Latitude Festival To Host The Listening Party With Tim Burgess & James Acaster

Latitude has announced that Tim Burgess will host his lauded ‘Listening Party’ live from the festival in celebration of Temp’s debut album PARTY GATOR PURGATORY. Temps, a 40-strong international music collective devised, curated and produced by celebrated comedian James Acaster will release their much anticipated debut album on 19th May.

Latitude returns to the ​​picturesque grounds of Henham Park, Suffolk, on 20-23 July 2023. Burgess and Acaster join headliners Pulp, Paolo Nutini , George Ezra, Ed Gamble, Bridget Christie, Sara Pascoe and Romesh Ranganathan. Tickets for the festival are on sale now.

In 2020 when the world was forced to hit pause on live in-person gigs, Tim Burgess found an ingenious way to bring people together by inviting artists and bands, from Paul McCartney and New Order to Michael Kiwanuka and Kylie, to host real-time album playbacks via Twitter. Today marks 3 years since the very first Tim’s Listening Party. Earlier this week it was announced that the series will be brought to life in a “brand-new audio format” on Absolute Radio over six weeks.

To celebrate the release of Temps debut album, Tim Burgess is bringing his famed Listening Party live to Latitude, where James Acaster will share stories and music from the new Temps album with the Latitude audience. James Acaster said, “‘After years of me listening to Tim’s music I’m jazzed about swapping roles and seeing what he makes of Temps”.

Alongside being a co-host for the mega-chart-topping podcast, Off Menu, Acaster, hosts the Perfect Sounds podcast, showcasing music from 2016, and played drums in the bands The Wow! Scenario and the Capri-Sun Quartet before finding fame as a stand-up.

Consisting of artists across multiple genres, fronted by a cartoon alligator, there is much intrigue surrounding the Temps project.Featuring such geniuses as Quelle Chris, John Dieterich, Joana Gomila, Laia Vallès and Seb Rochford, Temps’ ten-track debut PARTY GATOR PURGATORY was produced, curated and devised by Acaster. This mind-bending opus rose from the ashes of a Louis Theroux mockumentary aborted due to lockdown.

He spent the next two years sending tracks back and forth, between himself and his heroes, as they gradually discovered an album together. Genres were disregarded in favour of tightly-packed experimentalism. Everyone was given free reign to do as they pleased then Acaster would cherry pick his favourite bits, the methodic touchstone being “a DIY Gorillaz or a homemade My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy”.

Vast in scope and scale, and fizzing with an experimental energy, the trippy PARTY GATOR PURGATORY manages to blend a host of ideas, guests and moods into an album that draws you into its own unique world.

. “I became completely obsessed with this project,” states Acaster , “It was all I focussed on for two years and we ended up making my favourite thing ever. I hope people enjoy it.”

Heady lead single no,no – a fusion of atmospheric alt rock, unorthodox hip hop and loose jazz time signatures sets the scene . Densely packed opener lookaliveandplaydead pits sinister-sounding psych against conscious rap, while the expansive new single bleedthemtoxins fuses freewheeling jazz with brass wig-outs, before euphoric closer slowreturn shifts through alt-rock textures into heavenly, Shamir-assisted gospel.

Talking about working with Acaster, Shamir said, “Working with James Acaster on music was funny because the time signatures he had us singing on… I for one was challenged but it was so fun! An evil genius I fear!”

Listeners can look forward to rap verses from the likes of Open Mike Eagle, Denmark Vessey, Yoni Wolf and Wheelchair Sports Camp, big pop hooks courtesy of Montaigne, Law Holt, Mal Devisa and Xenia Rubinos, the eccentricity of NNAMDÏ, Gaston Bandimic, Me oh Myriorama and Babar Luck, as well as the sitar of Ami Dang, the flute of Elizabete Balčus and Foonyap’s theatrical strings.

Since it began, tens of thousands of music lovers have pressed play at the same time as legendary musicians to share the communal experience of Tim’s Listening Party. Over 1,000 online events, fans and artists – from McCartney to Blondie, Joy Division to Iron Maiden – have shared insightful recollections, intimate conversations and behind-the-scenes revelations.

Leaving the confines of Twitter at the end of lockdown, the Listening Parties have since gone into the real world with the first ever live edition coming from Latitude in 2021. Tim said, ‘We did the first ever Listening Party Live at Latitude so it’s brilliant to be heading back there – Party Gator Purgatory is a mind blowing project and I can’t wait to share the stage with James Acaster to find out all about it’