It
has become a tradition of sorts
that we send a selection of our
finest bands on tour together near
the end of the year. We were particularly
proud of this year’s line
up, as it not only showcased an
enormous stylistic bandwidth of
high profile electronic music –
from melodic to aggressive –
but we were also able to get an
absolute cult act to headline with
Die Form - a band that is renowned
for in the past three decades for
merging music, visual art and performance
to a multimedia art form. We, thus,
had representatives of the entire,
wide spectrum of electronic music
styles on board - from relentless
party tracks to a sophisticated
combination of art and club culture
– a wide spectrum that makes
the Electro scene the most exciting
musical culture on this planet.
(Auto Auto- Photo
by www.Art-in-Black.com)
The
young Swedish duo Auto-Auto opened
the shows with a lot of verve and
a unique mix of club sounds, Electro-Pop
and tongue-in-cheek experimenting.
With catchy anthems such as “Do
You Need Some Space?” or “Shadowlands”,
they light-handedly mastered the
ordeal of being the festival opener
and easily had the crowds following
along. A sympathetic stage presence,
a lot of humour and massive beats
made the room temperature go up
rather quickly.
(Amduscia
- Photo by www.Art-in-Black.com)
What followed was quite a contrast:
Amduscia launched full-blast into
their sonic inferno, with ultra-low
bass, a full-frontal Trance-attack
and beats, beats, beats! The mad
Mexican trio fronted by cyborg Polo
displayed and aggressive and sweat-inducing
show and set the rather large Hardfloor-faction
in motion. Their set went by way
too fast and left the audience longing
for more...
(Ashbury
Heights - Photo by www.Art-in-Black.com)
… which made them easy game
for Ashbury Heights who kept the
atmosphere cooking with a grand
show. Regarded as the top newcomers
by most attendants of last year’s
festival, the young Swedes were
back again this year by popular
request and were met by an enthusiastic
audience. Anders, Yaz and their
new keyboard player effectively
showcased how to sway an entire
club within seconds with big poses,
a lot of friendly audience interaction
and ultra-catchy hit anthems. They
played an entertaining set comprised
of the best songs from their new
mini album “Morningstar In
A Black Car” and their debut
album “Three Cheers For The
Newlydeads.” Great concerts,
great shows!
(Agonoize-
Photo by www.Art-in-Black.com)
What followed was a band that a
large portion of the audience had
been looking forward to in particular
– a band that is renowned
and notorious for its wild, tongue-in-cheek-nasty
and blood-dripping shows: Agonoize!
With a psychopathic Hannibal-Lector-pose
and impressive muzzle, vocalist
Chris L. threw himself head-on into
the first song, while Mike and Olli
were banging on their keyboards
with wide grins… and the audience
went crazy. The band quickly demonstrated
their strong leaning towards extroverted
stage acts when Chris pulled out
a long knife and slashed his virtual
wrist, which resulted in fountains
of stage blood drenching the first
rows in red. The set was a brilliant
mix of old and new tunes plus a
massive cover version of the Beastie
Boys classic “Fight For Your
Right” which showcased the
band’s wry sense of humour.
Of course, they also played their
ultimate club hits “Schaufensterpuppenarsch”
and “Koprolalie”, with
Chris having obvious fun squirting
solid doses of fake ejaculate into
the audience during the latter tune.
The audience in turn answered with
thundering applause and excessive
partying.
(Die
Form- Photo by www.Art-in-Black.com)
A
slightly longer change over during
which, among other things, the stage
hands set up a construction hoarding
across the whole front of the stage
gave the audience a well-needed
break. Die Form then lunged into
their set with a mix of minimalist
lighting, an elaborate video projection
and an expressive dancing show.
The characteristic rhythm of the
club classic “Bite Of God”
then had Éliane P. entering
the stage, engulfed in red light
and enchanting us with her characteristic,
crystal clear vocals while Philippe
Fichot was working on his multi-layered
sonic constructs behind a mask.
Die Form combined clubby and experimental
sounds with a thoroughly impressive
fetish dance video performance to
create something that surpassed
a mere concert experience: an engulfing
work of multimedia art which had
the audience alternately listening
with awe or giving in to the ritual
dance beats. The concert was the
perfect finale to a thoroughly successful
evening… and had the people
exiting the club with a feeling
that they had been part of something
special.
We would like to thank the bands,
the clubs, the promoters and, of
course, the people attending the
shows for a successful tour and
some very special evenings. Judging
by the satisfied looks on the people’s
faces, you had just as much fun
with this as we did… see you
next year!
(Danke an www.Art-in-Black.com
für die Bereitstellung der
Fotos!)
