Sandstone Cave Langenstein, Halberstadt, Germany10th to 11th April 2015
Kasematten Festival 2015 Day 1: Model Kaos, Formalin, Eklipse, Tyske Ludder, Hocico, Diary of Dreams
Halberstadt is a small town in the east part of Germany and is not really known for scene music. When I was younger, I used to live in a village near there and to be honest – the only scene things happened like 90minutes away in Magdeburg.
Knowing this, having good mood, the plan to do some video interviews with HOCICO, TYSKE LUDDER and HARMJOY, me and the lovely Susann Lucas made our way first to my grandma (yes, this saves the costs for a hotel) and then off to Langenstein, which is a part of Halberstadt. We arrived at about 5.15 p.m., searched for Erk and Racso of HOCICO to do our video interview (check HERE or on Josie Interviewt) with them and found out that the camera was not willing to work. So we improvised a bit to get the interview done and as you could already see: It worked. Due to that both, Susann and Fee, missed the show of MODEL KAOS who were the opener of that day. This is sad but sometimes you have to take decisions.
Model Kaos (Daniela Vorndran)
The trio MODEL KAOS, in 2011, had the honour and duty to open the festival. All three members of the band have participated in many bands - bands such as CAPTAIN FUTURE, BRAINMATTER, TWILIGHT GARDEN, DIVINE RIGHT, RUPTURE and more. In May 2012, MODEL KAOS released their debut album titled ‘Ghost Market’ on Danse Macabre record label. In general, the band presents a combination between dark wave, gothic and electro. With a solid set, singer Kris, live drummer K.G: and guitarist 42 managed to get the crowd going, even though the cave was not really full at this early hour. // http://www.model-kaos.com / https://www.facebook.com/modelkaos // Setlist: 1. New Age / 2. The Fire / 3. Open Waters / 4. Dreams / 5. The Master / 6. Changes / 7. Phoenix // Rating: 6 / 10
Formalin ( Susann Lucas)
Songs about sex, destruction, decay, fashion, art and fetish are what the Berlin duo is always performing. Founded in 2009, they have released their latest album ‘Supercluster’ this year. I had the opportunity to see the band perform two times before. Still it was too early to animate many people to dance to their EBM/ Future Pop sound. Honestly they didn’t make me go crazy, nor did I believe that they meant their lyrics about fetish and stuff like that seriously. At least I have found one song I do like called ‘Yuppie scum’ and this track is to be found on their first album. http://www.formalin-music.com / https://www.facebook.com/formalin.music // Rating: 6 / 10
Eklipse (Fee Wundersee)
EKLIPSE is a band consisting of two violin players, one cello player and of course one of the girls playing a viola. The band is mostly doing covers of well-known pop and rock songs, but also did cover versions of “scene music”. I must admit, I didn’t know much more than their name and was as excited as the rest of the audience about what might be going on on stage now. When entering the stage that Friday, the band told that it was very cold and that their instruments are usually having a temperature of 19 degrees around them. Wearing short dresses and other not really warm clothes though it was surely not more than 10 degrees cold in the cave of Langenstein was really brave. But even though it was really cold, the four girls played all their songs with passion. Sometimes one of their strings decided that it was too cold to sound right and there were some wrong tones here and there – but only due to the cold in the cave. The audience was listening carefully and the whole cave was filled with silence.
When playing a cover of an APOPTYGMA BERZERK song (‘Until the End of the World’), some people started to clap their hands and sing the lyrics to that classical arrangement of that track. It was magic somehow. // www.facebook.com/eklipsemusic // Setlist: 1. Intro / 2. Super Massive / 3. Set Fire to the Rain / 4. In the End / 5. Assassins / 6. Until the End of the World / 7. Where the Wild Roses Grow / 8. Cry Me a River / 10. You Spin Right Round / 11. People / 12. Sweet Dreams // Rating: 8 / 10
Tyske Ludder (Fee Wundersee)
TYSKE LUDDER is a German EBM band and was founded in 1990. The lyrics are about the dominance of technology, war and some of their lyrics are criticizing the US. So changing from classical arrangements to hard electro sounds was a bit shocking. First having those soft violin sounds in my ear and that BAM! A wake-up alert somehow. Next to me a girl was just nodding her head when the singer, totally covered in sweat, came over and screamed his lyrics directly into the audience. She woke up, maybe cause of sweat dropping down on her or maybe cause she was so shocked a band member was coming over. Not sure though. Every now and then drummer Jay Taylor came in front of the stage in order to make some action and to animate the audience to party with them and it worked – people were jumping. Only a few people, but finally jumping. So yeah, this was music to wake people up, to make them dance against the cold in the cave.
