It’s still a month or two off from being officially announced but the Splendour In The Grass 2014 lineup has already sprung a few leaks.

Following on from emerging Aussie dance act Yahtzel being confirmed for the winter music festival (by his own management, no less), fans can now lock in another homegrown artist for Splendour.

Nick Murphy, better known by his musical alias as chilltronica crooner Chet Faker, has confirmed he’ll be jetting to Byron Bay this July to take part in the festival.

It’s the third consecutive year he’s been on the Splendour In The Grass lineup, as Murphy himself pointed out when he let slip his place on the bill in a recent interview with Purple Sneakers 

While discussing his much-delayed, highly anticipated debut album Built On Glass and lead single ‘Talk Is Cheap’ (oh, the irony), Faker was asked about a return to Splendour in 2014, to which the musician replied; “yeah, for sure! – Isn’t the better question, when was the last time a festival booked the same artist three years in a row?” (We’ll have to go check…) “…When was the last time a festival booked the same artist three years in a row?”

Speaking about the evolution from his breakout Thinking In Textures EP to his 12-track full-length LP, Murphy recently told Tone Deaf “there’s a lot more instrumentation in the songs. They’re definitely denser.” Adding that as far as musical touchstones go, “I don’t know what inspires me. I just get inspired by so much stuff.” To prove it he provided us with his Top 10 Most Played Albums On iTunes (and its a delightfully eclectic mix).

Chet Faker is the latest name confirmed for the Splendour In the Grass 2014 lineup, following Yahtzel in late March, while the ever-expanding rumour mill includes MetronomyLondon GrammarMikhael Paskalev, the Dew Process-signed Circa Waves, recent Australian visitor Sky Ferreira.

Plus Outkast are hotly tipped to headline Splendour 2014, speculation made ever stronger by them being confirmed to play Japan’s Fuji Rock Festival this July, the same weekend as Splendour.

That logic has also puts other Fuji Rock acts forward as Splendour contenders, including Foster The People, Lorde, Damon Albarn, and The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, as well as previously announced artists such as Basement Jaxx, Manic Street Preachers, Franz Ferdinand, Bombay Bicycle Club, Darkside, SBTRKT, Parquet Courts, The Strypes, The Waterboys, BBC Sound Of 2014 pick Jungle, plus Bloody Beetroots, and Australia’s own John Butler Trio.

Then there’s the bands that played the Splendour & Falls Festival SXSW 2014 showcase; namely Skaters, Basecamp, De Lux, Drowners, Tor Miller, Wolf Alice, Jetta, BBC Sound of 2014 picks Chlöe Howl and Royal Blood, plus Gossling and Dune Rats.

Splendour organisers have yet to confirm when the 2014 lineup will drop, but going by last year’s time frame – where the 2013 bill was announced in late April – it can’t be too much longer. On the plus side, that still gives a few more weeks for bands to accidentally let slip of their involvement.

Read our three-day report on Splendour In The Grass 2013 here and our Festival Guide to Fuji Rock Festival here.

Splendour In The Grass 2014

Friday 25, Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 July
North Byron Parklands, Byron Bay

http://splendourinthegrass.com/

(Image: Splendour In The Grass. Source: Flickr)

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