Rotterdam’s Left of the Dial festival has now completed the line-up for its 2025 edition. The festival takes place from 23 to 26 October with 150 artists participating across 25 stages throughout the city. The good people of this festival do everything possible to make it one of the most enjoyable multi-venue festivals in Europe including encouraging all artists to perform at least once, making the journey worthwhile for them and assisting festival attendees with their schedule planning. With the high calibre of new and emerging artists participating in a number of genres, The Decibel Decoder is previewing some of the highlights with two main caveats:
1. These previews lean into the noisier and more danceable end of the music spectrum.
2. With 150 artists performing, these previews are a snapshot within a category.
Part 2 focuses on highlights from England, Scotland and Wales.
All bios provided by the artists to Left of the Dial.
Body Horror (England)
Body Horror met in Tottenham in 2016, amidst the London warehouse party scene. Mixing post-punk with influences from the London rave scene, they find themselves at a crossroads between The Prodigy and The Birthday Party. Welsh lead vocalist Gethyn Thomas’ rhythmical flow over their industrial beats and sequenced sharp guitars make for a fresh sound which is seeing them rapidly develop a cult-like following.
Legendary BBC Radio 6 presenter Steve Lamacq describes them as:
“Dealing in a hard, electro based type of rhythmical post punk, a type of savage New Order soundtrack overlayed by an unrepentant snarl.”.
Cowboy Hunters (Scotland)
Punkrock’s daughter has a son with a robot.
The hellish cyborg offspring is exiled.
Sick riffs and spite are his only solace.
This is our ancestors story.
Good News (England)
Good News is a multilingual post-punk, no wave, disco(!?) trio from Sheffield, England. Their debut album Small Forms (2024) and EP Same As That (2023) were released via DIY label Bingo Records and they are going for the hatrick with another release in 2025. Prior to their UK headline tour last autumn, they’ve done a live session with Marc Riley & Gideon Coe (BBC 6 Music) and supported Kid Congo Powers & The Pink Monkey Birds, The Bug Club, and Acid Klaus. Erin (drums, percussion, vocals) and Dan (bass, percussion, vocals) bring the danceable rhythms, Beth (vocals, guitar, keys, clarinet, percussion, etc., etc., etc.) brings the weird noises, and together they just want to have fun. For ears with short attention spans that like Delta 5, Beat Happening, and The Raincoats.
House Arrest (England)
If Devo were the founding fathers of de-volution, then House Arrest are the children of the de-volved. Slathered in Vaseline and dipped in gravy, a warped cacophony of fried synths, slimy basslines, warbled guitars and lyrics straight from the mind of the mad. A band whose sonic presence lurks within the caliginous waters of post-punk wearing disco shoes and wrapping itself in no-wave sensibilities.
House Arrest don’t shy away from the grime and grit but instead hoard it, moulding it into bite-size chunks of infectious driven gutter-rock. With live shows that are a looser than spare change but musicianship that is tight and precise, House Arrest have carved a chunk in the current musical landscape and continue to dig deeper into unknown territory
Humane the Moon (England)
Rising East London indie artist, Humane The Moon, continues his unstoppable ascent with the release of his highly anticipated next single ‘Watch Don’t Learn’ which concludes his second EP, Debris Joice. Amplifying his signature alternative energy and angst while introducing a fresh array of influences and stylistic variety. He promises to captivate with its dynamic blend of familiar intensity and innovative sounds.
So far in the EP campaign, Humane The Moon has proven his ability to push the boundaries of his sound, and the full body of work continues to do so. Humane the Moon has a primary goal that sits at the heart of the sonically charged, often anxious yet viscerally enlivening music that he makes: it must be “something that makes you screw your face up a bit, run about and let loose,” he chuckles in a throaty East London accent.
Mên An Tol (England)
Formed in the orbit of a South London pub, the spirit of Mên An Tol’s music can be traced back to frontman Bill Jefferson’s own musical education in his native Cornwall where he’d play folk sessions in and around the local pubs – in-fact the band name itself is taken from a rural site of ancient stones.
The band’s instant chemistry (completed by mandolinist Felix Knox, bassist Max Silvey, drummer Tom Stevens and guitarist Robert Wiseman) is writ-large as they channel the raw grit of folk greats like The Pogues and The Waterboys alongside the mainstage urgency and confidence of Britpop giants. Perhaps most vitally, the songs proudly reclaim lost folk traditions with the use of the mandolin coupled with vibrant storytelling.
Pearl2 (England)
Pearl2 are a London-based electronic trio fusing hypnotic club energy with off-kilter pop. Fronted by Lola Stephen (Hank), whose airy vocals float over Dylan Jones’ lithe basslines and Tom Kellett’s (Moreish Idols) restless, textured electronics, their sound is raw, rhythmic, and intoxicating. Drawing inspiration from leftfield icons like Lena Platonos, Boards Of Canada, Primal Scream, and Saâda Bonaire, Pearl2 blur the lines between the cerebral and the physical.
Their debut track ‘Watered Down’ kicked off this year’s influential Slow Dance compilation, earning early support from BBC 6 Music’s Tom Ravenscroft, Emily Pilbeam, Introducing’s Jess Izsatt, and praise from So Young and The Most Radicalist, who dubbed it “an ominous serving of trip-hop, blasted through the lens of 90s rave culture.”
Live, Pearl2 transform dark rooms into kinetic, high-energy spaces. Their debut at RIP Magic’s Mascara Bar residency in October alongside SILVERWINGKILLER set the tone, followed by support slots for Body Meat, Black Fondu, Triage, and have just completed their first UK tour supporting Jadu Heart.
