photo by: DUNK!Festival
Europe’s finest post rock festival celebrated its tenth anniversary. Having grown from an insider’s tip to an important institution in post rock and connected genres, it is now the highlight of the year for bands and fans of this music. With the growth they didn’t loose their special vibe of a family driven event. All friends, family and neighbors in Zottegem, Belgium help to make this festival a welcoming place for music lovers. As we asked the organizer, Wout Lievens, what the neighbors say about the location in the middle of a suburb, he responded: “They don’t complain about the noise, they all work here anyway.” You see Moms and Dads, very old and very young people all in one place.
To celebrate the ten years anniversary, the festival created a new location. Now its all in one place and great to meet people and see all bands easily. As always, the lineup was impressive. Here some highlights.
photo by: Davy De Pauw
The Friday started with an energetic performance of dunk insider tipp TERRAFORMER. In the same vain, Belgian shooting stars of dirty doom rock, STEAK NUMBER EIGHT again prove their sense for darkness and melody. We will here more of those young band in the future. ARMS AND SLEEPERS are no newbies to all lovers of ambient electronic music. Compared to the record, it would be great if they performed it live with more than just a guy on the decks. But he made the best out of it and the visuals added well to the overall mood. Generally the side stage would be a more pleasing experience with better sound system. Anyway, the intimate atmosphere compensated for that and we are talking about low budget festival which is living from volunteer work.
The highlight and headliner of the night was without a doubt AND SO I WATCH YOU FROM AFAR from Belfast. Imagine Irish folk played with lots of noise, guitars and a crazy guitar player. Rarely saw a band with so much fun playing. They connect very complex licks with raw energy and massive fun. You just smile and enjoy. As many other bands on the festival, they expressed that this is a great highlight for them. For all those bands mostly still working in a niche, it’s not daily business to play in front of 500 plus excited fans.
photo by: Davy De Pauw
The first highlight of the next day was without a doubt MOTEK from Belgium. No huge surprises but the best you can get when it comes to movielike music and performance. Especially visually, they set a great mark. How to raise excitement now? By a polish band combining perfect post rock craftsmanship with high spirits. TIDES FROM NEBULA are lost in their music and drag you with them. This is how this music should sound and be performed. After them, the post rock institution SLEEPMAKESWAVES from Australia entered the stage. Although there is nothing to criticize, the impression stays that this is a bit too perfect. With their undoubtedly good songs they missed to touch hearts, at least ours. Saturday night was closed by a special performance of LE SEUL ELÉMENT. Hidden in a white semitransparent cube, the audience sat around the construction in a small room. From this visual secret, a special magic was created.
Day three did not step behind the previous nights. Great musicianship and a widening of the genre were presented by KERRETTA. YEAR OF NO LIGHT promise some dark ambience with their band name and proved it. Swedish post-rock monuments EF showed where the path with their band will go. As heard on the new songs already, they more and more implement voices to their sound, rather as an instrument than a singer. Every time you see EF, they sound different. It seems to depend on their mood if it’s rather monumental and loud or if they emphasize the quiet part more. Headliner of the night was a band many waited for. GOD IS AN ASTRONAUT were welcomed very warmly and they paid it back. A perfect musical performance and a band that was truly thankful for everyone being in the crowd. Although GOD IS AN ASTRONAUT was not the emotional overwhelming experience one could have expected, it was a great performance by a humble band.
photo by: Davy De Pauw
Being humble is a quality all those bands share. Living a scene and playing music that is not yet rewarded by big sales, they know what it means to sell a record or have more than 20 people at their shows. So the festival and visitors get a lot of appreciation from the bands and they get it back by music-dedicated people you rarely meet on other festivals.