Category: Live Reports (Page 22 of 36)

RUSTY EGAN vs ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK in Düsseldorf

4 November 2015 /


German music formed a large part of RUSTY EGAN’s DJ sets at The Blitz Club between 1978-1981.

The legendary Blitz Club DJ and Chi Ming Lai of ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK recently participated in a well-received discussion about how German electronic music influenced the New Romantic movement at the ELECTRI_CITY_Conference in Düsseldorf.

Including other international acts such TELEX, SPARKS, YELLO and YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA, The Blitz Club‘s soundtrack cocktail was to prove highly influential on the UK music scene and spawned a wider movement that led to the success of acts such as VISAGE, SPANDAU BALLET, LANDSCAPE and ULTRAVOX who formed part of the clientele.

The discussion formed part of a wonderful three day event which co-organiser Rudi Esch said was to “honour the global importance of Düsseldorf’s pop-cultural heritage”

Taking place in front of a live audience, the amusing chat focussed on Düsseldorf, Berlin, DAVID BOWIE, KRAFTWERK and NEU! while Motorik beats and modern DJ culture also formed part of the spirited conversation.

RUSTY EGAN and ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK have previously worked on several projects together including a successful 25 week radio show series. Egan’s current radio show Electronic Family Tree broadcasts every Friday night / Saturday morning on internet dance station Mi-Soul Radio.

https://www.mixcloud.com/rustyegan/

https://www.facebook.com/rusty.egan/

https://twitter.com/DJRustyEgan

http://www.electricity-conference.com/en/

https://www.facebook.com/ELECTRICITY.Conference

Text by Kerstin Key
Photos by Tom Steinseifer
4th November 2015

GARY NUMAN The Pleasure Principle Live at The Forum

23 October 2015 /

Fresh from receiving Q Magazine’s ‘Innovation In Sound’ award from previous recipient Jean-Michel Jarre last week, Gary Numan performed ‘The Pleasure Principle’ on the second night of a three day residency at The Forum in London which also revisited ‘Replicas’ and ‘Telekon’.

While ‘Are Friends Electric?’ was the breakthrough hit, for many ‘The Pleasure Principle’ is nominally the first Gary Numan album.

It introduced many listeners to synthesizers and the rather disturbing vision of a dystopian future at the height of The Cold War following ‘The Winter Of Discontent’. But for all the paranoid android imagery of Numan, the No1 single ‘Cars’ confirmed that electronics were now fully part of the pop mainstream. With no guitars, ‘The Pleasure Principle’ was a unique sounding album as the rock dynamics that would normally be expected from power chords and solos had to be achieved by necessity, using Polymoogs and Minimoogs. Despite all the incumbent machinery and ban on guitars,

‘The Pleasure Principle’ rocked with a flesh and blood rhythm section in shape of Paul Gardiner and Cedric Sharpley, both now sadly departed from this world. Without bassist Gardiner recognising Numan’s talent and being prepared to take a backseat in TUBEWAY ARMY to allow Numan to become singer and chief songwriter, the former Gary Webb may well have remained a van driver at WH Smith for a few years longer! Meanwhile Sharpley’s drum breaks on songs like ‘Films’ made a big impression on Urban America, particularly with Afrika Bambaataa who later collaborated with Numan.

The influence of Numan’s music on artists as diverse as NINE INCH NAILS, FOO FIGHTERS, SMASHING PUMPKINS, BASEMENT JAXX and SUGABABES has more than reinforced his artistic legacy. Meanwhile, the upcoming Jean-Michel Jarre collaboration on ‘Electronica 2’ is further proof of the respect his fellow musicians continue to show for him.

After the barrage of Goth metal that followed ‘The Pleasure Principle’ showcase on the 30th Anniversary tour in 2009, Numan made an announcement via social media that nothing from after 1980 would be played for these 2015 performances.

It made for an intriguing evening that revisited Numan’s imperial phase, a period in which he scored three No1 albums and won Best Male Singer at the British Rock & Pop Awards, the then-equivalent of The Brit Awards.

