Something magical is happening on the wild and beautiful western edge of the Lake District at the end of August. The Krankenhaus Festival, in all of its eclectic glory, is returning for a fourth year and will be held once again in the glorious surroundings of Muncaster Castle, near Ravenglass, an area once rightly described by John Ruskin as “the gateway to paradise".
Billed as a heart-warming and mind-expanding weekend of togetherness, Krankenhaus is a sublimely deranged celebration of music, community, connection and art, all ebbing and flowing between Scafell Pike and the Irish Sea.
The festival is the brainchild of one of the most celebrated bands ever to come from Cumbria, Sea Power (formerly British Sea Power), who have been organising mythos-building events in interesting places for more than 20 years.
Famously eccentric and arcane, Sea Power’s gigs have become the stuff of legend and their shows often include a stage decorated in foliage, irregular appearances by a ten-foot bear named Ursine Ultra, local brass bands and even the odd Cumberland wrestler.
Throughout their two-decade existence, they have garnered a unique reputation as a band that operates outside the traditional rock music mould and the band's shows, known for their intensity and creativity, earned them the title of Live Band of the Year by Time Out magazine in 2004.
In their time they have played on top of the Great Wall of China, down a Cornish slate mine, aboard ships at sea and under the giant astronomical dish at Jodrell Bank. And those weren't even the weirdest shows.
For now they are returning to where it all began and the place of their birth.
Natland born brothers Jan (vocals, guitar) and Hamilton Wilkinson (bass, vocals, guitar) met drummer Matthew ‘Woody’ Wood at Kirkbie Kendal School in the 1990s and alongside token Yorkshireman Martin Noble the original four-piece British Sea Power was formed. Woody recently left the band to spend more time with his family in Kendal but continues to play drums for his wife's band, Celestial North, and today Sea Power's ranks are fortified by Phil Sumner on cornet and keyboards and Abi Fry on viola.
For the uninitiated, Sea Power's bucolic sound is expansive, atmospheric and unpredictable and their songs teem with ideas from philosophy, religion, art and literature. They have written tracks about dislodged Antarctic ice shelves, Danish nuclear physicists and Ambleside’s own adopted artist Kurt Schwitters.
Their debut album, The Decline of British Sea Power (2003), received critical acclaim for its intrepid, original sound and has since been followed by a series of successful releases.
The band’s Mercury Music Prize shortlisted, seminal third album, Do You Like Rock Music?, from 2008 was recently re-released to celebrate its 15th anniversary
Their soundtrack to the highly acclaimed video game Disco Elysium won a BAFTA for best music at the British Academy Games Awards in 2020.
The Times called them the best band in Britain and they have more than their share of celebrity fans: Benedict Cumberbatch, Peter Capaldi, David Bowie and Bill Oddie have all sung the praises of the band, plus rumours abound that Daniel Radcliffe may or may not have lines from the band's lyrics tattooed on his body.
It all started in Cumbria where siblings Jan and Hamilton grew up in a post-war council house, a home and childhood that Jan likens to a parallel universe.
The brothers' older sibling, and author of the band's glorious biography, Do It For Your Mum, Roy Wilkinson explains the effect growing up in such a rural area had on the band: “Natland is mostly farmland and you can look out to Morecambe Bay and out to the mountains.
“Sea Power's music has a sense of scope that makes people think of broad vistas and the landscapes that they grew up surrounded by.”
Despite the band now splitting their time between the south coast and the Scottish islands, the Cumbrian influence still permeates all aspects of their work; when you think of the county’s rugged hills, meandering rivers and breathtaking coast there is really only one band that can do all this beauty justice.
A prime example is the lamenting Lakeland Echo, a song named after the now-defunct local newspaper that both Jan and Hamilton delivered as children and Jan has often elaborated on how Cumbria has inspired their music.
“Green Goddess,” he explains, “is a love song dedicated to everything green, from the Lake District to the New Forest, the places I cherish for their tranquillity and restorative qualities.”
This desire for calm and recuperation is well reflected in the festival's name: Krankenhaus is German for hospital and hints at a place of healing and retreat which the band have created in the rolling Cumbrian countryside.
It seems a natural home for Sea Power's gift of merging music with the environment and Muncaster Castle provides an ideal backdrop making attendees feel as though they are part of a fleeting utopia.
"The castle contributes to the overall feel of the festival with its physical presence and supernatural energies," says singer Jan Wilkinson.
He goes on to explain how his brother discovered it: "Hamilton stumbled upon the Krankenhaus site at Muncaster Castle on one of his multi day hobo-rambles. It seemed the ideal place for a convergence of music, authors, artistic souls and a psychedelic party portal."
