Text, photos and videos: Mikko A.
A private 2 day event of Experimental music,
2026 was my tenth time visiting Tower Transmissions. First two I missed. Since then, played several times with different projects, until became merely regular annual visitor.
Each year it is curious to discuss with people about the line-up. There seemed to be mixed feelings again this year. Is there something that is absolutely necessary to se or something you may pass without feeling of missing out something? I understand prioritizing things and also lack of funds to travel or other obligations getting on the way. But also feel this whole once in a lifetime attitude is often reflecting “collecting experiences”, rather than… living life. If there is something I am devoted to and truly interested in, it is not something I’ll throw into my “bucket-list” waiting for opportunities to go away, but it is something I am committed to on many levels.
Regardless if I have seen Prurient play already over 20 years ago and seen him probably about 20 times already, exclusive German show in 2026 certainly was enough to go. I was curious how relatively small project like Pain Appendix would handle big stage. I have had impression for long time that often requested veteran level Japanese noise acts would be good, but I’d rather see something like Linekraft play in Finland! C.C.C.C., Incapacitants, Hijokaidan, sure I’d be into it, but even if Linekraft may not be veteran and genre originator, he is actually artist at peak of his creative force right now! As good as veterans of the genre can be, it would be odd claim that they are now at their prime. That can be said about Linekraft and it was absolutely cool to see him headlining on European festival. Even more cool that there may be opportunity to see him more in this life. How you’d rate this “once in a lifetime” experience vs something that is great enough that you want it again? Comeback shows of veterans might serve some purpose. Seeing your idols of you to play show may serve some idea too. All this is slightly different if its about witness something great emerging in certain time and place where it is kind of.. meant to be! I am often puzzled by notion that someone goes to check out artist, often big name, and then concludes that it was great and now after it has been seen, and no more. Not long ago I was at show of legendary big Black Metal bands, where big part of audience was leaving 20 mins before gig ended. Clearly just to not be caught in rush. I was kind of amazed that someone would go though all this effort to see band, but then prioritize comfort of not having to wait in line for getting out of venue. At cost of missing handful of classic tracks that were the most mandatory of the set!
For me, especially with greatest acts, to see good show means you want to see it again if there is opportunity. I often want to see the bands in different settings. Many other names at Tower Transmissions were interesting as well, but perhaps better to talk about them later on. But in nutshell: TT 2026 was most definitely easy decision for me. I know environment favors certain sound & aesthetic and I know festival will deliver.
It has been hectic schedule all autumn. Or should I say entire year. If first half was a bit too busy, calendar in autumn looked at the same time interesting and horrifying. Been playing or doing other things at gigs and festivals just about every weekend for couple months. Week before Tower Transmissions I organized live event in Lahti based record store Sarvilevyt. Place that works also as headquarters of Freak Animal Records. Video documentation can be found from here.
Next day even smaller private event was organized in the woods of Finland, where Grunt amongst others played for small crowd consisting mostly artists involved. Returning to Lahti for couple days to take care of the mailorder before flying to Berlin already on Wednesday.
Arrival was slightly annoying time. Waiting for the bus or taking train would have taken time or been complex. Rental car drive to Dresden turned out equally irritating experience. Finally hitting the streets of Neustadt almost midnight, finding some food and the best cheapest beer place and it felt that Tower Transmission mood is finally on!
This “once-in-a-life-time” thing, what is it really? I understand the virgin experience, but a lot of things you need to experience more time to appreciate them fully. To discover other things than mere novelty of losing virginity. Perhaps also decades long involvement in underground culture, all day everyday, displays my approach.
Repeating “same” fest experience again? Who knows. I have liked the fest before. I liked location of the Air BnB. Have been at the same cocktail bar several times every trip. Couple good neat tiny beer places worth to return. There is good little meat shop couple steps from the door, where I can score some fresh steaks to eat. Knowing that some germanic lady hands you couple lamb & pork pieces in paper wrapping, some dried meat to go with it – that’s be good for next morning. Beers that cost 5 euro in Finland, are 1 euro in Germany. Kind of small things, but sets the mood. Some of these things makes spending week in Germany cheaper than stay in Finland! At least if you do some creative math in your head. None of these experienced in “one night” or even one trip. Unless experience would have been something you want to avoid from now on.
