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Flugplatz Drispenstedt, Hildesheim, Germany
11th to 12th August 2007
M’era Luna Festival Day 2 - Hangar Stage: Proceed, Implant, Angels & Agony, Diorama, Rabia Sorda, 32Crash, Welle:Erdball, IAMX, Anne Clark

While the bands on the main stage were performing in bright sunlight, you could enjoy the shadow in the Hangar when mostly electronic bands were playing there. Well-known names like DIORAMA, WELLE:ERDBALL, IAMX or ANNE CLARK were drawing people inside. But also some smaller or new projects like 32CRASH, RABIA SORDA, ANGELS & AGONY, IMPLANT and PROCEED deserved the attention of the visitors.




Proceed - Hangar Stage (J. “Niggels” Uhlenbruch)
 
Powerful kicking EBM is what PROCEED from Magdebug, Germany, offer. Since PROCEED’s beginnings in 1999, Andre S. (vocals, music, lyrics), Daniel P. (music, lyrics) and live-percussionist Réne S. produce powerful synthetic music which incorporates traditional EBM elements and as well as contemporary Techno sounds, and a good part of their lyrics are in their mother tongue although there are tracks in English language as well. In 2004 PROCEED released their debut album ‘Fehlgesteuert’, and after a couple of acclaimed festival gigs (including the Wave Gotik Treffen in Leipzig) and an appearance on the Out Of Line compilation ‘Awake the Machines Vol. 5’ PROCEED signed to this leading German Electro-Industrial label and released the albums ‘Neusprache’ (2006) and ‘Laut’ (2007) on Out Of Line. http://www.proceedweb.de/ / www.myspace.com/proceedweb

Music & Performance
Being the first band to perform on Sunday is a pretty ungrateful mission, especially when most of the festival attendees had a long night at the Hangar party the night before, but PROCEED benefit from having a loyal fan base. So although it was pretty empty at the hangar venue at this time of day there were about 250 fans who turned up to show their support - and to have a party with PROCEED. The band’s fans and friends have been remarkably supportive since day one, and with the first few beats people started to dance. With a 20-minute gig in the morning you better waste no time anyway. The volume was so loud that it blew your ears away but I guess that’s exactly the way the fans wanted it, and it was a nice wake-up call for those in the back of the hangar who still clutch their first coffee of the day.



Despite the volume and the generally problematic acoustics at the hangar venue the sound was relatively sharp and precise, so it came across nicely that the modern EBM-sounds of PROCEED are indeed quite well produced. Other bands later in the day had much more problems to sound half-decent at the least, like IAMX who suffered the most from the poor acoustics in this place. However, PROCEED sounded fine. To my surprise they performed as a duo, with Andre S. at the microphone and René S. delivering some percussion on an electronic drum kit. A very powerful, testosterone-driven show which even generated a mosh-pit in front of the stage (mind you, it was not even noon!) but unfortunately the majority of the music was pre-recorded with only the vocals and the occasional beat being live. But the fans loved it and I enjoyed being fully awake after some kick-ass EBM tunes. ;-)


Setlist
01. Laut
02. Schuldig
03. Waving
04. Dein Gesicht
05. Spiegelschönheit
06. Autark

Rating
Music: 7
Performance: 6
Sound: 8
Light: daylight
Total: 6.8




Implant - Hangar Stage (J. “Niggels” Uhlenbruch)

IMPLANT are no newbies in the electronic scene as Belgians Len Lemeire and Jan d’Hooghe have been active under the moniker IMPLANT since 1992 and were also involved in other musical projects, and they also collaborated with such high-profile artists like ANNE CLARK or JEAN-LUC DEMEYER (FRONT 242). Their roots are typically Belgian and their first works were a nod to dark Electro acts like THE KLINIK or VOMITO NEGRO. In the new millennium, IMPLANT have headed for a more complex, dance-oriented sound and managed to create a new trademark sound. http://www.implant-music.be/ / www.myspace.com/implant



Music & Performance
While IMPLANT often invites guest artists to deliver lead vocals for their studio works it was Len Lemeire who took over the vocal duties for the gig at the M’era Luna. On the left side of the stage was Jan d’Hooghe playing drums and percussion, whereas Lemeire stood on the right hand behind his keyboards to manipulate samples and to do the vocals. Visually the show was less energy-driven as PROCEED’s gig but with the Magdeburg band warming up the crowd before and IMPLANT’s psychedelic dark electro beats debauched the fans to dance a bit.



Most tracks were taken from IMPLANT’s last two albums, ‘Self-Inflicted’ (2005) and ‘Audio Blender’ (2006), but the old track ‘Flash’ from the 2001 Album ‘Unidentified Flying Frequencies’ managed it into the setlist as well. Maybe the playing time of approx. 20 minutes was simply too short to dig deeper in IMPLANT’s history but nevertheless it was a very enjoyable gig with high-class electronic music. By the way, later both musicians were on the stage again as they performed with one of the other projects, 32 CRASH featuring Jean-Luc DeMeyer on the vocals.

