Darkwave.ro electro/industrial music magazine | news – reviews – interviews – concerts – festivals – parties

October 2, 2013

Amphi Festival 2014 news!

Dear friends and fans of electro/industrial/gothic music, Amphi Festival crew have already started the preparations for next year’s festival in Cologne, Germany! Here is the first batch of info. Enjoy and book your tickets! Amphi Festival is always sold out, so make sure that you take advantage of the early bird offers. See you next year!

X. AMPHI FESTIVAL 2014 – OPEN AIR

Dear Amphi Fans,

in August we already announced the first wave of artists for the 10th Amphi Festival anniversary on 26. & 27.07.2014 in Cologne. Now there is another selection of exceptional artists waiting to be unveiled. Actually our latest programme comes with 4 additional entries!

NEW ARTISTS ADDED TO THE LINE-UP

BLUTENGEL & THE MONUMENT ENSEMBLE
PROJECT PITCHFORK | JANUS | DIE KAMMER

In early 2013 we followed the release of „Monument“, the most sophisticated BLUTENGEL-album to-date, which peaked at an impressive 4th position of the German Media Control album-charts and received overwhelming praise from the fan-base and beyond. By the name BLUTENGEL & THE MONUMENT ENSEMBLE the band of mastermind Chris Pohl also embarks on a special tour this autumn to create a symbiosis between gothic and classic. Needless to say, we are very delighted to bring this mesmerizing experience exclusively to you, with BLUTENGEL´s only classic show on a festival in 2014. 

PROJECT PITCHFORK are back in „BLACK“ – more powerful and charismatic than before the electro-pioneers from Hamburg adorned their latest work with hymnic melody phrases and gripping sounds between club-compatible industrial influences and picturesque soundscapes. No matter whether in a club or on the big festival stage – PROJECT PITCHFORK always aim dead center, to pick you up from the get-go! Not to forget their impressive drum-performance with two, sometimes even three drummers at the same time.

For the first time since their famous “Winterreise” in 2005 the German cult-band JANUS will also return to stage again at the X. Amphi-Festival in Cologne. The upcoming re-release of their groundbreaking concept album “Schlafende Hunde” marks the occasion for two exclusive acoustic shows at the Theater am Tanzbrunnen, played over both festival days. Other appearances in 2014 by this uncompromising band around frontman RIG and sound wizard Toby are not planned. Actually it is an equally unexpected and rare opportunity for later-born and nostalgians to experience JANUS live. Those who witnessed the legendary “Winterreise” concerts in their full chamber music outfit know that goosebumps will be guaranteed!

Also confirmed for the Theater am Tanzbrunnen we present you DIE KAMMER at the Amphi Festival 2014. With DIE KAMMER the two long-term companions Matthias Ambré and Marcus Testory joined back together to wander on the musical path of the singer-/songwriter´s art. Melancholic, morbid, sometimes with a hint of sarcasm, sometimes with a charming twinkle in the eye, DIE KAMMER take their audience on a magic journey full of genuine emotions.

TICKETS

Original Amphi tickets are available worldwide exclusively from the AMPHI SHOP at www.amphi-shop.de. Furthermore you can buy festival tickets at all nationwide EVENTIM box offices or www.eventim.de.

In three of our neighboring countries you can also buy tickets directly from box-offices now. Tickets are available directly in the Netherlands at www.eventim.nl, in Austria at www.oeticket.com and in Switzerland at www.ticketcorner.ch, including the associated box-offices.

For all latest news about the Amphi Festival 2014 please visit us at:
www.amphi-festival.de
www.facebook.com/amphifestival

Best regards
Your Amphi Festival Team!