Soapbox (Scotland)
SOAPBOX are the unruly voice of Glasgow’s punk underground. Loud, unapologetic, and fiercely independent, the band has built a reputation for electrifying live shows, sold-out headline gigs, and anthems that challenge the status quo. Their latest single, ‘The Fear’, has propelled them further into the spotlight, earning key Spotify editorial placements alongside acts like SOFTPLAY, IDLES, and KNEECAP. After shutting down King Tut’s with a sold-out riot and supporting Australian punks Press Club at London’s legendary 100 Club, SOAPBOX are primed to set festival stages alight with their relentless energy and no-nonsense punk ethos.
Star City (England)
Star City began playing frequent gigs at the Windmill in Brixton in early 2024. By the end of the same year they were being billed as the venue’s house band and topped it off with a landmark New Years Eve show to lead into 2025. Their sound is an infectiously danceable, synth-heavy blend of disco, post punk, techno and acid house, with nods to influences such as Gabber, Baile Funk, Comet is Coming and Italo Disco. In 2025 they have played shows supporting Fat Dog on their UK tour and continued to gig frequently in the band’s home city of London.
The band consists of Otis Hurst (synths, also of Automotion), Olly Meredith (bass, also of Warm Air Curtain), Luke Brueck Seeley (drums, also of Rabbitfoot) and Harry McHale (Vocals/Sax/Guitar, also of Y).
teethin (Wales)
teethin is a bold and eclectic new force emerging from the heart of Wales, blending the raw energy of punk with the pulse of electronic and dance-punk to create a sound that’s as multifaceted as their roots. Formed in October 2024, the band draws from a rich tapestry of backgrounds and experiences, making their music as much about cultural collision as it is about sonic exploration. The band’s lineup includes James (vocals), Em (synths), Al (bass), Greg (drums), and Don (DJ/guitar), a mismatched yet cohesive unit bound by their shared desire to create something that speaks to the underrepresented and the overlooked. Hailing from different corners of the globe — from the Welsh Valleys to Athens, Ukraine, and the Philippines — teethin’s music reflects the complexity of their origins. The Welsh Valleys, a region scarred by the industrial decline of Thatcherism, informs much of their worldview, serving as a backdrop to their sound, which is a commentary on inequality, lost identity, and forgotten histories.
Drawing inspiration from the punk movements of the ‘80s, the rave culture of the ‘90s and the Grime scene of the 2000s, teethin’s debut single ‘My Generation’ critiques the feeling of their current generation having no clear voice or movement in music like those decades past. Through relentless, genre-defying experimentation, they aim to inject urgency and soul back into a culture that feels stuck in neutral.
teethin is more than just a band — they’re a movement, ready to make a lasting impact and redefine what it means to truly belong.
Y (England)
Y is a genre-defying band founded in 2023 by Adam Brennan and Sophie Coppin during a period of isolation. The duo discovered an uncanny synergy in their music-making, blending shared tastes with contrasting stylistic approaches. This paradox birthed the eclectic, unpredictable sound that defines Y—playfully described as ‘wonk rock,’ ‘Gameboy thrash,’ and even ‘Egyptian wedding music.’
The band’s lineup amplifies this kaleidoscopic sound. Sophie (vocals, keys) grounds the group’s intricate arrangements with her untrained yet instinctual knack for crafting irresistibly cheeky hooks. Adam (vocals, guitar) injects a sense of experimentalism, drawing from Japanese jazz fusion and unconventional scales to create beautifully awkward guitar harmonies. Dan GB (bass) brings a rhythmic precision shaped by years as a hardcore punk drummer, tempered by his love for Italo disco, giving Y’s music an electrifying, mechanical pulse. Brazilian percussion virtuoso Fells adds rhythmic complexity and endless possibilities on drums, while Harry McHale’s innovative saxophone work reimagines the instrument as a commanding lead voice in the band’s sonic palette.
The Windmill, a revered hub for cutting-edge acts, quickly became Y’s home stage, where their “theme song” ‘Why’ turned into a live-show centrepiece. Initially conceived with backing tracks, the band surprised even themselves by delivering the song’s explosive energy live, creating an audio party that rivals any studio-enhanced performance.
Yaang (England)
Following on from multiple sold-out headline shows including Manchester’s YES, and raucous support slots including Maruja’s sold-out show at Gorilla, Manchester and Death From Above 1979’s UK return at The Garage, London as well as other shows with Fat Dog, Getdown Services, Porij and KEG, YAANG released their debut offering ‘No’ digitally and on limited edition 10” vinyl through Crackedankles Records as well as a cassette run courtesy of Sour Grapes Records in March this year.
Forming in 2017 when Davey Moore (vocals/sampler) met Oliver Duffy (Guitars/vocals) at a rhythmic awareness class at the University of Salford – and later completed by Ben White (Ex-Working Men’s Club) on bass duties – the trio have steadily built their reputation for furious, high-energy live shows, powered by the rocket-fuel combo of pulsating drum-machine loops, clangorous guitars and a wicked sense of humour. Integral cogs in the ever-whirring grassroots scene of their beloved Manchester, Yaang regularly rub shoulders with the likes of buzzy contemporaries Maruja, Nightbus, The Orielles, Westside Cowboy, TTSSFU and Splint.
For more information on Left of the Dial including artist, venue, playlists and schedule details as well as all the extras taking place during Left Of The Dial please check the website.