Although panned on its original release, ‘The Pleasure Principle’ has now been rightly hailed as a landmark album. The ‘Low’ inspired overture of ‘Asylum’ and the glaring instrumental ‘Airlane’ opened proceedings, but from the moment ‘Metal’ began, it was obvious that this was to be a rocked up interpretation of ‘The Pleasure Principle’ with guitarist Steve Harris taking a prominent role. And the format was repeated on heavier numbers such as ‘Films’, ‘M.E.’ and ‘Engineers’.

But when Gareth Thomas’ fine soft synth representation of that era’s classic Polymoog was allowed to reign unhindered, as on the buzzy octave laden ‘Observer’ and progressive futurism of ‘Conversation’, things did sound rather magnificent. The album’s two singles ‘Cars’ and ‘Complex’ were saved until last, the latter providing an esoteric close to ‘The Pleasure Principle’ section of the show.

The second half of the evening was a reminder as to why Numan was once the UK’s biggest alternative pop star in the UK, a pioneer who single-handedly flew the flag for the synthesizer worldwide. The evergreen singles ‘Down In The Park’, ‘We Are Glass’, ’Are Friends Electric?’ and ‘I Die: You Die’ were all present and correct. But representing the Sci-Fi angst of ‘Replicas’ and the lonesome paranoia of ‘Telekon’ were respectively, ‘Me! I Disconnect From You’ and ‘Remind Me To Smile’. Both cult electronic rock anthems that should have been singles, they drew some of the evening’s biggest cheers.

For the encore, there were two numbers from TUBEWAY ARMY’s electro-punk ‘Blue Album’ debut to finish. The ambiguous heavy metal of ‘Friends’ and the WIRE aping snarl of ‘My Shadow In Vain’ provided a fitting bookend. Overall, it was a rugged performance and despite the odd fluffed cue, it was an entertaining and enjoyable retrospective evening. Head banging like a trooper and smiling away to both the band and the audience, Numan appeared to be rather enjoying the occasion.

Although the Moogwave of ‘Listen To The Sirens’ was not aired, its lyric “Mr Webb, there is no way out” is strangely indicative of Numan’s current position; like it or not, no matter what he says about how he despises nostalgia, he will never truly be able to disassociate himself from his glorious past.

New coloured vinyl LP editions of ‘Replicas’, ‘The Pleasure Principle’ and ‘Telekon’ are available now via Beggars Banquet

http://www.numan.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/GaryNumanOfficial

Text by Chi Ming Lai
23rd October 2015

B-Movie: Lust & Sound In West Berlin 1979 – 1989 at Manchester Home

1 October 2015 /

B-MOVIE DVD Q&A‘B-Movie: Lust & Sound In West Berlin 1979 – 1989’ is an insightful new documentary about the music, art and chaos of the divided city before its infamous wall came down.

Starting with punk and ending with The Love Parade, anything seemed possible in a place that was unlike anywhere else in Europe. Using mostly unreleased footage, photos and original interviews, it tells the story of the cultural interzone from the view of Mark Reeder who also narrates the film.

Having made its UK premiere at Sheffield’s Showroom Workstation the previous night, the showing at Home in Manchester was attended by NEW ORDER’s Bernard Sumner.

It was Reeder’s long-time friend who gave him the Transcendent 2000 synth which he had built from a kit while watching Spaghetti Westerns on late night TV and used with JOY DIVISION. Also present were other figures from Manchester’s music scene such as Martyn Walsh from INSPIRAL CARPETS, A CERTAIN RATIO’s Jez Kerr, Alan Hempsall from CRISPY AMBULANCE and indie duo MFU.

Now best known as a remixer and for his iconic trance label MFS, Reeder left Manchester in 1978 to explore his passion for electronic music from Germany such as KRAFTWERK and NEU! Having visited Düsseldorf, his next destination was West Berlin, home of TANGERINE DREAM.