Explaining the inspiration behind the first festival, he adds: "We have put on events in interesting places for a long time. One of these was at the Tan Hill Inn, the UK's highest pub, in the Yorkshire Dales. It was a great weekend. The kind of good times you live for, that you’ll never forget. So we decided to find another venue for a festival years later, and go for a slightly bigger capacity.
“The first Krankenhaus was an unforgettable weekend. It felt amazing to bring brilliant music and wonderful authors to such a magical part of the world and it really does feel like an honour to be putting this event on in this place.”
Krankenhaus has grown from a one-day event to a weekend-long celebration with a slightly larger capacity. "Now it’s bigger we can bring in more bands that we love and create a magical weekend for everyone," adds Jan.
"But it still embodies a level of inclusivity you’d expect from Sea Power, backstage areas are ditched in favour of communal spaces, where you can munch on a burrito with Gruff Rhys or bump into Stephen Morris from New Order walking around watching bird displays,” says guitarist Martin Noble.
Being Sea Power, a band that are loved as much for their eccentricities as their “high church amplified rock”, there is nothing conventional about this weekend. There will be games of Kosmic Bingo, the now legendary Krankenhaus Dog Show and in the chill out silo you can confess your sins to award-winning Private Eye cartoonist Tony Husband and have them transformed into a personalised cartoon.
However, the festival is most notable for its diverse line-up of guest artists. "It's a special curation,” says Jan, explaining how the acts are selected. “We put the names in scale model Viking boats launched on to Windermere on a secret night. Then fire flame tipped arrows and the ones which survive unburnt are chosen."
If anyone else had said that I would have thought they were pulling my leg, but with Sea Power I believe it, or at least I want to.
Past performers have included indie post-punk bands, folk artists and experimental musicians all bringing their unique flavour to the festival. It shouldn't work but it does, beautifully, a bit like Sea Power's esoteric and eclectic sound.
"We like to create something that we think is maybe going to surprise people, some eye openers and some favourite weirdos too," says Jan. "And hopefully, it’s an experience where people say ‘I’d never heard them and didn’t think I’d like that, but it was brilliant’."
Joining them by the River Esk this year for “three days and nights of music, conversation, outdoor pursuits and falconry” will be the Mercury Prize-nominated, Tyneside-born singer-songwriter, Nadine Shah.
She will be joined by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist BC Camplight, post punk performance art rockers Snapped Ankles and indie pop royalty Mozart Estate.
"The scheduling means everyone can watch all the bands," says Jan. "Everyone is in the same space, so it’s a great vibe. Friends will be made."
Other bands taking to the stage include South London post-punk band Goat Girl, ERC featuring Maxine Peake and Ryosuke Kiyasu, a Japanese musician who has made a unique niche for himself with his avant-garde, solo snare drum shows.
It is just the tip of the iceberg and, of course, Sea Power themselves will be playing throughout the weekend.
There will also be a series of talks from writer Cathi Unsworth, Cocteau Twin Simon Raymonde and artist Sapphire Goss in conversation with John Doran. Steve Davis and Acid Klaus will be DJing well into the night and the early risers get to enjoy all the usual Muncaster attractions as part of the weekend including the bird of prey displays and the castle’s haunted galleries.
A little further afield, and a highlight for many, is the mass Krankenhaus ramble, attended by hundreds of festival goers, out into the hills on the La’al Ratty steam train and back across Muncaster Fell with Noble leading the trek.
“We wanted to showcase the rich landscape as well as the bands and it turned out more popular than anticipated,” says Noble. “There were two full La’al Ratty trainloads and the line of walkers extended up and down the hills and around corners like a Krankenhaus caterpillar pilgrimage.
“Seven kilometres over the fell, through the heady smell of warm bracken, taking in gorgeous views of Scafell Pike and the surrounding peaks to the north-east; to the west was the Irish Sea and Isle of Man. It's lovely, a great time for meandering chats and sweating off the booze.”
In keeping with Muncaster Castle's award-winning programme of energy conservation and recycling, they have their own eco-friendly plans for Krankenhaus. "We are weighing up the feasibility of collecting the waste and making a vinyl recording of a selection of the music this year," he says.
If it is anywhere near as beautiful to look at as the ‘ocean vinyl’ record that Nick Mulvey recently released it is sure to become a treasured collector's item overnight.
"We aim to be an eco-friendly festival, so let’s make our planet proud," say the band. "Please come, you will have such a good weekend."
Krankenhaus Festival runs from August 23-25. Tickets cost £190 which includes four nights camping in the grounds of the castle. There is also a range of hotel rooms and glamping tents run by the castle which can be booked via the website. Food and drink will be available in the Barn Courtyard and at the castle's café with a wide range of local ales, including award-winning Cumbrian brewer, Gan Yan, with their own bar.
krankenhausfestival.com
muncaster.co.uk