Thursday was dedicated to walk around the city. Check out few places. There is a comic shop that used to have huge amount of vintage adult comics you never see in Finland. They had now only perhaps half meter shelve of it. Instead of anything vintage, I scored something new I wasn’t aware of. Kind of arty, neatly hand drawn stuff. Nice to see things still happening on this field.
None of record stores seems worthy of visit. Some museums are decent, but been in some of them last time so skipped this time. Thursday evening people started to show up. Also couple Swedes who was taken to bar by fest organizer. When you got Green Army Fraction at the bar table, you’ll hear some monologues for sure!
Friday came almost too quick. Despite thinking couple days buffer zone would be method of löysät pois, there could have been even one more “hang out day”. Went to venue early to meet some of artists, drop some stuff I had brought them. One artist had requested me to bring some old XXX magazines I have at my store. As expected, lady officer at the airport inspected the 80’s issue of Danish publications like Anal Sex and New Cunts amongst other things. Talked with some of the labels selling merch when they were setting up things. Later on I noticed that regular seller, LOKI FOUNDATION, had copy of The Gerogerigegege “Piss Shower Girlfriend” pic LP available. I missed this when it came out in 2019. Not expecting it would sell out as soon as it did. I had decided I won’t be paying discogs money for something that new, but if I ever got opportunity to buy it, I will. So Friday was the day! I had kind of promised myself not to carry anything back Finland, but opportunity of buying this one actually great Gero 12″ override such decisions. It was worth it and thumbs up to LOKI for good price!
VIDEO COLLECTION OF FRIDAY HERE
I had been listening some samples of ROBERT REVELL online. Those were kind of typical digital harsh noise. I wasn’t expecting live show to be palm muted heavy metal chug-chug guitar and massive beats and aggro vocals. When people talk about industrial music, I usually have to explain them its not what I mean when I talk about “industrial”. I am fully aware this might be exactly how most people understand the term. So, Revell was indeed leaning towards that type of industrial I never listen to. First solo show ever, loud and bass-heavy. I did watch entire set. There was energy, there was stage presence, interaction with crowd… but also the chug-chug guitar routine and easy beats repeated too many times that I was hoping more abstract approach or variation. There was technical hassle happening here and there, but as festival opening act, it’s not absolutely crucial to be technically totally flawless.
GREEN ARMY FRACTION had long hiatus. They were gaining name and recognition back in the day. Even enough that Finnish label put of one of their best tape along more widely circulated album on Steinklang for example. Live show was basically ultra simple, but also worked out well. They had the most traditional oscillations created with the most common little synths. Some shaker box noise, feedback and heavily processed shouting vocals. You could almost describe it as ABC of heavy electronics, but if you got the classic recipe that work, then it just works. They looked good on stage in front of the large video screen. Masks were removed later during the set.
I had never heard of DARJA KAZIMIRA & ZURA MAKHARADZE. This is one of the qualities of Tower Transmissions I admire. They have names I have never heard of, that are good. It is not a success to book some no-name workshop noise hack nobody wanted to see in the first place. To find artists who don’t have much releases or name, but turn out to be some of the most interesting at the fest is achievement! In theory, what they did, falls into category of improvised ritual music that follows quite tightly genre traditions. We have percussive bells, drums, horns, pipes, chants and invocations. Everything is moving with frantic pace that is at the same time intense as it is droning and atmospheric. On stage, the naked man with bandages covering his face, basically beating himself in the face for duration of entire live show. I was talking with a person who mentioned that too bad he is not shocked by anything anymore. I replied that I don’t think its meant to be shocking? Who would find this shocking? Its not festival for grannies and crybabies. Why artist was doing what he was doing, I didn’t go and ask. I assumed it was part of ecstatic ritual experience. His own experience on that stage is something else than we could see. We can see aesthetically interesting performance, yet the participation of almost ceremonial sonic rite is something else for those involved and physical endurance may be similar for self-flagellation. Disciplinary and devotional action, not shock rock show at all.
