Pitchfork

This festival thing is seriously out of control. We seem to hear about new three-day extravaganzas every other day now, notwithstanding the fact that many of them seem to founder at some point or another (fill in your favorite festival debacle here). But here's the latest addition to the summer roster. The AV Festival, or Avant Festival 003, taking place in sun-dappled Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol in Spain on August 1st, 2nd and 3rd, promises to be slightly classier than your average mud bash. And you know what they say about the rain in Spain. The hosting location, Sohail Castle, is apparently affiliated with the Alhambra Palaces and is right on the damn beach. I feel a rave coming on. Come on, blow your whistle, suck your pacifier and shake it with me, Sohail! Wade in the water, Spaniards! Post-rock your baby, Costa del Sol!

The organizers claim that it's "a fabulous place designed for people who prefer quality music and live performances better than massive festivals." Which is code for "There will probably be a lot of people there who shouldn't really be allowed into festivals anymore because they're just too old and fried." It sounds like a mellow affair, to be sure, but the lads in Mogwai should rile things up, if nothing else. And just what exactly is the full lineup? Glad you asked:

August 1
Mogwai
Tortoise
Hood
Notes to Myself
Velhocido

August 2
Mouse on Mars
U.N.K.L.E.
Nils Petter Molvaer
Hacienda
Gilles Peterson and Earl Zinver

August 3
Lamb
Amon Tobin
Alpha
Robin Guthrie
Explosions in the Sky

So far so good. The event also promises to have an innovative touch with an installation from the Interactive Music Museum of Malaga, to be known as MIMMA SOUNDS. This will be, according to the festival's organizers, the "interactive zone of the festival, an artistic and sound exhibition" featuring a recording studio, virtual instruments, webcams and instant messaging. This has the potential to become a right clusterfuck. In our very limited experience of such matters, one equation seems always to hold true in situations like these: sun + drugs + an interactive zone = the potential for a very bad trip. So just be careful out there. If there's a bouncy castle right next to the real one, then you all might be in for one hell of a ride.