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Inkonst, Malmö, Sweden
13th December 2008
electriXmas Festival: Welle:Erdball, Agonoize, Interlace, Autodafeh, Biomekkanik

Being the follower of Virtual X-mas, electriXmas is taking place every year in December since 2002 and developed to one of Sweden’s most famous synth festivals. The line-up this year was again very mixed between “old” heroes of synth music and new talents. Acts from abroad belonged to the line-up as well as local bands. After the festival was taking place for several years in Lund, it moved to Malmö in 2007 and is now taking place at Inkonst, which is set in an old chocolate factory and is part of Kulturhuset Mazetti where it invites everything from experimental minority activities to well known events in theatre, music, dance, art and clubs.

When we arrived at the venue at quarter past seven, there were still people queuing up because the doors were still closed. But soon everything inside the venue was set and people entered the club with two areas: the concert hall and a smaller one where the disco was taking place. During the eX festival, you could again spot several people in funny Christmas costumes. So, you could not only see people wearing red Santa caps or glittering garlands in different colours, but people dressed up totally as Santa Claus or wearing elk horns or even electric candles on their heads. Besides the concert floor you had also a disco floor where several DJs - i.e. Android of S.P.O.C.K - were spinning records and made people dance. http://www.electrixmas.org/


Biomekkanik

It all started out in the early 80s with a guy, heavily influenced by the New Romantic Scene of that time. Soon after a DEPECHE MODE concert in 1986, he started playing in several less successful bands. In 1997, the idea of a solo project, called BIOMEKKANOID came up, resulting in an ULTRAVOX cover song on a compilation. That same year he was offered to join S.P.O.C.K and took over the role as songwriter and producer later on. In 2001, the solo project idea came back to his mind and in 2004 a demo of ‘License of Live’ was featured on the electriXmas compilation. 2005 saw the first live performance of BIOMEKKANIK taking place. http://www.biomekkanik.com/ / http://www.myspace.com/biomekkanik
 


Music & Performance
With a little delay BIOMEKKANIK entered the stage as first band of the evening. Usually a solo project of Christer Hermodson, for live gigs it is extended to a full band presenting Mattias Johansson of PROJECT GRUDGE on guitar (http://www.myspace.com/projectgrudgemusic), Andreas Ingefjord aka Meistrich on keyboard (http://www.myspace.com/batallionhq) and Mattias Kristiansson hitting the drum pad on the eX stage. As learned later, it was the first time this constellation came together for a performance and I must say that it worked very well. There were some minor technical problems at the beginning because the band did not have any sound check, but also this was solved very fast, not only because of a good sound engineer. But now to the music! After the band entered the stage, Christer wearing a nice dark suit, the set started with the single ‘Enemy’, the only song that is released so far. Strange to see that people were not only singing the lyrics of this song, but also of several of the coming ones like ‘License to live’ or ‘State of Perfection’. Seems the fact that BIOMEKKANIK already gave out CDRs to friends made the music spreading out.



The whole set was very energetic with some extra hardness added through the live guitars. Very soon, Christer started to “undress” so he was performing only in a tight white shirt towards the end. It was very nice to see that already about 200 of all in all about 500 people already had arrived to see the performance of the opening act. As a little Christmas gimmick, we even got snow at the end and people enjoyed it a lot. I loved this show and I am eager to see more. People in Sweden probably will have the chance when BIOMEKKANIK will (hopefully) support DIE KRUPPS for two gigs.

Setlist
01. Enemy
02. Come see my World
03. Evil
04. License to live
05. Rock Solid
06. Pitch Black Ocean
07. State of Perfection
08. Be like us

Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 8
Sound: 7
Light: 8
Total: 8.2 / 10




Autodafeh

AUTODAFEH was started in November 2007 by two childhood friends; meanwhile the line-up has been completed by third member Anders and in November 2008 they released their debut ‘Hunt for Glory’ and the next record; an EP entitled ‘re:lectro’ is scheduled for an early 2009 release. That same year, to be exact in January, they’ll play some live shows in support for pioneering EBM act FRONT242. AUTODAFEH are Mika, Jeppe and Anders. http://www.myspace.com/autodafehmusic

Music & Performance
EBM is long not dead. In fact there is more or less a revival of Old-School EBM during the last years as bands like SPETSNAZ or JÄGER 90 prove. AUDODAFEH are no exception in this list presenting their electronic tunes in the manner you would expect: keyboard on one side, drum pads on the other one and in the middle the singer. Except from the very first song of the evening - ‘Anger & Hate’ which was available as free download - all presented song were out off the album ‘Hunt for Glory’.



Even though you might first compare AUTODAFEH with bands like FRONT242, they are going their own way with much diversified compositions. The songs are catchy and very powerful what made people in front of the stage move from the very beginning. As for the performance, there is surely space for improvement with a little more action on stage. And let me just add, a little less smoke on stage is sometimes better than too much… But all in all, a band you should keep in mind!

