The lush green pastures of the Mendip Hills nearly the English city of Bristol are not the most obvious environment for abrasive, discordant and frequently majestically glorious guitar tones, but every year Fernhill Farm becomes a beacon for what an alternative music festival can and should be. It becomes Arctangent, and 10 years in it's better than ever.
"When we started ATG it would have seemed totally outlandish to think we’d ever get to 10 years with 10,000+ attendees, and the likes of Mogwai and Meshuggah headlining," founder James Scarlett tells MusicRadar. "Doing this without any corporate backing is tough but we’ve got there, and it makes me very proud to sit back and think about all the wonderful times we’ve had. Roll on year 20!"
Arctangent isn't just a place for people to catch their favourite alternative rock and metal bands of a progressive persuasion at a relitavely intimate event, it's a vital part of the year for those post, math, metal and undefinable heavy bands to play to open minds and ears. Here, musical ambition and underground ethos are celebrated and established acts are lauded, while upcoming talent can take flight. This year's milestone also sees the organisers get their longheld wishlist band.
Glasgow's post-rock daddies Mogwai have finally said yes to playing, and they headline the last day of the festival, preceded on the other two days by Explosions In The Sky, another lauded cornerstone post-rock act, and Swedish icons of extreme Meshuggah.
Away from the guitar-heavy draws on the three-day bill including Animals As Leaders, Plini, Baroness, Ihsahn and reunited Dutch heavyweights Textures, new stories will infold; bands whose members are about to step up from Arctangent punters to players on its five alternating stages. Their connection with the event already runs deep, and strikes at the heart of what makes Arctangent vital for alternative musicians.
The thing that makes Arctangent so special is that, while it has become bigger over the years, it has retained the community spirit that is key to the whole festival
Sam Drower, Host Body
"The thing that makes Arctangent so special is that, while it has become bigger over the years, it has retained the community spirit that is key to the whole festival," Sam Drower, bassist with Bristol mathcore band Host Body tells us. "It reminds me of a west country Roadburn, with a palpable sense of excitement in the air from the moment the gates open and the tents are always full for the first bands at 11am. I've experienced the festival from all sides – behind the mixing desk, performing onstage and as a punter – and regardless of where you are in the field, everyone from the fans to the technical staff are true believers in the spirit of the festival."
Looking at some of the bigger festivals that have been traditionally associated with heavy music in the UK, it's easy to see why Arctangent has become something to believe in over the last decade. Now capped at 10,000 capacity attendees, many of whom camp on Fernhill Farm, Arctangent converts tend to stay that way because they simply prefer its experience to the increasingly corporate squeeze found at bigger events that don't offer such support to underground artists. And for whole sub-genres of bands, Arctangent has become a hugely desirable rite of passage, one that can help them take a step up to reach more potential fans.
When we started gigging, ATG was the dream
Michael Astley-Brown, Maebe
"Playing ArcTanGent for the first time is a major milestone for any post/math/prog band," instrumental five-piece Maebe's founder and guitarist Michael Astley-Brown tells us. "When we started gigging, ATG was the dream, and for Maebe to be playing the 10th anniversary year on a bill stacked with so many of our heroes... It's an honour, and a surreal one at that, especially with so many next-level guitarists – Tosin Abasi, Plini, Nick DePirro, Fredrik Thordendal – appearing across the weekend. No pressure."
Maebe are more than capable of rising to the occasion; the Brits bring their formidable three-guitar assault to the festival on its closing day. And Michael is still very much attending as a fan in addition to his debut as an artist there.
"I've had countless memorable experiences at ATG: Russian Circles in biblical rain, Mike Vennart dusting off Oceansize classics for an explosive headlining set," he remembers. "Dillinger Escape Plan demolishing the stage like a band possessed. Giraffes? Giraffes!, one of the best looping duos to ever do it, playing their debut UK show to a massive festival crowd."
Arctagent's ability to create events within its lineups has always been part of the draw; whether its Alpha Male Tea Party's tag-team riffathon with Cleft – featuring the late, great Dan Wild-Beesley on guitar – or the reunion of Manchester's Maybeshewill at the 2020 festival that kickstarted their permanent reunion. This year sees another welcome return in the form of Brontide's reunion following their split in 2017. The British instrumental band's members have served time playing with Dua Lipa, La Roux and Rolo Tomassi but have regrouped for ATG and already released new track Mineral ahead of their set.
“Arctangent has always felt special to us, not only as a band, but as music fans too," Brontide guitarist Tim Hancock tells MusicRadar. "Anytime we’ve discussed playing together again, this festival has been part of the conversation, so we can’t wait to be back.”
Every Hell's Will Gardner, former vocalist with Black Peaks, is another musician who views the festival as something to be cherished – no matter what the microclimate of the Mendips may bring. “ATG has always been a very special place for me over the years," he explains." I think it's potentially the European Mecca for heavy progressive rock and metal, it certainly feels that way to me. I remember playing alongside amazing bands like Mutoid man with Black Peaks and then going to see my favourite heavy band EVER Converge, in the pissing rain – absolutely bleak and epic."
This is a proper muso crowd, people are really paying attention and really listening
Will Gardner, Every Hell
Gardner also points out something this writer has noticed in numerous annual visits to Fernhill farm; there's something particularly special about the people who buy tickets to this festival.
"I remember playing the Arc stage with Black Peaks and feeling like, woah, this is a proper muso crowd, people are really paying attention and really listening. It has a deep and very important place in my heart.”
Festivals have to run as businesses to survive and return every year, but it's refreshing to hear people consistently using emotive terms to describe Arctangent. Clearly James Scarlett and his team have created something that doesn't only create a special atmosphere every year, but is now an important landmark of the alternative rock and metal worlds.
"ATG has become a leading light for fans of heavy music that's off the beaten path – and it's made the UK a destination for artists who might not otherwise make the trip," says Michael Astley-Brown. "Other post-rock-focused events have been established since, but the scale and curation of Arctangent makes it unique in the festival scene – and its awe-inspiring 10th anniversary lineup is testament to the reputation it has built over the past decade. Here's to many more."
- Arctangent festival 2024 takes place 16-17 August. For more information visit arctangent.co.uk