Iconised by David Bowie who recorded his ‘Heroes’ album at the city’s Hansa Tonstudio and the controversial film ‘Christiane F’, West Berlin was the satellite symbol of freedom and hedonism during The Cold War. Slap bang in the middle of the Communist governed DDR, it was occupied in three sectors by British, French and American armed forces while surrounded by The Warsaw Pact.

B-MOVIE Mark-in-BerlinThe first person Reeder encountered was a six foot six transvestite who was stacking shelves in a supermarket; he soon immersed himself in the vibrant tension of the city which became a breeding ground for the artistic avant-garde. ‘B-Movie: Lust & Sound In West Berlin 1979 – 1989’ is Reeder’s own journey as he finds himself working as Factory Records’ German representative, a roadie, a musician, a manager, a sound engineer and even an actor in video nasties!

Mark Reeder’s personal links with Factory Records and JOY DIVISION enabled him to bring the quartet over to play the one of city’s most notable venues Kant Kino. Although the gig was only attended by around 150 Berliners, it was to become highly influential on those present, while the band documented their experience in the shape of one of their last ever studio recordings ‘Komakino’.

All West Berliners were excused National Service while the city itself was cheap to live in, compared with the rest of the Federal Republic. The assorted circumstances allowed colourful, free thinking characters to evolve within the squats and communes.

B-MOVIE MalariaThe inherent self-sufficiency aspect of life in West Berlin meant that performance art noise merchants such as MALARIA! and EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN could exist, free from interference and commercial considerations. It was like “one massive band” in this Radikalinski scene.

This environment ultimately fuelled West Berlin’s notorious and decadent nightlife. On a visit with his band THE BIRTHDAY PARTY in 1982, Nick Cave became fascinated with the city and remained, crashing over at Reeder’s apartment in the process. But some of the less confrontational aspects of West Berlin did crossover into the mainstream with the success of NENA and her massive 1983 German language hit ’99 Luftballons’ in the US.

Reeder himself made a bid for stardom as a member of SHARK VEGAS with the singles ‘You Hurt Me’ produced by Bernard Sumner and ‘Love Habit’ whose video was shot on Die Glienicker Brücke which symbolised another divide between East and West. But despite touring with NEW ORDER in 1984, fame did not materialise and Reeder ended up doing voices on porn movies to make a living.

Meanwhile, as things started to get artistically stale in the city, technological advancement courtesy of samplers and the advent of club culture allowed DJs such as WESTBAM to make an impression. Reeder’s original vision of a Berlin engulfed by electronic sound was now actually becoming a reality. But while this was happening, politically, the times they were-a-changing…

The fall of The Berlin Wall is symbolised in the film by footage of David Hasselhoff singing his West German Schlager rock No1 ‘Looking For Freedom’ on 31st December 1989… ironically, no footage exists of Reeder during this period because he was on holiday in Ceaușescu’s Romania at the time! It was not just the end of Communist rule and East Berlin, but also the end of West Berlin and the unique enclave that had flourished in its own, idealistic manner.

Complimenting ‘B-Movie: Lust & Sound In West Berlin 1979 – 1989’ is the top notch soundtrack compiled by Reeder; as well as the local music of the period from MALARIA, DIE TOTEN HOSEN, DIE ARTZE and EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN, there is more recent material from the likes of WESTBAM whose ‘You Need The Drugs‘ with Richard Butler is a recurring tune throughout the film.

Chaired by Haçienda DJ and noted cultural commentator Dave Haslam, the Q&A afterwards with Reeder was amusing and informative. The first question came from Bernard Sumner, mischievously keen to bait the man who introduced him to Italo and New York disco – “Did you smuggle anything out of East Berlin… like Russian uniforms?”

Reeder shared a story on how after returning from a trip to East Berlin, he was attempting to smuggle a uniform through Checkpoint Charlie while his SHARK VEGAS bandmate Alistair Gray was hiding a bundle of red flag material, all unbeknown to Sumner. If caught, there was the penalty of exile to a salt mine in Siberia!

