- Please stay close to me now
Weave the orb, Spin the dress
Don't you ever leave
me undead undead anymore -
feat. ANGLES, DIS FIG, MESSA, MIDWIFE & VYVA MELINKOLYA, THE HIRS COLLECTIVE, UNDER THE REEFS ORCHESTRA and ZOMBIE ZOMBIE
CLASHBURN:
Well, it's actually a bit of a stretch to label the beginning of Friday this way, since noone else was playing anywhere near The Engine Room. So the promising hour-long commissioned collaboration of the two Dutch bands Throwing Bricks and Oontard basically was a no-brainer - yet still I missed all of it for annoying reasons completely unrelated to the festival. I've already told enough people the whole nothingburger of a story, so let's just summerize it this way:
Imagined cellphone screen issues and almost being scammed in a repair shop made me totally waste two hours of the day. So the first show fell victim to clashing with me being an idiot.
Luckily this would remain the only major fuck-up in my personal festival running order. Yet at least this bullshit didn't cost me even more shows. I arrived in time to finish my purchase of next year's festival ticket (there had been an actual technical problem pausing the transaction the other day) and went to a much needed, quite soothing de-stressing therapy in The Terminal:
Well, it's actually a bit of a stretch to label the beginning of Friday this way, since noone else was playing anywhere near The Engine Room. So the promising hour-long commissioned collaboration of the two Dutch bands Throwing Bricks and Oontard basically was a no-brainer - yet still I missed all of it for annoying reasons completely unrelated to the festival. I've already told enough people the whole nothingburger of a story, so let's just summerize it this way:
Imagined cellphone screen issues and almost being scammed in a repair shop made me totally waste two hours of the day. So the first show fell victim to clashing with me being an idiot.
Luckily this would remain the only major fuck-up in my personal festival running order. Yet at least this bullshit didn't cost me even more shows. I arrived in time to finish my purchase of next year's festival ticket (there had been an actual technical problem pausing the transaction the other day) and went to a much needed, quite soothing de-stressing therapy in The Terminal:
My first visit to the bigger room of the Koepelhal was for the only show of Artist in Residence Midwife that wasn't clashing too hard with other interests to see it. Together with Angel Diaz aka Vyva Melinkolya Madeline Johnston dunked the hall in a misty haze of slow Alternative Dream Pop, as they started to sing about "Miss America".
Live-scoring video footage that felt like an almost surreal documentary of a magical friendship the minimalist Shoegaze duo performed their whole 2023 album "Orbweaving". It was a thing of pure untethered beauty. It definitely calmed me down, and I was not going to leave this comfortable sate of abeyance at least for one more show...
Live-scoring video footage that felt like an almost surreal documentary of a magical friendship the minimalist Shoegaze duo performed their whole 2023 album "Orbweaving". It was a thing of pure untethered beauty. It definitely calmed me down, and I was not going to leave this comfortable sate of abeyance at least for one more show...
Do Messa, who I last saw at the Lazy Bones Festival in October, ever dissappoint? Presenting their brilliant new album "The Spin" in full, the boundless Italian Doom Metal quartet surely wasn't about to do so on the Main Stage this afternoon.
Since my pre-ordered copy is delayed I'm only listening to it for the second time right now as I'm typing this and their performance vividly replays before my inner eye and ear.
Centered around the charisma of singer Sara's angelic voice, you could witness their mix of classic Doom Metal and Lucifer Hard Rock with all kinds of influences from Folk over Post Rock to Extreme Metal spin towards the 1980's with forays into Post Punk / Gothic and even piano ballad vibes. For the latter they brought a guest musician, who also provided the muted trumpet for one of the show's greatest moments, when he was dueling with the guitar in a Jazz freakout during the phenomenal song "The Dress".
It was amazing. So if you were only to watch one show on the biggest stage the whole day... well, you know what I did. Seriously, how can one not love this band?
The wild opposites you can throw yourself into on a typical eclectic Roadburn day! Sometimes they can backfire, when you've just immersed yourself into one particular mood and just aren't ready to abandon it yet. I've experienced this phenomon several times over the years. Seeing The HIRS Collective (a slightly misleading name, since only the two core members on vocals and guitar were actually on stage) however didn't fall into this category at all for me in this moment.
No, their hilariously absurd mixture of Hardcore, Punk, Electronic and Grindcore blasts, suddenly intertwinded with queer culture relevant Pop and Disco hits, which could instantly transform the moshpit into a dancepit, was just an intensly fun adrenaline shock of pure entertainment.
I wouldn't sit down at home, lit a candle and listen to this stuff in a quiet hour at home, but boy, live this brilliant nonsense with genuine sociopolitical messages just kills! Everybody dance (and smash homophobic bullshit) now!
