Are you ready to explore the Magpies Nest?
“Come, relax in our den and let the animals who live inside entertain you. If you dare to explore they will show you the doors to your darker side, the freak show, a place of lost secrets where the animals party, inside their home where the things they find in time are collected and stored…”
Make like Alice and follow that white rabbit down into the jewel of the Hidden Valley, the maze of tunnels and trapdoors known as The Cabinet of Lost Secrets, a bizarre topsy-turvy Wonderland where time twists and turns around you as you plunge into the surreal.
Shortlisted for the AIF Festival Award ‘Most Unique Arena 2015’, The Cabinet of Lost Secrets returns for its third year at Nozstock, bringing you surprises and dancing in this strange underground lair!
Produced by Clik Clik Collective and put together by the finest and freakiest minds around, you should expect the unexpected. Be prepared to get properly “funked” up by big dance floor funk ‘n’ soul grooves, upbeat world rhythms and a touch of cutting edge electronica.
The Cabinet of Lost Secrets changes each year, piecing together a programme of immersive performances, mind-bending installations and tricks ‘n’ treats aplenty to keep you on the edge of your seat and the tips of your toes. If you were lucky enough to witness 2016’s secret performance from Jurassic 5’s MC Akil, or the Stiff Joints’ surprise appearance in 2015, you’ll know what we mean. Don’t blink or you’ll miss it – but there’s always something else worth seeing just ‘round the next corner.
All are invited to get stuck into life in the Cabinet: you can also have a good ol’ sing along, take part in a life drawing class, get a haircut or beard trim, relax in the Burrow and catch some fine tunage from live music and DJ’s — all under the watchful gaze of the resident animals…
You can expect all manner of artists and performers in the magpie’s nest that is the Cabinet, including the Brighton-based group Normanton Street, who graced us with a surprise gig last year and are returning to the farm and to our hearts with their soulful hip-hop vibes. Be ready to get down with Hallouminati and their tongue-twisting blend of gypsy-punk-ska-ragga madness, bringing you traditional Greek rembetiko with more edges than a dodecahedron.
Bristol-based Mankala will be blessing you with their irresistible roots dance music forged from a blend of genres from varying African nations, while The Discount Orchestra will be giving you a good old-fashioned sonic shakedown courtesy of gypsy-punk, speed-folk and everything in between.
Sheffield-bred seven-piece Hot Diamond Aces will be on hand to make sure you’re getting your fill of brassy funk, jazz and Afrobeat, while the Galactic Funk Militia will be enforcing a (non)hostile take-over and ordering all Cabinet-dwellers to report to the party for some audacious dancefloor bangers. Funk-Latin-pedlars Mango Factory will be bringing some class to the affair with their super-tight rhythm section and spine-tingling vocals.
If you’re a-hankerin’ for some analogue jams, veteran vinyl collector and DJ Beatwell is your man: he’ll be teaming up with Dante of Family Funktunes to bring you a carefully curated and infernally infectious selection of up-beat soul, funk and disco tunes. Worcester-based six-piece Desert Boots will be continuing the theme with an injection of raw funk and Northern Soul, and Londoners LIT FM taking it one step further with their skilfully honed soul-dub fusion.
Get ready to be taken to another dimension by the psych-jazz-trip and powerful saxophones of Yusufla, and then to be shaken to your very core by the digital Cerberus that is Rosebud, who’ll be coughing up a terrifying mish-mash of electronica, industrial, dub and punk for your… delectation. Calm Like a Riot will be making their illustrious return to the Nozstock stage after last year’s shenanigans, bringing you their very British spin on hip-hop, rock and funk-fusion. If all else fails, never fear – resident troublemakers Del and Dan of Funky Navigation will be here to bombard you with rare groove, funk, soul, disco, Latin and Afrobeat until you find yourself compelled by some unearthly force to get up on your feet and start dancing…
But wait! It’s not all about the dancing. Weary revellers looking for an escape from the non-stop acoustic onslaught of songstresses and groove-makers will be relieved to discover an assortment of pop-up playfulnesses, immersive experiences and artistry. You can take a cheeky peek at The Demon Barbers, Play It Again Dan, Collective Unconscious, sound art from the Swansea Lap Top Orchestra and Deaf Pictures along with a life drawing class and much, much more to be revealed and discovered…
The delectable treats described above are just a small selection of the smorgasbord that is the Cabinet of Lost Secrets – ‘secrets’ being the name of the game in the lair where time has no meaning and a surprise performance or sneaky gig could kick off at any moment. If you don’t want to be kicking yourself for missing out on some of the most memorable moments of the weekend, make sure to head on down to the Cabinet for a rummage around…
