Playlist: Meltdown, The Curators

The very first artist to be charged with curating Meltdown was the composer George Benjamin, as the festival’s formative years followed a contemporary classical path. Benjamin was followed by Louis Andriesson, with fellow composers Magnus Lindberg and Laurie Anderson curating the fourth and fifth editions of the festival, respectively.

But then in 1998, under the curation of the late John Peel, the festival took a marked shift in direction; its spotlight moving onto a mix of contemporary and cult indie acts, ranging from Cornershop and Gorkys Zygotic Mynci to Sonic Youth and The Jesus and Mary Chain. Since then, the festival has been placed in the hands of some huge names in modern music, including Nick Cave, Robert Wyatt, David Bowie, Yoko Ono, Nile Rodgers and Grace Jones; each adding their own special stamp on the events they curate.

Join us in taking a moment to revisit some of those past years, and remind yourself of headline acts that may have slipped your mind, with this playlist of music from Meltdown’s curators.