Fluff Fest
GenreHardcore punk, punk rock, extreme metal, experimental
DatesThursday–Sunday in late July
Location(s)Rokycany, Czechia
Years active2000–present
Attendanceseveral thousand
Websitewww.flufffest.net

Fluff Fest is an independent hardcore punk festival held each July at the Czech town of Rokycany, near Pilsen.[1] A significant event for the European DIY punk subculture,[1] the festival is fully vegan, informed by an anti-capitalist and anti-nationalist stance, and associated with movements such as anarchism, animal rights, feminism, anti-fascism, and straight edge.[2][3] A product of the wider DIY music scene in Czechia, it draws audiences from across Europe to an international lineup of bands oriented mostly on hardcore, crust punk and grindcore, post-hardcore and screamo, punk rock and post-punk, sludge metal and metalcore, and post-metal, as well as talks and literature.[1][4][5][3] Vegan catering is provided by Czech animal rights organization Svoboda zvířat.[6][7] Prices of food, drink, and entry (for which there is no presale) are generally low.[8]

Fluff originated from Y2K HC Fest, an event held in 2000 at the Rokycany swimming pool. It was renamed for the 2001 edition and eventually moved to the town's airfield as attendances grew to several thousand. In 2012, the Psych Tent became part of the festival, organized by Jakub Ďuraško of Stoned to Death Records.[9] It showcases a separate lineup, oriented on mostly experimental music including electronic, psychedelic, avant-rock, ambient, and noise, for free outside the paid Fluff Fest entrance.[1][10][3] Currently, Fluff runs for four days, starting on Thursday with a free warm-up and ending on Sunday night, and incorporates several side stages as well as dance after-parties each night.[3] Additionaly, "pre-Fluff" and "after-Fluff" parties featuring some bands from the lineup are held on Wednesday and Monday at Café na půl cesty, a small venue in Pankrác, Prague.[6]

Location edit

 
Rokycany townscape. The airfield is located just beyond the centre-left forest.

Rokycany is a town located 17 km east of the regional capital Plzeň, with a population of just over 14,000. The Rokycany airfield is within walking distance from the town centre and train station. Two paths can be taken: the more frequented one passes by the town's swimming pool where the festival was originally held (and which remains very popular with audiences on hot days)[11][5][12] while the slightly faster one leads through a forest and hillside which is a protected natural area.[10] The airfield lies between this forest and a highway.[10]

Fluff Fest has been described as a "strain" on Rokycany,[13] which is unaccustomed to large numbers of foreign visitors and extreme music adherents. The festival brings a business boom to the town, especially in sales of vegetarian and vegan food.[14][13] It is monitored by the police, including local municipal units, road units, and investigative units, with the stated goal of preventing crime, tackling theft, and making sure transportation runs smoothly.[15]

History edit

Fluff Fest 2006 edit

The 2006 edition was held on 21–23 July and drew about 2500 visitors. Svoboda zvířat made roughly 130,000 Kč selling food, while the two organizers' final income was estimated at 755,000 Kč, after substracting expenses of over 550,000 Kč (including €300 for each of the headliners, New Winds and Good Clean Fun, and €500 for the Suicide File) from their approximate gross income of 1,310,000 Kč.[16] This led to criticism from some involved as to the purported DIY ethic of the duo.[16]

Fluff Fest 2007 edit

The 2007 edition was held on 20–22 July. Performing bands included Maroon and 108 on Friday, Victims, Set Your Goals, and Vitamin X on Saturday, and La Quiete, Oi Polloi, Rise and Fall, These Arms Are Snakes, and Converge on Sunday.[5] Various workshops were held throughout the festival.

Fluff Fest 2008 edit

The 2008 edition was held on 25–27 July, preceded by a welcome movie screening on Thursday 24 July. Performing bands included War from a Harlots Mouth, Meneguar, and Raein on Friday, Daïtro and Maroon on Saturday, and Cataract, Amenra, Death by Stereo, and Bane on Sunday.[17] Side stages had been introduced, including the Arty Tent.[17]

Fluff Fest 2009 edit

The 2009 edition was held on 24–26 July and drew about 3000 visitors.[2] Performing bands included Trial, An Albatross, Have Heart, Victims, Ratos de Porão, Fall of Efrafa, Analena, and Rise and Fall.[18]