Setlist
01. Anger & Hate
02. No Names
03. Mother Green
04. One Man
05. Stompers
06. Souls of Destruction
07. The Dead Only Know
08. Fuel of Fire

Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 6
Sound: 7
Light: 5
Total: 6.8 / 10




Interlace

The foundation stones of INTERLACE already have been laid over a decade ago and the project and concept gradually developed ever since, however other artistic engagements delayed the realization of the project until the fall of 2001. At this time, the members agreed to enter into a collaboration with Swedish alternative label Memento Materia and subsequently, the first conceptual phase of INTERLACE ‘Innuendo’ was written and produced, during which a foetus is conceived and cloned. The ‘Under the Sky’, which comprised in its German version of several ‘Innuendo’ tracks as well, closed this phase. The foetus now has opened its eyes and watches the sky through the glass of the incubator. INTERLACE took the next evolutional step in entering the second Phase ‘Imago’ eventually released in 2004 in which the foetus has left the incubator and gets confronted with the stark and cold reality of the outside world. Now finally two new tracks can be heard on the band’s myspace site promising great! http://www.designforanewbreed.com/ / http://www.myspace.com/interlace



Music & Performance
To be honest, this was the performance I was looking forward most. I had seen INTERLACE several years ago, at the SAMA 2003, and already then I was impressed by the intense show. Several years and some releases have past and then came a long time of silence. Currently the band unleashed two new songs at their myspace site which I found great. One more reason to not miss this show! And also the audience at Inkonst was very enthusiastic to see this show. Behind the stage, a video screen was built up, where different videos accompanying to the songs were shown. In front, the three keyboards were built up. During the intro, three black clothed men behind technical masks entered the stage to take their places behind the keys. Then, a brittle person behind a plastic mask looking like the face of a puppet entered the stage, clothed in a grey worn out pullover, to kneel down for the rest of the intro… end then an electrical storm started that blew people away with songs like ‘Master’ or ‘Soul of a new machine’. But also the new songs ‘Nemesis’ and ‘Istatue’ were a big success.



INTERLACE is a virtual laboratory, not only musically with clear-cut electronic soundscapes that blend with distorted aggression, but also visually where is moulded into sonic and visual expressions. It is an overall concept where anything matches perfectly. The band not only makes jus albums, they create complete works of art. Music, album artworks, stake appearance… anything belongs together in the concept. The interaction between the musical, visual, and thematic components serve to create a unique product. Once again I was impressed by the impact the band had on my. Perfect! And also people in front of the stage were blown away. No wonder that already the third band of the evening was giving an encore. But not only one song, no, three whole songs. People simply did not let them go.

Setlist
01. Intro
02. Veneer
03. Soul of a New Machine
04. Conformity
05. Track Two
06. Nemesis
07. Master
08. Boiler Room
---
09. Pinioned
10. Rain of Brass Petals (3 voices edit)
11. Istatue

Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 10
Sound: 8
Light: 9
Total: 9 / 10




Agonoize

AGONOIZE are one of those projects representing the so called “Hellectro” genre, which basically means harsh and angry and in most cases distorted vocals, sinister lyrics and club-friendly beats. The German project was founded in 2002 by Mike Johnson and Oliver Senger. The line-up was later completed by Chris L. Their first album ‘Assimilation: Chapter One’ was released in 2004 followed by several EPs in the same year. It shouldn't take long before a new musical prove of life in the shape of an EP called ‘Evil gets an Upgrade’. The second album ‘999’ was then released in October 2005. In 2006 they re-released their first album which was only available in the US under the title ‘Assimilation: Chapter Two’. Their most recent album ‘Sieben’ (Seven) was released in November 2007. A new EP ‘For the Sick and Disturbed’ followed on Halloween 2008. AGONOIZE are Chris L (lyrics, vocals), Mike Johnson (synths) and Oliver Senger (synths). http://www.agonoize.de/ / http://www.myspace.com/agonoize



Music & Performance
There was a little change in the line-up for the show. Singer Chris did only bring Oliver to support him on the keys; Mike was missing. Even though I do not like the music and show of AGONOIZE that much, seeing them in Sweden could turn out as something special. After all, Swedes are somewhat crazy when it comes to such kind of music with such a show… especially when it comes from Germany. Already during the intro and the first song ‘A Cut inside my Soul’ from the new EP ‘For the Sick and Disturbed’ the floor turned into a madhouse. People were jumping and screaming like crazy and even lying half on the stage constantly reaching out their hands towards Chris to touch him.