Setlist
01. You push me
02. Drugs vs. violence
03. Fading Away
04. Flash
05. Tune up your Chips and circuits

Rating
Music: 7
Performance: 7
Sound: 7
Light: daylight
Total: 7




Angels & Agony - Hangar Stage (Carsten Leopold)

Based in The Netherlands, ANGELS & AGONY was forged in the fall of 1995 by Reinier Kahle. Long-time friend and guitarist Erik Wierenga joined to add a little edge to the live performances, to be followed by scene DJ Marco van Belle as manager/booker and later during live shows on synthesizer and backing vocals. Fried Bruggink, musician and sound engineer, plays drum pads during live performances. In November 2004, ANGELS & AGONY’s second full length album ‘Avatar’ was released, containing 17 tracks.



The lyrics of ANGELS & AGONY deal with metaphysical, philosophical issues, visions distilled from Buddhism and Tao, combined with intensely perceptive speculations on society, life and death. ANGELS & AGONY are Reinier Kahle (electronics, lyrics & vocals), Erik Wierenga (electronics & guitars), Marco van Belle (management, live synths & vocals) and Fried Bruggink (live drums). http://www.angelsandagony.com/ / www.myspace.com/angelsandagony



Music & Performance
ANGELS & AGONY satisfied with a kind of harmonic danceable synth pop / future pop, infecting for ears and legs. The set ran about 30 minutes and contained among others the songs ‘Forever’, ‘Wreckage’, ‘Civilization’ and ‘Forward’. The Hangar was well-filled even at the early hour and the crowd enjoyed the dedicated performance.

Setlist
01. Intro
02. Stronghold
03. Forever
04. Wreckage
05. Civilization
06. Forward
07. Unison

Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 8
Sound: 8
Light: daylight
Total: 8





 
Diorama - Hangar Stage (Sebastian Huhn)

DIORAMA was founded by Torben Wendt between 1994 and 1996.His long-time friend Felix Marc soon joined him as a co-producer and keyboard player. Some time later, bass player Bernard le Sigue and guitarist Sash Fiddler, who were fellow students of Torben and Felix, gradually grew into the line-up and last but not least drummer Marquess became a member of the band. Unfortunately Bernard le Sigue left the Band in October 2006. http://www.diorama-music.com/ / www.myspace.com/dioramamusic



Music & Performance
The “show” already started with the line check before the gig which came up with a little surprise. Felix came on the stage to test the microphones and while he was doing that, he suddenly sang “Meeeeeera Lunaaaaaaaa”, and on the second mic he did the same but it was more intense and opera like. At first the crowd was surprised but not for long and Felix was rewarded with a big applause for his little vocal performance. After the check he left the stage and it was finally time for the show to start.



I guess a good description for DIORAMA’s music is playful Electronic / Dark Wave filled with melancholy meaningful lyrics. The setlist contained seven tracks. Most of the songs were taken from ‘A different life’, the current album, like the first song of the set ‘Burning out’ or ‘Kein Mord’, but they also played the song ‘Belle?’ from the very first album ‘Pale’ in a re-arranged version and the all-time favourite ‘Advance’ or to speak with Torben’s words “our most unknown song”.



The Hangar was filled to the four walls when DIORAMA entered the stage. The boys delivered an incredible performance Torben rarely stood still during the gig and was always moving up and down the stage and jumping or screaming at the crowd; same with Sash “The man with the Kilt” who really rocked the house. His interaction with Torben on stage was really awesome. While we are speaking of Torben; I’ve never seen such an emotional performance before! He lived through various emotional states during the gig. One could clearly recognize that from his mimics and gestures. The crowd really celebrated them - especially some people located in the first row (including me) who also attracted the attention of the photographers.



At the end of the gig when Torben looked across the crowd and realized how many people were there, he smiled. It was an absolutely stunning and powerful gig and the whole band rocked the Hangar - which was by the way filled up much more than during the shows of some following bands. The only bad thing with this gig: it was way too short!

Setlist
01. Burning out
02. Synthesize me
03. The Girls
04. Belle?
05. Kein Mord
06. Advance
07. Why

Rating
Music: 10
Performance: 10
Sound: 10
Light: 10
Total:  10




Rabia Sorda - Hangar Stage (Karolina Moszkowicz)

RABIA SORDA is a solo project of Erk Arcraig, front man of HOCICO. It was founded in 2003 and so far the band has one album on their account: ‘Métodos del Caos’ that was released in November 2006 and one single ‘Save me from my curse’. http://www.rabiasorda.com/ / www.myspace.com/rabiasorda



Music & Performance
The music Erk created in HOCICO differs from the one of RABIA SORDA in a sense it's softer and of less 'devilish' character. ‘Save Me from my Curse’ and ‘What you Get is What you See’ are harsh, dynamic examples of electro (the effect is strengthened with a strong vocal) in a rather aggressive form, still, as for me, the music lacks certain definite note that would extinguish it.



