We've spent considerable time in the company of a slew of acts who'll be central to this weekend's festival and here are some highlights of what they've said to us over the years.
Chic feat. Nile Rodgers (Main Stage, Saturday, 00:30)
On his first appearance at Electric Picnic a few year ago:
"I think that was the first gig we did in Ireland. It was great. The magic of our music with the Irish is just incredible, which has probably something to do with my lineage. You have so many black people in America who say that they're part Irish, in my life it's actually true. There's some sort of affinity that our music has in Ireland, it's incredible. Even when we're just travelling through little towns, it's great."
On what people can expect from a live Chic show:
"The thing is, we play a certain amount of songs because they're the hits that people want to hear. Even though we have a massive playlist, usually our sets are controlled by how much time we have on stage, if we're playing after somebody and if we have to shut down. I don't think that the general public knows all that stuff. If we're doing a show, sometimes we can only play seventy-five minutes, ninety minutes, and we're always very, very respectful of the acts around us because that means that we take away from their time if we go over. We also have to assume that there's going to be a large amount of people who's never seen us."
James Murphy, formerly of LCD Soundsystem (Electric Arena, Friday 10pm)
On why he decided to retire LCD Soundsystem a few years ago:
"I'm 40, we all have lives. I love this band and I wouldn't want to be in another band at all. I wouldn't want to stop and form another band, or something stupid like that. I love it. But the problem is you shouldn't do it if you're not going to do it well. To do it well, to do it in a dignified way requires it to be almost your entire life. This is all I do. I used to be able to do this, plus a label, plus DJing, plus remixes, plus producing. I can't do those things anymore.
I figured that, rather than feeling compromised, I'd prefer to dedicate the next year and a half to make this record the best I can and do the tour the best I can and then just stop being this kind of a band that makes an album and goes on tour and does videos and things. I'm not going to make a new band. I'll probably still make music with LCD Soundsystem, but I'll probably just make singles and go back to it being a 'project' which is a part of my life, rather than a job that demands a year of Pat's life and Nancy's life. It's a big commitment. I'd rather go back to it being a part of my life instead of all of my life."
The Strypes' Pete O'Hanlon (Main Stage, Friday, 6pm)
On their breakout shows at Electric Picnic 2012:
"Yeah it was one of the biggest things we did last year. We got three shows over the three days and it was probably the best response we got at the festivals that year and we're looking forward to heading back this year."
On critics focusing on their age, rather than their music:
"I like to think it's more the music and the band speaking for itself more so than the age. When we started, of course because we were only 14 or 15, but we're pushing 17 or 18 now and it's becoming less of a 'thing' at all. It's just fellas in a band now. It does overshadow a lot of interviews. Like, 'it doesn't matter where they've played or what they've done, they're only 14...wow!'. It's very annoying, no artist just wants to talk about how old they are."
On what feelings he goes through on stage:
"''I can't believe nothing has gone wrong yet. This is amazing. I hope these people are genuinely enjoying this and they don't just think I'm on drugs or something. I don't even do drugs. I only had one Bavaria before this and it's made me gassy. Really looking forward to 'Put The Chain On'. How many songs to go to that one? Two more. Cool. This is so amazing. Then 'Love System'. That's a great one. Although if there's no cheer when we play the first few chords then this night is an absolute fucking disaster.'"
On their now legendary midnight show at Electric Picnic's Body & Soul area last year:
"After this year's EP show things felt particularly different. With everything that followed (Meeting House Square, The Olympia, FMC Irish Tour) there was a fresh kind of CRAZY in the audience. Crowds have always responded nicely to our absurd brand of thirtysomething nonsense, but now wherever we go in Ireland you can actually feel traces of that midnight Electric Picnic energy. Also, I had burning, agonising nerve pain in my shoulder for that Body & Soul show so I don't really remember much about the gig itself. How did it go?"
Oki's Wagon's Shane Fitzgerald (Jimmie Lee's Juke Joint, Friday, 8pm)
On making their Electric Picnic debut this year:
"It's a huge honor and we're thrilled to play amongst so many great acts. If you told us this last year when we were sitting around smoking in the kitchen we would've laughed you out of the house."