No, their hilariously absurd mixture of Hardcore, Punk, Electronic and Grindcore blasts, suddenly intertwinded with queer culture relevant Pop and Disco hits, which could instantly transform the moshpit into a dancepit, was just an intensly fun adrenaline shock of pure entertainment.
I wouldn't sit down at home, lit a candle and listen to this stuff in a quiet hour at home, but boy, live this brilliant nonsense with genuine sociopolitical messages just kills! Everybody dance (and smash homophobic bullshit) now!
After a break for some great local fries (recommendation: if you have to take medicine during your meal, make sure you have a glass of water instead a can of cola at hand! *burp*) it was time for my daily Hall of Fame show with the Chinese-American, Berlin-based artist Felicia Chen aka Dis Fig. who presented a mixture of Electronic Avantgarde, Drone and Noise, which also included Folk influences or a track with her playing accordion. If you're thinking Otay:onii now, that's fair, because the similarities are obviously there. Her sound and vocals however should easily be different enough not to mix both artists up.
Compared to her collaborative Main Stage show with The Body this performance was by far not as harrowingly mangling for ehm... the body, even though the nostril vibrations occasionally celebrated a reprise. Musically I actually found this more intimate show to be more versatile and captivating. It also helped that for the special occasion of Roadburn she didn't perform all on her own, but brought a drummer, who added a quite brilliant amount of minimal playing to several of her tracks.
While I liked this a lot I was still considering leaving before the end to head over for a good spot in The Terminal, when she suddenly stormed towards me and - even though I backed away with my head - screamed directly into my face from a very close distance. Woah! Did you just read my mind? Of course I stayed until the end now, because otherwise it would have looked as if I'd run away from her like a frightened b***.
Compared to her collaborative Main Stage show with The Body this performance was by far not as harrowingly mangling for ehm... the body, even though the nostril vibrations occasionally celebrated a reprise. Musically I actually found this more intimate show to be more versatile and captivating. It also helped that for the special occasion of Roadburn she didn't perform all on her own, but brought a drummer, who added a quite brilliant amount of minimal playing to several of her tracks.
While I liked this a lot I was still considering leaving before the end to head over for a good spot in The Terminal, when she suddenly stormed towards me and - even though I backed away with my head - screamed directly into my face from a very close distance. Woah! Did you just read my mind? Of course I stayed until the end now, because otherwise it would have looked as if I'd run away from her like a frightened b***.
Luckily I still managed to start the next show in the second row and even work my way forwards later. And Zombie Zombie's performance was something to behold!
The setup immediately threw me back to Ex-Easter Island Head the other day - and there would be some related vibes. Two drummers with additional electronic toys were facing each other left and right sideways to the audience, while a familiar face in a red jumpsuit and glasses operated keys, modular synths and saxophone in the center of the stage. The fond memory of Etienne Haumet's joint show with Slift in 2022 had actually tipped the scales for me towards being here.
The French Kraftwerkians rewarded that choice with a funk-tastic space ride of trippy, humourous Kraut Disco goodness of outrageous float- and danceability. Addictive rhythms, bold cosmic sounds and deep vocoder vocals, which never failed as a gag during the announcements between the songs. Just like a farting bag... if used right it never gets old.
Yeah, this whole show was so much fun, yet also so creative and musically satisfying. Zombie Zombie bravo bravo!
The setup immediately threw me back to Ex-Easter Island Head the other day - and there would be some related vibes. Two drummers with additional electronic toys were facing each other left and right sideways to the audience, while a familiar face in a red jumpsuit and glasses operated keys, modular synths and saxophone in the center of the stage. The fond memory of Etienne Haumet's joint show with Slift in 2022 had actually tipped the scales for me towards being here.
The French Kraftwerkians rewarded that choice with a funk-tastic space ride of trippy, humourous Kraut Disco goodness of outrageous float- and danceability. Addictive rhythms, bold cosmic sounds and deep vocoder vocals, which never failed as a gag during the announcements between the songs. Just like a farting bag... if used right it never gets old.
Yeah, this whole show was so much fun, yet also so creative and musically satisfying. Zombie Zombie bravo bravo!
CLASHBURN:
Yesterday I had already heard about Big|Brave - whose regular show was on Sunday - playing a secret show in the Ladybird Skatepark at seven, but the source of my information was one hour off, which meant it was happening right now and theoretically made it possible to cram in at least a part of it into my schedule. Ultimately however I was happy that I decided against trying that, because even for a band I love so dearly it would have been a shame to cut Zombie Zombie short and lose one of the best seats in the house for the absolute personal must-see next on my plan:
With a setup of (from left to right) grand piano and other keys, cello, upright bass, vocals, drums, tenor saxophone, trombone and finally vibraphone and soprano saxophone Angles really tested the capacity of the Paradox' stage. And it was good that the Swedish ensemble around Martin Küchen did so, because all the variety this instrumentation could provide was needed to bring the hour-long album "The Death Of Kalypso" to life.
