Live show reports / comments

Started by FreakAnimalFinland, July 25, 2011, 09:35:36 AM

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ARKHE

RODGER STELLA / ALTAR OF FLIES / DAMIEN DUBROVNIK / KLAUS HANSEN, Singsang Malmö 8/3.

Couldn't think of a better way to celebrate the International Women's Day + the the most swollen full moon I've seen for years looming ominously over this rotten town. Met up with representatives from Amph and Release the Bats downtown for a beer, to my surprise mr. Stella was with them, being foddered before the performance. About 20 minute walk to the venue ("In USA we have cars"), which was actually shut down last year after some jackass fell through the exterior roof, but resuscitated for this event only (a shame since it's one of the few really good venues for this kind of music - a lot of great shows have been seen there).

Klaus Hansen of ASHLEY C/etc Posh Isolation fame opened. Heavy tapeloop sounds crumbling over frantic Wasp synth buzzing. The latter sound source felt like it didn't really go anywhere, but a nice set either way. Don't know why it wasn't an ASHLEY C performance, as that project is only mr Hansen, right?

DAMIEN DUBROVNIK followed, I've managed to not see them any time before, so I was looking forward to this. And I wasn't disappointed in any way! Controlled and focused power electronics, intelligently structured songs with attention to balance and development and most of all space to let the sounds breathe. LR's dual microphone attack in the second song, over a simple rhythm, was pure POWER. Very dedicated frontman. Undressing as well, though the shirt didn't come all off this time. Guys know their shit.

Was the first time for me seeing ALTAR OF FLIES as well - can't say that I've kept track of his career that continuously, but the tapes and vinyls I've heard have all sounded great. Mattias knows what he's doing as well, despite not having any light to see what tape loop should go next... If you've heard his more recent releases, like the LP on Release the bats, you should know what it's about.

RODGER STELLA then, the headliner. Haven't heard anything he's done post-Marconympha, to it was a blank page as I didn't expect anything in the Macro-vein. Which we didn't get, either. Sampler-based laser noise sounds modified with some kind of chaos-pad thing, that found it's way to some kind of heavy, pitched/slowed down dub. By now the audience was dropping off (Thursday evening, past midnight, people got to work & whatever), and discontented murmurs about how fucking bad it was began circulating the venue. Not that bad, though I would have preferred the noise sounds a bit dirtier, but on the other hand that's what he was doing all through the 90's, you gotta move on. But after Dubrovnik's & Altar's organic and visceral shows, it just felt like a tired, just play the sounds & go home-kind of performance. The uncomfortable question arises: what would you think if it wasn't the guy from Macronympha?

Either way you liked Stella's set or not, hands down to Damien Dubrovnik and Altar of Flies for delivering the goods. Listening to Pittsburgh Pennsylvania now and not giving a shit.

Ashley Choke

Quote from: ARKHE on March 10, 2012, 01:19:21 PM
Klaus Hansen of ASHLEY C/etc Posh Isolation fame opened. Heavy tapeloop sounds crumbling over frantic Wasp synth buzzing. The latter sound source felt like it didn't really go anywhere, but a nice set either way. Don't know why it wasn't an ASHLEY C performance, as that project is only mr Hansen, right?

Set was actually debut of Novo Progresso my new solo project. Having taken a year off from doing live noise on my own(I do some musique concrete under my own name Klaus H. Hansen) the return kinda left me with the same dull feeling as when performing with AC. I took the consequences and drastically reshaped my set for the two next shows Friday and Saturday. Higher volumes, more extreme frequencies and a added visual element. Felt really good the two next days, a couple of people at the Aarhus gig said it was the loudest concert they ever attended. shame I didn't took that approach in Malmo. There's a tape out real soon

P-K

just saw Carlos Giffoni in Antwerp...small venue, small crowd, not loud but good sound...no laptop set, he brought the 2 Soundlabs...focussing more & more on sequences instead of the pure synthnoise, this was structured, extatic, hypnotic, acid without beat. strong set imho.

opening act (Fyoelk) was börft-style proto-acid, live on analog machines (tr-707, cs-5, ...)....not amazing, but headnodding-good :-)

5euro, good evening.

Mikerdeath

#93
Quote from: ARKHE on March 10, 2012, 01:19:21 PMListening to Pittsburgh Pennsylvania now and not giving a shit.

This is my review of every Bay Area noise show I have been to for the past 2 years.

Except when like Prurient, Damion Romero & Daniel Menche and people like that come through of course... but they are not "bay area" people.

HongKongGoolagong

A splenetic and hilarious spot-on rant about Incubate Festival has been posted at http://philipbest.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/ballroom-blitz.html - so many similarities I remember from playing Kraak in Belgium - I guess the only good thing about this shit is getting a free trip away - in the case of a band I knew who played Thurston Moore's ATP a few years ago they didn't even get that, they ended up paying their own travel expenses for the dubious 'honour' of performing there.

