ATP Nightmare Before Christmas: Godspeed You! Black Emperor

Cometh the Winter, cometh the invariably original, ever evolving aural feast that is Nightmare Before Christmas. The Minehead Butlins-based festival, promoted by All Tomorrow's Parties, is back again across two weekends in early December, with contrasting curators and hence line-ups.

The first weekend, from Friday 3rd through Sunday 5th December, is curated by influential first wave Canadian post-rock heros Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Although the sad recent demise of Peter 'Sleazy' Christopherson means the withdrawal of X-TG, there is still nevertheless much to look forward to. From the intense behemoths of "psychedelic operatic guitar girth" Neurosis and Wolves In The Throne Room's trance-inducing combination of black metal, crust punk, thrash and drone at one end of the spectrum, through to the quirkier fare of acts like the ebullient, joyful insanity of Deerhoof and even pop culture parodist "Weird Al" Yankovic (remember Eat It?), this is a line-up that is predictably unpredictable. Other likely highlights include hybrid electronic act du jour Emeralds, the "structured ambient" sounds of Tim Hecker and, of course, the curators themselves - playing an impressive three sets over the course of the weekend.

Next up, from 10th to 12th, it's a nice bit of ATP history, with the festival being named Bowlie 2. A nod to the original All Tomorrow's Parties festival - the Bowlie Weekender - this second incarnation is again helmed by the original curators Belle And Sebastian. As you might expect, this one is rich in indie (and "indie pop") delights, with the likes of Those Dancing Days, The Vaselines, Edwyn Collins, Teenage Fanclub, Camera Obscura and Frightened Rabbit; and cerebral pop from Dirty Projectors, Field Music and Foals.

Add to this the new ATP Book Club feature, running for both weekends, and quirky, curator-initiated events like Iyengar Yoga (Bowlie 2); and the Godspeed weekend's Oneida, who bring a mobile version of their Brooklyn community recording/performance space The Ocropolis to the festival for a day-long continuous performance in collaboration with a range of musicians there for the festival.

Full listings for each weekend are:

Nightmare Before Christmas curated by Godspeed You! Black Emperor:

Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Neurosis, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Deerhoof, Tim Hecker, Mike Watt and The Missingmen, Scout Niblett, The Ex, The Dead C, Black Dice, Francisco Lopez, Wolves In The Throne Room, Marissa Nadler, Growing, Rangda, Bardo Pond, Nomeansno, Josephine Foster , White Magic, Emeralds, Boban I Marko Markovic Orchestra, Daniel Higgs, Cluster, Mahjongg, Charlemagne Palestine, Maher Shalal Hash Baz, Keiji Haino, Flower/Corsano Duo, Borbetomagus, Daniel Menche, Country Teasers, Bruce McClure, The Berg Sans Nipple, Sick Llama, Oneida, Thee Oh Sees, Hangedup, Matana Roberts, Land of Kush, Philip Jeck, John Butcher, The Sadies, Yomul Yuk, Dreamcatcher, Tindersticks.

Bowlie 2 curated by Belle and Sebastian::

Belle and Sebastian, Julian Cope, The Vaselines, Frightened Rabbit, Field Music, Howlin' Rain, Those Dancing Days, Teenage Fanclub, Isobel Campbell with Mark Lanegan, The New Pornographers, Vashti Bunyan, Silver Columns, Foals, Crystal Castles, Dean Wareham, Mulatu Astatke, Edwyn Collins, Steve Mason, Dirty Projectors, The Zombies, Jenny and Johnny, Sons and Daughters, Trembling Bells, Abagail Grey, Zoey Van Goey, The 1900s, 1990s, Best Coast, The Phenomenal Handclap Band, Amphetameanies, Peter Parker, Them Beatles, Wild Beasts, Camera Obscura, Saint Etienne, The Go! Team, Laetitia Sadier, Stevie Jackson, Secret Band, Daniel Kitson and Gavin Osborn.

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