Pitchfork Music Festival Paris

Pitchfork Music Festival Paris in 2011. Photo: Charlotte Zoller via pitchfork.com.

Renowned Chicago-based online indie music authority Pitchfork returns to the Grande halle de la Villette for the second annual edition of the Pitchfork Music Festival Paris. Spread across the first three days of November, the festival is headlined by acts including the American bands Grizzly Bear and Animal Collective, the Swedish pop songstress Robyn, and French acts M83 and Sébastien Tellier.
This year’s edition expands on the inaugural 2011 Pitchfork Music Festival Paris, so music fans can look forward to one more day of performances, an additional stage and 20 more artists than its predecessor. And although last year’s festival was a success, managing to sell out the 5,000-capacity venue, it was not without its critics. (Based on a sampling from the blogosphere, they mainly took issue with the limited food options within the reentry area; apparently hot dogs are not for everyone.)

Grizzly Bear. Photo: Patryce Bak via facebook.com/grizzlybear.

Whereas music festivals tend to evoke images of denim cutoffs and Ray Ban–clad youths basking in the sunshine in a middle-of-nowhere field clutching beers, Pitchfork Paris marks a departure from the conventional. Trailing in the wake of the giant European music festival circuit of summer that comes with multiple stages, campgrounds and the works, like August’s Rock en Seine, held on the outskirts of Paris, Pitchfork Paris feels almost intimate by comparison.
Located in the 19th Arrondissement’s Parc de la Villette, the vast cast-iron and glass Grande halle functioned as a slaughterhouse until the late 1970s, when operations ceased and the building and grounds began the gradual process of being converted to a cultural center. These days the Grande halle plays host to exhibitions, trade fairs and, as of late, Pitchfork Paris.

Pitchfork Music Festival Paris in 2011. Photo: Charlotte Zoller via pitchfork.com.

A glance below the headlining names reveals a full lineup leaning heavily toward electronic and synth pop, but after all, this is the birthplace of Daft Punk. Artists to look out for include Brooklyn duo Chairlift, London-based band Factory Floor, Bristol’s F**k Buttons, the experimental Simian Mobile Disco, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs (who, yes, performs in a dinosaur outfit), the barely legally aged brothers Disclosure and Purity Ring. 

M83. Photo via facebook.com/m83music.

Rounding out the list is a handful of non-eponymous singer-songwriter acts, whose names alone should draw curious listeners. Thursday features How to Dress Well, while The Tallest Man on Earth and Wild Nothing take the stage on Friday. Saturday closes with Twin Shadow.
Alternative rock fans should focus on Friday’s talent list, which in addition to indie classic Animal Collective also features the newly formed Outfit and its older counterpart The Walkmen. 

Robyn. Photo via facebook.com/robyn.

With three full days of music and flexible ticketing options, Pitchfork Paris offers a chance to revamp your playlists and discover something fresh.
Tickets are on sale now through Digitick.
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Digitick
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