The first week of September now marks Bristol’s most modern festival endeavour, the new-confronted Forwards Competition – with 2023 marking fully its 2nd year of existence. Armed with a stellar line-up, consisting of all individuals from legends to Mercury-nominated learners, Forwards delivers a genreless experience to Bristol’s Downs in the end of two jam-packed days. Talks and panels give a refreshing, and instructional, breather from the relentless song agenda, and the little nature of the positioning offers a surprisingly intimate and welcoming experience.
Friday boasted the legendary Erykah Badu as headliner, the R&B queen making her maiden voyage to Bristol. A dreary-burning introduction from her band became a masterclass in performance and improvisation. That said, it created a restlessness, presumably bored at parts, ambiance right thru the group. It took half an hour ahead of Badu took to the stage, shaving her headline place down to gorgeous underneath an hour. Despite her lack of punctuality, Badu affirmed her legendary draw, handing over a performance of the easiest calibre.
The day became predominantly chilled: starlet Olivia Dean blew the clouds away alongside with her delightfully refreshing dose of pop-infused R&B, cementing her place as one of basically the most fun learners in contemporary cases. Biig Piig’s relaxed stamp of dancey alt-pop became stellar; despite possibly being extra suited to a gloomy, dynamic club environment her and her band truly grabbed their place by the horns. Latest quilt stars Gabriels are an act that are intended to be witnessed are dwelling: vibrant, soulful, performing a watertight place oozing slickness, charisma and sheer joy. Nonetheless, Friday’s highlight became Australia’s Self belief Man, their signature home-meets-Eurodance closing out the East Stage, with the audience bouncing gorgeous as worthy because the band themselves. Ridiculously catchy cuts take care of ‘Toy Boy’ and ‘What I Like’ were highlights, the frequent outfit adjustments the supreme cut of theatrics, whether or no longer or no longer it be the David Byrne-esque suits or the Berlin techno-adjacent mesh tops.
Saturday became a minute elevated output: digital and IDM epic Aphex Twin headlined the festival’s closing night; a spot Bristol has been gearing up for since his final time out to the metropolis in 2006. A place from Richard D James is nothing looking spectacular – an hour and a half of non-stop song from one of basically the most revered pioneers of all time. Crashing thru drum and bass to dubstep to even a couple of gabber moments, Aphex Twin’s place became beautifully unrelenting, the cruel but intricate walls of sound matched brilliantly by mesmerising, thoughts-altering visuals.
Indie-dance icons Primal Sob pulled out the whole stops, a success-filled place spanning their shut to four-decade profession, following a raucous and nonstop performance from Aussie punks Amyl and the Sniffers. The severely acclaimed Arlo Parks mesmerised over on the East Stage, her effortless place taking the group thru a crack of dawn. A healthy steadiness of new and passe area fabric, Parks’ stage presence is easy, injecting a stage of energy into her (on the epic) in total very laidback song. London experimental duo Jockstrap continued to teach their acclaimed draw. The duo delivered a razor-tantalizing place, alternate variations of tracks refreshing, and animated, chaotic and frantic sample chops and sub-basses talented with ease by producer extraordinaire Taylor Skye – the shapeshifting energy of their tracks delivered to even extra fruition by the enigmatic stage manner of vocalist Georgia Ellery.
Saturday also boasted performances from local heroes. The magical Katy J Pearson received the warmest of welcomes dwelling, her refined stamp of indie-folk a stellar technique to utilize the mid-afternoon. Scalping (now called SCALER, apparently) delivered a repulsive place of their signature ‘heavy steel in 4D’, changing Viagra Boys on the mainstage after the Swedish sextet dropped out a couple of days prior. Put up-punk starlets Saloon Dion crashed onto the Records Stage with unstoppable force, their infectious energy and witty tracks received splendidly by a packed crowd – despite the conflict with Primal Sob.
Despite fully being in its 2nd year, Forwards Competition is a solid addition to the Bristol events circuit, the little nature of the positioning giving for a surprisingly intimate festival experience, no matter the place one watches in the group. Although the line-up might maybe well maybe very nicely be too eclectic for the popular festival goer, comely tunings to the scheduling in future years might maybe well maybe nicely solidify Forwards as one of basically the most priceless new gala’s in the UK.
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Phrases: James Mellen
Photography: Cloe Morrison
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