Photo by Stefan Ibrahim
On the last weekend one of the most interesting events of the year took place once more. Leipzig’s AUDIO INVASION combines contemporary, mostly danceable music of different genres with the location of a classic concert house. At one single evening in the year, the Gewandhaus Leipzig opens its doors for a broader audience when it hosts some of the hottest acts in indie and electronics next to a performance of its very own world famous orchestra.
#Bands
Again the organizers surprised with an eclectic and hot line up. The opening of the evening, with a sweeping performance by the famous Monteverdi Choir, was followed by numerous DJs and diversified bands. Driving and breaking beats by PANTHERA KRAUSE, neo-classical bliss by FRANCESCO TRISTANO experimental indie rock by VINC BLANC/WHITE WINE as well as epic pop moments by SOHN, everybody could find a spot and a sound for his own liking, although there wasn’t one big outstanding highlight this year.
#Sound
The variety of different music genres has always made this one-day-festival so interesting. Special, but obviously also difficult for the sound engineer on site. We visited the event a few times in the past and had to leave at the end of the night while being deeply frustrated about its partly bad sound mix.
Therefore, though the Gewandhaus should be the place where you can listen to quality music via quality sound system, it has not always been a good experience. But this year they kind of nailed it. From the psychedelic sounds of GLASS ANIMALS to the hyped synthpop of SOHN, the tone was crystal clear and vibrant throughout the whole set of performances. Thanks for the progress.
SOHN at the Audio Invasion 2014 – Photo by Markus Scholz
#Audience
Going out in and around Leipzig is always bound to special locations and peer groups. But the whole concept of the AUDIO INVASION seems to manage to gather all sorts of music lovers together for one night. It is quite refreshing to meet such a heterogeneous audience, enjoying obscure indie music as well as stereotypical techno DJ’s. You can even see some folks, which seem to visit the whole event mainly for the classic concert but were curious enough to stay longer to get surprised by what else the evening would offer.
#Ambience
Having great artists, a prestigious location and a great sound is not everything you need to create a special night where high culture meets pop culture. To top it off there was something missing. The little extra. Except for a couple of info-screens and a bit of shiny blue neon lights, there was no decoration at all. One could say, that the architecture of the Gewandhaus with its interior could be enough eye candy, but in fact it is not; it’s quite bourgeois actually. Why not going even further by creating a fully shaped little psychedelic wonderland? For our taste, the whole event is in need for some deco. The AUDIO INVASION is definitely one of Germany’s most interesting ‘one night only’-events and it’s still working on tapping its full potential. But as long as there’s space for growth and new ideas we’re sure the event will return next year.
Photo by Marcus Scholz
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