 

X. AMPHI FESTIVAL – OPEN AIR 2014
26. – 27. July 2014 D – Cologne | Tanzbrunnen
EISBRECHER | BLUTENGEL & THE MONUMENT ENSEMBLE
PROJECT PITCHFORK | MONO INC. | HOCICO | NACHTMAHR
IAMX | ROTERSAND | ZEROMANCER | AESTHETIC PERFECTION
LORD OF THE LOST | SOLAR FAKE | JANUS | EISENFUNK
UNZUCHT | DIE KAMMER | MAERZFELD | CENTHRON
+ many other artists + supporting programme
Info:                           
www.amphi-festival.de or www.facebook.com/amphifestival
Original tickets:       
www.amphi-shop.de (worldwide)
Tickets:                     Germany:
www.eventim.de & all associated national box-offices
                                   Netherlands: www.eventim.nl & all associated national box-offices
Austria:
www.oeticket.com & all associated national box-offices
Switzerland:
www.ticketcorner.ch & all associated national box-offices

July 27, 2012

Amphi Festival 2012: Viva Music Review, Jul-21&22, Cologne

Amphi Festival took over Cologne’s Tanzbrunnen for the 8th time! With a very clever choice of acts, and overall perfect organization, Amphi stated once more its position as one of the central events for the electro and industrial scenes. As it often happens, a sold-out event weeks before its start, Amphi Festival provided quality entertainment, very good facilities and considerable fuel for a crowd of almost two score of thousands. With early starts on both festival days, both on Saturday Jul-21 and Sunday Jul-22, the festival comforted the audience with a solid palette of both on the outdoor main stage and in the nearby Staatenhaus, as well as alternative entertainment in the Theater building. If you add to the set of concerts the wide array of stands, facilities, areas (including the famed beach zone), you could have practically spent a whole festival day just digging through bargains and taking your time in front of quite varied meals and still call it a full day. Or day and night! Because after countless concerts in the various venues of the area, DJ sets went on until the early hours of morn. But as a yearly convention of already sufficient stance, Amphi Festival meant, of course, a probe of temperature and color in today’s scene, and if audience reactions stand for anything, we’re all good, the entertainment is still varied, the ethos of the scene is still valid and vivid, people still feel the urge to dress up and make a stand, and the music sounds as good as ever.

 

Viva Music would like to take a minute to thank for the opportunity to be there and enjoy Amphi Festival 2012 to: the flawless clockwork organizing team, to the numberless artists and tech personnel who made concerts happen, and to the beating heart of the audience, which keeps our scene alive and kicking. And if you missed Amphi Festival this year, put these two things down on your to-do list: (1) read our act-by-act review and browse the individual photo galleries; (2) book in time your Amphi Festival 2013 experience: with tickets already on sale this coming week on Aug-01, and the first acts to be confirmed on Aug-13. Amphi Festival 2013 will take place on Jul-20 and Jul-21 in Tanzbrunnen Cologne. (more…)

May 16, 2012

Zita Rock Festival – One Month to Go – Running Order & News!

The Zita Rock Festival is one month away (Jun-15&16, Berlin Spandau Citadel – one of the most beautiful and important Renaissance castles, built between 1559 and 1594)! Once again, the citadel will be invaded by rock fans for the special musical program of Zita Rock Festival. With an impressive musical program, combining the best of alternative, gothic, medieval and electro-rock music, the two-day festival announces itself as one of the best summer events of 2012! No less than US megastar Evanescence are headlining the festival, in addition to world-famous acts such as Lord of the Lost, Oomph!, Staubkind, Zeraphine, Mono Inc., Saltatio Mortis, ASP and The 69 Eyes.

The final schedule and running order are decided upon, and here are the important times you need to set in your agenda, should you wish to spend the two days of the festival in the company of music: Jun-15: 17:00h – doors open, 18:30-19:10h – Lord of the Lost, 19:40-20:40h – Oomph!, 21:20-22:25h – Evanescence; Jun-16: 13:00h – doors open, 15:00-15:40h – Staubkind, 16:00-16:50h – Zeraphine, 17:10-18:00h – Mono Inc., 18:20-19:10h – Saltatio Mortis, 19:30-20:30h – The 69 Eyes, 21:00-22:00h – ASP.