Fluff Fest 2010 edit

The 2010 edition was held on 23–25 July, preceded by a welcome movie screening on Thursday 22 July. Various movies were screened throughout the festival. Performing bands included Carpathian, Comadre, and Ruiner on Friday, Ampere and Amenra on Saturday, and Cruel Hand and Municipal Waste on Sunday.[19]

Fluff Fest 2011 edit

The 2011 edition was held on 22–24 July. Announced bands included Ceremony, La Dispute, Black Breath, The Carrier, Blue Note, Victims, Touché Amoré, Ensign, Raein, Rosetta, and Polar Bear Club.[20] Additionally, a diverse group of Czech bands appeared.[7]

Fluff Fest 2012 edit

The 2012 edition was held on 20–22 July. Performing bands included Verse, Pianos Become the Teeth, Trapped Under Ice, Defeater, Self Defense Family, Loma Prieta, Code Orange Kids, Landscapes, No Omega, and Light Bearer.[21][22] There was a tent at which movies were screened.[21] The Psych Tent was a part of the festival for the first time, organized by Stoned to Death Records, a label which had just been founded by Jakub Ďuraško in Prague.[1][3]

Fluff Fest 2013 edit

The 2013 edition was held on 25–28 July and drew audiences of between 6000 and 8000.[11] For the first time, bands also performed on Thursday, with We Came Out Like Tigers closing this warm-up. Other bands included Code Orange Kids, Harm's Way, Circle Takes the Square, and Full of Hell on Friday, Downfall of Gaia, Brutality Will Prevail, Dangers, Vitamin X, and Catharsis on Saturday, and Mouth of the Architect, the Black Heart Rebellion, Birds in Row, Coliseum, and Strike Anywhere on Sunday.[23] Side stages included Psych Tent II and the first Queer Noises Tent, which has remained a part of the festival since, oriented on electronic music.[24][12] A speech on the contemporary anarchist movement was given by Brian D. of CrimethInc. while Greg Bennick held a workshop on becoming a hardcore punk vocalist/lyricist.[4] Refundable cups had been introduced to reduce the environmental impact of the event.[12]

Fluff14 edit

The 2014 edition was held on 24–27 July and closed by We Came Out Like Tigers, No Omega, Backtrack, D.O.A., and Bane on Sunday.[25] Side stages included Psych Tent III, which was performed by Andrea Belfi on Friday,[10] and Queer Noises Tent 2.[4] Large numbers of distro and activist tents had become a feature of the festival area.[4] A pre-Fluff matinée was held at Café na půl cesty on Thursday.[4]

Fluff15 edit

The 2015 edition was held on 23–26 July. Performing bands included Raein, Endpoint, 7 Seconds, Loma Prieta, Trial, MDC, and Birds in Row.[26] Movies were screened already on Thursday. Side stages included Psych Tent IV, Queer Noises Tent 3, a grindcore-oriented stage, and an open stage.[8]

Fluff16 edit

The 2016 edition was held on 21–24 July. Performing bands included Oathbreaker, Earth Crisis, Graf Orlock, Blacklisted, RVIVR, Rosetta, Totem Skin, Archivist, the Black Heart Rebellion, Dawn Ray'd, Swain, No Omega, and Jungbluth,[27][9] while La Quiete were announced but had to cancel. Side stages included Psych Tent V, Queer Noises Tent 4, a grindcore-oriented stage, and an open stage.

Fluff17 edit

The 2017 edition was held on 20–23 July and headlined by Doom and City of Caterpillar on Friday, Vitamin X, Burn, and Chokehold on Saturday, and Racetraitor, Birds in Row, and Sect on Sunday.[6][28][29][3] Side stages included: Psych Tent VI; the grindcore-oriented All Go No Slow stage; an open stage; the Underdogs' Tent, which was curated by a different promoter each night; and the Infoshop Tent, which held acoustic performances on Friday (including Jonah Matranga) and Sunday (including Throw Me off the Bridge, the project of Birds in Row bassist Quentin Sauvé). On Saturday, the Infoshop first held talks including a speech by Greg Bennick[28][29] and a discussion on the SHAC campaign, before staging several hip hop shows by Czech and Slovak acts.[3]

