The 2014 version of Pitchfork Music Festival takes place this weekend and it boasts more crowd drawing headliners than ever, as well as a widely diverse lineup that has something that will catch the ear of all who make the journey to Chicago’s Union Park. We are all familiar with headliners such as indie rock mainstay Beck and the current face of West Coast hip-hop Kendrick Lamar. So, here are a few acts deeper in the billing whose sets should not be missed.
Hudson Mohawke
All HudMo does is pump out tracks that are absolutely MASSIVE. Whether it was “Thunder Bay” off of 2011’s Satin Panthers, “Higher Ground” off of the self-titled EP of his and Lunice’s side project, TNGHT, or co-production on Yeezus’s climax “Blood on the Leaves” it makes sense why HudMo is G.O.O.D. Music’s latest signee. He also boasts heavy production credit’s on Pusha T’s My Name is My Name and is heavily involved in the making of Kanye West’s next LP.
[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/16321505" params="auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true" width="100%" height="450" iframe="true" /]
Isaiah Rashad
Pitchfork’s rap lineup this year is flat out dominated by TDE (Top Dawg Entertainment) this year with it’s newcomer Isaiah Rashad being joined on the lineup by Kendrick, SZA, and Schoolboy Q, but then again hasn’t rap been dominated by TDE this year?
Rashad both embodies why TDE has been successful, original material in a hip-hop culture that is saturated with copy-cat material. Rashad’s debut album, Cilvia Demo, is one of 2014’s best hip-hop records to date and is filled with the Southern MC tearing up a wide-ranging slate of beats.
Twin Peaks
The most overlooked group of the entire lineup, this indie-dream rock collective’s first full length LP, Sunken, evokes the feeling of a hazy version of Surfer Blood’s Astro Coast. While only eight tracks long, Sunken, is a memorable debut from the band which will release its’ second studio album, Wild Onion, on August 5th.
DJ Spinn
When the lineup originally came out, Spinn was slated to do a set with fellow footwork music pioneer, DJ Rashad. Sadly, Rashad passed away on April 26 leaving Spinn without his brother and collaborator . This set is expected to be a tribute to DJ Rashad and should be heavy with emotion in the hometown of both the DJ’s and the music that they have helped lay groundwork for. It will also be a clinic in DJ’ing and a show with tons of energy, certainly worth checking out for those who have never seen a footwork show.