Day tickets are available at EUR36,-, while weekend tickets are at EUR59,- plus booking fees here. For orders places before Mar-23 for day tickets, full festival upgrades are available, inquire at upgrade@zita-rock.de). More and updated information is provided on the official website of the festival, as well as on the festival’s Facebook page.

April 19, 2012

Amphi Festival News: Second Theater Headliner, Conjure One, Ticket Info

Amphi Festival organizers are happy to announce the second headliner for the theater stage. Reading performance and concert ‘Henke Plays Goethes Erben’: on Saturday, Jul-21, Oswald Henke takes over Theater am Tanzbrunnen. First hitting the stage with his current reading performance “Die Zeit Formt“, he will make a second appearance later that day, playing one of the most definite concert highlights of the Amphi Festival 2012.

Amphi The Orkus Open Air 2012 Festival will take place between Jul-21-22 at Tanzbrunnen, Cologne.

 Amphi Festival 2012 program to date includes:

The Sisters of Mercy, And One, Eisbrecher, Blutengel, Project Pitchfork, Apoptygma Berzerk, Combichrist, Camouflage, Mono Inc., Corvux Corax, The Cruxshadows, DAF, Conjure One, Nachtmahr, 18 Summers, Coppelius, [:SITD:], Haujobb, Stahlzeit (Rammstein Tribute), Spetsnaz, Assemblage 23, Solar Fake, Henke, mind.in.a.box, Love Is Colder than Death, Spiritual Front, Seabound, Aesthetic Perfection, A Live Divided, [X]-RX, Tyske Ludder, Whispers in the Shadow, The Other, Eisenfunk, Lord of the Lost, Schoengeist, The Wars, Eklipse, Dr. Mark Benecke

Front Line Assembly cancels all shows this summer, therefore there will be no FLA show at Amphi. Here is the official band statement: “After much thought and considering we regret to inform our fans that we will be unable to perform at any summer shows we are currently booked for. After an extensive tranche of shows supporting our last record we have to decided to spend next year focusing on writing and delivering new albums; an instrumental of tracks that will be featured in the videogame AirMech from Carbon Games, a new full length LP, and possibly a new Noise Unit record. Our apologies to any promoters/fans this may affect in a negative manner, we look forward to releasing new material and playing shows further down the road. All the best, FLA

Conjure One/Rhys Fulber will perform a special live set at Amphi Festival. Rhys Fulber, known as long-time member and producer of many classic FLA tunes will perform a unique set, including Conjure One and Delirium tracks, as well as a selection of Front Line Assembly classics that have not been played live in recent years.

Original festival tickets can be booked in advance exclusively on the Amphi Ticketshop at www.amphi-festival.de/tickets. Festival tickets are further available online at www.protain-ticket.de and at all nationwide CTS/EVENTIM box offices. For further information please visit the festival site: www.amphi-festival.de and the official festival Facebook page: www.facebook.com/amphifestival.

 

April 9, 2012

Lord of the Lost – “Beside & Beyond”: Viva Music Album Review

Tracklist: “Beyond Beautiful” * “Bad Romance” (Original performance by: Lady Gaga) * “Dry The Rain” (Acoustic Version) * “October 29” * “Love Is Not Enough” (Piano Version) * “Sooner or Later” (Stage Version) * “Dry the Rain” (Orchestra Version feat. Mono Inc.)

Read Viva Music‘s review of Lord of the Lost‘s “Fears” (2010) here. | Read Viva Music‘s review of Lord of the Lost‘s “Antagony” (2011) here.

