Live show reports / comments

[Nadir]

Yesterday I saw Pharmakon live in Brussels, BE as part of her EU tour. You know it's a good gig when you still think about it the day after. I think she played mostly material from the latest record 'Maggot Mass', definitely more death industrial leaning brooding, slow, bashing rhythms with her twisted vocals, impressively swaying between different vocals registers with ease. Although it did get more intense towards the end, I do wish the tension would at some point burst into chaotic onslaught, but I guess that's just not really her style. As per signature move, she also squeezed her way through the audience, sparing no one, not shying away from shouting straight in into perplexed faces or bumping into people left and right. The right kind of confrontational energy and strong stage presence that left no one uninterested at what was happening.

Anyway enough talk about an artist most of the people here on the forum have probably seen live, after the gig I had a small chat with Margaret and I told her - and she shared my sentiment -, I was a bit disappointed about the rest of the line up, consisting of just one act that could vaguely be described as 'cinematic industrial rhythmic drones' and the set was quite a distanced self indulgend 'dude behind a bunch of gear without looking up once' type of show. Anyway I felt it was a shame that the Pharmakon gig (as her name within the niche is quite big I'd say) was not used as a platform to showcase some local Belgian noise artists, whether old or new. Now this was certainly not Margaret's fault, as she told me she only knew about the support bands like 2 days prior.

Now all of that got me thinking... who would actually be fit for such a line up? Vincent Dallas comes up, but actually where are the other Belgian noise/industrial artists still performing live? Am I just a stranger to my own local noise scene, or are the glory days of Belgian industrial really far gone? I must say I am always excited whenever something noise/industrial related happens in Belgium, because those occasions are quite rare.

EDIT: Let me be clear Margaret didn't comment on the support act itself but merely on the fact that something went wrong during organization, the rest is just my personal opinion.

[moozz]

Now all of that got me thinking... who would actually be fit for such a line up? Vincent Dallas comes up, but actually where are the other Belgian noise/industrial artists still performing live? Am I just a stranger to my own local noise scene, or are the glory days of Belgian industrial really far gone? I must say I am always excited whenever something noise/industrial related happens in Belgium, because those occasions are quite rare.

O Ratel Ratel was excellent when I saw him live 3-4 years ago. Urall seems to be still active but I don't know how much he plays live. Last Action could have fit the bill as well, no idea about their live activity.

[Nadir]

O Ratel Ratel was excellent when I saw him live 3-4 years ago. Urall seems to be still active but I don't know how much he plays live. Last Action could have fit the bill as well, no idea about their live activity.

Hadn't heard about O Ratel Ratel but sounds good. Right Urall would been awesome to see on the bill that evening. I know he is still releasing stuff, to my knowlegde though he hasn't played live in Belgium at least since 2024. I also recall now a local guy named Prurit, who I saw live a couple months ago. The noise itself was a bit too monotonous for my taste, but he did use some funny gear like a pinball machine, which kept the audience, including me intrigued. 

Anyway forgive me if my previous post sounded too negative, I got carried away a bit by some sort of disappointement about the day before. I have the impression that things in terms of noise live action have been a bit quiet in small Belgium since 2023-ish, however I guess that's just the natural ebb and flow of things and especially considering our northen neighbours in the Netherlands have such a thriving noise scene, a comeback in the South is bound to happen in the not so distant future.

Speaking of the dutch noise scene, any reports on the Crude Transmissions festival are greatly appreciated! I optimistically bought a ticket, but realized I can't attend anymore, so in case you're from the area and don't have any plans yet this Saturday, I am giving my ticket away for free, just send me a pm. 

[impulse manslaughter]

I'll visit the festival but already have a ticket. Should be a fun day tomorrow!

[impulse manslaughter]

Had to get up early today so I have time for a short report from last night. The festival was sold out with (I think) 130 tickets sold in pre-sale. Some friends showed up without a ticked but luckily unused tickets on peoples phones could get everyone in. In the end there was some space left inside during the performances so maybe some people went to the beach instead as the weather was great. But yes, really great turnout for a lineup like this. The venue is a nice typical leftwing type of place with a relaxed vibe and cheap drinks. Vegan food was served during the break. I brought a small distro and set up my stuff in the back. Was looking at some of the titles of the Streicher cds in my crate and decided to stack them underneath the table.