“I had a brand new East German uniform underneath my clothes… I looked like Arnie Schwarzenegger! The trousers were a bit long so I rolled them up!” recalled the Denton lad, “the border guard waved me through but then behind me, this bundle Alistair had broke open and cascaded all over the floor! I thought F*CK! As they dragged Alistair off, he was pointing and I looked down… this uniform trouser was sticking out”! Luckily for Reeder, two other men also passing the checkpoint started an argument so the guards’ attention was drawn on them and he got across the border unhindered.

Reeder also revealed his subversive activities in music had led to the East German Ministry for State Security aka The Stasi compiling a file on him. But instead of preventing entry, they always welcomed him so they could keep him under surveillance while he worked in a recording studio.

“They said I was out to corrupt the youth of East Germany” Reeder fondly remembered on being watched by The Stasi, “they even asked their spy in MI5 to correlate if I was working for them, because they thought I must have been working for somebody! I was making Western TV programmes like ‘The Tube’ and showing East Germany in a positive light, yet on the other side, I was smuggling in music and doing these secret gigs so they didn’t know where to put me! At one point, they even thought I was gonna try and break someone out of prison!”

It turned out a young punk who had joined Reeder’s circle was actually a Stasi undercover operative! “I better not have a Stasi file cos of you!” snorted Sumner playfully to roars of laughter from those present.

Mark Reeder’s life in West Berlin makes for a fascinating and enjoyable documentary that could be subtitled ‘An Englishman In Berlin’; yet ‘B-Movie: Lust & Sound In West Berlin 1979 – 1989’ only tells part of the story. Will there be a second instalment?

“Abwarten und Tee trinken” as they say in Germany 😉

B-MOVIE pack‘B-Movie: Lust & Sound In West Berlin 1979 – 1989’ is released by Edel as a DVD and Blu-ray on 2nd October 2015, available through Amazon Germany. The film is also available to download via iTunes at http://apple.co/1ULinCv

The soundtrack album featuring JOY DIVISION, DIE TÖTEN HOSEN, WESTBAM,  SHARK VEGAS and MALARIA! is also available as a 2CD, double vinyl LP and download

The Mark Reeder single ‘Mauerstadt’ is available for download while there is also an accompanying ‘B-Book’ and a deluxe Gesamtbox containing all formats – further details at http://b-movie-der-film.de/b-kenner.html

http://www.b-movie-der-film.de/

https://www.facebook.com/lustandsoundinwestberlin/

https://www.facebook.com/markreedermusic

http://www.5point1.org/info.html

http://homemcr.org/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
1st October 2015

ELECTRONIC SUMMER 2015 at Gothenburg Brewhouse

5 September 2015 /

Norse Code

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK has said many times before: “There are electronic music events… and there are electronic music events…”

And the best sort of electronic music events are those curated by electronic music enthusiasts, people who actually enthuse about the genre, recognise its history and expel a passion to see it continue as a defined artform. Two such people are Henrik Wittgren and Sebastian Hess.

Their organisation Depeche Mode Party Gothenburg has been running successful music events in the Swedish city for several years. Electronic Summer started as a DEPECHE MODE fan event in 2012 with none other than Alan Wilder as guest of honour, while the live headliners were MESH and DE/VISION.

ES2015-Psyche+Jennifer

Since then, the event has developed with DAF and APOPTYGMA BERZERK headlining in 2013, while the 2014 event featured COVENANT, ASSEMBLAGE 23 and AESTHETIC PERFECTION.

With VNV NATION, SOLAR FAKE, MARSHEAUX, KARIN PARK and PYSCHE featuring in the Electronic Summer 2015 line-up, a sell-out crowd at the Brewhouse Arena was eagerly anticipating a great weekend of music and culture.

Such was the community spirit of the occasion that musicians from local acts such as TRAIN TO SPAIN were also in attendance. To start proceedings, early arrivals were welcomed to an enjoyable pre-party featuring AVANTGARDE, XHILE, PRESENCE OF MIND and DESTIN FRAGILE. Each act had appeared on the cult Swedish synthpop compilation ‘Circuit One’ and gathered to celebrate its 20th anniversary.