Already a yearly presence on darkwave.ro, Chris Harms‘s project Lord of the Lost comes back in 2012 with “Beside & Beyond“. The project’s new release does not only include new tracks, but also new renditions of both 2010 and 2011 tracks, as well as a terrifyingly good cover. “Beyond Beautiful“, the opening track, sounds really enticing, and is, just as the title says, beyond beautiful. You could say that it also gives the “beyond” of the album title, while the beside, if you’re looking for it, it must be hidden in the b-side quality of the compilation. While, at the same time, “beside and beyond” means literally an exploration of the seams of previously produced music, and in this respect,  the album does what it says! The cover of Lady Gaga‘s “Bad Romance” is not entirely new, since it has been played before live and it went viral on YouTube in 2011, but it stands out, among the many covers of the song, not only because it is not produced with a Gaga followership gene, but with a creed of staying true to one’s musical path. Coming up next, “Dry the Rain” from “Fears” in both an acoustic version and an orchestra version featuring Mono Inc. It is recontextualized, but it preserves its outstanding quality and offers ruminating material for Lord of the Lost fans. The second new track of the album, “October 29” is again a very good addition, and it with it on, you cannot fear that the 2013 release is going to sound anything short of amazing. “Love Is Not Enough” from “Antagony” is rendered in a beautiful piano version, while “Sooner or Later“, again from “Fears” is rendered in a stage version. “Beside & Beyond” is a great compilation: for the newcomer to the dark and sexy realm of Lord of the Lost it brings a rich and tasty band consommé, while to the Lord of the Lost old timer it brings extra listening material, which is always a good thing. Enjoy!

Lord of the Lost on Facebook | Discography on Discogs

March 26, 2012

Zita Rock Festival 2012 News!

One of the most beautiful festivals this summer, Zita Rock Festival takes place this Jun-15&16 as usual in Berlin‘s Spandau Citadel, already at its 6th edition! And, even if each and every edition was special, this awesome Zita Rock Festival edition is truly magnificent. To begin with, the festivla was expanded to be a 2-day festival. Expect bestselling artist Evanescence and alongside them on Jun-15, a to be announced co-headliner, but also Lord of the Lost. The lineup for Jun-16, there’s going to be ASP, Saltatio Mortis, Mono Inc., Zeraphine and Staubkind plus one more band to be announced!

Tickets are available at the official ticket shop on Zita Festival’s site: www.zita-rock.de/tickets and additionally on nationwide CTS/Eventim as well as Adticket outlets. You can also buy tickets from www.protain-ticket.de. For those who have already purchased their tickets as one-day tickets, they can use them as day tickets for Saturday, but there are very profitable options for upgrading your day ticket to festival ticket – if you bought your ticket prior to Mar-23, just drop a line at upgrade at zita-rock dot de and you will receive a confirmation for your upgrade.

Further festival info can be viewed on the festival’s site, as well on the festival’s Facebook page.

 

March 21, 2012

In terms of musical variety, Amphi Festival 2012 stands out a mile

Amphi Festival 2012 news keep on coming, and we are very happy, since it’s one of the events we are really looking forward to this summer. Musical diversity gives the extra finishing touches to the superb lineup of the festival. Already announced, The Sisters of Mercy, And One, Eisbrecher, Blutengel, Apoptygma Berzerk, Project Pitchfork, Combichrist, Camouflage, Front Line Assembly, DAF, Mono Inc., Corvus Corax, Nachtmahr, Assemblage 23, Solar Fake, 18 Summers, Coppelius, [:SITD:], Haujobb, Stahlzeit, Seabound, Aesthetic Perfection, A Life Divided, [X]-RX, Tyske Ludder, Whispers in the Shadow, The Other, Eisenfunk, Schoengeist, Lord of the Lost – and many others. Today’s news? Three more acts, and what acts, if we may say so: mind.in.a.box, Love Is Colder than Death and Eklipse – the latter being the name of the seductive quartet, which loves to clothe contemporary pop music and soundtrack elements into a fascinating dress of compelling classic string sounds on our Theater-stage. Without vocals, yet even more emotional and spiced up with an extra portion of sex-appeal, the four ladies interpret songs by Coldplay, Lady Gaga, Hurts, Depeche Mode and many more, cunningly flavored with a magic note of dark-lascivious romanticism, wit and dreamy melancholy.