It even got crazier when Chris started slashing his wrists and a rain of “blood” was falling down onto the audience. People were standing in this rain with raised arm and soon anyone in front of the stage had red marks on his body. As Chris said later, they brought some extra “blood” for Sweden because they knew that the people there love it. They freaked out to songs like ‘Femme Fatale’, the BEASTY BOYS classic ‘Fight for your Right to Party’ or the band’s biggest hit ‘Koprolalie’. Without any break, the band pushed out the KISS song ‘I was made for loving you’ as an encore. To sum thing whole thing up… even though I usually do not like the show of AGONOIZE the whole mood in the venue and the screaming fans in front of the stage made even me like it in parts… but I could happily do without the blood.



Setlist
01. Intro: Helloween
02. A Cut inside my Soul
03. Sacrifice
04. Fight for your Right to Party (Beasty Boys)
05. Femme Fatale
06. Staatsfeind
07. In deinem Grab
08. Glaubenskrieger
09. Schaufensterpuppenarsch
10. D.M.K.
11. Koprolalie
---
12. I was made for loving you (Kiss)

Rating
Music: 5
Performance: 8
Sound: 8
Light: 8
Total: 7 / 10




Welle:Erdball

This band connects the aesthetic and elegance of past days with the conveniences of the present. Since 1994, the radio station WELLE:ERDBALL broadcasts 24 hours a day, with 1000 giga watts. The very first broadcast ‘Frontalaufprall’ established a trademark sound dominated by sounds, coming out of a C64, which remained fixed element of their style ever since. Their most recent album ‘Chaos Total’ already dates back to 2006, but showed the band as ironic and playful as ever. In April 2008, they’ve released a very special pink vinyl ‘Ich bin aus Plastik’ (I’m made of plastic), limited to a 1000 copies. WELLE:ERDBALL is Honey (sounds, lyrics, vocals), ALF (planning, conception, programming), Plastique (vocals) and Frl. Venus (vocals). http://www.welle-erdball.info/ / http://www.myspace.com/funkbereit



Music & Performance
WELLE:ERDBALL and Sweden. That’s nearly a perfect combination. Somehow the Swedish electro fans took a great fancy on this band. Already during the rebuilding break where lots of stuff - like big walls out of canvas, light stands, big stands for the video beamers or the rotating platforms for the girls - was brought onto the stage, the space in front of the stage got crowded. Again, people were lying half on the stage and soon, one leg of one of the beamer stands broke. So, a security guy was placed in front of each stand to make sure nothing else get broken. The stage itself was full of equipment and cables were lying everywhere… hard for the four people on stage to find even a place to stand securely.



After the first song ‘Funkbereit’, where all musicians were hidden behind canvases so you could only see their shadows, the show started really with KRAFTWERK’s ‘Wir sind die Roboter’ when all four people on stage wore robot masks and moved also like robots. After the song, the masks were taken away. As always, Alf and Honey wore elegant black suits while the ladies were dressed up in sweet black and white dresses. That’s how we know WELLE:ERDBALL. The set consisted of several songs from the latest album ‘Chaos total’ as well as big hits such as ‘Wir wollen keine Menschen sein’, ‘Arbeit adelt’, ‘Mensch aus Glas’ or ‘Starfighter F-104G’. The biggest vocal part was taken over by Honey while Alf was working on the keyboards. Every now and then, the two ladies took over the microphone - not only for some backing vocals but also for whole songs… So, ‘Ich bin aus Plastik’ was performed by Plastique in a very sweet way. Also with this show you got what you expected of a WELLE show: girls in different sweet dresses that were changed during the show, backlit musicians behind white screens, rotating dancers, woven flags, play-guns, banners with different messages, several video-beamers, balloons and sparklers within the audience as well as paper planes which were thrown down by the band… and of course the famous Commodore 64 which found its way to a happy fan in the audience who got it signed later by the band.



Of course during ‘Arbeit adelt’, Honey was hitting his oil barrel. Again this show in Sweden was a perfect show by WELLE with a very energetic audience. I find it always very nice and sometimes funny, when all the Swedes sing the German words together with the band. As enthusiastic as the people in front of the stage were they of course got several encores and so, another fantastic electriXmas found its end.

Setlist
01. Funkbereit!
02. Wir sind die Roboter
03. Tanzpalast 2000
04. Wir wollen keine Menschen sein
05. Mensch aus Glas
06. Der Telegraph
07. 23
08. Ich bin aus Plastik!
09. Das Alpha-Tier
10. Schweben, Fliegen, Fallen
11. 0173-1923954
12. Arbeit adelt
13. VW-Käfer
14. Super8
15. 8-bit-Märchenland
16. Starfighter F-104g
17. Deine Augen
18. Und es geht ab!
---
19. Laß uns ein Computer sein
20. Deutsche Jugend
21. Monoton & minimal
22. Es geht voran

Rating
Music: 7
Performance: 9
Sound: 8
Light: 8
Total: 8 / 10



All pictures by Daniela Vorndran (http://www.vorndranphotography.com/ / http://www.black-cat-net.de/ / www.myspace.com/vorndranphotography)
Written by Daniela Vorndran, all Band Intros by Sebastian Huhn

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