I don't really listen to as much PE/noise as most here but one great thing about it is that the scene is almost entirely immune from that kind of music biz bullshit. Unfortunately my main creative work is a kind of rock band and I have witnessed so many fucking horrible and witless people over the years in the mainstream that I'm very glad to be sharing bills with Filthy Turd in pub upstairs rooms.

metalpunk

That was great friday night in Warsaw:
KERÄNEN http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VH_l6MQtYY&hd=1
MAAAA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykkz1WYnvAY&hd=1
SLEEP SESSIONS http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7Bs5I9BVEs&hd=1

Nice place as usual, Eufemia cafe have its own soul. Not so big crowd, but not the empty venue also. Sound was ok, but could be better (more powerfull as usual), all performances were great.

Matthias

Nattmaran, Gothenburg 26/9

Sewer Election
SE opened with a bareboned synthtone with restrained but nasty feedback buried underneath. A repeated vocal sample. Mode and atmosphere somewhat similar to the Vittra Sönder A-side. Slowly adding body sounds, but compared to other more recent SE shows they stayed in the bottom, well incorporated with the rest of the sounds. Struggling to reach the surface but never quite succeding. Towards the end a loud pulsating rhythm entered, sounding like a deranged heartbeat. My only grip with the set was a weird, almost robot-sounding vocal sample in the end which didn't make much sense to me, but besides that one of the very finest SE shows I've witnessed. Relaxed and calm set all over.

Orquere
Extensive live mixing of pre-recorded sounds, loops of raw sounds impossible to identify. Orquere feels pretty much like Blodvite uncut, where the actual sounds wouldn't be completely out of place integrated in the regular Blodvite sound. After recent repeated listenings on the Orquere album (yes, it is that good), I was maybe expecting a bit more. but still a highly enjoyable show.

Keränen
First few minutes of synth noise stop and go's didn't do that much for me, but it didn't take long before I was in heaven! Still some heavy synth assaults in the mix, but evolving into furious harsh noise perfection. Some seriously sick frequencies for a while and a few low-end segments where the innards basically moved around. Moments of everything being extremly close to fall apart, with cymbal and small gadgets etc in a sweet mess. Very, very loud. After the technical problems on the previous Keränen show in Gothenburg last year this was a very nice comeback.

online prowler

Hei,

anyone here who went to the Keränen, Lettera 22 and Kristian Olsson gig in Stockholm September the 28th? Was considering to float my boat eastwards, but couldn't find the time. Video/sound links would be interesting to check.

ghoulson

I was there (obviously)... can give a short report on the evening.
Fylkingen is probably the best venue in Sweden for electronic music. All involved organizers did a great job - one could tell they have developed good routines and skills in this field.
Had the pleasure to browse through the stock of the recently opened Fylkingen record shop - found tons of good records and didn't even have to leave the venue. Of course also Millstone, Ljud & Bild Produktion and Järtecknet was there to sell records and tapes.
Evening started with a soundwork by a girl I can't remember the name of (I don't know when or where this was played). After that a 15 minute version of Dom kallar oss klyktattare was screened.
First live act was Orquere - it was first time I heard Viktor performing under this name. It was not much happening on stage - instead Ottosson focused on hammering out cold clinical industrial loops.... like mentioned elsewhere, it was somehow reminiscent of Vivenza & S*Core, but with own unique style. I am eager to see more shows from him in the future.
Second act was Sewer Election. Performance here was also very slim with equipment and no backing visuals, but the music was probably the best I've heard him perform live under this name. Almost industrial feeling to some of the material.... extremely good.
Now for the third of the storms: Keränen. I didn't know what to expect since I've only heard him on record before. Whole table full of different pedals and gadgets, and he sure knew how to use it. Great variation and skilled approach towards the noise. He managed to keep it intense and physical throughout the whole set. I rarely complain about my ears hurting after a show, but this time I was nearly deaf afterwards. In many ways I think his work differ from other contemporary noise acts - it had vitality and unique style that I can find in many early 90s japanese noise albums.
All artists knew what they were doing. No newcomers but routined craftsmen.... The GBG acts worked as worthy replacement for Lettera 22 (I hope they come to Sweden another time).
My own show went ok despite problems with disconnected gear.... no problems, but it turned out better at the Segerhuva event in April.
I have some video footage from the shows I'll upload later this week if someone's interested.

Now I'm counting days until next Dissonans event in December!

Cementimental

I don't have a full report but I just wanted to say that, maybe somewhat hypocritically considering some of my disagreements, mockery and trolling on troniks over the years, the Bizarre Uproar set at Confession V in London on Saturday was totally astonishing, highlight of a pretty great night all round. The Slimelight security guard didn't seem to be a fan tho, a load of us nearly got thrown out for moshing; he seemed genuinely upset and confused by the whole scenario. :)

ConcreteMascara

I saw Swans on Saturday in Philly. For those who missed their last tour, GO TO THIS. Granted, I was not around when the Swans were touring before their break up, so I cannot compare my experience to that period. That being said, I was impressed when I saw them on tour for their last album, but Saturday's show was fucking insane. They played for 2 and half hours, with a mix of tracks from The Seer and older material. The Seer tracks sounded much, much better live than on record. And they were loud as hell, my ears are still ringing.

