Simple Things 2025

For an essence of the 2025 acts, and their potential trajectories, it’s revealing to visit the Simple Things archive – a festival synonymous with the dark, surprising music Bristol, UK, can foster as well as showcase. They had Grimes perform in 2012, the era of Visions, just two years after the festival launched. Idles, now titans of post-punk, as they grew, graced one of the smallest stages The Sportsmans, an unassuming sports bar any other time of the year. During Idles’ past set, reportedly the ceiling nearly caved in. Simple Things had Fontaines D.C. in the tiny Rough Trade back room in 2018 and Squarepusher headline for 2012. This seems to prove a historic ability to facilitate early contact with future stars.

Fast-forward to edition eleven, the festival has cultivated palpable anticipation. Not least with the awesome lead-up shows, including John Maus’ visceral performance with support by local Kelan that thrilled and disturbed, but also Simple Things’s legendary status. Of the acts we caught, Blackhaine is the one who’s reached a cult position today with his eerie rap and entrancing presence. The musician has worked with Kanye West on choreography, whom he shouted out during the set within a long list of thank-yous. It’s easy to see Blackhaine is a dancer in his sloping fluid movements about the dark stage. It was a deeply cathartic performance to experience in the crowd; his harsh rap set to experimental industrial music verged on noise. It was a voice given to dark feelings. 

The ground and subsequently our bodies trembled with Blackhaine’s deep bass. We were encircled by the scent of tobacco smoke, as other members on the stage paced and chained cigarettes, intermittently being told off by potentially stage management. This music is tough but emotionally resonant; “They can pull us apart, but they can’t make me forget ya” is a vulnerable lyric one might not expect from such an abrasive soundscape. Blackhaine also reassured patient fans that the album is nearly done. Overall, it was breathtaking. 

Another meaningful performance was Nadia El Shazly at Strange Brew’s back room. Modern driving electronic production underpinned guttural vocals in pleasingly timeless release. El Shazly holds an interest in Arab musical codes. She shared one of her songs was a mawwal, improvised singing over an instrument, in this case a harp, which she added is a form found across all Arab countries. Her expression of shared musical identity brought up thoughts of solidarity, as well as the life in rhythms that speak to us across borders. Another moment, the musician’s powerful performance descended into very human growls up against scratchy synths that tipped between a mournful fiery ballad and a dance track. The artist moved confidently, commanded the audience and covered her face briefly with her long hair, hands laid over her eyes like an artistic symbol. Despite the language barrier to Arabic on my end, Nadia El Shazly’s work is transcendent and poignant.

For some level of relaxation, Simple Things offers refuge in the weirdest venue, the Imax cinema inside Bristol Aquarium re-titled Bristol Megascreen. Sadly, we didn’t see any fish at ten at night, although they’re better off not being dazzled by strobe lights and bass. For BABii’s set, the limits of the tiny stage platform were broken as she clambered into the crowd, where the four or so front rows danced on their feet, including Iglooghost, who was up next. Further back, attendees rested their feet seated to industrial music. The huge screen projected a pixelated monochrome stream of the live artist who delivered her experimental DareDeviil2000 with passion. As jagged rhythms resounded and BABii sang in the crowd, complete with a handheld flashlight blinking turned on herself, it was a great showcase of the artist and festival’s authentic DIY spirit.