Category: Live Reports (Page 14 of 37)

ASSEMBLAGE 23, RAINLAND + WITCH OF THE VALE Live in London

9 September 2018 /


Returning to the UK after a successful Spring 2017 stint, ASSEMBLAGE 23 again packed their favourite London venue Electrowerkz with their dark industrial flavoured synthpop.

A23 main man Tom Shear is on something of a high right now, with the acclaimed album ‘Endure’ still attracting live audiences 2 years after its release while his new side-project HELIX with vocalist Mari Kattman has just issued its first album ‘Twin’.

Opening proceedings were WITCH OF THE VALE, a Scottish electronic duo from the serene shores of Loch Lomond and the remote Outer Hebridean Isles, centred around the folk inspired soprano stylings of Erin Hawthorne and the stark instrumental structures of her husband Ryan Hawthorne.

Like GAZELLE TWIN meeting ‘The Wicker Man’ and ‘Twin Peaks’, their music possesses some Pagan fervour. From the eerie beauty of ‘Listen To Your Voice’ to the more unsettling ritualistic overtures of ‘Fever’, their presentation was totally captivating while maintaining that important air of mystery, making them an act to watch out for in the future.

On their second successive UK tour with A23, RAINLAND were very much the party animals who utilised their down-to-earth weegie personas to act as cheerleaders for the headline act. RAINLAND formed from the ashes of ANALOG ANGEL and Tom Shear has recognised the pair’s capabilities for a long time now.

As RAINLAND, Ian Ferguson and Derek MacDonald have been able to follow their synthpop instincts, free of the industrial shackles that occasionally held them back in the past. Ferguson in particular had shown his worth with a tone not dissimilar to Midge Ure on ANALOG ANGEL songs such as ‘No Goodbye’, ‘I Am Me’ and ‘Another Rainy Day’.

The ‘Rainland’ song was a stomping opening salvo that recalled ULTRAVOX with a touch of Vince Clarke too, while the BRONSKI BEAT inspired ‘Touch’ with its digital slap samples had the crowd dancing.

‘Silverlight’ with lyrics co-written by author Ange Chan kept the momentum going, but with only the ‘Touch’ EP to their name so far, their performance closed with the Ferguson-penned ANALOG ANGEL evergreen ‘Drive’.

Tom Shear has maintained a successful career over the last two decades years despite some ups and downs. In ensuring ASSEMBLAGE 23’s survival in the modern music industry, his resilience could be summed up by their opening number ‘Bravery’, a poignant statement that self-doubt which always lingers within the human condition, whatever the circumstances.

Accompanied by the ever faithful Paul Seegers on synths, Shear was his usual engaging self with songs like ‘Let The Wind Erase Me’. Meanwhile from ‘Meta’, the brilliant ‘Damaged’ from 2007 reminded everyone of the sort of tunes that DEPECHE MODE were once good at.

The emotive electro-gothic discoscape of ‘December’ captured being “Silent and alone, trying to make sense” in a song swathed in sadness despite the danceable rhythm construction, while the classic A23 of ‘Let Me Be Your Armor’ is still a firm fan favourite with its trance energy. However when the riff laden ‘The Noise Inside My Head’ made its presence felt, the crowd erupted in a sea of bounce!

Closing with a marvellous spirited cover of INXS’ international breakthrough ‘Don’t Change’, itself borrowing the distinctive swooping synth line from ‘Bunker Soldiers’ by OMD, ASSEMBLAGE 23 provided the perfect conclusion to an excellent triple bill.

This evening proved again that if a line-up is properly curated with acts that actually musically complement one another, it will result in success. As Jim Morrison said in ‘Wayne’s World 2’: “Book them and they will come…”

With thanks to Tom Shear and Ian Ferguson

‘Endure’ is released by Metropolis Records in CD, deluxe 2CD and download variants, available from http://www.assemblage23.com/store

ASSEMBLAGE 23 German live dates include:
Berlin Kreuzberg Maze (11th September), Hamburg Indra Club 64 (12th September), Frankfurt Das Bett (15th September)

http://www.assemblage23.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Official-Assemblage-23-138651156153800/

https://twitter.com/Assemblage_23

https://www.facebook.com/RainlandtheBand/

https://rainland.bandcamp.com/

http://www.witchofthevale.com/

https://www.facebook.com/witchofthevale/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
Photos by Chi Ming Lai and Marilyn Wilson
9th September 2018

DIE KRUPPS + FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY The Machinists United Live in London

23 August 2018 /

The O2 Academy in Islington saw the opening night of the highly anticipated co-headlining tour by industrial giants DIE KRUPPS and FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY.

