Pulp, Duisburg, Germany
10th October 2013
Project Pitchfork, Ayria & Architect
For many years now, PROJECT PITCHFORK are at the forefront of alternative electronic music, even though the popularity decreased with the more introverted albums 'Inferno' and 'Kaskade' for some time. The band returned to their roots, starting with the release of 'Dream, Tiresias!' in 2009. Two more albums would follow emphasizing a darker, more raw electronic sound the second one being 'Quantum Mechanics'. The band’s latest album, ‘Black’, was out in January 2013. Now touring with the new album, the band once more delivered the apocalyptic message carved into attendees minds with the blunt force of edgy electronic beats. Support acts of the tour are German ARCHITECT, who just released a new album, and Canadian AYRIA.
Architect
ARCHITECT is yet another face of Daniel Myer who’s most notable being a member and creative force of HAUJOBB, who finally released their new album, and DSTR. ARCHITECT’s tracks remain strictly instrumental, even though the new album, ‘Mine’, just released in September, features also some female vocals. Daniel once described he’s working on those tracks like a real architect, putting layer on layer. Since its inception the project released six regular albums with ‘Consume.Adapt.Create’ in 2010 and now ‘Mine’, moving a bit into a different direction and reminding me in parts much of RECOIL’s works. The album “constitutes an appreciable shift in direction compared to his previous works by adding compositional and instrumental innovations brand new to this project.” For the new album, Myer was supported by well-respected artists such as Ben Lukas Boysen a.k.a. Hecq, guitarist and cellist Felix Gerlach (ie DIARY OF DREAMS, Dejan Samardzic (dsx, HAUJOBB), legendary producer, engineer and remixer Paul Kendall (DEPECHE MODE, NITZER EBB, ERASURE, RECOIL), Canadian musician and sound designer Comaduster and Hungarian vocalist Emese Arvai-Illes (BLACK NAIL CABARET). http://www.architect-music.com / https://www.facebook.com/pages/Architect/236707943010171
Music & Performance
When Myer entered the packed stage 19:30, it was quite dark up there. But in the back, he had a screen showing morphing female faces during the whole show, starting and ending with the cover picture of the current album. Instrumental electronic acts on stage have a tendency to bore you to death sometimes, because there’s hardly anything happening except a guy twiddling knobs to sounds actually coming from a tape or HDD. But there is something different with ARCHITECT. Not only that the videos enrich the show visually, Myer also acts himself more vivid like other one-man electronic projects, adding some drum work and shouts/sparse vocals to some songs himself. The songs of the whole set were constantly merging together and you had the impression to listen to one single long song. Myer is not just pressing a button to play his tunes, he is doing live manipulation of the songs he’s playing, adding glitches and noises and screams on the fly which gives it a whole different feeling. So after all, the songs do really differ from the album versions. This show as a great start of the evening for me.
Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 8
Sound: 7
Light: 6
Total: 7.8 / 10
Ayria
AYRIA, pronounced area, is a Canadian Future / Synth Pop musical project formed in early 2003 by Toronto's Jennifer Parkin. The project’s music combines elements of Electro, Industrial, EBM, Dance, 80’s, Goth and Pop. The first AYRIA album ‘Debris’ was released in 2003, followed by ‘Flicker’ in 2005 and ‘Hearts for Bullets’ in 2008. In 2012, the album ‘Plastic Makes Perfect’ was released, being produced by Sebastian R. Komor. During the last years, AYRIA was touring extensively through Europe and also USA as well as home country Canada. AYRIA is es solo project of Jennifer, but live on stage, she was and is supported by various keyboarders. In Duisburg, this was Sarah Wimer (Sarah Stewart), who formerly was also dancer at CRÜXSHADOWS for two years. http://www.ayria.com / https://www.facebook.com/Ayria.Official
Music & Performance
The band promises on their Facebook page a “razor sharp electro-industrial-dance-pop-ebm-pretty-plastic-mess”. AS the biography also tells, “Jennifer Parkin has become a bit of an icon in the underground electronic and industrial music scene with her unique writing, singing and performing style and music with an in-your-face sonic approach that combines electro, synth-pop, industrial, 80’s dance, distorted gritty beats and synths, haunting melodies contrasted with angry distorted chanting all wrapped up with pop structures and catchy hooks.” Well, those descriptions promise quite a lot, don’t they? But to be honest, their show did not convince at all. Even though the tunes were quite danceable and Jennifer animated the crowd, the spark did not really jump over. It all was some kind of pinky-poppy-plastic performance with vocals that were not convincing at all. Being disappointed from the second support act, we were only waiting the more for the headliner to start!