Also in the news today:  Amphi Festival warmup parties – they are numberless! and great occasions to meet other Amphi enthusiasts, plan your trips and get in the mood for the festival, if need be. Apr-07: Paris, Apr-08: Amstelveen, Apr-14: Brighton, Apr-28: Stuttgart, Apr-28: Thessaloniki, Apr-28: Antwerpen; Apr-28: Karlsruche, May-04: Manchester, May-05:  Northampton, May-09: Wuppertal, May-12: London, May-16: Heidelberg, May-19: Krefeld, May-19: Zuerich, May-19: Vienna, May-24: Duisburg, May-25: Bonn, May-25: Bielefeld, Jun-02: Frankfurt, Jun-02: Essen, Jun-02: Augsburg, Jun-03: Dresden, Jun-09: Bonn, Jun-09: Bremen, Jun-16: Siegen, Jun-21: Oberhausen, Jun-22: Athens, Jun-29: London, Jun-30: Ingolstadt, Jul-20: Cologne.

Tickets are available via the Amphi ticket shop under http://amphi-festival.de/tickets and also from http://protain-ticket.de, as well in all German CTS/Eventim box offices. For further information please visit http://amphi-festival.de and http://Facebook.com/amphifestival.

February 29, 2012

More Great News about Amphi Festival 2012!

Great news from the organizers of Amphi Festival 2012 – the Orkus Open Air festival – the list of confirmed acts is getting an irresistible contour. Band suggestions were volunteered by festival fans as well, and in the end the new and replacement bands that make Amphi Festival the event to be at on July 21&22 at Cologne’s Tanzbrunnen.

Apoptygma Berzerk, The Cruxshadows, Spiritual Front, The Wars, and Spetnaz are some of the new names that are added to the already gorgeous list of acts that will keep you beaming for two days: The Sisters of Mercy, And One, Eisbrecher, Blutengel, Project Pitchfork, Combichrist, Camouflage, Front Line Assembly, DAF, Mono Inc., Corvus Corax, Nachtmahr, Assemblage 23, Solar Fake, 18 Summers, Coppelius, [:SITD:], Haujobb, Stahlzeit, Seabound, Aesthetic Perfection, A Life Divided, [X]-RX, Tyske Ludder, Whispers in the Shadow, The Other, Eisenfunk, Schoengeist, Lord of the Lost – and many others.

Tickets are available via the Amphi ticket shop under http://amphi-festival.de/tickets and also from http://protain-ticket.de, as well in all German CTS/Eventim box offices. For further information please visit http://amphi-festival.de and http://Facebook.com/amphifestival.

December 19, 2011

2011: A Music Year in Review (Viva Music version)

2011 was a great year for our scene. Just a quick roundup of the acts and artists who released new material this year is sufficient to give you an impression, however fleeting, of the great tumult the scene has caused and the important additions 2011 has brought to our playlists. New releases from VNV Nation, Apoptygma Berzerk, Haujobb, Sopor Aeternus, Covenant, Kirlian Camera and Diary of Dreams kept music lovers on edge and numerous other releases made their days worthwhile throughout the year.

In 2011, Viva Music had the pleasure and honor to listen to and review some 100 albums. In order to read our reviews, you can go to the menu and pick Album Reviews from the Interviews & Reviews section, or navigate using the right-hand visual cover flow. Pluses between brackets in the article lead you to the featured reviews.

Readers’ choice in terms of number of Facebook likes indicate Apoptygma Berzerk’s “Black EP vo.2” (+), Global Citizen’s “Nil by Mouth” (+), Haujobb’s “New World March” (+), The Cruxshadows’ “Valkyrie” (+), Ghost and Writer’s “Shipwrecks” (+), Autodafeh’s “Act of Faith” (+), Tenek’s “EP2” (+), Shiv-r’s “This World Erase” (+) and Covenant’s “Modern Ruin” (+) as top favorites. We have no doubt it was the beauty of the respective albums and not of our reviews that kept them up in the charts!

