Fusion Club, Münster, Germany17th November 2006
Northern Light, The World Domination
There are not many concerts meeting my taste of music in Münster. But when Northern Lite announced that they will play in my home town it was sure that we’ll definitely be there. Seeing them at the M’era Luna festival earlier this year for only 5 songs at noon made growing the wish to see them for a full-time show in a club where also the visuals could be used. The guys turned out as very nice talk-partner during our interview before the show and also their performance proofed them to be very kind guys close to the fans.
The World Domination
This “duo infernale” is front man Val666, by the way born in cold Siberia, and instrumentalist Ringo.Fire from Erfurt / Germany, who founded their mutual project THE WORLD DOMINATION in February 2004 to reinforce the old Pop duo concept from the 1980s in freaky and contemporary version. They call themselves “the gurus of Electro Glam” and this already hints at their musical direction as well as to their ironic, over-the-top approach. http://www.the-world-domination.org/ / http://www.myspace.com/theworlddomination
Music
THE WORLD DOMINATION cite such diverse acts as IGGY POP, THE VILLAGE PEOPLE, TRIO, T.REX, KRAFTWERK and THE CRAMPS as influences for their musical output and their image. Their music is albeit much more electronic than most of these bands, as THE WORLD DOMINATION combine Electro-clash beats, dance tunes and vintage synthesizers with Glam Rock guitars and a Punk attitude with a touch of Gay Disco. The duo tries so hard to be freaky, manic and weird that it almost hurts but one can’t deny that their music has its charm. They recorded their debut album “The Big One” (La Pussyquette Records) in just five days(!) and which has meanwhile also been released in Russia, obviously with some success. Three singles – “Cockaigne”, “Let It out” and “Runter Mit Dem Höschen” – followed as well as continuous gigging, including a Russian Tour.
Performance
Well – they are maniacs. That’s for sure. And I like maniacs but they have to offer a little more than just being maniacal. And THE WORLD DOMINATION, by the way on stage completed by drummer Pfuetze and three video screens displaying TWD images, does. I never heard of THE WORLD DOMINATION before but they surely know how to leave a trace in your memory forever. They are not afraid to shock an audience, in fact it’s exactly what they want to do, and they get on with a negative reaction at their shows. While their drummer was hardly visible as he was so far in the back some people may even not have noticed him at all, singer Val and Ringo.Fire stood at the edge of the stage in 70s leather outfit including fashionable American police caps (VILLAGE PEOPLE anyone?) and V-wing guitars hanging from their necks (KISS anyone?). And this was just a handset what was to come show-wise. Front man Val soon dropped his guitar to impersonate the weirdest front man ever - which was a lot a case of hit and miss as he was trying too hard at times. Wallowing in a puddle of cola he just spilled over the floor of the stage makes you think “what is this dude up to?”, and his little striptease to flaunt his black leather thong was amusing but rather because it was silly - and not very sexy.
Thank god that THE WORLD DOMINATION doesn’t take anything too serious! Their ironic and tongue-in-cheek approach saved the performance, and when they exchanged their police caps for mirror ball helmets I just thought that those helmets were just hilarious! ;) Musically you may call THE WORLD DOMINATION a bit dated – two or three years ago their mix of retro electronics with Hard Rock guitars would have suited the Electro Clash wave perfectly. But even when the music may not be top-notch art, it’s still fun! A track like ‘Satan’, in which Val sings how he apologizes to Satan for not committing a sin today yet, is just hysterically funny! So as strange as THE WORLD DOMINATION may be, their gig was nevertheless entertaining - most of the time because of it.