Asking the band if they felt cold, they replied that it was not that much cold. Well, the first band of day one telling that they were not freezing. // http://www.tyske-ludder.com / https://www.facebook.com/tyskeludder // Rating: 8 / 10
Hocico ( Susann Lucas)
The two Mexican guys Erk Aicrag and Racso Agroyam founded HOCICO in 1993. We had the luck to got an interview with them at the parking area and it was a funny time to sit with them in the sun and talk about aliens, remixes and Skinny Puppy. It was the first time I saw that Racso talked a lot at an interview. After this we walked back to the cave to see the show. And from the first minute they got the audience. Most of the people in the cave began to dance and to jump. When you see Erk jump across the stage you can hardly stand still. So I decided to give up my front row space and went back a few feet to dance and celebrate with the other people. It was the first time when I felt warm in the cave. So for me it was the first band, where I felt the need to move. After eleven songs they left the stage, but only for a short while.
They came back for two additional songs and you could see that the audience was happy about that fact. // www.hocico.com / www.facebook.de/hocico // Setlist: 1. Flesh to Lacerate / 2. T.O.S. of Reality / 3. Bite Me / 4. Dead Trust / 5. Thy Kingdom Come / 6. In The Name of the Violence / 7. Polarity / 8. A Fatal Desire / 9. Poltergeist / 10. Forgotten Tears / 11. Silent Crow / Encore: 12. Tiempos de Furia / 13. Untold Blasphemy // Rating: 9 / 10
Diary of Dreams (Daniela Vorndran)
Starting as a Dark Wave band, DIARY OF DREAMS developed their style more to Electro / Synth Pop / Rock. In 1989 founded by front man and singer Adrian Hates, the band gathered with the release of their debut album in 1994 a continuously growing fan base. Nowadays, the Gothic/ Independent scene is unthinkable without this German band. Until now DIARY OF DREAMS released 20 albums including 2 EPs, a live, a best of and a re-release album. The lyrics are alternately in German and English language. Their show at Kasematten Festival was announced as full-time show and the crowd in front of the stage was longing for the band to enter the stage. With ‘Malum’, the band around mastermind Adrian Hates (coming this time without any keyboarder) opened their show under loud cheers.
Like always they delivered an energetic set, being based mainly on newer songs. Only a few old gems were spread over their ninety minutes set. Being old stagers the band knew how to entertain the people and get the crowd going. I’m sure no one was disappointed at the end of the concert, even though I wished for one or two more old songs being not played for a long time, especially since a festival is always good to present kind of Best-of program. // http://www.diaryofdreams.de / https://www.facebook.com/officialdiaryofdreams // Setlist: 1. Malum / 2. The Wedding / 3. Haus der Stille / 4. O’ Brother Sleep / 5. Nekrolog 43 / 6. Luxury of Insanity / 7. Daemon / 8. StummKult / 9. MeinEid / 10. Dogs Of War / 11. King Of Nowhere / 12. A Dark Embrace / Kindrom / 14. Undividable / Encore: 15. Butterfly: Dance! / 16. A Day in December // Rating: 8 / 10
After the last concert, there was still time to dance at the after-show party, where i.e. Robert Enforsen, who would play the day after, was spinning records.
Written by Fee Wundersee, Susann Lucas & Daniela Vorndran
All pictures by Daniela Vorndran (http://www.vorndranphotography.com / http://www.facebook.com/blackcatnet)
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