With numerous releases, the appreciation of the public was unanimous. It was an honor to have around VNV Nation’s “Automatic” (+), Kirlian Camera’s “Nightglory” (+), Diary of Dreams’ “Ego:X” (+),  Sopor Aeternus’ “Children of the Corn” (+), Aesthetic Perfection’s “All Beauty Destroyed” (+), KMFDM’s “WTF?!” (+), And One’s “Tanzomat” (+), Sin D.N.A.’s “Afterlife” (+), Lowe’s “Evolver” (+), IAMX’s “Volatile Times”, Imperative Reaction’s “Imperative Reaction” (+), Necro Facility’s “Wintermute” (+), Amduscia’s “Death Thou Shalt Die” (+), and System Syn’s “All Seasons Pass” (+ ).

No less impeccable and listenable in a loop proved to be a set of albums which, should you have missed them, are up on your shopping list next time you hit a record store. Ad Inferna’s “There Is No Cure” (+), The Pain Machinery’s “Surveillance Culture” (+), God Module’s “Seance” (+), Mona Mur & En Esch’s “Do with Me What You Want” (+), Leaetherstrip’s “Untold Stories” (+), Vic Anselmo’s “In My Fragile” (+), Solar Fake’s “Frontiers” (+), Mina Harker’s “Bittersuess” (+), Lahannya’s “Dystopia” (+), and Lord of the Lost’s “Antagony” (+).

Special mention should be made of Romanian wonders LeVant’s “Beyond the Masque of Eden” (+) and Brazda lui Novac’s “Dizzy” (+).

Let us not forget the beautiful events we were invited to attend, and had the pleasure to experience in 2011. We provided detailed footage both under the guise of reviews and photo galleries at Amphi Festival (+), Nordstern Festival (+), and Nocturnal Culture Night (+). In 2012, we intend to attend to more such events and keep you posted on our beautiful and dynamic scene.

As Viva Music we also organized our own events in Bucharest. You can take a look at the feedback we received for the third edition of our Darkwave.ro Festival (with Tenek, Rabia Sorda and Project Pitchfork, +), for our Combichrist (+) and Kirlian Camera (+) concerts, as well as for our support for the first Nine Inch Nails Tribute in Bucharest (+). We do our best to keep our scene alive and the response we get is always heart-warming and positive.

 

What was your favorite release in 2011? And what are you looking forward to in 2012?

April 8, 2011

Lord of the Lost – “Antagony” Viva Music Review

Only one year has passed since the release of the LORD OF THE LOST debut album, “Fears!”, and now, in April 2011, they come back with a sophomore album that is truly worthy of your attention: “Antagony” (out on April-01 with Out of Line). A 15-track album, “Antagony” proposes clearcut sound, well-defined and engaging lyrics, and a sound on its way to become a trademark. Do not miss LORD OF THE LOST’s feature on the cover of the April issue of Sonic Seducer, in a haphazard duo with MINA HARKER.

Read Viva Music’s review of the Lord of the Lost debut album, “Fearshere.

LORD OF THE LOST’s new album is not, in many ways, a process, as it many times happens with bands who define their sound with initial releases. The pungent and charismatic sound of the album resembles in many ways what one should expect from artists with some tens of years of relentless studio and stage activity. The commanding beginning of gothic rock magnificence, “Preludium: About Love, Death & the Devil” is a masterpiece, and a great induction for the ensuing tracks. Elegiac only to the point where it is programmed to muster enough feeling to irrupt, “Preludium” opens the way for the manifesto track “We Are the Lost”, a compelling presence on the album, and, what is more, one that defines the philosophy of the band’s persona: a psychologically tormented and morally abused crowd of lost souls, trapped in the precipice that opens up between the world of living and dead. “We Are the Lost” is a highly creative track, but does not stray on the way to experimentalism, and this is why it comes up as a well-wrought and expert track.

(more…)

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