After a very generic but entertaining DAF / NITZER EBB-aping set from Germany’s TENSION CONTROL, the London crowd started to fill out for the co-headliners.

According to DIE KRUPPS main synth man Ralf Dörper, the headliner position was decided on a coin toss, with FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY taking the main slot in London. Without wanting to resort to too many cliches, DIE KRUPPS are now a well-oiled maschine.

With new drummer Paul Keller on-board, the act are a fearsome live proposition. After a short intro, the band launched into ‘The Dawning of Doom’ from the 1992 album ‘I’ with frontman Jurgen Engler stalking the stage flanked by the twin guitar attack of Marcel Zurcher and Nils Finkeisen.

There was an early outing for the band’s excellent cover of VISAGE’s ‘Der Amboss’; the last time the band played the UK, they were joined by DUBSTAR’s Sarah Blackwood at The Garage in Highbury, but tonight the band carried the song without her. The song saw the first usage of Engler’s metal pipe bashing, which helped give the act an added layer of visual appeal to a band who are already transfixing live.

With a set spanning the band’s 28 year history, it was clear to see how incredibly influential DIE KRUPPS have been on acts such as RAMMSTEIN with their mixture of brutal guitars and hard sequenced electronics. The 2013 album ‘Machinists of Joy’ was well represented tonight with three tracks ‘Schmutzfabrik’, ‘Robo Sapien’ and ‘Machineries of Joy’ all getting an outing.

The biggest reception was reserved for 1993’s anthemic ‘To The Hilt’ and encore ‘Bloodsuckers’, both from ‘Die Krupps II – The Final Option’. As with fellow compatriots RAMMSTEIN, it would be lazy to overthink the band’s imagery and song content, so to reinforce this Engler made a point of announcing ‘Nazis Auf Speed’ as an “another anti-Fascist song”.

By the climax of the set, Engler had climbed on top of his metal percussion, was waving his microphone stand into the audience and had the Islington crowd eating out of his hand.

The stage was eventually cleared for Canadian headliners FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY, who in comparison to DIE KRUPPS were a very different proposition; more electronic in conception (after a period during the career of using guitars and guitar samples), they now function with a double synth station set-up covered in camouflage netting and a couple of tom drums set-up in front of the main drum kit.

After DIE KRUPPS’ blitzkrieg assault, FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY took a while to warm-up the crowd.

With frontman Bill Leeb seemingly a little aloof, the band still generated a hypnotic and danceable set with the sequenced electronics and vocal samples more to the forefront.

After opening their set with an untitled new track, the uptempo ‘Shifting Through The Lens’ with its vocodered vocals and tightly sequenced synths was a highlight along with the glitchy EDM-inflected ‘Killing Ground’.

The usage of additional live percussion by Leeb and Rhys Fulber helped with the act’s visual appeal, although it became apparent during their set that there were a few technical issues resulting in exchanged glances and conversations between the two musicians.

The overrun meant that FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY had to forego their encore and eventually ended their set with the eponymous title track from 1994’s ‘Millenium’.

On tonight’s showing, the price of admission would have been worth it just for the DIE KRUPPS stellar set, but to have both of these bands on the bill made it a really attractive live proposition for those that love their industrial music.

There really is no excuse to miss this superb double-header and a chance to catch not one but two legendary and influential acts from the EBM scene.

With special thanks to Ralf Dörper

‘The Machinists United’ Tour 2018 continues, dates include:

Gothenburg Truck Stop (24th August), Stockholm Klubben (25th August), Wroclaw Stary Klastor (29th August), Prag Lucerna Music Bar (30th August), Budapest A38 (31st August), Bratislava Majestic Music Club (1st September), Vienna Vipers Room (2nd September), Munich Backstage Halle (4th September), Frankfurt Batschkapp (5th September)

http://www.diekrupps.de/

https://www.facebook.com/diekruppsofficial

http://www.mindphaser.com/

https://www.facebook.com/frontlineassembly/

Text by Paul Boddy
Photos by Simon Helm and Paul Boddy
23rd August 2018

HILARY WOODS Live at St Pancras Old Church

14 June 2018 /

Within the sedate setting of St Pancras Old Church in London, Hilary Woods launched her debut album ‘Colt’ with an intimate live presentation.