Rating
Music: 6
Performance: 7
Sound: 6
Light: 6
Total: 6.3
Northern Lite
NORTHERN LITE are in their 6th year as a record releasing artist and recently made a giant step concerning popularity. The band has already conquered the hearts of the club-goers all over the world and has enjoyed quite some success especially in Spain, the UK and their home-country Germany. They were never a pure club act but with their latest album ‘Unisex’ they opened their sonic world even more to other genres and thus to whole new audiences, and the Pop appeal they always had now comes to full effect. Consistent airplay of their singles on radio and German MTV and being on the bill of quite diverse events are just a few of the results. NORTHERN LITE is one of the few bands that can perform at a Techno rave, at an Indie festival or even play to a Goth crowd (like this year’s M’era Luna) and nevertheless they never feel out of place. http://www.northernlite.de/ / http://www.myspace.com/northernlite
Music
Andreas Kubat and Sebastian Bohn aka DJ Boon met as early as 1997 in their home base Erfurt, Germany. They both were involved in making music before, although with a quite different background. Kubat, who also delivers the trademark vocals for NORTHERN LITE, produced Hip Hop before while Bohn was busy as DJ Boon in the Techno/Dance scene. NORTHERN LITE’s first album, ‘Small Chamber Works’, was self-released in 2000, followed by four 12"s on 1st Decade Records. NORTHERN LITE mix driving beats and infectious dance grooves with subtle guitar work and penetrating lyrics and are among the modern techno acts who also have quite a Pop appeal but also some darker edge so that they appeal to fans of acts like TOKTOK, ELLEN ALIEN, LCD SOUNDSYSTEM or NACHLADER as well as to fans of Synth Pop like DEPECHE MODE and to people from the dark scene with an open mind for other styles. Especially with their recent album ‘Unisex’ they opened their music a lot more to the use of guitars by adding guitarist Sascha Littek to the line-up.
Performance
Those who turned up at “normal” concert times may have been surprised – apart from some DJ spinning music and a few people hanging out in the corners of the club there wasn’t happening anything before midnight - very typical for the Fusion Club which is rather a Techno and Rave location. The venue filled shortly before THE WORLD DOMINATION started their support gig and when it was about time for NORTHERN LITE to enter the stage the place was pretty packed. The crowd, approx. 350 people, obviously comprised mainly of regulars of the club but they seemed to be pretty familiar with NORTHERN LITE stuff. NORTHERN LITE started their set with their current single ‘What You Want’, then (exactly like on the album ‘Unisex’) followed by ‘Alien Girl’. Kubat and Boon, who was behind a huge desk with keys and instruments, were backed up by two guitarists so that their live sound was much rockier than the studio stuff. There were three big flat screens displaying videos and NORTHERN LITE images to enhance the visual side of the show, which was pretty nice. The band seemed to be very relaxed and singer Kubat in his dandy-esque dark suit and with his down-to-earth attitude made everybody feel welcome and rather like watching some friends making music and not a band that actually has got a lot of airplay on MTV recently.
Kubat repeatedly asked if someone in the audience could bring him a drink from the bar or give him a cigarette - a very nice attitude. ;-) While he was performing rather focused and calm, people in the crowd got wilder and wilder. The many new tracks from ‘Unisex’ and old single hits like ‘Treat me better’ or ‘Trusting Blind’ surely got the crowd going. Unfortunately the sound wasn’t too good as the two guitars and the vocals were much louder than the electronic wizardry that is an important part of NORTHERN LITE’s charm but if you were here just to party and dance around you probably don’t care too much. Even some ballads, rather unusual for a setting like this Techno club, in the middle of the set didn’t stop the party. With ‘Reach the Sun’ (from 2004’s album of the same name) and the beat-driven ‘Unisex’ tracks ‘Cocaine’ and ‘1 2 3 4’ made the fans go mental, and of course people wanted more such a climax. The encore started with a real surprise. Kubat asked if anyone is familiar with PHILLIP BOA & THE VOODOOCLUB – well, a few thirtysomethings in the crowd surely knew this classic German Indie hero but most people probably didn’t. Anyway, NORTHERN LITE’s version of BOA’s ‘Kill Your Ideals’ was excellent and upbeat, a very cool electronic rendition of this 1980s underground hit. And it worked! NORTHERN LITE left the stage again and came back for an acoustic version of ‘My Pain’, just guitar and Kubat’s lascivious and pervading voice. The acoustic version blended into the fully instrument dance version of the song. Perfect! For most people the night did not end yet as there were more DJs to come, so many people stayed to dance until sunrise comes, but for us the night was already long enough so we happily headed towards home.
Setlist
01. What You Want
02. Alien Girl
03. Dancing With My Demons
04. Treat Me Better
05. 1000 Year Old Song
06. Enemy
07. I Don’t Remember
08. Ain’t Coming Back
09. I Want More
10. Trusting Blind
11. Gone
12. Even When
13. Reach The Sun
14. Cocaine
15. 1 2 3 4
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16. Kill Your Ideals
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17. My Pain
Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 7
Sound: 4
Light: 7
Total: 7
Dedicated to DJ NilZ, head of ‘Turbo3000’and promoter and producer of this concert night, who died two weeks after this show in a tragic event…..
More pics at Black-Cat-Net
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