyped crowd spilling out the sides of the tent, the producer stepped up behind his custom LED rig and got straight down to it.
With less than an hour onstage, his set hit on his album favourites, the big remixes of Hermitude and Disclosure, plus a brand-new flip of Lorde's ‘Tennis Court’. That remix was soon blowing up the blogs and now has 48 million YouTube plays. That's how you do a debut.It's almost surprising that Flume didn't make his Coachella debut until 2014. By then, the Sydney dynamo had been on the road for two years touring his self-titled debut album, with its follow-up ‘Skin’ still a work in progress.
FIVE AUSSIE ACTS YOU SHOULDN'T MISS AT COACHELLA 2017
Lorde [Sunday April 16 & 23]
Yes, Lorde is actually from New Zealand, but we'll continue the grand Australian tradition of claiming her as our own. She's the highest-billed antipodean act on the Coachella lineup, playing the main stage on Sunday night presumably right before headliner Kendrick Lamar.
Lorde was last at the festival in 2014, where she was fourth-billed on the Outdoor Theatre. At that time she was touring hard on the festival circuit following her debut album 'Pure Heroine', which included the breakout hits 'Royals' and 'Tennis Court'.
In the years since her first Coachella, Lorde has been putting in work on a follow-up album, ‘Melodrama’, which finally drops in June. The first two singles hint at a record with serious pop sheen, and you can expect ‘Green Light’ in particular to work wonders in the Indio desert.Lorde [Sunday April 16 & 23]
Jagwar Ma [Friday April 14 & 21]
Jagwar Ma has been stalking around on the scene since 2011, but the band's sound really came together on last year's ‘Every Now & Then’.
That album saw the Sydney trio take the songs they'd written to a remote studio in the French countryside to flesh them out. They then went to a secret facility in London where super-producer Ewan Pearson and legendary DJ Andrew Weatherall store their records. That backdrop makes perfect sense, because Weatherall's acid house spirit is all over ‘Every Now & Then’.
Jagwar Ma has a slot on Coachella's stacked Friday lineup alongside the likes of the xx, Empire of the Sun, Travis Scott and a little band called Radiohead. We're predicting an early evening slot on the Gobi or Mojave stage, which is exactly where their blissed-out, psychedelic sound belongs.
Anna Lunoe [Sunday April 16 & 23]
Aussie-in-LA Anna Lunoe first hit Coachella's Sahara stage in 2014, a booking she'd been dreaming about for years. She's back this year on Sunday's lineup alongside the likes of Kaytranada, DJ Khaled and Marshmello, and she's sure to bring plenty of new music on her USBs.
Lunoe is hitting Coachella as part of a tour across America promoting her next club jam 'Godzilla'. For a snapshot of the sounds she'll bring to the desert, check out her recent guest mix on BBC Radio 1’s Diplo & Friends. This hour-long set has some crossover with Lunoe's Hyperhouse radio show, while also reaching back in time for some "older influences". She might not have a long set at Coachella, but it'll be stacked.
Pond [Sunday April 16 & 23]
If you're looking at the Coachella poster, you have to squint pretty hard to see the name Pond on the Sunday lineup. The Perth psych-rock collective might look small compared to Kendrick, Lorde and Justice, but they pack a lot of clout.
Pond is probably best known for featuring a band lineup that's never quite set in stone, although it boasts past and present Tame Impala members. Pond's seventh album 'The Weather' is out in May, with production from Tame Impala frontman Kevin Parker. The first two singles, '30000 Megatons' and 'Sweep Me Off My Feet', suggest we're in for another hazy, sun-drunk Pond album. In other words: exactly what you want to hear on a blazing hot afternoon in the desert.
Empire of the Sun [Friday April 14 & 21]
There was a time in Australia where it seemed like Empire of the Sun was on every single festival lineup. That was around the time of the duo's 2008 debut album 'Walking On a Dream', which fuelled a years-long tour. It was a while before Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore came together on a follow-up, 'Ice on the Dune', which introduced them to a wider US audience.
North America has really taken to the Empire of the Sun live experience, which features Steele (but not Littlemore) leading a colourful, high concept show. The band is prominently billed on the Coachella poster, right between Father John Misty and Dillon Francis on Friday. The setlist is sure to be festival-tailored towards the early hits alongside new ones from last year’s 'Two Vines' album. Elaborate costumes are also guaranteed.