It couldn’t have been any different from when at the age of 20, she found fame as the bassist of Irish indie trio JJ72.

Going on to open for MUSE and COLDPLAY, Woods left the band in 2005 to pursue her passion for film, art and literature.

Woods started making music again in 2014 to begin the journey towards ‘Colt’, a highly personal collection recorded in an abandoned flat somewhere in Dublin. With an invitation from THE CURE’s Robert Smith to play at his Meltdown festival, it is an indication of the regard with which she is held by other musicians.

While ‘Colt’ itself combines piano, synths, field recordings and old string instruments, Woods accompanied herself alone on keyboards and guitar, save the occasional appearance by a violinist.

Opening with a stripped back version of 2016’s ‘Bathing’ from the ‘Heartbox’ EP, Woods’ wonderfully forlorn voice captivated throughout as she simultaneously transfixed herself to her ivory tinkling. It was an indicator of how the show would play out.

Under minimal lighting with a whispery allure in her voice, Woods excelled with her piano on ‘Take Him In’, while ‘Black Rainbow’ captured the serene essence of Julee Cruise.

Remembering absent friends, the gorgeous ‘Inhaler’ left those present breathless in awe at Woods’ previously hidden (to the public at least) range of capabilities.

One of the highlights from ‘Colt’, Woods’ rendition of ‘Jesus Said’ replicated the original, with the wonders of technology allowing its drifting synthesized tones and hypnotic drum machine to augment her beautiful piano passages. Described by the songstress herself as “a song that seeks catharsis”, its meditative trance-like quality was perfectly suited for the occasion.

A bare portrayal of ‘Prodigal Dog’ added some haunting moods while using loop pedals on ‘Limbs’, Woods built layer upon layer of string machine as a piano motif played out the coda.

‘Secret Sabbath’ from her first solo EP ‘Night’ affirmed the evening’s endearing understatement and with enigmatically nothing to say until before her closing semi-acoustic rendition of ‘Daughter’, Woods confessed to having nerves.

But she expressed her heartfelt appreciation of the attentive and informed audience who had gathered. With ‘Colt’ released by the highly regarded Sacred Bones Records who can count Zola Jesus, John Carpenter and David Lynch among their roster, the Irish songstress has proven she is worthy of belonging in such esteemed company.

With a wonderfully captivating performance of just eleven songs, Hilary Woods provided some welcome air and mystique to a world that has been infiltrated by far too many untalented wannabes playing out their lives in public on islands of love or whatever.

With thanks to Frankie Davison and Kate Price at Stereo Sanctity

‘Colt’ is released by Scared Bones Records in CD, vinyl LP and digital formats

Hilary Woods performs at Robert Smith’s Meltdown 2018 in the Purcell Room at London’s South Bank Centre on Wednesday 20th June and The Sugar Club in Dublin on Friday 14th September

http://www.hilarywoods.com

https://www.facebook.com/HilaryWoods.Musician.Artist/

https://twitter.com/_hilary_woods

Text and Photos by Chi Ming Lai
14th June 2018

IONNALEE + MAN WITHOUT COUNTRY Live at Heaven

11 May 2018 /


IONNALEE made her London live debut appropriately at Heaven and like her recorded work, it was a full-on audio / visual experience.

The vehicle of the mysterious Swedish singer / songwriter / producer / filmmaker Jonna Lee, the memorable presentation comprised of a powerful electronic soundtrack, engaging performance art and striking but unimposing visuals.

IONNALEE is both a new start and the continuation of a story that began with IAMAMIWHOAMI, her previous project with producer Claes Björklund which produced three enticing bodies of work in ‘Bounty’, ‘Kin’ and ‘Blue’. And although Björklund has been involved behind the mixing desk under his BARBELLE moniker for the acclaimed ‘Everyone Afraid To Be Forgotten’, it is Lee’s debut long player as a solo artist.

