Tochka Club, Moscow, Russia5th December 2009
VII Moscow Synthetic Snow Festival: Kirlian Camera, Diorama, Roman Rain, Dupont, Purple Fog Side, Mechanical Apfelsine
On 5th of December, the weather was getting worse and the festival was even marked with some snow. So we were frozen waiting in the street while the doors opened that happened much later than it was promised. When we finally got inside it was still early for the event to start, so we could a good look at the audience that amazed with its diversity. Killing some time in that way we even didn’t notice when the show had begun.
Mechanical Apfelsine
The band from Nizhny Novgorod, Russia formed in 1996 but made itself known only after the first concert in 1998. Since that time, the guys’ creative activity started gaining in strength: MECHANICAL APFELSINE recorded albums and performing in different cities all over Russia. The current style of the formation can be described as synth pop with slight inclination into future pop. http://www.myspace.com/mapfelsine
Music & Performance
Unfortunately it was not the best gig for MECHANICAL APFELSINE and everything simply didn’t get going from the very beginning: because of some technical problems the band could open the event only after two or so failed attempts. Problems of the kind accompanied the musicians during the whole set but the vocalist should be credited at least for his tenacity. The band appeared on the stage when the venue was almost empty and most people were near the bar. Yet there were some individuals ready to fuss around from the start so MECHANICAL APFELSINE performed mainly the songs from the new album ‘Space without End’ for them. In general all the tracks were rather interesting to listen to even for the first time but the quality of the sound was leaving much to be desired and that problem was urgent for the next band participating in the festival.
Rating
Music: 6
Performance: 6
Sound: 3
Light: 6
Total: 5.6 / 10
Purple Fog Side
The members of PURPLE FOG SIDE based in Samara, Russia in 1996 are usually regarded as the pioneers of Russian dark wave even now when the music of the band underwent some changes. Nevertheless, the formation showed itself to advantage and played with such bands as COVENANT, DAS ICH, DE/VISION, and DIARY OF DREAMS. In February 2009 PURPLE FOG SIDE released the album ‘Music for Indigo Kids’. http://www.myspace.com/purplefogside
Music & Performance
So after a quick changeover, PURPLE FOG SIDE came to the audience which still continued getting bigger. But anyway it was just one more performance of the evening that didn’t produce any impression. The problems with the sound mentioned before aggravated and even the animation created by the female vocalist of the formation didn’t save the day. Visually, everything looked just great: self-confident stylish four-piece intended to heat up the crowd. But in fact that gig can’t be regarded as a definite success at any rate. To sum it all up: PURPLE FOG SIDE’s mastermind, apologizing for the quality of the performance explained that the band hadn’t had any rehearsals for a long time. Well, the musicians have the potential to make good shows but at that time the people which came to listen to their favourite songs didn’t get an opportunity to enjoy the performance to the full.
Rating
Music: 5
Performance: 6
Sound: 5
Light: 6
Total: 5.5 / 10
Dupont
Swedish band DUPONT formed in 1999 and originally consisting of three members released the debut album ‘Ukraina’ in 2001. And in some time, the vocalist Johan Damm left the formation and his position was occupied by Riccardo. So, DUPONT became a duo and its style started moving slightly into future pop direction. After several year of silence the musicians released their new album ‘Entering the Ice Age’ in August 2009 which brought the band more popularity and a lot of new fans. http://dupontmusic.com/ / http://www.myspace.com/dupontsweden
Music & Performance
With the appearance of DUPONT, the festival finally gained in strength. Riccardo and Danucci dressed in white and black suits respectively played their material perfectly well combining brand new songs with the old ones and they could hit the dance floor with energetic and catchy compositions. Actually, the duo visited Russia for the first time but judging by the active applause of the audience and joyful cries its music had already conquered the hearts of EBM lovers in the country.
Riccardo running around the stage managed to sing, talked to the people and invited everyone to join DUPONT in the bar after the show. From time to time, Danucci left his synthesizer in order to join the colleague in that rush and they both were so vigorous that even tumbled a microphone stand directly on the audience. But such a tiny accident didn’t spoil everyone’s good mood and the crowd jumped, waved their hands and sang along with the band not knowing the words quite well. For me it was pleasant to listen to DUPONT’s music however it’s not exactly my favourite genre but still some tracks really attracted my attention. For example ‘Money’ which was preceded by Riccardo’s short speech about names for “money” in different countries. So the duo made a good show and I guess gained new fans among the people gathered in the venue.
Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 8
Sound: 7
Light: 6
Total: 7.6 / 10
Roman Rain
ROMAN RAIN usually described as a maestro of decadence is one of the most ambiguous Artist on the Russian underground scene. His symbiosis of music and lyrics implies a great deal of symbolism and intentions to destroy usual stereotypes and reveal the real art. http://romanrain.spb.ru/ / http://www.myspace.com/romanrain
Music & Performance
After reading some information and concert reviews I was really interested how that maestro of decadence looked on the stage. But when ROMAN RAIN appeared before the audience, the first association that came to my mind was cyberpunk or it’s better to say cyber gothic. His image was completed by the extremely long braids that often got tangled.
But don’t judge a book by its cover and as for the performance is was rather good. Powerful tracks in which synth sounds were combined with guitar and drums produced a great impression on the people. Meaningful songs, deep vocals and aloof manner of performance created an interesting atmosphere that even can be regarded as a trace of decadence. ROMAN RAIN was so immersed in the music that even didn’t notice what was going on in the hall, but his fan was happy and asked to sing their favourite songs. Of course that was done and in principle the concert turned out to be quite successful.
Rating
Music: 7
Performance: 7
Sound: 7
Light: 7
Total: 7 / 10
Diorama
German band DIORAMA doesn’t need an introduction, especially not for readers of this magazine. So in a few words, the band was founded in 1996 by Torben Wendt and during over ten years of its existence, the formation released several interesting albums and the new work will appear in March 2010. http://www.diorama-music.com/ / http://www.myspace.com/dioramamusic
Music & Performance
After some time of breathless expectation, DIORAMA started the show and the audience exploded with applause. The first song was ‘Howland Road’ and a chorus of not very co-ordinated voices was singing all the words along with Torben. The hits were following one after another and the fans didn’t stop dancing and screaming even for a second. Mr. Wendt immediately established the contact with the crowd and held it during the whole concert. He bent to the audience all the time and happy fans were able to touch their idol. But not satisfied with it, Torben even came down from the stage and walked in the hall a bit so the people rejoiced.
The quality of the sound, which wasn’t good enough during the festival itself, at that moment wasn’t so evident. The setlist was made very sensibly and included the songs from almost all albums of the band, including the new yet unreleased one. Performing ‘Das Meer’, Torben also played the synthesizer and gave Sash an opportunity to smoke a cigarette. But then there came one more powerful composition and the audience plunged into a melancholic trance went wild again. But the set came to an end and DIORAMA left the stage nevertheless the fans thought it was too early and didn’t allow the band to go so easily. The screams were heard and the musicians appeared again for a two-track encore. Performing the last track ‘Said but True’, Torben came down again and went through the crowd and surprisingly he started falling till the audience lifted him over the heads. So the second part of the song was sung in that position and then the front man was carefully set up on the stage.
Maybe the reaction of the fans would be stronger if the whole situation wasn’t so unexpected. But anyway it was a good end for that fabulous performance and as most of the people shared the same the venue became near-empty meanwhile the festival wasn’t over yet.
Setlist
01. Howland Road
02. Wingless
03. Erase Me
04. Acid Trip
05. Exit the Grey
06. Das Meer
07. Synthesize Me
08. Alpha Animal Complex
09. Why
10. The Girls
---
01. Advance
02. Said but True
Rating
Music: 10
Performance: 10
Sound: 8
Light: 8
Total: 9.4 / 10
Kirlian Camera
Italian band KIRLIAN CAMERA was founded in 1980 and combined the power and energy of electronic sound with the beautiful female vocals. In October 2009 the band released the retrospective compilation “Odyssey Europa” which also includes previously unreleased compositions. http://www.myspace.com/kirliancamerafront
Music & Performance
KIRLIAN CAMERA visited Russia for the first time and its music isn’t so well-known in our country and so, the quantity of the people willing to listen to the band was rather small. But anyway the qualitative show of the formation was highly supported by the audience. The beautiful heartfelt vocals and calm dark melodies actually almost lulled the crowd to sleep intensifying the effect with the sounds of the violin. The performance itself was not too boring but at the same time didn’t strike one’s imagination: the vocalist almost didn’t left the microphone stand, but later on she was replaced by the guy who originally played the synthesizer and looked like a robber in his black mask. Well, KIRLIAN CAMERA’s music may be of interest but I really doubt someone could enjoy it at that time so the introduction of the new artist wasn’t successful enough.
Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 7
Sound: 8
Light: 8
Total: 8 / 10
In the after-party, the fans could communicate with the bands, take autographs and pictures or simply drink at the bar. So the festival finished and only the positive impressions were left indeed but actually everyone wanted more.
All pictures by Era Gray
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