Life got a bit blurry as this year’s Distortion rocked Copenhagen to its core. And what a festival it was too: five days of pure mayhem, with relatively few incidents to report on. On a dimmer note, the much-loved festival may have to reduce its street party frenzies to a one-day event next year, having failed to raise enough funds to pay for clean-up costs. The dust from the bygone storm is still settling and the summer temperatures show no signs of abating. And whilst things tend to quieten down somewhat over the summer, there are still plenty of happenings worth participating in. Here are the best of the bunch.
Immortal Technique
Immortal Technique has been hailed as one of the greatest rappers of the 21st century. The Peruvian-born American has taken poignant stabs at matters of class, race and religion in the United States with his sharp lyrics and inability to tolerate the bigotry of the ruling elite. A rebel with a cause, Immortal Technique has been actively involved in philanthropical projects around the world and produces his music independently, cutting off the middlemen and record labels that all too often sap the genius and ethos of many a modern-day musician.
Pumpehuset; Thu (June 20) 20:00; 280kr
Toots and The Maytals
Toots and the Maytals have been going steady since Jack Kerouac & co were changing America’s values in the early 1960s! Anyone who’s seen This Is England will be familiar with numbers such as the anthemic ‘54-56 was my number,’ one of many ageless tunes that are guaranteed to give you a summer concert to remember.
Store Vega; July 12, 21:00; 295kr
Charles Bradley and his Extraordinaires
The Screaming Eagle of soul returns to Denmark for his third visit, this time armed with his second album since he rocketed to fame a couple of years ago as a 60 plus singer who has endured a life of poverty, working class struggles and hardship. Anyone who saw him perform at Roskilde in 2011 or last year at Lille Vega will agree that he is probably one of the finest musicians in modern music, with his heckle-raising soul voice and Otis Redding-esque quick wit.
Store Vega; Mon 21:00; 250kr
An advocate of counterculture movements and anything that boycotts materialism, consumerism and social inequality, Allan Mutuku Kortbaek wishes he’d been born in the ‘60s and wandered across the changing American landscape in the company of the beat generation. Since he’s not though, he’s quite happy to swipe away at modern day corporate cannibalism and other traits of today’s society through journalism, art, activistic philosophy, poetry and photography. Find out more at www.mutuks.com.
