THE GREAT ESCAPE (TGE) is returning this year, taking place in 30+ venues across Brighton from 10th – 13th May 2023. This edition of the renowned festival will once again introduce a cutting-edge line up of both brand new and established artists from all over the world to celebrate new music discovery. Among the stellar international lineup this year are Austrian acts, DIVES, FARCE, Good Wilson and UCHE YARA.
DIVES
DIVES was formed in February of 2016 after Dora de Goederen, Tamara Leichtfried and Viktoria Kirner met at the Austrian Pink Noise Camp. The Viennese underground scene was immediately taken by their surf-ish sound. German SPEX magazine sees the band in line with “indie heroes such as the Shop Assistants, Feelies […] with influences of bands such as La Sera or Waxahatchee”. DIVES are contemporary and yet there’s an 80s vibe to be traced.
DIVES already toured over a dozen countries in Europe, played with artists such as L.A. Witch, Bilderbuch, Annenmay Kantereit and Courtney Barnett. The trio opened Popfest Wien in 2018 and performed at renowned festivals c/o Pop, Popkultur Berlin, Reeperbahn Festival and Waves Vienna. DIVES was awarded the XA – Music Export Award at Waves Vienna 2018 and became one of the “Focus Acts 2019”.
Their full-lenght debut album “Teenage Years Are Over” was released in 2019 via Siluh Records, followed by shows at Viva Sounds Gothenburg and Eurosonic Noorderslag 2020. The much-anticipated 2nd studio album “Wanna Take You There”, was released in October 2022 via Siluh Records to great acclain. It is a continuation of the band’s history, a testimony to musical coalescence and, as well, an expression of newly learned ways of working during the pandemic. As usual, varied but true to the unmistakable DIVES sound: light-footed but self-confident.
FARCE
Producer, songwriter and artist Veronika J. Koenig – known by her stage name FARCE – remains unimpressed with genre restrictions and finds her niche in anything that is heavy in bass and intense in emotion. Her oeuvre spans not only her solo works, but also continuous collaborations with likeminded artists like techno pop maven Fauna and Wolfgang Moestl of Mile Me Deaf. Reminiscent of acts like Robyn, LCD Soundsystem and Charli XCX, FARCE continues to produce an intoxicating mix of rather violent, experimental ideas finding a home in theatrical and flamboyant Pop music.
Her EP ”Trauma Bounce” arrived in late June of 2020, spearheaded by the fun, sexy, sad ”Subway Surfer”. In 2021, her single “Meditation 4 2” appeared, which subsequently was released on the 2022 album, “Not to Regress”. FARCE recently won the XA Music Award in 2022 at the Vienna Waves Festival.
GOOD WILSON
Good Wilson is known for their laid-back feel-good vibes, catchy indie pop melodies and deep lyrics with twists and turns. Since the release of their self-titled debut album ‘Good Wilson’ in March 2020, the band, consisting of Günther Paulitsch, Julian Pieber, Mario Fartacek, Yannic Steuerer and Alex Connaughton, has become an integral part of the Austrian music landscape. Good Wilson was presented as ‘Soundpark Act of the Month’ by Austria’s cult radio Fm4 in 2019 and nominated for the XA Award at the Waves Festival shortly after. Sold-out shows in Austria & Germany, as well as numerous international gigs followed, including Reeperbahn Festival (2022) and Eurosonic Festival (2023).
UCHE YARA
UCHE YARA is a unique artist, which is hard to find. The 20-year-old multiinstrumentalist with Nigerian roots grew up in Austria and now lives in Berlin. Her profound songwriting and energetic live presence with a full band created the strong growing hype around UCHE YARA. Discovered by artists such as Marc Rebillet, Bilderbuch and Parcels, she started touring the very first day after graduating from school. Her first gig was at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, followed by appearances at various tastemaker festivals. Together with the Austrian band Bilderbuch, she recently opened the stage for The Rolling Stones. All this happened before having released a single track.