I have seen PAIN APPENDIX number of times and he is always tweaking his set to different directions. Same with the releases. If you have heard some of the releases, it might be very different from live set you’ll see or next release you buy. Current set is heavier, more bassy. More synths and rhythm. Delicate high pitched electronics of modular synth as well. Vocals were often buried in the mix. Sometimes they were audible, sometimes appeared almost as if they were triggering electronic effects instead of being “vocals” per se. My favorite set of P.A. may have been in Harsh Ways Fest in Finland. This slightly more technically advanced sound worked well despite bass frequencies being overpowering in front of the stage.
I wasn’t sure what to expect of BOMB THE DAYNURSERY. What to expect from pre-Brighter Death Now project that has been dead and buried for decades? Well, he did Lille Roger gig before, and that ruled. Now, I dare to say, Bomb The Daynursery may have been even more so! I have seen number of shows where BDN was drunken chaos that operated on threshold of being chaotic vs. being parody of itself. Nowadays Karmanik seems to be on top of his game and this live show was pure gold. Somehow he managed to sound better and more “compact” than anyone else before him. Great punch in all the sounds. Classic industrial music… Really the sound I mean when I talk about industrial! It’s mechanic, dark, noisy, monochrome, menacing, yet still with hint of musicality or structure there. Not pure noise, not pure abstraction, it is industrial. Brilliant!
If previous band took sound to new level, so did PRURIENT. Unique position of this artists was clear already when he entered the stage. All it needed was Fernow walk on stage and crowd eruptud into loud cheers and applause. You didn’t see that happening before. He would dedicate his set to memory of Sean Ragon and started to play. First assembling spoken war history together, moving into loud power electronics/noise assault with the most fierce and loud vocal performance at the fest. He would proceed into more rhythmic industrial-noise or even movie soundtrack -esque realms. Everything that falls under Prurient name could be thrown in and still remain coherent. At the end of set, there was Prurient / Genocide Organ collaboration. Brigant Moloch doing vocals and good sounding metal percussion by Wilhelm Herich. What set this show apart of the rest, was not only sharp and loud sound, but also how it felt almost like a rock show. There was songs. People were cheering between songs and so on. The power and clarity of sound was on new level for sure. After the show I was talking with people and they were asking how sound could be this good? Loud, clear and crispy, with vocals on top of all that with perfect sound. Well, I would guess one thing is to perform countless live gigs in all sorts of settings over decades. That might separate masters from guys who have handful of shows behind them and switching from home studio headphones to stage with amplified sound leads to struggle to get things audible and combat with feedback..
Merch area was crowded. Hospital Productions had brought a lot of merch you rarely, if ever, see available in Europe. There was L.White, Loki, Tesco, Total Black, Aufnahme + Wiedergabe and bunch of others.
After the gigs it was already fairly late and heading to get some sleep.
Waking up in the morning, cooking some meat and eggs to go with coffee and some beer. Plan was to be at 11 in “art-market”. Neustadt art festival was organized at the same time as Tower Transmissions. Mostly it appeared to be forgettable contemporary feel-good rubbish. I was curious to see if this art-market things was something like they tend to be in Finland. And it sure was. One of the worst qualities of globalized world is where creativity is largely uniform. Form and ideas, plus physical level as well. So what we got, is predominantly female artists lined up, selling postcards, magnets, pins, prints and so on. Most often this type of events are dominated with factory multiplied garbage where someone made “design” and most likely Chinese factories replicated them into office gift -level “art pieces” to sell. Feminist menstrual arts fine, antifa slogans far less interesting, cute animals ok… but when I noticed lady selling original hand made collage art, I felt mandatory to support! Even if arrangement and ideas were fairly standard, someone with number of one-of-a-kind physical creations for sale felt like worth of support. So bought one piece from her.
