Blauerosen

It is the month of the Wave Gotik Treffen and Blauerosen couldn’t be more excited for the 24th Wave Gotik Treffen that will be carried out between 22nd-25th May 2015 in Leipzig, Germany. It was on 2005 that I first attended the ‘mighty’ Wave Gotik Treffen festival, namely the biggest and more successful dark alternative festival in the world. Since then, I can’t encourage more strongly anyone who hasn’t attended this festival, to do so. When someone hears the words ‘music festival’ a vast open plot of land with a big stage comes to mind and this is usually correct. But how about a whole city? Surely, if the Wave Gotik Treffen started today, then the idea of making every inch of a city part of a music festival would seem at least absurd! Wave Gotik Treffen transforms parks, historic monument ( i.e. Völkerschlachtdenkmal a.k.a Krypta), nightclubs, listed buildings (i.e. the Volkspalast who is now used as a multipurpose space, Kohlrabizirkus which used to be a wholesale market in the city and now is used as a multipurpose space ) into stages that host bands of different music styles each year. Even a themed village (i.e. Heidnisches Dorf a.k.a The Pagan Village) is constructed next to Agra Messepark the area that includes the biggest market, the biggest stage and the camping area of the festival. The Pagan Village aims at providing the necessary picturesque scenery for the appreciation of bands that are inspired and influenced by the aesthetics, the customs and the costumes of periods of the past (i.e. medieval times, periods of conquerors etc). Not to forget of course that places designed for classical music (i.e. The Opera of Leipzig and Schauspiel Leipzig) also host different types of live concerts during this festival. All these different and unique places receive numerous connotations every time that a band performs live, so the experience is really memorable and leaves a strong imprint to everyone in the audience. I will never forget  the live appearance of Diamanda Galas at Leipzig Opera in 2010, the live of Clock DVA at the mystical and imposing Volkspalast, the performance of Geneviève Pasquier  at Moritzbastei and the unique experience during the live appearances of Karjalan Sissit and Raison d’Etre at the ‘secret’ stage at the back of a seemingly ordinary cultural place called Schaubühne Lindenfels.

Wave Gotik Treffen the music experience of a city

Usually going to a festival doesn’t leave enough time or energy for sightseeing. Wave Gotik Treffen has managed for 23 years so far to offer a unique experience to the visitors starting from the quality of accommodation and encompassing sightseeing in the program. By visiting different stages, one has access to different parts of the city and enters different buildings of various architectural styles dating back to 1913. The festival can last for 24hours a day if someone has the necessary energy to carry on after the last live concerts that happen at the festival’s main stage at Agra Messepark. The night continues at the city’s numerous clubs with special Dj sets by different bands as well as Djs from clubs around the world.  The choices of course don’t end here as bands offer signing sessions during the day, Absintherie Sixtina offers a famous breakfast early each morning, art exhibitions are organised in museums and art galleries, book readings, movie screenings, theatrical plays and many other special events (i.e. the famous Victorian Picnic at Clara Zetkin Park and ‘Obsession Bizarr‘ the notorious fetish party that happens at Volkspalast) promise to cause you multiple dilemmas during each day!  With a ticket and the associated wristband visitors can travel for free with public means of transport around the city and enter free of charge all the nightclubs. However if you need to hurry to a gig that might happen at the other side of the town don’t hesitate to take a taxi as the fares are very reasonable and very often you will find someone who is going at the same direction and is willing to share the fare.  There are endless choices so that everyone can opt for a party-intensive experience or a more  reserved and relaxing experience that involves different combinations of gigs, parties, sightseeing etc. Last but not least I can’t praise enought the markets (i.e. food, drink, clothing, music) that anyone can visit during the festival and the plurality of goodies that can be found in excellent prices (yes they ‘beat’ internet prices). Almost all the bands bring a rich merchandise which is a great opportunity to buy music and other band related items directly from the musicians. Leipzig as a city has changed a lot the past 10 years but the experience that the WGT offers is unsurpassed and for this reason more and more people tend to book their hotel rooms for next year the last day of their stay.

23rd WGT-The lineup

The line up for this year is not finalized yet but is more than promising as it already includes some big names of the gothic scene such as Fields Of The Nephilim which will offer a 30th anniversary show, Deine Lakaien who have recently released their 13th studio album called ‘Crystal Palace’, Qntal who have released an extraordinary album called ‘Qntal VII’ at the end of 2014, Clan of Xymox, Kirlian Camera, Diorama, Sol Invictus,  Combichrist, DAF, Clock DVA, Mila Mar, Front 242 and many others. The list of names is continuously updated and you can access it through this link: http://www.wave-gotik-treffen.de/english/bands.php. There are many UK bands that have been announced so far in the line up and so far they are:  Jo Quail, Nosferatu,While Angels Watch, Modulate, The March Violets,Twisted Nerve,Wrangler,Empathy Test, Esa, Evi Vine, Falloch and Gerechtigkeits Liga .

Whatever the final list of band names one thing is for sure, everyone will have a memorable time in Leipzig once again!

  Blaue Rosen