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PRESENCE OF MIND were particularly impressive with their brand of dark, but melodic synthrock. Their debut album ‘Interpersonal’ was only released in 2014, but it is a indicator as to why Swedish acts are generally holding their own against competition from around the world.

Meanwhile, DESTIN FRAGILE showcased songs from their ‘Halfway To Nowhere’ album released this year and some observers have considered it one of the best synth flavoured long players of 2015.

Day 1 began in the late afternoon with Nordic friendly blog Cold War Night Life hosting a DJ set in The Outsider bar area. As music fans prepared themselves for a nine hour night, DJ combo Spacelab aka Alexander Hofman and Johan Billing from S.P.O.C.K. continued the electronic soundtrack.

ES2015-PeterSjoholm

Throughout the weekend, there were enjoyable DJ sets based around the themes of Mute, DEPECHE MODE, NITZER EBB and ERASURE but there was also just great electronic pop by artists of all generations ranging from KRAFTWERK, SOFT CELL and NEW ORDER to CLUB8, TRUST and SUSANNE SUNDFØR.

The first live act of the day was the milk loving PETER SJÖHOLM who gave his distinctive quirky take on electronic pop. But that was followed by the unusual sight of Day 2 headliners VNV NATION taking to the stage at 19:00 hours. Performing what was billed as an alternative set, it contained a collection of their lesser played works from their vast catalogue like ‘Kingdom’ and was a suitable dress rehearsal for their headline slot. Following on, NATTSKIFTET and VIRTUAL VOICES kept the crowds warm in preparation for Canadian darkwave trailblazers PSYCHE.

ES2015-Psyche

Accompanied by Stefan Rabura, Darrin Huss led a spirited performance that was fittingly poignant following the recent sad passing of his brother and PSYCHE founder member Stephen.

This was particularly evident on ‘The Brain Collapses’ from ‘Insomnia Theatre’, their debut album together. The magnificent ‘The Saint Became A Lush’ from ‘Unveiling The Secret’ was another pivotal moment while that album’s title track and ‘Uncivilized’ were other treats.

Huss recited his synthpop knowledge too, dropping in snatches of EURYTHMICS’ ‘Sweet Dreams’ and YAZOO’s ‘Bring Your Love Down (Didn’t I)’ during the set.

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KARIN PARK gave another of her towering performances, the aggressive synth glam of ‘Look What You’ve Done’ fully exploiting the presence of her metalhead drummer brother David and lively new keyboardist Kine Sandbæk Jensen aka PIECES OF JUNO.

Meanwhile ‘Stick To The Lie’ and ‘Ashes’ demonstrated that despite her intense stage demeanour, Miss Park does supreme electronic pop. To climax the set, the charismatic Swede led a three way drum barrage to conclude the mighty ‘Thousand Loaded Guns’.

PROJECT PITCHFORK concluded the evening with a suitably Teutonic fist of aggression; their in-yer-face pounding ensured any remaining energy left in the audience after a long day was put to efficient use. If nothing, it ensured a good night’s sleep in preparation for Electronic Summer 2015’s second instalment.

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Day 2 began with HILTIPOP, the solo project of Magnus Johansson from the YAZOO influenced duo ALISON who released their only album ‘Duality’ in 2010.

His promising FAD GADGET meets KRAFTWERK template was an ideal way to ease everyone back into the synthetic groove and many watching including George Geranios of Undo Records and Darrin Huss were impressed. Following on, STURM CAFÉ gave their own localised take on electronic body music. 

With enough flashes of DAF to wake anyone who was still sleepy, the Alte Schule sound was not totally unexpected from a band who soundtracked a movie called ‘Die Zombiejäger’. 

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Meanwhile, ME THE TIGER were another highly regarded Swedish band on the second day’s very internationally flavoured bill and notably reflected their country’s solidarity values. 

