Jamie Lidell (UK)

Jamie Lidell is the latest addition to the more dance-oriented segment of this year’s Øya bill. Fans of wicked-to-the-bone electronica, synthetic soul, and unconventional pop music should already be familiar with this name – though with an emphasis on ‘should’. For those of you who are not yet familiar with Lidell, however, there is no reason to despair, as you will be presented with a golden opportunity to become so at this year’s Øya Festival. His first release came out towards the end of the 90s under the name Super_Collider, a cooperation between Lidell and the Chilean techno innovator Cristian Vogel.
Lidell is now coming to the Medieval Park. His live performances center around his voice, but a lot goes on around it. Lidell uses modern computer technology and old analog equipment to construct his sound. He live-samples and manipulates fragments, which are then looped, and on top of that, he sings and beatboxes. He is unable to remain still, and the same normally goes for the audience. Reviewers have resorted to words like amazing, horizon-expanding, chaotic, ingenious, and outstanding when referring to his live-extravaganza – and it’s all correct.
His album debut as a solo act came out in 2000, entitled ‘Muddlin Gear’. The album was well received, but was just a notch too particular and inaccessible to catch on outside the hard Warp core. That feat, however, he accomplished with the follow-up, the crossover-success ‘Multiply’ (2005). This mix of classic Motown and a futuristic production gained a large audience also within the pop genre. His third album, ‘Jim’, is soon due for release, and is even tighter and more focused than its predecessor, and – rather surprisingly – quite devoid of electronic elements. Lidell might be a pale and skinny Brit, but he sings like he were the son of Marvin Gaye, Sly Stone, Stevie Wonder, and Prince combined. Hallelujah!

www.jamielidell.com/
www.myspace.com/jamielidell