Words & Photography by Jenn Hernandez

The good weather continued for giddy Outside Lands second day concert-goers eager to soak in as much sun as possible while also getting their fest on. As we listened to a smooth Raphael Saadiq croon from the main stage – who started out dressed in a three-piece suit to later strip down to a rolled-up collared shirt – it was worth admiring the diversity in the crowd as well as the lineup we were about to drink in. We had metal time with Mastadon, the most magical five minutes with Bat For Lashes, and rumpshaking with TV On The Radio courtesy of Tunde Adebimpe’s hips, all in the course of one day.

The big news of the night, however, happened at 7:40 p.m. at the Twin Peaks stage. As I got situated in the photo pit, The Mars Volta were into their second song and more or less blowing out my ear drums. My camera was in love with singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala, following him everywhere he went: handstands, spazzing and tossing the mic stand effortlessly into the air. At one point, he dived belly first onto the floor, popped back up, grinded against his mic stand, and then shuffled off to the side of the stage to drink tea out of a white mug.

Bixler-Zavala then grabbed the sign adjacent to the band that spelled out “THE MARS VOLTA” in giant capital letters, hocked it on his back, and then proceeded to kick the shit out of it, breaking it in the middle before nearly throwing everything into the crowd and grabbing another photographer’s camera in the process. All photographers were promptly bounced out of the photo pit breathless, and I was just glad to not have been caught in the crossfire. Best ten minutes of the whole weekend.

Other boring highlights included:
- find out trampolines really are as good as you remember from childhood
- the awkward hug I received at the Hug Station
- the Os Mutantes broken string incident
- TVOTR absolutely dominating “Wolf Like Me”
- Deerhunter’s Bradford Cox not knowing who else was on the festival bill with his band: “Who is Conor Oberst? Is he a singer?” (after being clued in by an audience member: “Oh, you mean Bright Eyes?”)
- eating something called a cookie pie
- nearly getting demolished in the photo pit during The Mars Volta set, but getting bomb Indian food to make up for my near-death experience

Sadly, news of DJ AM’s untimely death the day before had gripped everyone, and lots of people in lines, drinking near each other, or standing near one another in the crowds discussed the tragedy.

Raphael Saadiq

Portugal. The Man

Mastodon

Os Mutantes

TV On The Radio

Deerhunter

The Mars Volta

Bat For Lashes has been gracing us with lushly glowing vocals and charm since the release of Fur And Gold three years ago. Now, Natasha Khan has a new album, Two Suns, dropping next week, and we’ve got exclusive, behind-the-scenes footage of Natasha and crew making the video for her newest single, “Daniel”.

Between her alluring vocals and winsome personality, Khan has conjured up a recipe for success that is boiling fast around her, and it certainly doesn’t hurt that she always has a striking music video to accompany her stellar songs. Bat For Lashes worked alongside the director to find a conceptual balance between the lyrics of “Daniel” and aesthetic visuals that would mirror the tempered tones of the songs’ voice, leaving the final product as an intense visionary of coming free of relationships and love.

Aside from the showing an inside look behind the making of the music video, Khan flaunts her coy personality throughout the exclusive — leaving us with an even more enduring lust for the singer and an even greater anticipation for the new album, due out on April 6.

The headliners for this year’s Latitude Festival have been revealed early, and among those performing this year are Grace Jones, Nice Cave and the Bad Seeds, Pet Shop Boys and Bat for Lashes, among others. 

The recently created festival debuted in 2006, with headliners like The Lemonheads, Patti Smith, Antony and the Johnsons and Mogwai, and it has continued to grow in popularity since, having live theatre performances, comedy and poetry readings along with music.

This years festival will take place on July 16-19 in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk, England, and the rest of the performers on the bill will be announced soon.

After posting “Glass” earlier this month and posing naked for FADER (what?!) Natasha Khan and Bat for Lashes have released two more tracks from the upcoming album for the joy and excitement of the entire internet.

The album is called Two Suns, and it’ll be out April 6 on Astralwerks. You can also check out both “Sleep Alone” and “Daniel” at their MySpace page.

Preparing for the release of her alter-ego opus Two Suns this coming April, Natasha Khan, aka Bat for Lashes, might be taking things a bit too Beyonce / Sasha Fierce. Good thing she has some other voices to lend besides her own and her other one.

As announced earlier, Khan’s “destructive, self-absorbed, blonde, femme fatale” alter ego — Pearl — will do battle all over Bat for Lashes’ new album, which is due out on April 6 via Astralwerks. The press release goes on to read, Pearl is a direct foil to Khan’s more mystical, desert-born spiritual self, with Khan confronting the end of the illusory world and prepare for wherever the world will take her next.

Khan travelled to New York, the Joshua Tree Desert in California and London to write and record Two Suns, which was produced by David Kosten. The track “The Big Sleep” seeing her sing a duet with Scott Walker and she also collaborated with Yeasayer on the title track, with them providing bass and beat programming.

The release of Two Suns will coincide with a UK tour, kicking off with a gig at the Manchester Ritz the day after the record’s release.

Two Suns track listing
01. Glass
02. Sleep Alone
03. Moon and Moon
04. Daniel
05. Peace of Mind
06. Siren Song
07. Pearl’s Dream
08. Good Love
09. Two Planets
10. Traveling Woman
11. The Big Sleep

Bat for Lashes tour dates
04.07.09 – Manchester, England (Ritz)
04.08.09 -Glasgow, Scotland (Queen Margaret Union)
04.09.09 -Newcastle, England (Northumbria University)
04.11.09 -Leeds, England (Metropolitan University)
04.12.09 -Birmingham, England (Town Hall)
04.13.09 -Oxford, England (Regal)
04.15.09 -Bristol, England (Anson Rooms)
04.16.09 -Brighton, England (Corn Exchange)
04.17.09 -London, England (Shepherds Bush Empire)