During the concerts, Erk behaves in a dynamic, energetic manner - running on the stage and encouraging the people to dance.

Rating
Music: 6
Performance: 6
Sound: 7
Light: 7
Total: 6.3






32Crash - Hangar Stage (Karolina Moszkowicz)

2/3 of the band scheduled next were already on stage earlier that day. 32CRASH is a project of Jean-Luc de Meyer (FRONT 242), Len Lemeire (IMPLANT) and Jan d'Hooghe (ex-VIVE LA FETE, IMPLANT). They only have released the EP ‘Humanity’ so far. http://www.32crash.com/ / www.myspace.com/32crash



Music & Performance
The music presented by 32CRASH seems to be sonic representation of the story the musicians serve the listeners, namely the history of the year 2107 being a highly individualized vision of the Earth, the people and the imaginations in 100 years time (devastated, controlled by a cartel, impoverished, sterile, inhabited by people tormented by emotional instability which is cured by one medicine only (‘Isomodia’). Their scenic appearance featured stylization a la secret service agents, or warriors - they were wearing sun glasses, uniforms and stood deadpan right beside their equipment. The lights rather were limited, the same with the 'performance'.



The music, on the other hand, was changeable: either rhythmical and danceable or meditative, slow and hypnotic, just as the vocal: angelic one moment to change to threatening, distorted one the very next. Altogether what 32CRASH presented was a mixture of thought-provoking lyrics, appealing music and a styled performance that got a rather positive reception.

Setlist
01. Time to march on
02. Merlin's gun
03. Porcupine song
04. Humanity
05. Plutonium breeder
06. Beware
07. Carbon fibres
08. Propaganda
09. Slow crash
10. I remember
11. The creature
12. Spaceman and poets
13. Dust and drought
14. Isomodia
15. Fast crash

Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 8
Light: 7
Sound: 7
Total: 7.7






Welle:Erdball - Hangar Stage (Carsten Leopold)

WELLE:ERDBALL is a group from Germany often credited with being the pioneers of “bitpop”. The heavy use of the Commodore 64's SID sound chip makes their sound instantly recognizable. Their sound is reminiscent of electronic music pioneers KRAFTWERK. The name literally means "Wave:Earthglobe", and in fact comes from a German radio play called "Hallo! Hier Welle Erdball!". Their logo is a Trabant logo turned around. W:E has been a part of the demo scene and produced several music disks and other productions over the years. They also gave a live performance at Breakpoint 2006. WELLE:ERDBALL are: Honey (lyrics, vocals),  A.L.F. (music, programming), Frl. Venus (percussions) and Plastique (percussions). http://www.welle-erdball.de/ / http://www.myspace.com/funkbereit



Music & Performance
The show began with a joke, an anchorman entered the stage which was covered with a black curtain and announced that the show was cancelled because of insolvency of the promoter and the fans could go home now, but the audience knew that it was a joke because they had seen members of the band already on stage. After it, the curtain opened and the show started with a cover version of ‘Die Roboter’ by KRAFTWERK. All band members were equipped with double masks which could be flipped open and exhibited the inside of a robot head, furthermore they moved like a robot during the song. Really a crazy start for a great show and the audience were enthralled right from the start.



The set went on with well-know hits like ‘Wir Wollen Keine Menschen Sein’, ‘Arbeit adelt’, ‘Schweben, Fliegen, Fallen’ or ‘Starfighter F 104-G’. As ever they used a lot of funny show elements like balloons, oil barrels as drums or paper planes – each element was fitting to the several songs. The both girls - first dressed in sexy short dresses with black suspenders and red straps - changed their clothes during the show and later they were dressed in old-fashioned speckled white dresses. Mentionable too was the new song ‘Ich bin aus Plastik’, sang by Plastique.



The set finished with yet another cover version – ‘Es geht Voran’, a New German Wave song from FEHLFARBEN. During the whole show, a cameraman filmed the crowd and the band and the output of the camera was projected to the back screen, a brilliant idea but unfortunately the daylight damped the effect of this nice video projection.