Rating
Music: 4
Performance: 5
Sound: 6
Light: 6
Total: 5.2 / 10
Project Pitchfork
PROJECT PITCHFORK is one of the spearheads in the alternative electronic music, initially consisting only of Peter Spilles and Dirk Scheuber. Later Jürgen Jansen and live members Achim Färber and Carsten Klatte joined the line-up. The formation wasn’t just known for critically-acclaimed albums, successful tours and appearances on every conceivable festival but also for some prominent support acts like RAMMSTEIN or COVENANT. After some very successful years at the beginning of this millennium, the popularity decreased with the more introverted albums ‘Inferno’ and ‘Kaskade’ but nothing has changed in East Germany and in Russia, where a tribute to Pitchfork sampler has been created in 2005. In 2009 they eventually came back with a new full-length, titled ‘Dream, Tiresias!’, just to let follow the next one, ‘Continuum Ride’, a year later, and the band's creativity wouldn't cease with that as 'Quantum Mechanics' has dropped in summer 2010. The band’s latest album, ‘Black’, was out in January 2013. PROJECT PITCHFORK consists of Peter Spilles, Dirk Scheuber, and Jürgen Jansen with additional live drummers Achim Färber and Nook. http://www.project-pitchfork.eu / https://www.facebook.com/pages/Project-Pitchfork-Official/65663206412
Music & Performance
When I wrote my last review about a PROJECT PITCHFORK show, I said that it is always difficult with live shows of the band, sometimes there is no response from the audience and the show is, hm, let’s say not really enthusiastic, and other times PITCHFORK blows anyone right off their feet. The last headliner show I saw in Krefeld was one of the latter kind and since then, also on festivals, the PITCHIES never disappointed me. On this year’s Blackfield Festival, the band surprised with three drummers on stage and lots of power. Today in Duisburg they brought equal power onto stage with two drummers, Nook and Achim Färber. The light show itself was very much dimmed and gloomy with a lot of smoke, but enriched with use of lasers and a huge LED screen behind both drummers. The set was compiling rather a best-of set with some of the bands biggest hits and fan favourites instead of introducing the new album, since only a few songs out of it were played. But having so many old gems in the set made the hall boiling.
After the intro, the show started very appropriate with the opener of the new album, ‘Pitch-Black’, marking the direction from the beginning: a powerful dark show, no pink pop at all. And that’s how it should be! The hall was very well filled, even though STAHLMANN were playing the same evening not far away, and anyone was eager for a good celebration. The mood indeed was on top level from the very start and when such songs as ‘Timekiller’ were presented, half of the hall was jumping and shouting. People were all dancing and singing along. Also the band was in good mood, Peter was joking a lot with Jürgen or Dirk, and he also was coming down from stage to be really close to the audience, who highly appreciated this attitude. Highlights in the main set for me were ‘We are One’, one of my faves anyway, ‘Endless Infinity’ and the brilliant ‘Alpha Omega’ in a long version. During the whole set I witnessed that several songs sounded a little reworked and fresh. Great for the live show!
The set ended with ‘Beholder’ from ‘Continuum Ride’ and ‘Enchanted Dots of Light’ out of the latest album. As we know if from the band, and of course since the audience screamed for it, PITCHFORK returned for several more songs, containing another all-time fan favourite, ‘Souls’. Another highlight for me too and a song I was waiting for. Finally, the band ended the evening with ‘Onyx’ and ‘Fear’, proving once more why they are on top of German Goth scene for so many years now. Amazing show once again!
Setlist
01. Intro
02. Pitch-Black (short)
03. An End
04. The Queen of Time and Space
05. Midnight Moon Misery
06. Timekiller
07. Alpha Omega (long)
08. Endless Infinity
09. Acid Ocean
10. We Are One (Mirror Split Up Into Pieces)
11. Human Crossing
12. En Garde!
13. Conjure
14. Rain
15. Beholder
16. Enchanted Dots of Light
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17. Fire and Ice
18. Souls
19. Existence
20. Rescue
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21. Onyx
22. Fear
Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 9
Sound: 8
Light: 7
Total: 8.5 / 10
All pictures by Daniela Vorndran (http://www.vorndranphotography.com / http://www.black-cat-net.de/ / http://www.facebook.com/blackcatnet)
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