With heavy heads yet warm hearts we embark on our third and final day at this wonderful event. Our structure remains the same as we start the day with some soothing sounds so we head for the sweet sounds of Laura Cahen. Her French songs are more upbeat that we imagined and rejuvenate our tired limbs.

As we are still not fully recovered we continue to seek out soothing sounds and plump for a bit of good ole country with the delicate haunting beauty of Holly Macve. A Yorkshire lass relocated to Brighton provided a chance to recuperate as her angelic voice washed away the previous nights over indulgences.

Now we want some noise and we have heard huge things about this next band. The Hunna probably deserved an evening slot as their energy and stripped down sound really proved that this could be their year.  Comparisons with huge names like Arctic Monkeys and Kings of Leon are not misjudged and they tore the roof of the venue.

The only way to follow that is by popping to see a South Korean female Doo-Wop group The Barberettes. We ain’t lying this is actually a thing and they are magical. Although mainly a covers band they are visually and vocally brilliant. 

This is followed by the now not so secret gig. Each year the Great Escape has a few surprise acts. However by the Saturday everyone knows when and where they are and with our delegate pass we are able to skip pass the queue to catch the Temper Trap. Theyperform an amazing set consisting of new material. The new single 'Fall Together' goes down a storm along with the huge favourite 'Sweet Disposition'. 

We amble back through the streets of Brighton catching a stall selling frozen margaritas and this seems the perfect complement to the outdoor sounds of Ezra Collective. They are a modern brass band that have a huge amount of energy as the blast out jazzy hip hop covers to an excited and jubilant crowd. 

Away from this mayhem its time to get serious and the beautiful settings of a church provide us with Colm mac Con Iomaire. This guy is a seriously beautiful deep violinist and allows us to breathe and relax once again. Once you have seen one violinist you want more right?  However nothing could have prepared us for the onslaught of Oliver Coates. He is a cellist by trade but it was like he was possessed with the spirit of Jimi Hendrix. He played an electric cello but added in feedback and sounds that were not thought possible, simply amazing stuff. We had actually arrived here to see Guy Andrews and his electronic compositions. He is a master of the ambient moog sound. We were not expecting him to soothe us after the onslaught of a cellist but that’s the beauty of The Great Escape.  

Time to change the music again and we go for the reassuring sounds indie rock. Up first is a Sheffield band The Sherlocks who are already gaining a growing reputation.  They don’t disappoint and like the Hunna before them are a band to watch this year.  There straight up indie rock is just what we need and fully prepares us for Johnny Lloyd. He is an accomplished and polished guy who has bags of confidence and has defined his own indie rock sound.

Now it’s time for a bit of a boogie as we have refuelled and we are conscious that we don’t have long left until the festival ends. NZCA Lines are our choice, and although they remind us of Hot Chip they provide us with safe and non-threatening dance tunes.

One of the last additions to the festival were Jaguar Ma at the beautiful setting of the Brighton Corn Exchange. Their clever swirling psychedelic sounds goes down a storm and we realise we can actually dance to this as well.  It’s almost over and we quickly check our guides to see what’s still open and what is not full to capacity. We scramble to the Latest Music Bar and as we enter upon our last act we know we have chosen well. 

Walking into the bar we are physically pounded by the wall of noise that Dressmaker are producing. These guys were already well into their set and in the three days that we have been here this is by far the loudest thing we have heard. They are angry, did we mention they are loud and they don’t seem to care who knows it?

We leave with our ears ringing and stand outside the venue with huge grins on our faces. Now that’s what a music festival should be all about. We want to thank all the acts we saw, those we didn’t and we want to share this with you. We can’t recommend this festival enough. Here’s a Spotify Playlist of some of the stuff we saw and we hope it gives you a glimpse into our wonderful weekend.

Here also is footage of one of those acts Rob was unable to manage to see, Egyptian Blue:-

Continuing our build-up to Best Kept Secret Festival we spoke with Utrecht-based musician Thijs Kuijken, who plays under the moniker of I Am Oak. Following on from his debut album in 2010, he has released almost an album a year ever since, along with numerous singles, EPs, and a split mini-album with The Black Atlantic. In 2011, I Am Oak won the prestigious 3VOOR12 Best Album Award for Oasem.

2012 was a busy year; after playing at South by Southwest in Austin, I Am Oak performed three shows at The Great Escape Festival in Brighton and were selected as Band of the Day. That year also saw the release of Nowhere Or Tammensaari. It was the band's first album to be released in the UK and Ireland, via Heist or Hit Records. I am Oak’s latest album, Our Blood, was released in February and can be streamed/ downloaded here.

MG: Your new album has come out. How was the recording process?