All Shadows and Deliverance was opening with sampled sounds mixed with some live contact mike rumblings. Not harsh, wild or noisy but i liked the mix of atmospheric, shifting layers of sound. Great opening act.

Dystopian Control played a set with clean and harsh pulses of digital modified noises. Would maybe benefit from some grit and dirt.

Secret(e) is a Svartvit side project. It could have been another Svartvit performance as the techniques and style were pretty similar to my ear. The tension was slowing building up with animalistic vocals and contact mike rumblings. Really good set that reminded me of Aaron Dilloway or Rudolf Eber in times. Simple but effective.

Awenydd was next and combined 2 ambient parts with 2 harsh noise parts. Interesting sounds were layered and combined and could easily keep my attention. Clearly well thought out and performed with total control. Only thing that could maybe make it better (for me) would be a build up from the ambience to the harsh parts instead of the sudden jumps.

Smr.tni was a new name to me and I missed the start of her set as I was talking outside with scene legend Odal. What I saw was a bit unconvincing; simple 1, 2, 3 layer power electronics type of stuff. First a layer of static noise that was slightly pulsating, then a shake box was added and then modified vocals. Would benefit from more variation in sound and/or a wild, aggressive performance.

During the break I walked around the beautiful city town and grabbed some fries and great Italian ice cream.

Snake Oil Merchants is a side project of Vincent Dallas and Jim Geseling (organizer of the fest) and it was a massive slab of barely controllable noise. A great, energetic performance with slightly shifting textures and howling vocals keeping it interesting. My favorite set of the day.

Ji Young Wi was sitting on a table playing improvised one dimensional sounds. Felt like someone would do when testing a new device at home. Second part of the set involved a violin and sound effects. I heard a few interesting sounds but wasn't really impressed by the whole performance.

The Wince set started with sharp hissing sounds and evolved by added layers that blended nicely into each other. First some great ghostly feedback and then some contact miked junk I guess. It sounded a bit flat/compact but left me satisfied in the end, party because the set had the right length for what was offered.

Playworker was another new name for me which played a short set of decent but not impressive harsh noise.

Gnaw Their Tongues filled the room with a very wide and compressed sound. I guess he played (mostly) pre-recorded tracks and just added the vocals live with his fist in the air while walking round. Effective heavy electronics but I think some of the sounds were clipping which was a bit annoying to my ears and with just 3 tracks the set could've been a bit longer.

During the Purist tribute his photo was projected on a screen and a nice long melancholic ambient track was played.

Genophobia played an enthusiastic harsh noise set. Not innovative or overwhelming sound wise (bass was lacking) but I liked what I heard.

I never heard of Thorin before but they grabbed my attention with their first track that combined ritualistic soundscapes, vocals and an accordeon, which added a nice rocking layer of sound. The 2 tracks that followed were less interesting with digital sounding industrial rhythms combined with vocals. All in all, their show was a bit unbalanced and clumsy but certainly showed potential.

[Dries]

Good morning. It is certainly quiet in Belgium regarding noise shows. There are no more noise shows in Belgium, and it has always been difficult to organize them. Over the years, I tried to do something in Kortrijk, which I managed to do (booking a fest for some years, booking great acts such as The Rita-with Gordon & Charlie M, BLJ, Pedestrian Deposit and so on), but that is over now too. For example, I wanted to organize Dead Door Unit. I asked five months in advance, but the two venues here in town that I worked with had full schedules or weren't interested. Then I received requests from other touring projects, but each time it wasn't possible, etc. So, I have decided to stop doing anything and will see what the future brings.

Apart from that, Belgium does have a good scene when it comes to more academic sounds, a more experimental, avant-garde-like scene. Unfortunately, you get a too serious approach to everything there. Everything must be fun and beautiful...in a way.. You won't hear or find rawness or fragmented structures in sound there. There are plenty of places in Belgium that only allow this spectrum, which is a shame because both go hand in hand and share the same foundation. Music Concrete, minimal, harsh, drone and so on starts all from the love of sound and in a way, it is silly that it gets divided/separate from each other.

But it's not all negative. For the last two years, the Rites of Noise evening has been organized in Antwerp. They try to present a wide range of experimental sounds, and now I also saw that the tour of Last Action and fellow US harsh noise aficionados Distorting A Woodpecker, Dei Xhrist & Woods Mattress will stop in Antwerp as well.

But more is possible, and more should happen as well.