Wild Beasts to headline Soundgarden Festival

ISTANBUL

The 5th Babylon Soundgarden Festival will be held May 23 at Babylon Kilyos, which is to be the festival’s permanent home. Aside from all-day activities, Babylon Soundgarden will welcome its guests with performances from local and international DJs and bands, amidst the mesmerizing green and blue nature of Babylon Kilyos.

The headliner of this year’s festival will be Wild Beasts, one of the world’s most famous dream pop bands, which was formed in 2008. 

Following a three-year hiatus after their sophomore album, “The Smoother,” the band released their latest album, “Present Tense,” in 2014.

Speaking to daily Radikal, the band’s vocalist, Hayden Thorpe, explained the hiatus as “completely personal.” 

"When I was too young I had an idea to be a musician and form a band. I wanted to travel the world. When I realized I had finally reached this point, I wanted to stop and see where I was. I asked myself ‘what will happen now?’ For an artist, it is not a healthy to progress without making a ‘reality check.’ You need to have a vision and be renewed.”

Thorpe said the song “Pregnant Pause” from the latest album tells a story of Istanbul. “We gave a concert in Istanbul nearly three years ago. What I noticed as soon as we stepped in the city was its steadiness.

‘Pregnant Pause’ was made thanks to dizziness that’s caused by rakı. It is an atmospheric and a very beautiful city. I was lost on the streets but I remember I felt very safe,” he said. 

Speaking of their future plans, Thorpe said they had recently made new tracks, adding, “We are working in a small studio on the outskirts of a mountain. We are slow but determined. It may take three years or six months. I don’t know. As we grow older, we feel luckier about what we are doing.  We enjoy it. You need to take care of each other. We have a great time when we are together but it is, in fact, a serious process.” 

The Babylon Soundgarden Festival will also feature world famous names such as Anna Calvin, Kim Ann Foxman, Maverick Sabre, Nathan Faken, Orlando Julius & The Heliocentrics, as well as Turkish artists such as Ah!Kosmos, Ayyuka, Gaye Su Akyol and Kalben.