Sources edit

  1. ^ a b c d e Sanna, Jacopo (20 September 2017). "The Sincere and Vibrant World of the Czech DIY Scene". Bandcamp. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  2. ^ a b Kuhn, Gabriel (2010). Sober Living for the Revolution: Hardcore Punk, Straight Edge, and Radical Politics. PM Press. p. 137. ISBN 1604860510. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Fluff Fest potvrzuje svou centrální roli v evropském DIY hardcore punku" [Fluff Fest confirms its central role in European DIY hardcore punk] (in Czech). Klubovna. 26 July 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d e Mittens XVX (2 August 2014). "Fluff Fest 2014 Highlights". DIY Conspiracy. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  5. ^ a b c "FLUFF FEST 2007" (in Czech). MarastMusic. 24 July 2007. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  6. ^ a b c Kamiński, Karol (24 April 2017). "Fluff Fest 2017 Details". Idioteq. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  7. ^ a b "22. – 24. 7. 2011: Fluff Fest; Rokycany" (in Czech). CoreMusic. 28 July 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  8. ^ a b "Fluff Fest". GuardianWitness. September 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  9. ^ a b "Špína se těší na Fluff Fest: Kauzy, kauzičky, třípatrové pogo a hardcorový blitzkrieg" [Špína is looking forward to Fluff Fest: Affairs, small affairs, three-storey pogo and hardcore blitzkrieg] (in Czech). Radio Wave. 17 July 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  10. ^ a b c d "Psych Tent III. – Fluff Fest" (in Czech). MarastMusic. 4 August 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  11. ^ a b Fencl, Ivo V. (8 August 2013). "Festíky a jeden Fluff Fest Open air Na letišti i na koupališti v Rotaunu" [Small festivals and one Fluff Fest open air on the airfield and swimming pool of Rotaun] (in Czech). Britské listy. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  12. ^ a b c "Kočky na Fluff Festu" [Cats at Fluff Fest] (in Czech). 11 Koček. 1 August 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  13. ^ a b Vaníková, Jana (26 July 2015). "Fluff fest, to je nápor na Rokycany" [Fluff Fest is a strain on Rokycany] (in Czech). Rokycanský deník. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  14. ^ Havránek, Václav (20 July 2017). "V Rokycanech začíná Fluff fest" [Fluff Fest begins in Rokycany] (in Czech). Klatovský deník. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  15. ^ Kroftová, Hana (19 July 2017). "Festival – FLUFF FEST" (in Czech). Policie ČR. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
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  17. ^ a b "FLUFF FEST 2008" (in Czech). Periferia. 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  18. ^ "FLUFF FEST 2009 – Rokycany, Letiště – 24. – 26. července 2009 – pátek" [FLUFF FEST 2009 – Rokycany, Airfield – 24. – 26. July 2009 – Friday] (in Czech). Metalopolis. 26 July 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  19. ^ Vaněk, Matty (16 July 2010). "Program Fluff Festu" [Fluff Fest Programme] (in Czech). CoreMusic. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  20. ^ "Fluff Fest" (in Czech). CoreMusic. 6 April 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  21. ^ a b "FLUFF FEST 2012" (in Czech). MarastMusic. 30 July 2012. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  22. ^ Hošek, Matěj (1 August 2012). "Foto: Fluff Fest, Rokycany, 20. – 22. 7. 12" (in Czech). Muzikus. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  23. ^ Chodil, Davey (25 March 2013). "Víme o pár kapelách, co budou na Fluff Festu 2013!" [We know of a few bands set to appear at Fluff Fest 2013] (in Czech). CoreMusic. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  24. ^ "Alprofest 2015: Vítejte na Fluff Festu" [Welcome to Fluff Fest] (in Czech). Vývařovna. 6 August 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  25. ^ "Redakce Kids and Heroes doporučuje z line-upu Fluff Festu 2014" [Kids and Heroes editors' choices from Fluff Fest 2014 lineup] (in Czech). Kids and Heroes. 21 July 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  26. ^ "Redakce Kids and Heroes doporučuje z line-upu Fluff Festu 2015" [Kids and Heroes editors' choices from Fluff Fest 2015 lineup] (in Czech). Kids and Heroes. 17 July 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  27. ^ "Fluff Fest 2016" (in Czech). Full Moon Zine. 13 June 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  28. ^ a b "FLUFF FEST 2017 – Bands, friends, vegans, thinking, talking, playing, swimming & d.i.s.c.o" (in Czech). Metalopolis. 28 July 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  29. ^ a b "Nic's FLUFF FEST 17" (in German). xclusivx. 28 July 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2017.