[death|trigger|impulse]

http://soundcloud.com/user-658220512

Cementimental

I was there as mentioned above. Got there just in time for Content Nullity, left at 8am :-S. Leeds show the night before was pretty special too. There's a review of that here if anyone's interested: http://idwalfisher.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/mk9-con-dom-wharf-chambers-12th-october.html

HongKongGoolagong

MK9 in Leeds, start of a European tour for him: it's bemusing in a way why this guy is even connected with power electronics, most of his sound sources are pretty much untreated eg. police scanner tapes played over footage of burning household. ("Hey it's entertaining, I hope you fucking enjoy it!")

I guess no other scene can deal with his ultra-bleak performance/poetry/film. The nearest thing I can compare this to is Lydia Lunch - she has a rather higher profile but the two artists are very similar in terms of 'without a net' semi-improvised ultra-anti-authoritarian stance which lurches queasily between humour and horror. I was handed a 3" CD-R by Michael during the show. Contained final statements of US death penalty victims. Hey, I didn't expect anything cheerful.

First saw him in the 90s as Death Squad. It's a testament to his seriousness as an artist that people were swapping stories beforehand about previous performances and that no-one had a clue what to expect (except that it most likely wouldn't be happy or uplifting).

Con-Dom was also great that night. As were the other four artists, a hugely successful evening. 

bitewerksMTB

Michael is considered PE because he'll only wear black clothing. Or he use to.

"US death penalty victims"? You mean innocent people who were executed or the rare person who was just walking down the street minding their own business only to be kidnapped and strapped down in the electric chair by The State?

SNR

#104
2012.10.29 - Hungary, Budapest, Szabad az Á.. - Con-Dom, MK9, Creation Through Destruction, Halalnihil, Drogded, Voidcorona

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Halalnihil

Harsh Noise/Power Electronics, with variety of vocal styles (talking, black metalish shouts, low deathgrunts, etc. ), and song structures. A little mixer, distortion pedals, screeching flanger effects, and a laptop. At the beginning of the show, second member gives pictures to the audience. Those pictures are not supposed to be offensive, or anything, just what most of the lyrics contains. Tracks was mostly from the newer materials. Sound was not that loud as it was supposed to be, but it's the sound technician's deed. Some people said "fuck you" "stop that fucking shit" like things during the talking-only part of the track 'Still Extremely Worthless'. Maybe they was too political correct, because it's about selling your own mother/girlfriend to gypsies for an interracial gangbang, to have some cash. Halalnihil played the first/second longest set, 35 minutes.

Drogded

Something went wrong even at before he started to play. The source sound pedal did not worked at all, because the show organizer accidently dropped to the floor before he started it. Also, there was a problem with the FX chain, and the mixer output was too much (??). It was worked for like 1 minute, than it's stopped. So, it was cancelled. He was planned to do pure pedal Harsh Noise. Maybe next time!

Creation Through Destruction

Dr.Alex's new project from Dead Body Collection. Pure Harsh Noise, nothing more, nothing less. He brought a lot of pedals, mostly distortion ones, and a metal plate with a contact mic. During the whole set, he was smashing the plate with his hand, and head, and changing the overral spectrum of the sound via pedals. During the set, the visuals were distorted images, video materials. Alex finished the set in a very Prurient-ish way - he pushed up he's table with all of his effects. The sound was enough loud, to get the overral effect. Than, after one minute, he came back, and pull out the adapters and stuff. I think it was good, very energetic sounding, but also very short. It was just 6 minutes only

MK9

I was need to go out from the venue at the half of the set, so I can't give a totally correct information about the whole perfomance. Visuals from burning houses, to more different videos, where the vocalist said he's visions about the failures of the life, and everything what it contains - if I get it correctly, because before the perfomance started, a member gives a little paper to everybody that contains a list of "failures" of the world. MK9 perfomance was in the audience, not on the stage like previous performers. I think it was a more dialogue, spoken word stuff than Power Electronics, but the vocals, and the atmosphere somehow was make a connection with it. Played like 20 minutes maybe?

Con-Dom

After made the right settings of the microphones, and the visuals, Mike started to play his set. Rumbling noises, with screeching sounds, and heavily delayed/reverbed vocals. Some of the source sounds was really good sounding, essential P.E. sounds. Mike continuously made contact with the members of the audience, who was near to him like grabbing their heads, and arms. In one moment, he throwed up a chair. Vocals was great, I hear some kind of sarcasm in his accent about the use of words. The videos, If I see, or understand correctly, was about the mass of humans, and experiments of mental manipulation. Con-Dom played like 30-35 minutes minutes, or more, I did not seen what time was it.

Voidcorona

It was supposed to be his first perfomance, but he did not appear at all. He should be the last perfomer of that night. Organizer can't make a call with him. So, it was cancelled by his absurd way.

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So, it was a good night, with noise, and Power Electronics related artists only, which is quite rare here. Need more event like this one!!