CD1 1. Can - Aspectacle (5.39) 2. Between - Devotion (3.46) 3. Harmonia - Dino (3.29) 4. Gila - This Morning (5.45) 5. Kollectiv - Rambo Zambo (11.39) 6. Michael Bundt - La Chasse Aux Microbes (8.30) 7. E.M.A.K. - Filmmuzik (3.15) 8. Popol Vuh - Morgengruss (2.57) 9. Conrad Schnitzler - Auf Dem Schwarzen Kanal (3.12) 10. La Düsseldorf - Rheinita (7.37) 11. Harmonia - Veterano (3.55) 12. Faust - It's A Rainy Day, Sunshine Girl (7.26) 13. NEU! - Hallogallo (10.03)
CD2 1. Cluster - Heisse Lippen (2.21) 2. Ibliss - High Life (13.01) 3. Moebius - Hasenheide (2.36) 4. Amon Düül II - Fly United (3.29) 5. Popol Vuh - Aguirre 1 (6.13) 6. Ash Ra Tempel - Daydream (5.22) 7. Tangerine Dream - No Man's Land (9.05) 8. Amon Düül II - Wie Der Wind Am Ende Einer Strasse (5.43) 9. Roedelius - Geradewohl (3.31) 10. Can - I Want More (3.30) 11. Deuter - Soham (4.55)
off topicPosted by Jacob Pertou Fri, March 26, 2010 09:54:55 Although Q Magazine is too trendy to mention anything Tangerine Dream related, at least some of their interviewees have class enough to give the world's leading synth band some recognition.
During one of my searches for “Tangerine Dream” in the online Danish newspaper archives, I stumbled across an interview with the organizer of a forthcoming festival for electronic music. Mike H mentioned that one of his visions was to bring Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk or Air to Denmark for a – to become – international electronic music festival in week 9 in Silkeborg. The name: “No. 9” – after The Beatles track ‘Revolution No. 9’, one of the first examples of electronic manipulation in commercial music.
That kind of ambition and enthusiasm I could read out of the article, in order to make something unusual, and to bring Tangerine Dream to Denmark was something I found hard to resist. I can’t say I have seen or heard anything like that before.
Due to a somewhat restricted timetable, the first version of the festival was more national than international. But, the enthusiasm of the organizers was intact. The first version was meant to be a stepping stone for something more extraordinary, later in the year, and next year as well. So a few days before the event I decided to see what it would be like. And it helped convince me that my sister and brother-in-law were in town, and wanted to attend the event as well.
Outside Performer’s House.
From three o’clock, there were two workshops. Peter Lovdal from the Creative School in Silkeborg had a stop-motion workshop, where you could make little films from clay and other materials. Tony Andersen (known from the Berlin School band, Navigator) had lined up some synths, vocoders and Apple computers with HD recording software. He also sold some of his Navigator CD’s.
Claymotion workshop.
Workshop with Tony Andersen.
While others of the attendees were curious to explore the sounds on the synths, or to animate figures out of clay, I was more of an observer. But the results I saw the other guests making were very impressive. And I had the chance to have a few nice chats with Peter, who is one of the biggest Tangerine Dream fans in Denmark.
Sibilant Tape.
At five o’clock, in the very cold lounge, a very young man, calling himself Sibilant Tape, had his first DJ/laptop set in front of a handful people. Most of them were staff. I was the only guest. To be honest, I was beginning to become a bit concerned about how many people who would attend. I heard staff whisper in the background: “Do you know how many tickets we have sold in pre-sale?”, “Sixty, I think.” That combined with the assumption that the event was almost not promoted outside the Silkeborg area, was something that worried me.
When Saints Go Machine preparing for soundcheck.
Main stage being set up.
My concern was groundless. People gradually flocked in, as the first act on the main stage, DJ Jazzbox, performed his long musical excursions. There were some nice elements attached to the rather static performance, musically and visually. He included snippets of very old jazz elements, and manipulated sounds and samples very cleverly. The increasing audience seemed to enjoy it. By that time my sister and brother-in-law had joined me for the event.
DJ Jazzbox.
Although we liked what we saw, we decided to go the lounge stage, where Solar Agency would perform. Solar Agency is the organizers’ Mike H and Tony Andersen’s band. They played a short, but brilliant set. And it was nice to have some guitar mixed with the electronics. It sort of reminded me of what Manuel Göttsching/Ashra does.
Solar Agency.
After that Peter and I talked Tangerine Dream (…again), and I was allowed to join him, when DJ Jazzbox was video interviewed in the backstage area. It was a kind of evaluation of the festival, the idea behind it, the settings and its future, rather than an evaluation of his show. He came with some excellent ideas, and the interviewers took note of them.
When I talked with Peter afterwards, he told me about the artists they were interested in, or working with, for the upcoming festivals. I can’t say whom, other than some of them have a sort of relation to Tangerine Dream. What I found particularly inspiring was the enthusiasm, he described, the organizers were driven by, and that the brainstorming process, prior to the festival, wasn’t ridiculed by a “you can’t do that” mentality.
"No. 9", Vol. 1.
Back in the main stage room, more and more people were enjoying the sounds of electronic music. And it was mostly young people, which was kind of refreshing. There were kids of all sorts, but I did notice that the indie look of today was certainly represented in large numbers. On stage was a quartet, neither me or my sister or brother-in-law knew were. So we decided to leave the establishment for half an hour, to grab something to eat.
When we returned, Harpcore had entered the stage. At first we could hear a strange female voice chatting for several minutes, when we checked in our coats into the cloakroom. When we stood in the crowd, they were playing some of the most out-there material you can imagine. On stage were lined up various instruments like electronic drums, bass guitars, laptops and of course a huge harp on the middle of the stage. Unlike what had been performed before, they actually had the songs, but were rather screamed than sung. I particularly took notice of two songs. One was in French, but sort of paid tribute to early 80’s Italo-disco, and the other one was a clever spoof on Japanese karaoke. On the screen behind the band was a typical karaoke video with a cowboy and woman, and the lyrics you could sing along with, was altered in a way a Japanese would pronounce the English words. Brilliant. Harpcore is not something I would watch for three hours, but they were extremely entertaining and thought provoking. Great concert.
Harpcore goes karaoke.
15 minutes later, the headliners, When Saints Go Machine, entered the stage. I could grab two of their songs, before I had to leave, so I could make the last train home. The band sort of reminded me of the profounder British synth bands of the early eighties. They were playing very tightly, almost rocking, and the sound was excellent. At least for the audience. They seemed to have some monitor problems, though.
So I said goodbye to my sister and brother-in-law. It had been five hours of great music, and there was more to come, so they stayed around. When I checked out, my jackets seemed to be missing. Some of the cloakroom had collapsed, due to the weight of the jackets from the many attendees. So mine were put a different place. It took some time to find the jackets, but they were found in time.
When Saints Go Machine.
“No. 9” is going to be huge. It is driven by fiery souls, with ambitions and a will to create something extraordinary. I’m definitely going again next time.
Yes, it's true enough. Edgar Froese was the producer of the German version of Mike Oldfield's 1975 single, Don Alfonso. The English version was sung by David Bedford, but the German version was "sung" by TD's roadie "Paul", in fact Roland Paulyck, who contributed synthesizer to Alpha Centauri. And he sounds a bit tipsy, I'm afraid.
Below is the German version dubbed over the English promotional video.
Festival ticket.
Dream Collector Number 4. [
