Simple Things: The UK festival that has mastered the art of curation without boundaries
When Bristol gets mentioned in a musical context, people will tend to think of its association with the pioneering trip-hop and drum and bass movements that came out of the 1990s, following on from the city’s pre-established connection to soundsystems.
This is all true, but to simply dismiss it as a hub for these two scenes would be ignorant of the fact that the South West city has offered up many other vibrant subcultures that are embraced by different circles. Yes, both trip-hop and drum and bass are important within the history of electronic music, but Bristol has always had plenty to offer in the way of post-punk, jazz and techno, and this is without even the slightest mention of countless other genres it has historically dipped its toes into.
The point that I’m making here is that despite not having the same magnetism as some of the UK’s larger cities, what it has always done is approach arts and culture with an open mind, and offers up a veritable selection of artists who delve into various corners of musical expression. It’s with this non-exclusionary approach to music consumption in mind that Bristol is the ideal location for a day festival such as Simple Things to not only exist, but to thrive.
Now in its eleventh year, this city-wide celebration of music has never ceased to boast the most far-reaching programme of performances, and lives up to the notion that Bristol is a unique part of the country that doesn’t shy away from its enjoyment of something that’s a little outside of the ordinary. You might want to attend a festival knowing full well what the lineup has to offer, but the beauty of Simple Things is that you can see a couple of your favourite acts from the genre you’re most comfortable with, and then divert your attention towards something that engages your brain in ways that you may never have previously considered appealing to you.
Stating that Simple Things is a showcase of experimental and left-field music is accurate, but it doesn’t fully cover the scope of what it tries to achieve. The genre ambivalence that it shows in its curation is evident from its history, inviting acts as diverse as Slowdive, Nicolas Jaar and Kano to be its headliners in previous years. However, while the broad spectrum of notable acts high up on the bill is always enticing, with the likes of Dry Cleaning and Nala Sinephro sitting towards the top this year, it’s the careful attention to detail that it pays towards bringing lesser-known acts from around the world and from different pockets of the local grassroots scene that stands out as one of its most impressive features.
This year will see perhaps the most delectable lineup put together since the festival began, but it’s not necessarily down to the marquee performances of well-established acts. From Parisian R&B collective 15 15 and the Wagogo music of Tanzania’s The Zawose Queens to the brooding post-rock and visceral noise of local performers like HAAL and Kelan, it’s unlikely that anyone will be able to go a full day sticking to one particular sound. You can, of course, remain within your comfort zone, but the option of going from a DJ set from six-time World Snooker Champion Steve Davis to a showcase courtesy of East African label Nyege Nyege Tapes is too hard to resist.
Only at a festival like Simple Things could one witness post-punk stalwarts A Certain Ratio swiftly followed by Ghanaian electro-funk legend Ata Kak, tearing up a foyer stage and have it seem normal. Such was the bizarre combination of acts seen during the 2019 edition of the festival, my first time attending, it’s become something of a personal must-attend day out due to how it never fails to deliver surprises. While it has expanded since then, and significantly so since its inception, with standalone events taking place throughout the week and different venues being utilised, this doesn’t mean it has compromised its singular approach to curation.
Prior to this year’s main event taking place on a Saturday, there will be warm-ups featuring the likes of synthpop oddball John Maus and IDM visionaries Autechre for people to sink their teeth into, and while the main hub of the festival revolves around the many rooms of its flagship venue, the Bristol Beacon, it’s the inclusion of underutilised smaller spaces such as the traditional boozer vibes of Sportsmans, to the futurist setting of the Megascreen for AV-central performances that add to its charm.
Other cities in Europe have their own similarly-minded festivals that seem to have the same approach, with Le Guess Who? in Utrecht and Unsound in Kraków being two prime examples of events that don’t seem to fear the possibility of being too scattered in their programming and general philosophy. However, it could only be a location like Bristol that serves up something similar in the UK, purely because of its history of celebrating such a diverse spread of sounds.
There’s no other day festival I look forward to more than this each year, and going in with any sort of schedule in mind is totally pointless, because the entire point of it is to expand your horizons and discover something that will open your mind to a completely different world to what you’re used to experiencing. Simple Things has mastered the art of curation without genre boundaries, and it’s all the better for it.
