Grassroots 2010 extra

There wasn't enough room in the Guernsey Press to print all of our coverage, so here's an extended look at three of the top acts...

José González

It is early afternoon and the Grassroots festival site is filling steadily. The atmosphere is fairly serene with clement weather: fertile grounds for the sound which had begun emerging from the EV line array speakers flanking the main stage.

This was the sound of nylon guitar strings, playing gentle intoxicating melodies behind mellow vocal lines – the sound of Swedish singer songwriter José González.

Arriving in Jersey the day before the festival, José seemed impressed with the island's atmosphere and had even taken the opportunity to go surfing for the first time. Going new places and trying new things is something important to him as an artist.

Another motivation was the chance to play a solo performance. Having been busy working on other projects – predominantly with his band Junip – this is something which he had seen less of in the last two years, since the release of 2007's In Our Nature.

José also seemed interested in the reaction from festival goers. Having played across the globe and seen many different receptions. He mentioned being surprised by his following in places such as South Africa and South America, and his expectations were good for the Grassroots crowd.

Although the audience at first seemed not overly engaged, it became clear that the music was catalysing the mood of the afternoon. The warm tone of his guitar and eerily gentle voice transformed the festival grounds in to an arcadia; priming the minds of the Grassroots populace with good vibes to carry on the rest of the trip.

It became even clearer how flawlessly his timbre translated over the sound system when he unleashed the third from last song of his set - His cover of Heartbeats by electro pop duo The Knife, which featured in a Sony television advert and would have been adequately smuggled into even the most unreceptive mind. This was feasted on gratefully by the crowd, and sounded so perfectly akin to the original recording that it is likely someone alerted the miming authorities.

The set was drizzled with covers such as this, but much of the bulk was his original material. Working towards his new solo album, he is trying to move on from cover versions, seeming perhaps a touch uneasy with carrying that stigma. 'I saw covers as a tool to learn from the masters and early on I didn't have as many of my own songs'.

Well he certainly had enough to play last Saturday, and didn't fail to please with them in a faultless performance that really cajoled the crowd in to festival mode

Bedouin Soundclash

With the event marking the bands first visit to Jersey, they remarked on the great surroundings and even found the island familiar in some ways. 'It reminds me of Victoria and the Gulf Islands' said lead singer and guitarist Jay Malinowski. 'Nice and laid back'.

The uniqueness of the Channel Islands was a strong incentive when asked to play, with the band keen to take their music to new places; but as with some other artists on the bill, the green ethos of the festival seemed to be something which the band valued. It also seemed that they have quite an interest in British culture – Bassist Eon Sinclair donning an Arsenal shirt and Malinowski citing The Clash, Finley Quaye and Jamie T as inspirations.

The performance itself comprised of some material from their upcoming album Light the Horizon. After having two albums produced by Darryl Jenifer (of Bad Brains fame), King Britt has now taken the wheel. 'It made sense to move forward with him, I'm excited about how he will texture our sound' said Jay.

There was also a plentiful supply of the older songs, particularly material from 2005's Sounding a Mosaic such as the dancier (Ragga Jungle inspired) Living in Jungles. The crowd responded in a number of ways - from cavorting in chaotic freeform skanking, all the way to simply nodding sagely along (and everything in between). It did seem that most had a stake in the performance.

There was a definite emotional edge from the band throughout, perhaps partly because Malinowski's vocals sounded slightly huskier than usual, bringing a certain depth and power to them. The wall of rhythm was tight as ever, with Sinclair's plangent basslines locking in with military precision on to Sekou Lumumba's drum beats.

But the apex for most came when the band played their hit When the Night Feels My Song also featured in a television advert (for T-mobile). Even with the teasing lead-in - playing an excerpt from Ben E. King's Stand by Me in the same key - the crowd were quick to assess the situation and respond with mild frenzy.

The crowd were clearly elated and showed a voracious appetite for demonstrating that they 'know the words to this one' – or in some cases, 'can bleat phonetically similar nonsensical words.

Bedouin Soundclash however weren't dealing in substitutes, and provided a solid performance which was a clear highlight of Grassroots 2010.

Rhombus (In Dub)

Well, more specifically Rhombus in Dub, an atrophied version of the full Rhombus ensemble (featuring the three founding members), recreating the production studio onstage, rendering mash-ups and mixes of Rhombus classics.

The result is bellowing dub reggae with flavourings from many other genres.

Here are 5 questions I asked band members Thomas Voyce, Simon Rycroft and Koa Williams:

What are your initial impressions of Jersey and have you had a chance to look around?

We arrived Friday. It looked so unique and beautiful flying over. We've done quite a bit of shopping too!

How about Grassroots itself, how are you finding it and what was your incentive when you agreed to make an appearance?

The festival looks great; really well organised. It was nice to be specifically sought out for the festival, with our main following in New Zealand. We're also pretty interested in theother artists on the lineup.

Are there any places across the globe where you've found surprisingly positive responses?

We have played to great receptions in Tokyo, especially in some of the smaller clubs. The scene is great out there.

What can we expect from your show today and what do you expect from the crowd?

We describe it as a live audio production. It will be dynamic with a lot going on. All we ask from the crowd is for some dancing! Also screaming... good screaming that is.

What is the next step for you?

We just want to take it all over the world. As far as our music goes, we're looking at changing gears a little with the material from the more roots acoustic influenced stuff and just really vibing it up!