Live review: Xiu Xiu, John Bence at Islington Assembly Hall 2019

Posted: 1st April 2019 by blaue-rosen in Live reviews,Interviews
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It was an ordinary Tuesday evening, the day after Scott Walker had passed away and we went to Islington Assembly Hall prepared to experience something similar to the last gig of Xiu Xiu. We were spectacularly wrong as this live performance was different in many ways and even more powerful.

The one hour of waiting time until John Bence came on stage passed really quickly as we were lucky enough to enjoy great ‘warm up’ music that JB_1 live photoincluded songs by The Cure, Nico and Bauhaus. This was, by far, the greatest and more fitting (to what would come next) set of songs that we have been able to listen to before a gig. The evening started calmly and in a rather uneventful way, which of course was hugely deceitful for the performative storm that was just about to ‘hit’ us. John Bence appeared and for the first 3-4′ was seating calmly in front of his laptop…


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Scratch Massive-Polygrains live at Dingwalls, 2019

Posted: 19th March 2019 by blaue-rosen in Live reviews,Interviews
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A band ‘guided’ by the light of the European stars-Music that was guided by the energy of consecutive dreams

Experiencing the magic of Scratch Massive’s music live, was on my ‘to do’ list for quite some time now. Maud and Sébastien’s gigs are sold out in France but the duet had never performed live in London before so, we were incredibly happy that our wish to see this band live, came true.

Polygrains a gentle, electronic and experimental opening

Polygrains_1A few minutes later than the announced stage times, Polygrains, a.k.a Dimitris Moschas, a talented singer, songwriter and producer, filled the stage with electronic, synthpop and techno soundscapes. Polygrains has released his new album entitled ‘Future Endeavours‘ in January 2019 and we got a nice glimpse of it during his live set. Dub rhythms enriched with vibrant sonic samples, gave their place seamlessly to synthpop melodies which were, sometimes transformed into funky ones and other times they were dressed with an air of mystery filled with blasts and pulsating sounds. On top of these melodies, the vocals appeared intermittently only to deliver a few verses and add one more dimension to the sound, before giving their place to a new set of sounds and melodies that had a different energy and flow than before. Experimentation, improvisation and a nice rhythmic flow characterized the sound of this solo project that was a great choice as an opening act for Scratch Massive. There were no visuals this time to accompany the set but this only made us focus more on the rhythms. If the music of Polygrains was a painting, it would have been a cubist one, where the image can only be synthesized by acknowledging all the parts and shapes that form it.We noticed and we appreciated the good communication with the audience and we look forward to enjoying Polygrains live again in the future.


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Chris Connelly Interview

Posted: 4th December 2018 by blaue-rosen in Live reviews,Interviews
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“…there is never a destination, destinations are boring!”

Chris Connelly, the man with a thousand (and more) musical faces, released his latest album entitled ‘Bloodhounds‘ through Armalyte Industries. As has always been the case with Chris Connelly’s work, the songs are much more than great music with great melodies and a beautiful performance. They give an attractive, soul/blues/rock form, to many sources of inspiration, ranging from paintings to books and landscapes. Inspiration is a malleable concept and it can mean different things to different people. It is evident, if one takes a deep look into the details of the albums (artwork, music, song titles) that Chris Logo interviewhas created that, what motivates him is a great personal and spiritual ‘calling’ that transforms even every day experiences into dreamy, poetic and disquieting melodies. Whether you love more his industrial/dark side as has been revealed through his work with Cocksure and Revolting Cocks or his more lyrical Sylvian/Bowie inspired side more evident in his solo work, you must admit that, since the 90s Chris has created an artistically rich sonic universe.There have always been visual artists who were inspired by music but rarely have we encountered musicians being inspired by visual art. To us, translating a static image and its emotional impact into sound, is one of the most challenging tasks an artist can undertake. And yet, here we are, with an album and a musician that does exactly that.

We were delighted to be given a glimpse into the artistic mind of Chris Connelly and talk with him about the new album, his future plans, his previous work, Cocksure,Ministry, Revolting Cocks and anything in between. We would like to shout out to promoters in London in particular, to arrange for us to enjoy him perform live next year.

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Live review: Soft Cell- 40 years A Wild Celebration

Posted: 3rd October 2018 by blaue-rosen in Live reviews,Interviews
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Soft Cell gig poster

Soft Cell sang a sassy, gothic, pop, rock, shambolic, inappropriate (in the politically correct term), funky, techno, occult, seductive, ceremonial and psychedelic goodbye to their devoted fans and audience with a 31 track set, beautiful sound production and visuals that were consistent with their past and present characters.

You could of course, stop reading this text right here if you are just interested in a headline but we would like to say a few things about why this was an evening we are still struggling to ‘let go’ three days later.

I hate goodbyes that are pre-arranged but above all, I hate the idea of a band’s last ever show. I hate the fact that I understand all the reasons behind this and I hate the day after this last gig, where I have to find a way to let time settle the emotions experienced during this performance.