But before the main act, the eager audience were treated to a fine half hour set from MAN WITHOUT COUNTRY, the stage name of Welshman Ryan James. Operating in not dissimilar sonic territory to MAPS, his last album ‘Maximum Entropy’ was in 2015.

However, the new single ‘Remember the Bad Things’ has acted as an enticing trailer for a new body of work ‘Infinity Mirror’ to be released in the Autumn.

Combining a mastery of synth, guitar and drums, James’ set also included the percussive cacophony of ‘Entropy’, the dreamy but urgent ‘Puppets’ from his 2012 album ‘Foe’ and an excellent rendition of ‘Sordid Affair’, his wonderful collaboration with RÖYKSOPP from their last opus ‘The Inevitable End’.

No stranger to collaborating with RÖYKSOPP herself, Lee began her show with the frantic oddball drama of ‘Work’ and ‘Not Human’, an electro-Eurovision tune that could be best described as ABBA’s ‘Summer Night City’ on acid!

Delightfully odd in her white catsuit with many kooky exaggerated mime movements supported by a similarly attired girl / boy dance duo, the show enjoyably came over rather like Kate Bush at a rave, meeting The Man Who Fell To Earth.

A section of the IAMAMIWHOAMI catalogue was delivered via the widescreen air of ‘Fountain’, the moody ‘Chasing Kites’ and the rigid arty synthpop of ‘T’, each making fine use of Lee’s characteristic Scandifolk vocal style. Meanwhile ‘Play’ from ‘Kin’ offered some enigmatic downtempo weirdness as an interlude to the space age discothèque format of the evening.

With IONNALEE being more upfront and less abstract than IAMAMIWHOAMI, guest contributions have been a feature of ‘Everyone Afraid To Be Forgotten’ with TR/ST and Jamie McDermott of THE IRREPRESSIBLES both figuring.

Quietly charismatic, McDermott quietly took to the Heaven stage to add his dulcet tones for the glorious duet ‘Dunes of Sand’ and after Lee’s Nordic rap on ‘Samaritan’, returned to join her on the ‘Bounty’ track ‘Y’.

For the well-deserved encore, the CHVRCHES-like ‘Gone’ and the meditative wash of ‘Blue Blue’ marked the journey home before a brilliant funked up update of ‘Goods’, one of the highlights from ‘Kin’ with its classic swirling synth attack.

All-in-all, it was a terrific and unforgettable night of dynamic electronic pop presented as colourful and dramatic theatre.

And with change left over from twenty of your English pounds, IONNALEE is the perfect escapist tonic in these slightly more turbulent socio-economic times as the hottest value-for-money ticket of 2018.

‘Everyone Afraid To Be Forgotten’ is released by To Whom It May Concern via the usual digital platforms and direct from https://ionnalee.bandcamp.com

The physical formats of the IONNALLE and IAMAMIWHOAMI back catalogue are available from https://shop.towhomitmayconcern.cc

The ‘Everyone Afraid To Be Forgotten’ tour continues throughout 2018, dates include:

Copenhagen Lille Vega (18 May), Stockholm Slaktkyrkan (19 May), Moscow Red Club (9 June),
Saint Petersburg Stereoleto (10 June), Cardiff Festival of Voice (16 June), São Paulo Cine Joia (23 August), Rio de Janeiro Queremos! Festival (25 August), Göteborg Statement Festival (31 August), Kiev Bel Letage (12 October), Prague Meet Factory (13 October), Berlin Berghain Club (17 October)

https://ionnalee.com

https://www.facebook.com/iamionnalee/

https://twitter.com/ionnalee

https://www.instagram.com/ionnalee/

https://manwithout.country/

https://www.facebook.com/manwithoutcountry/

Text and Photos by Chi Ming Lai
11th May 2018

TANGERINE DREAM Live at Union Chapel

27 April 2018 /

With the passing of founder member Edgar Froese and new members Ulrich Schnauss and Hoshiko Yamane now fully established, the new look TANGERINE DREAM is now an entirely different beast to the one which played its last London show at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire back in 2014.

The fact that tonight’s show was sold out and the following one was close to capacity showed that there was a huge weight of expectation with these two long-awaited London dates at Union Chapel. For those familiar with the beginnings of the band, having a church as a venue harked back to TANGERINE DREAM’s early gigs, many of which took place in cathedrals.