With their synth assisted new wave songs like ‘Ariana’ and ‘Pocket Sized Edition Ending’, the trio showcased their YEAH YEAH YEAHS influenced pop augmented by punky guitars and lively drums. In Gabriella Åström, ME THE TIGER have a feisty front woman.

Full of energy and attitude, this was something that was particularly evident on anthemic numbers like ‘Heartbeats’ and ‘What Promises Are Worth’. Even a broken kick pedal didn’t dampen their enthusiasm and this was promptly repaired without a flutter.

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The event maintained its original DEPECHE MODE roots with the presence of Athens based synth maidens MARSHEAUX performing selections from their acclaimed reinterpretation of ‘A Broken Frame’.

The wispy renditions of ‘My Secret Garden’, ‘Monument’ and ‘Leave In Silence’ were particular highlights while there was the surprise inclusion of ‘See You’ B-side ‘Now This Is Fun’. Best of of all though was an angelic rendition of ‘The Sun & The Rainfall’.

But it wasn’t all about Basildon as MARSHEAUX impressed the Devotee dominant crowd with their own cracking tunes like ‘Hanging On’, ‘Dream Of A Disco’, ‘Come On Now’ and ‘Breakthrough’.

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German duo SOLAR FAKE led by Sven Friedrich kept the crowd moving with their Goth infused electro, a tone that was not entirely surprising given Friedrich’s roots in cult alternative band DREADFUL SHADOWS.

‘I Hate You More Than My Life’ was a more than ideal overture while ‘Under Control’ provided a trancey focal point with hints of COVENANT. The remainder of their set was enjoyably accessible dark synthpop that suited the duo’s striking look.

To conclude the weekend, VNV NATION blasted their way through a hits set of their characteristic Futurepop, the duo of Ronan Harris and Mark Jackson certainly providing lashings of “Victory Not Vengeance”.

ES2015-VNV

2011’s ‘Space & Time’ and the 1999 vintage of ‘Standing’ were just two of the stomping crowd pleasers while the more epic electro rock inclined ‘Perpetual’ made a fitting set closer.

Throughout the weekend, there was an enormously warm and friendly atmosphere. The event had something for everyone so as different factions of the audience moved between their preferred acts, there was plenty of time for passionate discussion in the various bars.

Despite fierce debate about the merits of synthpop versus industrial, most shared an intense dislike of EDM and agreed that its inane DJ culture was ruining electronic music. However, when there were differences in opinion as the well-known Nordic enjoyment for liquid refreshment kicked in, no-one took it personally. There was plenty of mutual laughter as chat varied from whether ‘MG’ was actually a Eurorack YouTube tutorial put to record, to the use of the word “Marmite” as a descriptive term in music journalism.

ES2015-Team
Electronic Summer has developed into a fine annual platform showcasing the best in independent synth driven talent from around the world. The 2015 variant was a truly worldwide event, again proving what can be done when event organisers actually enjoy and understand the music they are dealing in.

It was indeed, a fine benchmark for other event organisers to aspire to.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its sincerest thanks to Henrik Wittgren and Sebastian Hess at Depeche Mode Party Gothenburg

Thanks also to Simon Helm at Cold War Night Life

www.electronicsummer.se

www.anachronsounds.de/

www.solarfake.de/en

www.marsheaux.com/

www.methetiger.com/

www.facebook.com/sturmcafe

https://soundcloud.com/sem-hilti-johansson

www.project-pitchfork.eu/

www.karinpark.com/

www.psyche-hq.de/

www.facebook.com/nattskiftetmusik

http://members.tripod.com/~virtual_voices/

www.facebook.com/peter5joholm

www.facebook.com/destin.fragile.pop

www.facebook.com/PresenceOfMindSweden

www.discogs.com/artist/129276-Xhile

www.facebook.com/pages/Avantgarde/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
Photos by Chi Ming Lai, Simon Helm, Jennifer Last and Madeleine Berg
5th September 2015

SOS#2 Festival at Electrowerkz

9 August 2015 /


The cancellation of Alt-Fest in August 2014 sent shockwaves around the alternative music scene.

