Day Three at Sziget Festival 2024 in Budapest, Hungary
Day three of Sziget Festival, let’s go!
Yves Tumor delivers an unsettling yet atmospheric performance
Yves Tumor blends genres to achieve a sound that contains echoes of RnB, trip-hop, grunge, and art rock. Their music often feels more about the mood and atmosphere created as lyrics come second to the unsettling supernatural soundscape. Yves Tumor opened their set with ‘God is a Circle’, a track that explores a toxic relationship and is filled with shrieks, breaths and a synth bass. The singer also played songs from their latest album Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply Hot), and the religious transcendental imagery was present in ‘Echolalia’, a word that is defined as an involuntary repetition of words and sounds. This idea is central to the track as the singer repeats one-syllable words: “Looked up to God (Uh-uh, uh-uh)/ She looked so good (Mm-mm Mm-mm)”. Yves Tumor closed their set with the unreleased rock track ‘Misbehave’. The song delivered queer liberation and it gave the crowd permission to ‘misbehave’ in any form they seem fit.
Stormzy is UK rap at its very best. When his face lit up into a broad grin when the crowd started singing along, it was clear that this was going to be a spectacular set. He stated that "artists always come up on stage and say they love the crowd, but from the bottom of my heart I love you guys". He also mentioned that he aimed to create "unforgettable memories" for the crowd, and for that he was successful. Stormzy is a hugely charismatic performer, and he feeds off the energy of the crowd. With sweat pouring off his body, in the first half of his set he played hits such as 'Vossi Bop' which was a crowd favourite, but he also played his slower songs such as 'Cigarettes and Cush' as well as 'Rainfall', reminding us that Stormzy is not only a rapper but a singer too. Stormzy was joined on stage by eight backing singers who provided soulful vocals. An all-around fantastic set with incredible energy.
The headliner of the evening was Liam Gallagher, providing a hit of nostalgic Britpop. The main stage today was dubbed by many as the 'UK stage' as both Liam Gallagher and Stormzy are iconic UK artists. The production of Liam Gallagher's set was impressive; above Liam was a huge globe and in the crowd a light-up sculpture of a man interacted with the crowd. Liam struck the right balance between playing songs from his chart-topping solo albums and Oasis songs that get the crowd singing. He opened his set with 'Rock N Roll Star' before moving on to 'Walk on the Wild Side' and then 'Half The World Away', when the crowd got out their phone torches and swayed to the music. Liam also played a cover of the Beatles hit 'I Am a Walrus' with pictures of Beatles members appearing on the screens by the side of the stage. Whilst the reactions from the crowd to Liam's set were mixed, it is clear that Liam Gallagher is an iconic and popular main stage act and continues to deliver Britpop nostalgia.
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Heather Gosling is a university student currently studying English Literature at York. She is passionate about journalism, creative writing and music. She has written for many online and print publications and is working on a music magazine (@circulationzine).
