Maschinenfest, KuFa, Krefeld (D)
30.09 / 02.10.2005

Photos © 2005 Velaskin - mu-n

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Being my first time at the Maschinenfest since it moved from the beloved Aachen bunker to the new location in Krefeld, I had mixed expectations about the event. Comments I had gathered from visitors of the two previous editions had left me a bit cold towards the perspective of embarking in this 3-day outing. This used to be for me a staple of the festival season ever since 1999, when I visited its second edition (the first to be actually relatively widely known to exist, in the appropriate circles only, of course) but only up to 2002, when the rhythmic and death industrial, power electronics circles became widely contaminated by cheap 'preset'-induced technoid influences and the ever annoying break-beats so much en-vogue those days, while fresh ideas seemed to be running dry. Sound research had considerably slowed down as well, as a side effect. The MF 05 line-up, however rang a few bells to me: a fair mix of well-known names and more obscure propositions to go with that looked quite promising from the outset. One of the truly welcome additions was for example the presence of acts such as BRIGHTER DEATH NOW or DEUTSCH NEPAL who fly the glorious Cold Meat Industry flag, an occurrence previously unheard of at the MF. Roger Karmanik brought the doom industrial and power noises he is distinguished for with BDN, under the banner ‚'we destroy you', while Der General aka Lina Baby Doll aka DEUTSCH NEPAL was even sober for the occasion, delivering a powerful and structured set that left many longing for more. Mr Karmanik left eventually a quite cold impression, frankly, it didn't seem they were enjoying themselves, unless it was all part of the live routine.

Amongst the many aspects of MF 05 that impressed me enough, was the fact that most of the 'big' names of the scene seemed to have deeply re-examined their purposes and intents and resurfaced with renewed vigor and many fresh material after a few years of chewing over collaborations and ensembles, side-projects and the like, that have been –in all truth- not always that exciting. I'd easily put at the start of the list MORGENSTERN, who returned in purely devastating fashion, proposing some of the best conceived death industrial I've heard in some years. Having not heard their latest release Two Different Faces before, I could only assume all the material presented is part of this release. Their live set was a few steps up the previous performances I had seen (except maybe for the one at the MF 99), offering a merciless blend of beats, rhythms, bleak atmospheres, psychotic screams, focused electronics and rumbling noises. In other words, the MORGENSTERN performance was a truly uplifting experience that gave me a 'back to the roots' message, coupled with a heavy new momentum. Pity only their CD was sold out that evening, leaving me cold-handed. Short on stock or huge demand??

Another act that seemed to have re-dug some sort of connection to its own roots is IMMINENT, giving many good hints of a return to the beloved percussive industrialism heavily tinted in dark atmospheres that propelled this project to widespread attention, again in those '99 days when MF was young and Olivier Moreau was still IMMINENT STARVATION. Carrying on with the daddies of the festival, SYNAPSCAPE had their own powerful impact on the audience, which I did enjoy up to the point where their rhythmic exercises seemed to dry out and head directionless towards nowhere in particular. SONAR were as predictable as ever. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as they are renewed for quality rhythmic stuff, and quality they delivered in due fashion. Just not terribly exciting in the context of the proceedings. Closing my discussion of the 'big' names, I'd mention a surprise set by AH CAMA SOTZ that saw MIMETIC contributing drums and percussion, with material that I didn't seem to recognize at all and a performance by ORPHX that didn't entirely live up to the first impression they left on me when I saw performing at the Forms of Hands festival back in 2002.

Close enough to the 'big' names league come names as ISZOLOSCOPE or ROGER ROTOR who did left a mark on the audience with vigorous sets. KLANGSTABIL were another big up, proposing the most recent material that deals with more crazed, mental, twisted-pop structured weirdness than you could envisage. Delirious and untamed, this was a shaky flashlight tunneling the industrial darkness they are renewed for. Doest it make any sense? Neither it does their savage take on industro-goth that was as good as I could take and gained me their latest album of course.

A word or two on the venue are due, since this has been an issue for many of the aficionados who were deeply attached to the masochistic experience of the Aachen bunker. Facilities at the KuFa in Krefeld are more conventional if you like, but that doesn't mean they aren't suited for a great industrial experience. On the contrary, the well structured venue offered a better chance for those keen on getting as much as music as they could possibly, to actually get it. It was the case one could actually see one gig after one other without having to gasp for breathable air at street level. Friendly staff, great sound quality, the chill-out room, the treasured merchandise room hosting a rotation of DJs, truckloads of bargains and afterparties as well, completed the picture of a festival that I'm personally going to visit again in its next edition. Overall, a fantastic and relaxed atmosphere that is rarely found at large scale events, but that, in all truth, is quite consistent at these sort of industrial events. Another sign of the true health this scene is enjoying, which goes quite well along with the copious productivity of the artists involved. And an enviable international mix in the packed audience, maybe unique as far as music events are concerned.

Aside from the biggies I have mentioned above, there have been a few names that have left in me a special impression out of the 30 bands on show and I'm going to mention a few, without willing to detract attention from those that, humanly speaking, I wasn't able to see (after all, 12-hours industrial-a-day can prove to be a bit of an overkill, doesn't it??).

I'd start in random order from KOM-INTERN who were one of the high priorities in my wish list since their Brume Records masterpiece, Funkspiel. The high expectations were fulfilled by an absorbing set that confirmed their uncanny capacity to build up industrial progressions made of intricate live percussion and real-time electronics and looping, conjuring up captivating dark atmospheres to get lost into. Promptly bought their new album, out on Hands, after the gig, to be able to replicate to some extent that experience in my living room. ARCHITECT was another great live experience and another name to successfully check out in my agenda. With PUNCH INC. we had pure rhythmic stomping fare, while EMPUSAE offered structured and geometric patterns of minimal electronic sounds made in Belgium. A quality mark! AMBASSADOR 21 brought their hardcore fare with the usual overdose of adrenaline and amidst strobe lights. Not my cup of tea really, but I reckon there's an audience for this genre as well, although it does not seem to overlap much with those following the 'traditional' rhythmic industrial stuff. It was KRAKEN who gave an arty touch, performing droning dark ambient on very low platforms equipped to transduce to sound electric signals enigmaticaly traced by the duo over the platforms with some custom-built devices. It was puzzling at first to see an empty stage droning away in darkness, but a closer inspection revealed the character of the performance. S.K.E.T. gave way to overdriven rhythmic mayhem instead and so did EDGEY and by now I realize that I did get through a large proportion of the program indeed! Let's not forget POW[D]ER PUSSY, which I was curious about. I enjoyed them, but didn't die for. RASPUTIN or ATROX were instead quite staggering.

Another positive aspect of this year gathering was that drum'n'bass as well was conspicuous by its absence, with very few exceptions, which can only be a good thing if you ask me. I wish more space would be given to more ambient-oriented projects in the future, but I would be a bonehead if I were to criticize in any way this year's line-up, one of the richest and most balanced to date. By the end of day three, I was -like probably everybody else- so fully immersed in that magnificent hard-industrial other-world that the Maschinenfest is, that the mere subdued music accompanying my taxi ride to the hotel sounded very much like weird, inconsistent stuff instead! www.maschinenfest.de

Gianfri

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