Although the fantasy festival approach had led some to read between the lines and anticipate that the event was never going to take place, many put faith in supporting the scene and fellow music enthusiasts.

Quite why people were prepared to commit themselves to a live promoter who had no acknowledged record of organising an event of this magnitude still remains a mystery… the initial crowdfunding exercise should have rung alarm bells as to the lack of liquid funds to run Alt-Fest.

If only the organisers had learned to walk before they ran and opted for something more manageable… so acts from many shores, like AESTHETIC PERFECTION, CLAN OF XYMOX and AGONIZE who had pre-arranged to come to the UK, now had nowhere to play. Coming to the rescue were Flag Promotions who promptly hosted everyone at Electrowerkz in London. Fittingly named SOS, the event was a success and prompted a second instalment for 2015.

This year’s first night was headlined by Seattle’s ASSEMBLAGE 23 with support from ANALOG ANGEL and a host of other combos of varying electro and alternative persuasions in two rooms.

Opening SOS#2 in the electro section was new act TREGENZA, who sounded nothing like how they looked.

The combo surprised those present to a cover of ‘The Partisan’, a song made famous by Leonard Cohen and with the solemn militaristic grandeur of ‘Born Into Fire’, it was a promising performance.

EMPATHY TEST have been much talked about and on paper have all the ingredients. In a currently weakened British scene, they have stood out with their hipster credentials, good looks and brooding synth sound. But even with a song like ‘Kirrilee’, there is something missing. Like STRANGERS before them in 2012, EMPATHY TEST are not MIRRORS, or even the current UK benchmark EAST INDIA YOUTH. However, a small enthusiastic following was rooting for them all the way through their set.

VIVIEN GLASS on the other hand made much more of an impact, from their co-ordinated stage presentation to their dark, punchy synthpop.

With a syncopated groove on their better songs like ’Black Magic’ and ‘Julius’ offset by moody female lead vocals, they are perhaps this year’s FUTURE PERFECT.

Their debut album ‘Awake My Sleeper’ was a mixed bag, so the new one ‘Jura’ out in September is awaited with interest.

With D-K-A-G being a rather generic EBM Industrial band who shouted “DAS” rather a lot, it was time to make a sharp exit. Welcome relief came in the downstairs alternative rock room where RED SUN REVIVAL provided some of the chromatic Gothic resonance that gave ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN some crossover appeal in the ‘Ocean Rain’ years.

Very much originally part of the Industrial scene up to 2011, an introduction of melodic synthpop elements has given ANALOG ANGEL a much more expansive template which has widened their appeal. The recent support slot for KRAFTWERK legend Wolfgang Flür and tonight’s spirited crowd singalong to ‘We Won’t Walk Away’ was evidence of that. And there was also a cheer of recognition for ‘When You Called My Name’, the song that signalled ANALOG ANGEL’s move into more synthpop based territory.

After a slight delay, ASSEMBLAGE 23 took to the stage and despite the jet lag, Tom Shear was on good form with Paul Seegers sternly controlling the backing. While A23’s stomping numbers like ‘Let Me Be Your Armor’ pleased the faithful, it was the emotive ‘Damaged’ from 2007’s ‘Meta’ and 2009’s superbly spacey futurepop of ‘Spark’ that stole the show.

Having released their first recordings in 1998, a few acts could learn from ASSEMBLAGE 23’s resilience and humility with regards maintaining an audience and surviving in the modern music industry

It was a packed evening although some rightly quibbled that the running order was far too crammed, with schedule clashes and little time for punters to properly mingle between acts, other than a glancing hello. But SOS#2 was entertaining and enlightening, providing a much needed platform for independently minded electronic music.

With thanks to Flag Promotions

http://www.flagpromotions.com/

http://www.assemblage23.com/

http://www.analog-angel.com/

http://redsunrevival.com/

http://www.vivienglass.com/

http://www.empathytest.com/

https://www.facebook.com/tregenzamusic

Text and photos by Chi Ming Lai
9th August 2015

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