Setlist
01. Announcement Marco
02. Die Roboter (Kraftwerk)
03. Computersex
04. Wir Wollen Keine Menschen Sein
05. Mensch aus Glas
06. Der Telegraph
07. Arbeit Adelt!
08. Alphatier
09. Schweben, Fliegen, Fallen
10. Das Souvenir
11. Ich Bin Aus Plastik
12. Starfighter F 104-G
13. Monoton und Minimal
14. Es geht voran (Fehlfarben)

Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 10
Sound: 9
Light: 8
Total: 8.8




IAMX - Hangar Stage (Carsten Leopold)

IAMX is the solo musical project of Chris Corner, best known for his work with SNEAKER PIMPS. Corner has repeatedly said that IAMX is very different to his actual, real-life personality and is a kind of quasi "act". Whether an act or not, IAMX' music is primarily concerned with subjects such as outlandish sex, death, narcotic intoxication, bisexuality, obsession, alienation and vague allusions to politics. Live on stage usual he is supported by Dean Rosenzweig (guitar), Janine Gebauer (keyboards/synths/bass) and Tom Marsh (drums). http://www.iamx.co.uk/ / www.myspace.com/iamx



Music & Performance
IAMX impressed with a crazy and eccentric performance, dominated by the expressive style of mastermind Chris Corner who celebrated a powerful freaked out show. The live band, especially the beautiful luscious female keyboard player who was dressed in yellow, completed the ensemble. The nine-song-set started with ‘The Alternative’ taken from the homonymic album which was released in autumn last year and ran about 45 minutes.



Highlights for me were the fantastic ‘President’, ‘Kiss + Swallow’ - the opener of the first album and finally ‘Spit It Out’ which finished the set. Quickly the spirit went over to the crowd but strange to say the Hangar was only about half filled, anyway the band did a good job and the audience had a nice time.



Setlist
01. The Alternative
02. Bring Me Back A Dog
03. Skin Vision
04. Negative Sex
05. President
06. Mercy
07. Kiss + Swallow
08. Nightlife
---
09. Spit It Out

Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 9
Sound: 9
Light: 8
Total: 8.5






Anne Clark - Hangar Stage (Carsten Leopold)


ANNE CLARK is an English poet and songwriter. Her first recording was ‘The Sitting Room’ in 1982, and she has released about a dozen albums since then. Her experimental music occupies a region bounded roughly by electronic, dance (techno applies on occasion) and possibly avant-garde genres, with varying hard as well as romantic and orchestral styles. Clark is mainly a spoken word artist, but she also plays piano and occasionally accompanies herself, with piano and voice mixing in a somewhat atypical New Wave style. Many of her lyrics deal critically with the imperfections of humanity, everyday life, and politics. Especially in her early works she has created a gloomy, melancholy kind of atmosphere bordering on weltschmerz. The live band of Anne Clark consists of Jeff Aug (guitar), Murat Parlak (piano), Jann Michael Engel (Cello), Rainer von Vielen (electronics, vocals) and Niko Lai (percussion / drums). http://www.anneclark.com/ / www.myspace.com/anneclark / http://www.anneclark.de/



Music & Performance
While outside on the main stage DEINE LAKAIEN celebrated their show, inside in the Hangar another highlight of this festival started. During a long instrumental intro the musicians of the live band of Anne Clark entered the purple illuminated stage and took their position. Finally ANNE CLARK herself - one of the most famous and most important musicians of the 80ies pop and wave history - entered the stage and the show was ready to start. The set included 16 songs, starting with ‘Killing Time’. Right from the start Anne fascinated the crowd with her typical distinctive recitative singing, the tempo went higher, the crowd livened up and the mood climaxed at ‘Sleeper in Metropolis’.



Meanwhile the Hangar was well-filled and the whole crowd was dancing and singing along. Anne didn't need any show elements, she ran a minimalist show, was standing cool behind her microphone and ruled the crowd only with her voice and charisma, supported by great musicians who did their best to rock the crowd. After ‘Sleeper in Metropolis’, Anne and a part of the band left the stage and Rainer, Nico and Murat performed a virtuoso solo part with crazy scat-singing elements which was acknowledged by the audience with resounding applause. After it, the show went on with ‘Nightship’ and finished after about 70 minutes with ‘Eye of the Storm’.



But the crowd strongly demanded an encore and it was given with ‘Our Darkness’, beside ‘Sleeper in Metropolis’ the other mega hit of ANNE CLARK. Altogether a great show with ingenious musicians and a worthy headliner for a potent line-up.

Setlist
01. Acropolis
02. Killing Time
03. Counter Act
04. Elegy For A Lost Summer
05. Boy Racing
06. Abuse
07. Prayer Before Birth
08. Homecoming
09. Sleeper In Metropolis
10. Solo Rainer, Nico & Murat
11. Nightship
12. The Hardest Heart
13. Waiting
14. Now!
15. Eye of the Storm
---
16. Our Darkness

Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 8
Sound: 9
Light: 8
Total: 8.2





Written by Carsten Leopold, J. “Niggels” Uhlenbruch, Karolina Moszkowicz, Sebastian Huhn and Daniela Vorndran
All pictures by Daniela Vorndran (http://www.vorndranphotography.com/ / http://www.black-cat-net.de/ / www.myspace.com/vorndranphotography)
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