Emotionally centered around Elle-Kari Sander, whose raw yet delicate, expressive Jazz vocals stood out as incomparable to any other singer of even this so versatile festival, the band moved from Contemporary Classical interludes to virtuosic brass solos, from minimalist silence to Free Jazz crescendos and Shirley Bassey / James Bond grandeur. It's impossible to cover all the manifold facets of this captivating dramatical "Jazz Opera" suite in five acts, but without any doubt the audience followed every turn of the musical narration with awe and several instances of spontanous scene applause.
I had hoped that this would be very special since hearing the music on Bandcamp just a few weeks before Roadburn - and my expectations were indeed met with one of the greatest performances of the whole festival. Splendid and sublime!
Other than the artists on all other official Roadburn stages the bands playing here were responsible for selling their merch themselves after their shows. And Angles sold everything, leaving a completely empty table, with me grabbing the very last CD copy of the album. Sorry, two or three folks behind me... I missed out on a couple of merch items during this weekend too, if that helps.
Emotionally centered around Elle-Kari Sander, whose raw yet delicate, expressive Jazz vocals stood out as incomparable to any other singer of even this so versatile festival, the band moved from Contemporary Classical interludes to virtuosic brass solos, from minimalist silence to Free Jazz crescendos and Shirley Bassey / James Bond grandeur. It's impossible to cover all the manifold facets of this captivating dramatical "Jazz Opera" suite in five acts, but without any doubt the audience followed every turn of the musical narration with awe and several instances of spontanous scene applause.
I had hoped that this would be very special since hearing the music on Bandcamp just a few weeks before Roadburn - and my expectations were indeed met with one of the greatest performances of the whole festival. Splendid and sublime!
Other than the artists on all other official Roadburn stages the bands playing here were responsible for selling their merch themselves after their shows. And Angles sold everything, leaving a completely empty table, with me grabbing the very last CD copy of the album. Sorry, two or three folks behind me... I missed out on a couple of merch items during this weekend too, if that helps.
CLASHBURN:
Besides not being able to see Envy, The Body and Cave In on the Main Stage the most hurtful thing to miss so far had probably been Steve von Till's Harvestman. But as so often the late night was now really clustered with impossible choices. My strongest immediate consideration was the Offroad show of Fellatio in the relatively close LOC Brewery, followed by the Gnod Drop Out With White Hills, while getting in line for a Chat Pile secret show this late would be unrealistic anyway. After those the options to close the night included Thou on the Main Stage and an eighty-minute Psychedelic Drone excess with Smote.
Yet since I saw no chance of making it to one of the Jazz club performances tomorrow and the venue wouldn't be part of the festival on Sunday, I rather made the commitment to just take a little break now and stay right here inside the Paradox.
Yet since I saw no chance of making it to one of the Jazz club performances tomorrow and the venue wouldn't be part of the festival on Sunday, I rather made the commitment to just take a little break now and stay right here inside the Paradox.
After The HIRS Collective this was already the second band with a misleading name today! Especially since the stage had been so crammed an hour ago it was kind of ironic that Under The Reefs Orchestra were only three dudes on guitar, drums and not bass, but bass saxophone.
But what an arsenal of Prog, Heavy Jazzrock, funky Fusion, floating Post Rock, Blues, Pink Panther spy movie vibes and whatever you can imagine between these poles this Belgian trio would unleash!
It was yet another show of phenomenal musical wizardry, creativity and also just sheer coolness. Even though the drummer skillfully grooved in and outside of the pocket and the guitarist never failed to impress, I especially loved the saxophone switching between the roles of a bowed or plucked contrabass, a harder electric bass and of course its smooth or roaring actual saxophony self.
At the risk of sounding ridiculous, even though I swear it's nothing but the truth: It was the seventh (out of seven) flawless show of the day. What more do you need? - Well, I need to go back in time and start an hour earlier, duh! But seriously - ending Friday on such a high note I couldn't wait to throw myself into two more days of this blissful madness!
It was yet another show of phenomenal musical wizardry, creativity and also just sheer coolness. Even though the drummer skillfully grooved in and outside of the pocket and the guitarist never failed to impress, I especially loved the saxophone switching between the roles of a bowed or plucked contrabass, a harder electric bass and of course its smooth or roaring actual saxophony self.
At the risk of sounding ridiculous, even though I swear it's nothing but the truth: It was the seventh (out of seven) flawless show of the day. What more do you need? - Well, I need to go back in time and start an hour earlier, duh! But seriously - ending Friday on such a high note I couldn't wait to throw myself into two more days of this blissful madness!
reviews of the other festival days:
ROADBURN FESTIVAL 2025 • THE SPARK: Wednesday, April 16th
- Rodents in thy Holy Place -
ROADBURN FESTIVAL 2025 • DAY ONE: Thursday, April 17th
- Isn't it funny how the Body Machine burns? -more to come!