Soft_Cell_live_photo_O2


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Live review: Metalogue, Riotmiloo,Warren Schoenbright 2018

Posted: 23rd September 2018 by blaue-rosen in Live reviews,Interviews
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…or how one would embark on a journey from Gerhard Richter paintings towards Francis Bacon ones…

We don’t often have the chance to attend a nicely organized IDM/experimental/noise gig in London, so when Chaos Theory decided to put together this great line up with Metalogue, Riotmiloo and Warren Schoenbright the only thing we did was to clear our schedule and attend it. The venue was perfect for this gig, the sound engineer did a great job for all bands, making sure that everyone had the right enhancements at the right areas of their sound. The merchandise was rich and generous (a rare quality these days) and the overall atmosphere of the event was nice.


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MONUMENTAL:Animals of Distinction with live score from Godspeed You!Black Emperor-Barbican 2018

Posted: 26th July 2018 by blaue-rosen in Live reviews,Interviews
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Dance is music in another form and vice versa. Music can help you visualize things but is not necessarily an image in another form. Dance is also text and ideas in another form, as is music. Merce Cunningham, John Cage, Marcel Duchamp and Maya Deren are just a few artists that have touched on these concepts through multimedia experimentation.’Animals of Distinction’ and before them ‘The Holy Body Tattoo’ that originally performed the piece presented at Barbican Centre last week, tap on these same ideas. ‘Monumental’, with live score by post rock, experimental and long time favourite band Godspeed You!Black Emperor created an immersive experience and provided intellectual and emotional triggers for a variety of topics pertaining to everything from dance to political discourse.


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Siglo XX-Interview

Posted: 24th May 2018 by blaue-rosen in Live reviews,Interviews
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“We liked to provoke at the time and we still like to do so now…“

Just a few hours before Siglo XX were about to perform live for the first time since 1991, exclusively for the audience of WGT, Blaue Rosen had the enormous pleasure to talk with Klaas (Hoogerwaard) and Antonio (Palermo) about what Siglo XX used to be, what inspired them then, what inspires them now, what matters and what does not. The band gave a memorable headlining show at Felsenkeller that Logo interviewevening, to which the audience responded warmly by dancing from the moment the first note of ‘ Until A Day‘ was heard until the last note of  ‘Dreams Of Pleasure ‘ resonated in the space.This is a band with a humble yet very powerful stage presence, a quality which is difficult to describe and replicate and which derives from the whole philosophy that traverses its existence. Siglo XX has always had an almost noble worldview, which informed the way they composed music and the way they approached art in general.It is extremely rare to meet a band with such a level of self awareness and even though they would probably not accept this, the only thing that can explain the impact their music has had, is talent. We must understand, that not every musician that experiments can produce a result of quality and not every person who is involved in art, is simultaneously concerned to that degree, with the things that happen around the world. 


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Dark Door-Interview

Posted: 23rd May 2018 by blaue-rosen in Live reviews,Interviews
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Dark Door a.k.a Mario D’Aniello and Federica Velenia, is a band that was formed in Naples and a band that you should know about, because their music is beautiful and their performances are emotionally and visually very strong! They have self-released 4 Logo interviewalbums so far, whose music is more an outlet of their feelings than a desire to create music of a certain style.Inspired by the damned poets, darkness in aesthetics and the darkness in the world, Dark Door give to these elements an attractive musical and visual form. We had the great chance to see them perform live as part of a special Dead&Buried event last month, which was carried out in a suitable venue which does not pose any health and safety risks to an audience and can accommodate the sound requirements for a gig.Everyone had a lot of fun during that gig, everyone was dancing all the time and Blaue Rosen loved this band so much, that we had to talk with them about their influences, the symbolism in their visuals and their sources of inspiration. 


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Hector Gannet-Interview

Posted: 17th May 2018 by blaue-rosen in Live reviews,Interviews
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Hector Gannet, is a band with a fascinating story but it is also a band with a name and surname, whose songs will definitely make your mind navigate, with the calmness required before making Logo interviewimportant acknowledgments, not only to the places the lyrics refer to but also to the places close to your heart.Moreover, it is not often that music and film are combined with such harmony as Hector Gannet achieved it in the project ‘Moving North:Coastal’ for which they composed the music. Blauerosen was excited to be able to learn more about the reference points and the influences of this band, ahead of their live performance at BAD PUNK’s event ‘The Devil Has A Hold On The Land’ on May 27th 2018.


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ATARAXIA-Interview

Posted: 14th May 2018 by blaue-rosen in Live reviews,Interviews
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“Nature is a temple in which living columns sometimes emit confused words. Man approaches it through forests of symbols, which observe him with familiar glances”. Charles Baudelaire

There is something about musicians that approach their art with thoroughness and give some form to a multitude of influences, that Blaue Rosen absolutely loves.This does not necessarily have to do with the genre or the quantity of influences, but with the way they have been approached by the artists, in a tireless quest for essence. ATARAXIA is a Logo interviewbeloved band because it embodies all this and more. They describe themselves as ‘craftsmen of sound‘ and the word ‘ritual’ is often used to describe their performances.The music the band has composed, could be generally categorized as neoclassical and ethereal but is never just rhythm and melodies; it is paintings, it is poetry, it reflects the sound and the ‘aura’ of places (both ancient and contemporary), it is symbolic, it is conceptually and spiritually inspiring and it is music that, when it stops, it makes you breathe in, a little differently…more consciously, more aware and less aware at the same time, it has emotional and conceptual gravity…


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