Festivals For All caught up with Andy Cooper, one of the guys behind Off The Tracks, as he gears up for their Spring Festival 25th-27th May, in sunny Derbyshire.

This is a superb festival, and one of this reviewers outright favourites. No matter what your tastes, you will find something to savour at Off The Tracks. To get a flavour of what to expect take a look at the reviews of last year’s Spring and Summer Events. Something very special indeed!

Although the festival has been around twenty odd years, there is always something new, or a different tweak, to keep it all fresh. “There will be lots new going on; for instance we’ve a Flag Maze this year which is great for the kids.” said Andy. “We’ve also added Fire Sculptures, where these very talented people carve logs and then set fire to them. It’s a real spectacle.”

“To complement the existing healing field we’ve got the Hari Krishna’s joining us this year. They will have a marquee for meditation and will add great colour and sound to the festival…. It’s just to give an offering of something different …for me Off The Tracks is all about that kind of off the wall flavour....There is a lot of competition around, so it’s the little things that make a difference… for the people who come to the festival those things are the ‘added extra’. It creates an ambience – it’s really what we try and do all the time.”

“We’ve also been responsive to the economy and feedback from our fans as it were and scrapped charges for camper vans and parking, so all Advance Tickets are face value with no extra charges for people booking in advance… we’ll stick to charging parking and camper vans for people turning up on the day.” So do book in advance if you can for any event, it helps the festival and saves money too!

Off The Tracks even made a movie of last year’s Spring festival – you can enjoy it here:

You’ve always managed to offer really top quality artists at all levels of the bill, combined with some inspired programming and sequencing, FFA commented “Yes, I agree it’s an eclectic mix – we take a lot of care before every festival and sit down to analyse the acts and balance the programming to provide alternatives and sequence different things so it all flows and gives people choice.”

It’s certainly an exciting mix musically again this year with old favourites Wilko Johnson, Dub Pistols, and those magnificent old stagers Hawkwind, headlining. It’s the first outing for Hawkwind’s new album ‘Onward’ at Off The Tracks so it should be something special and a real exclusive. You can read a recent FFA interview with Hawkwind’s Dave Brock HERE, where Dave muses about Life, The Universe, and Everything, including Off The Tracks!

Is there any acts you’d particularly recommend, FFA enquired; “Warsaw Village Band I’ve got to say are absolutely amazing – they are from Poland and you don’t get to see them here too often. It’s fantastic. They play a kind of traditional music but in their own way. They’ve been labelled as the Pogues of Polish music…! Playing Polish roots music but with an energy & enthusiasm. You have to see them.”

FFA were impressed with JP Cooper last year, FFA added; “We really wanted to get him onto the main stage, which is what we are going this year. He’s coming with a trio to take advantage of the main stage.” Check this guy out – lovely fragile songs.

FFA noted that one of this reviewer’s favourites, Tarantism, are appearing as part of the Cabbage scene with Tarantism Soundsystem; “Cabbage do their club nights in Leeds of course…. It’s mainly DJ’s but we wanted a live music element too – hence Tarantism. It’s a great mix. We’ve had them before – they are a great festival band.”

And what about Simon Friend’s Seismic Survey FFA asked. (Andy appears alongside his mates in this new venture, and you can read all about them in an exclusive FFA interview with the Levellers Simon HERE.) ”We’re all kind of taken aback by the success. We are taking it a step at a time as we’ve all got commitments… but we’ve been taking recently about how to move forwards as we want to tour in December. Looks like 15 days, and of course there is no point touring without an album, so we are currently taking about scheduling some recording time.”

“I’m a booking agent for acts like Michelle Shocked; I bring them over from the States and tour them around the UK & Europe. … so I have that organisational experience too. Feedback from the first show was phenomenal …. Its brilliant – this has really all gelled – we all complement each other and play well together. We really enjoy each other’s company and being on stage together – it’s refreshing. I’ve bought a bass ukulele you know and I’ve not made up my mind if I’m playing yet…I’ll have try it out at rehearsals” he joked. So it looks like yet another exclusive at Off The Tracks – with or without that Uke.

Any final thoughts in summary then? “It will be another great weekend. It will get people out of the doldrums of today’s recession – a few days of forgetting the world & being taken somewhere else – that will make me happy “ FFA could not have put it better if we really tried!

Off The Tracks returns to Donington Park Farmhouse, Castle Donington, in Derbyshire, on Friday 25th to Sunday 27th May 2012. Full Details HERE.

Article by Barrie Dimond