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Playlist: The Great Escape 2023 (Part 1)

By | Published on Wednesday 10 May 2023

Reb Fountain

As you know, the Great Escape Conference begins today with CMU’s Music + Education strand at the Leonardo Royal Waterfront hotel. Then tomorrow, the festival side of the event gets underway too, with hundreds of exiting acts swarming into the city’s many venues.

We’ve picked out a handful of the artists we’re most excited to see over the next few days and will be sharing them all through the rest of this week, along with a track to check out from each of them.

Listen to all of our selections in this Spotify playlist, and read on to find out more about our first five picks…

Donna Thompson – Be With You
A mainstay of London jazz hub Total Refreshment Centre and drummer for artists including Falle Nioke and Alabaster Deplume, Donna Thompson began releasing music under her own name last year – putting out her debut EP ‘Something True’ last summer.
Revenge, Thu 11 May, 12.15-12.45
Shortt’s Bar, Thu 11 May, 15.30-16.00 (Alt Escape)

Minor Conflict – Living Statue
Blending post-punk and post-folk, creating a mesmerising sound using harp, bass, drums, trumpet and synths, with dual vocals delivered by Robin Warin and Natalie Whiteland that alternate between deadpan and ethereal.
Revenge, Thu 11 May, 14.15-14.45

Reb Fountain – Faithless Lover (pictured)
Signed to legendary New Zealand label Flying Nun, Reb Fountain already has four albums to her name, often drawing comparisons to Nick Cave. Last month she put out her first new music since 2021, the single ‘Faithless Lover’.
North Laine Brewhouse, Thu 11 May, 12.40-13.05 (Alt Escape)
Patterns Downstairs, Thu 11 May, 14.30-15.00
Fabrica, Fri 12 May, 20.30-21.00

CLT DRP – New Boy
Forcing together elements of various genres from across punk, metal and electronic music, Brighton locals CLT DRP began releasing music in 2018 and have been picking up a rolling wave of attention since, thanks in no small part to their explosive live shows.
The Hope & Ruin, Thu 11 May, 15.10-15.30

The Umlauts – Sweat
The Umlauts say that they’re “just your average trans-European, multi-lingual, art school, post-punk, techno-inspired, über-group/circus-troop/diaeresis”. Great on record, they really come into their own on stage. Definitely one not to miss.
Revenge, Thu 11 May, 15.15-15.45



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