This was referred to when Froese’s widow Bianca Froese-Aquaye introduced the band. She talked about the band’s now-infamous Reims cathedral gig in France where TD fans left the venue in such an appalling state that it resulted in the band being barred by the Pope from playing any more Catholic venues. She jokingly mentioned that she hoped that wouldn’t happen tonight…

The band opened with a version of ‘Monolight’ from the 1977 album ‘Encore’ and wasted no time in settling into the trademark interlocked sequencer parts that TANGERINE DREAM are now rightly famous for.

The stage set-up was Thorsten Quaeschning on the left with an enviable mixture of kit (including a Moog Voyager, Manikin Schrittmacher Sequencers and Memotron), Ulrich Schnauss on the right on additional synths / sequencer  and centrally positioned on violin and Ableton duties Hoshiko Yamane. ‘Betrayal’ from the 1977 ‘Sorcerer’ soundtrack followed and it was obvious that the band weren’t going to be afraid to dip into their quite considerable back catalogue of 150+ albums and counting!

‘Kiew Mission’ was up next from the ‘Exit’ album and the welcome inclusion of ‘Dolphin Dance’ from ‘Underwater Sunlight’ added in some welcome percussive elements with a beefed-up drum pattern upping the energy level of the gig.

One of the criticisms made of the previous London gig was that the visual elements on the projection backdrop were akin to a dodgy Windows 95 screensaver, thankfully those on show tonight were much improved and provided a stronger visual accompaniment to the music along with some dramatic shafts of lights which illuminated the wonderfully ornate Union Chapel venue.

Newer material in the form of the awkwardly titled ‘It Is Time To Leave When Everyone’s Dancing’ and ‘Roll The Seven Twice’ (with its ‘Age Of Love’-style trancey sequencer part) were also represented, but the biggest reception was firstly reserved for ‘White Eagle’. Started with ethereal/filtered pads by Schnauss on his Roland JD-XA, the track’s haunting sequencer pattern and TR808 style percussion gave way to the haunting melody line counterpointed by Yamane’s violin work.

‘Stratosfear’ sounded absolutely immense, still possessing one of THE iconic synth melodies, this version did the original version total justice and a wonderful ‘edited highlights’ version of the twenty minute plus ‘Horizon’ from the live ‘Poland’ album followed. What impressed about the ‘Horizon’ version was that the wonderful rolling Chris Franke bass sequence was kept intact and cut through the PA system superbly.

To climax the evening the band performed what is now come to be known as a ‘session’; an improvised piece in the spirit of TANGERINE DREAM’s early gigs. Although a bit meandering in places, it was hard not to be transfixed watching electronic music being created pretty much on the fly in an era when it is far too easy to rely on backing tracks and let your computer do all the work for you!

It is really heartbreaking that Froese is not around to see how his band has evolved so much in such a short time, the impact of Schnauss joining can’t be underestimated too. He appears to have a really strong understanding and sensitivity towards TANGERINE DREAM’s back catalogue and being a self-confessed fan before joining, has helped mould and shape (alongside Quaeschning and Yamane) a setlist which plays to the band’s strengths whilst not being afraid to subtly update certain elements.

The main criticisms that would be levelled at tonight’s show are that Quaeschning’s guitar was virtually inaudible during most of the gig and Yamane still feels woefully under-utilised; she is obviously a really gifted musician and even for her sake, it would be great if she could be given more involvement in the set.

Tonight’s show was a fitting tribute to Edgar Froese, there will still be those that argue that “this isn’t Tangerine Dream without him!”, but it was his wish that the act continued on and the line-up now is plainly not just trading on past glories.

The band are creating new material which is arguably the best that has been produced in years and the return of the ‘sessions’ based improvising is helping to reclaim some of the ground lost when the band featured sax and live percussion, which to many felt at odds with the original TANGERINE DREAM ethos.

Hopefully the rapturous reception that they received tonight will prompt a full-on UK tour as this is a show which demands to be seen and has comfortably shown that the band is still a force (majeure) to be reckoned with…

‘Quantum Gate’ is released in CD, double vinyl LP and download formats by KScope

http://www.tangerinedream.org/

https://www.facebook.com/TANGERINEDREAM.OFFICIAL

http://www.kscopemusic.com

https://twitter.com/QTangerineDream

Text and Photos by Paul Boddy
27th April 2018

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