TK: I started a couple years ago recording demo versions of new songs on the acoustic guitar and synth. I intended to flesh them out a bit over time and then bring them in to rehearsal with the band so we could make them into finished songs together. Over time however, I was putting more and more time and effort into these demos and actually lifting them up to their final versions by myself. This happened quite gradually. A lot of the album’s content ended up revolving around the passing of my father and it felt only natural to fully dive into this one by myself, because it was such a personal journey, so I ended up doing all of it. I worked at home and took all the free time I had for it, to work on it. Slowly arranging everything to where I wanted it to be. We then later, as a band, found a way to translate these recordings to suitable live versions. Having the songs remain pliable and organic that way and letting them change a little bit over time is an important aspect of making music, I think.

MG: Comparisons have been drawn between you and Jose Gonzalez as well as Sufjan Stevens. Are you happy with those?

TK: I’d like to think that I Am Oak has something to offer in its own right. I don’t mind these particular comparisons that much though. I guess people need a frame of reference when they are introduced to something they don’t know yet. I Am Oak evolved a little bit over the years and I don’t know how accurate these references still are, but there might still be some resonance with those acts in its essence.

MG: You played Best Kept Secret in 2014. That must have been a great way to start the day in that beautiful setting. Will you have a similar slot this time round?

TK: Yes, it was! We played pretty early in the day, I guess we were the opener for the day. We were a bit worried that no one would be awake and up for it yet, haha, but it turned out to be an amazing show with a packed tent! I think this time around we’re playing a bit later in the day, hope that works out well too!

MG: You sound like you could be an Irish band. You're not well known here yet but I think you could do well here. Will you be doing some Irish shows in the future?

TK: Haha, an Irish band? I’ve never thought of I Am Oak sounding Irish, I don’t know what that means, but I’m guessing it’s a good thing! We’ve never played in Ireland before and we don’t have anything planned there yet, but it would be lovely to play some shows there in the future, it’s a beautiful country! 

MG: You played The Great Escape in Brighton in 2012 and were selected as Band of the Day. How did that come about?

TK: Cool! I don’t remember that actually! So, I have no idea how that came about, someone in the organization must have liked us! The Great Escape is a great festival. There’s one particular show that sticks out and which is still a fond memory. It was our show at the Unitarian Church, where both the sound and location were amazing. It’s really nice that they provide this kind of platform for unknown bands to have a chance to be seen by lots of people interested in music.

MG: You're a prolific writer. You've done five albums since 2010 and some other projects too. Are you constantly writing? And can you keep up that pace?

TK: The reason I’ve made so many albums and EP’s over the years is that I simply love doing it. I love playing live too, but the best thing about making music might just be creating stuff, I think. It’s such a wonderful thing to create something that wasn’t there before. That gives me so much pleasure.

The writing usually comes in waves, sometimes I’m coming up with new ideas every day and sometimes there’s a period of time in which I’m barely able to write anything. I’ve been very busy with releases and playing a lot of shows the last couple months, so I haven’t had much time to really sit down to gather ideas and write songs, which sucks, because I miss it. Maybe I need to start planning in writing days or something, which is something I’ve never had to do in the past.

MG: Who has been the biggest influence on you musically?

TK: That’s always a difficult question, because there are a lot of different bands in all sorts of different genres that I’ve enjoyed over the years that have left a mark on me in a certain way.

I’m always dropping the same names when I’m interviewed about this, but I always forget to mention Songs: Ohia / Magnolia Electric Co. I was listening to a Magnolia Electric Co. record the other day and I was thinking about how deeply that music resonates with me and how much of it has seeped into my music. Sometimes you don’t realize how important some bands have been to you until you listen to them again after not having listened to them for a while.

MG: Is music a full time occupation for you? Or is that the long term plan?

TK: Yes, it is a full time thing for me, and has been for a while now. I’m busy with I Am Oak and other music projects every day. I’m very grateful that it’s possible for me to do this full time right now and I hope to be able to do this for many, many years to come.

MG: A lot of your songs are short, under three minutes. Is that something you aim for?

TK: It’s something that just happens. I guess I try to make everything as to-the-point as possible. I tend to let the songs be as long (or short) as they need to be and cut away everything that seems unnecessary to me. Sometimes the songs want to be a little bit longer. On the latest album, Our Blood, there are a few songs that are longer than on most I Am Oak albums before that one. The track ‘Your Blood’ almost reaches the seven-minute mark. I was actually aiming for a long song with that one. I don’t know if this is a trend that’s developing in my songwriting, but I’m definitely open for longer songs. We play a live version of the song ‘Palpable’ that evolved into a 10-minute song over time.