This isn’t your usual All Things Loud post; rather, this is a reflective rambling on the last twelve months. These last twelve months have seen ATL go from strength to strength and accomplish things which, back in January, were unthinkable. As you read this, we’re in the final stages of redeveloping our website so that we can start a brand new chapter in the story of All Things Loud. That last sentence sounds rather clichéd, but it’s the truth. As you’ll see by reading on, 2015 has been a massive year. Throughout this piece I’m going to touch on my favourite moments of the year, as well as some of the things I’m most looking forward to. Not many people know what goes on behind the scenes here, so I’m going to touch on that too. We’re still a small website, but there’s a lot to say. So, as always, read on for more.
Where do I start? Right, the cold dark days of January and February. The year started off relatively busy, having secured interviews with Enter Shikari, Alabama Shakes and Set it Off. Those who know me personally will know that interviewing Enter Shikari is one of my life’s accomplishments completed. February was slightly busier, with the Pinkpop press conference the focal point of our month. The day that Pinkpop Festival allows us into their heart (as press, not a guest) will be the day I feel truly accomplished. Anyway, February continued to be cold, wet and windy. We went to the Pinkpop conference, and spent the rest of the day interviewing Unknown Mortal Orchestra and covering Architects. It was a fun month.
As we slowly left the cold weather, March presented itself as a truly heavy month. We spent the month solely focussing on ‘scene’ music, interviewing the likes of All Time Low, Neck Deep, Issues and Real Friends. The people we met and things we accomplished during March, both on a musical and personal level, were fantastic. We also hit 1,000 ‘likes’ on Facebook which, although a small number, was quite an accomplishment. The following month, April, we spent our second year in a row covering Motel Mozaique in Rotterdam. It’s a festival which is now close to my heart, especially as All Things Loud is now partially based in the city. We’re going to be back next year for sure, and we’ll have some other exciting things to announce regarding the festival very soon. April truly was the start of our festival season, with every event we covered that month being a festival. From Pinguin Radio Festival at the start of the month, we made our way through Motel Mozaique, London Calling and a very drunk Life I Live Festival seamlessly. During the latter festival, photographers had free roam of the main stage, and that’s one moment I personally won’t forget. May was a quiet month, with only Impericon Festival and Bevrijdingspop to show for on the live front. Away from the stage, Vintage Trouble wrote a column for us about their ongoing tour with AC/DC, and the first summer festival confirmations started streaming in.
And that’s what I’m most proud of this year – the summer festival season. Although nothing is ever going to trump the six days we spent at Glastonbury 2014, 2015 came pretty close. It started with a fantastic, fun-filled evening in Utrecht with our good friends in La Pegatina. For one night only, our favourite mestizo band managed to turn the reserved Dutch crowd into a group of carnival mavericks. The following week, we of course had the pleasure of covering Pinkpop Festival. Seeing Muse will never get old, and it’s also one of the reasons I’m actually writing this article right now. Muse is where it all began for me, and my love for them will never die. The following week, I spent a day at Best Kept Secret, photographing my friends in Temples on the main stage. That was an experience I’m never going to forget, and it made for some of my favourite pictures ever. Best Kept Secret is one of the nicest small-scale festivals in the land, with Down the Rabbit Hole the only real festival around to compete with it. Down the Rabbit Hole was one hell of a fantastic festival, and we can’t wait to return in 2016. Off stage, I’d also managed to secure accreditation for Rock am Ring, something I’m extremely proud of. It made for the first proper addition to our team in the shape of photographer Natasja de Vries, who has only impressed since. In June, she shot Rock am Ring and Jera on Air for us, and the rest is now history. July was quiet, with only Metropolis Festival and an evening in Rotterdam with The Growlers what we had to show for ourselves. During August we covered Lowlands Festival, which is another achievement I’m proud of.
The final five months of the year turned out to be some of the busiest. September featured our second foray into Germany for Lollapalooza Berlin, with the rest of the month quietly leading into what was quite literally a shedload of shows, interviews and whatever else the world threw at us. Over the course of October and November, we covered Dutch and Belgian shows by: Asking Alexandria, State Champs, Palma Violets, Fall Out Boy, Anti Flag, Northlane, London Calling Festival, Editors, Foo Fighters, Our Last Night, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Braids, Crossing Border Festival, Nothing But Thieves, Alabama Shakes, The Neighbourhood, Papa Roach, Five Finger Death Punch, Bring Me the Horizon, Wolf Alice and Lonely the Brave. Alongside that, we also interviewed a handful of artists in preparation for what the last two years have really built up to – a brand new All Things Loud website. Since September, we’ve worked closely and extensively with a Dutch graphic designer, who managed to take everything in our minds and turned it effortlessly and superbly into a stunning website. Although you’re probably reading this on the current Tumblr website (if you’ve made it this far…), we can assure that you’re going to love what’s up next. If people knew what was coming, they would definitely sit up and take note.
I sincerely hope that you enjoyed reading my opinionated ramblings, because they definitely went on quite a bit. If you have made it this far, then I’d like to thank you for taking out the time to check out All Things Loud this year. It’s only going to get better from here on out, and the whole unravelling process will commence on the 16th of December. This chapter has almost closed, but there’s still just enough time to reminisce at the first two years of our history. Sit tight, because the future is going to be a whirlwind adventure…
I’d love to thank you all for helping out this year, but there are really are too many people to thank. Whether it be an opinion on an article, taking pictures, or even helping out, I’d like to tell you that I greatly appreciate it. All Things Loud is still pretty much a one-man project, but even the hardest working people need support from the outside. I’ll keep it at a bare minimum for now, though: my family for their unending support, whether it be sharing everything we do with anyone, or providing me with a basis to build this website on; my best friends Ruben and Quentin for their opinions, help and ability to put up with my rambling; our fantastic photographer Natasja for travelling up and down the country to shoot artists she (at times) may not even like, doing it purely out of love for live music; the beautiful Sezen for everything she’s done (I can’t thank you enough, but you know exactly what I’d say if I did x); my housemates, for putting up with an absolute barrage of terrible music; and last but not least, everyone who has had some sort of input to the website. Whether it be contributing with pictures or articles, sending in your demos (we’re still listening to them all) or simply taking out time to read our work, THANK YOU. If I forgot to mention you in this list, there’s either a reason for that, or I just forgot.
Cheers
Jack
