If you’ve missed parts one, two or three of my review of the Bestival Island Bands and DJs Competition, follow the links to catch up.
Another surprise to hit the stage was one of VentnorBlog’s oldest favourites (not because he’s old, just because we’ve been following him for ages) Puzzle Muteson.
I said in my promo for the night that I couldn’t find Shadow Fly on MySpace and that’s why. It seems that entering the competition under a pseudonym is all the rage this year.
I’ve got to say that I really feel for Terry when he plays at Ryde Theatre, because the acoustics there just don’t suit his style of music. I love the way he performs and he has a beautiful voice with moving lyrics, but it is really difficult to get it right in that particular space.
This is especially so when the crowd have had a few drinks and want to dance rather than listen to gentle folk music. It’s a real shame, because he has bundles of talent and I reckon would gain a new following from Bestival-goers. I hope that he’ll be given the chance to play on the bandstand over the Bestival weekend anyway (there’ll be a short review of his gig last night at Liquid Lounge coming up later).
Next up another favourite of ours from last year. Renegade had to suffer the comment from one of the judges last year that ‘It looked like he was checking his emails on stage’ which might’ve influenced his decision to invest in a pair of 1210s earlier this year and stick on the vinyl.
Despite this, he made it through once again to the finalists and although I didn’t hear all of his set and have to admit that Drum n’ Bass isn’t really my thing, from what I did see, I reckon he did well and the crowd loved his stuff.
He’s a bright lad with a love for DJing and keen to play out as much as he can. If you want to hear his live set from last year, he’s sent through the link that you can download it from.
Renegade (aka Andy Mowlam) has been described as a “prodigy” by some, and he has already landed himself a residency for September 07 at his student union, to play electro, house and breakbeat.
However, before he heads back to Uni in September, he’s keen to play out on the Island as much as possible. If you’ve got something coming up and can give him the chance to perform, get in touch directly at mowlam(at)gmail(dot)com.
All he asks for is the taxi fare home.
Coming up tomorrow, the final instalment featuring The White Room and DJ TS.
[Images courtesy of Julian Winslow]
