Jack's Boomtown Picks - 4 acts not to be missed at this year's festival

A week or so ago the national media got all hot and bothered about the fact that there were just 100 days to go until the General Election, but for me there is more important event on the horizon – Boomtown 2015. If, like me, you are counting the days, I can tell you that at the time of writing, there were 177 days to go until the gates open and the craziest town in the world is open for business once more.

Last week May-Fair Avenue’s aristocratic overseers Mr and Mrs Fitz-Sloane released the full programme of performers for this year’s festivities, and bugger me sidewise with a magnum of champagne, it’s a veritable Who’s Who of Vintage Remix royalty.

Closer to the time I will do a more in depth post about the whole line-up, but for now I am going to pick out a few of the names which have already got my heart racing in anticipation and my ever-so-shiny dancing shoes twitching.

First off, it is hard to miss the fact that Caravan Palace, pioneers of the electro-swing vibe, are top of the bill. Having seen them perform in sweaty, crowded London venues, I am very much looking forward to seeing them in a festival setting, where hopefully the cooling Hampshire breeze will allow for some vigorous dancing. Their on-stage energy and Zoé’s perfect vocals make them one of the unmissable acts of the festival. I can’t quite work out which stage they will be playing, but given how fast their shows sell out when they come to town, let’s hope its one of the bigger ones.

Another performance about which I am so excited that I nearly soiled my trousers (something which my tailor would be very unhappy about) is ‘Brass Band Remix’. Taking the concept of Soundclash to a place never before imagined are two of the biggest names in the Vintage Remix world: Dutty Moonshine and Chris Tofu. They have teamed up with the Temple Funk Collective and the Brass Funkeys respectively to create what may be the epitome of the electro-swing sound: Live brass bands remixed live.

Speaking to Mike from Dutty Moonshine earlier today, he told me that the Dutty Moonshine Big Band "is made of several existing acts. Hypeman Sage on vocals, Maria Laveau - a female singer and rapper of Oxford Jazz Hip Hop outfit Voodoo Collective - plus the seven-piece brass section and drums come from the Temple Funk Collective."

They have performed with this set-up only once before and like an idiot I missed it, but in my head it sounds (and looks) a bit like a lorry-load of drums and synths crashing into a marching band at 150mph (or should that be 150bpm?): loud, messy, and with the potential to cause serious, potentially irreparable damage.

There so many excellent DJs on the poster that I’m struggling to work out which is top of my list, so instead I am going to pick out two names I have yet to catch live: DonJohnston, the man behind the amazing video below; and Grant Lazlo, who is joining his fellow Frenchies Caravan Palace in hopping over the channel for the event.

For all the details and info on the MayFair Avenue performers, and those on the other stages, head over to the Boomtown website, and watch this space for more Boomtown related posts from me.