Mull It Over 014: Little Fluffy Clouds
Record Store Day 2024 in Belfast. Plus, Stendhal announces the headline acts for its 14th iteration this summer.
It was in 2018, when I was living in London that I found myself at the Record Store Day showcase at Rough Trade in Notting Hill where, unbelievably, the live entertainment of the morning consisted of: Pete Doherty, Fontaines D.C., KT Tunstall, Celeste and the almighty Wonk Unit. All of this on the side of a kerb of a Saturday morning. Unfortunately, due to my mishandling of public transport and of the volume of pints the night previous, I arrived too late to catch the Fontaines set. Witnessing Pete Doherty run up to the microphone half an hour late himself, half-eaten baguette in one hand, bagful of tunes in the other, however, is a pretty solid memory. I can thank Record Store Day for that.
Record Store Day has had some journey. What began in 2008 as a way for independent record shop proprietors to bring attention and footfall to their unique culture and mystery, has turned into an annual pilgrimage to your local brick and mortar vinyl vendor in both the celebration and support of this ultimate form of physical music.
However, RSD is not without its critics. While the excitement of seeing your favourite band perform an in-store in a leafy Notting Hill record shop is quite glorious, the event has, in recent years, developed a habit of promoting novelty releases, with nothing really on offer that the avid music fan can sink their teeth in to. To support this argument, that early afternoon after Pete Doherty wrapped up his set and sandwich, I didn’t go in to the shop to hoke through the bins and make a purchase. I went back to the pub.
This year, however, I am commanding you not to do as I do, but to do as I say.
This year, Starr Records (in their fancy new home in the Oh Yeah Centre) will be hosting Belfast’s only Record Store Day celebrations from 1-4pm. Providing the soundtrack while you take a look through the racks will be Arborist, The Breeze, Yinyang, Lemonade Shoelace, The Funeral Rose, The Gold Tips and Drew Makes Noise. You can get tickets here.
Disclaimer: I have bought from Starr Records before, just not Rough Trade. In case you’re reading this.
Stendhallions
The best thing to come out of Limavady since things started to come out of Limavady - Stendhal festival, has this week announced the first iteration of it’s 2024 lineup.
Joining thousands of revellers this July on Ballymully Cottage Farm will be Hot Chip (performing their acclaimed DJ set), Heather Small from M People and acid house Godfathers - The Orb. But it’s not just the international stars that make Stendhal the biggest (and coolest) music and camping festival this side of the border.
Dead Goat, Reevah, Problem Patterns and Virgins are just a few of the local artists who will be gracing the farm this summer for the festival’s 14th edition. Highlighting the importance of having local acts on the Stendhal stage - Ross Parkhill, festival founder and director said:
“We still have a lot more acts to announce, the main body of our home-grown programme is still to come, as is our family and comedy programme.”
He added: “We are so pleased to announce all the acts that we have secured so far. A lot of these acts have not only enjoyed major critical and chart success but they are also performers with some big tunes that can get everyone singing along and help manifest the very special atmosphere Stendhal has become renowned for.”
Virgins themselves will be sure to be in fine voice at this year’s festival as they will be riding the wave of the release of their much anticipated debut album ‘Nothing Hurt and Everything Was Beautiful’, out in April. The album is preceded by shoegaze anthems ‘s l o w l y, l o n g’ and ‘s o f t e r’ (yes, that was hard to type) - and the Belfast band will doubtless provide the perfect soundtrack to a hazy afternoon in the July sun.
If you’re lucky enough to get tickets (they’re running low), this is just the first of the announcements. It’s time to get excited. As noted, more homegrown acts are to be announced along with the comedy and family stages. Put on your William’s Wish Wellingtons, I’ll see you at The Orb on the farm, under the Little Fluffy Clouds of Derry.
And with the 14th edition of Stendhal, comes the 14th edition of Mull It Over. As always, thank you to everyone who reads, subscribes and listens. You can find all of the artists mentioned in this article and all previous articles on the Spotify playlist below. Happy listening!