Meeting with bunch of Finns and bought some beers and headed up to park to hang out. Joined by Pain Appendix & lady and unexpectedly elderly germanic granny decided to join us. She didn’t talk anything, but sat with us, listening couple hours of people talking about noise and drinking beer while she was eating yoghurt or watching birds or vile Finnish power electronics characters. Afternoon, I decided to go eat quick before fest and took half an hour nap to make sure I won’t be tired at the end of fest!
Before bands, there was a book launch of Viva Negative – book about The New Blockaders. Author Nick Soulsby was quite a British gentleman, speaking loud and clear with accent you could understand. He would go through process of making of book, talk about approach he had, chapters, various qualities of one of the most mythologized noise project of all times, The New Blockaders. I do not remember exactly when I first got in touch with Rupenus. Curiously I did even meet Richard Rupenus one time. It was when The New Blockaders announced THE FINAL LIVE SHOW, which at the time, couple decades ago, was something I would believe. So, indeed, “one in a lifetime chance”, and had to go to see it. Eventually briefly meet Rupenus at the backstage. Book should be out at moment when you are reading this, but at the launch there was only test print copy to be browsed. I believe print run of 1st edition is merely 500. It is massive book and appears worth of the money. After his talk, I went to talk a bit with Soulsby and introduced him to guys who have been working with some of the guys mentioned in the book.
VIDEO COLLECTION OF SATURDAY HERE!
Festival music part started with ANNA GARDECK. First ever live performance, hopefully not last. Musically highly electronic throbbing and oscillating synth tones, keeping up the spirit of european heavy electronics. Sometimes rhythmic, but not dancy. There was fetish video material on the screen, but most of all the lead character was full on rubber/pvc outfit. I doubt I need to underline the appeal this stuff has for me. As guy who collected almost every relevant fetish magazine out there, specific look was embedded to my brain already as young pre-teenager. So am I pleased too easily, who knows! Excellent!
ANTIVALIUM from UK was one of the projects that stood out with moody atmospheric beats. Synth tones and layers ok, but I never been into style of downtempo beats they used here and there. Not always, but too much for my taste.
GALERIE SCHALLSCHUTZ is one of those names I have couple CD’s but barely any recollections how they actually sound like. I mentioned my vague impressions to one other person and he said “it is just like that”. Indeed. Dark and atmospheric electronic tones that can get slightly noisy or oppressive, but most despite including distorted vocals, overall sound leans closer to dark ambient than power electronics. Perhaps one could lump them together with darker side of Ex.Order, Dagda Mor, Advocat Ihrer Hoheit and so on. Perhaps the “Inade” vibe of dark ambient songs worked the best. While it felt that vocal sound was not totally fitting the soundscapes, I actually found myself thinking I must check out what GS is doing these days on the albums.
If day before Prurient had that aura of legendary live artists that radiates certain spirit, same could be said about Ke/Hil! It was as if titans walked the earth when the duo entered stage. Brigant Moloch had gotten hair-cut since last shows I have seen him. Now with clean cut germanic hair and long beard totally gone. Wilhelm Herich has such charismatic presence, that even when man does nothing but stands still, gazing the audience, the presence is crushing. More importantly, despite seemingly cold and static style of Ke/Hil, it is one of the rare occasions on festival where one must compliment for innovative and active usage of vocal effects. The art is in details. The cold narrative vocal style is enhanced with subtle, but active tweaking of effects. There can be tiny, yet crucial additions, like adding flanger into selected words, increasing echo in doing other types of modulation that provides that little hands-on feel to vocals. Too often bands rely on one sound or same setting for entire set or at least entire song. Ke/Hil set felt almost too short, but apparently it was album length. Just so good it never got boring.
I must say that DERNIÈRE VOLONTÉ did get boring for exactly this reason. I liked it for what it was. Vocals were better than expected. Percussionist does his thing well. Their martial-pop, synth music minimal wave kind of thing was a bit anomaly in the festival. That was not a problem. Problem for me was that drummer seemed to have pretty much one tempo and almost one style of beat. Vocal delivery varies from spoken commands to melancholic singing. For fans of style certainly should be well worth it. Sound was massive, set was long, settings looked colossal. I watched perhaps half of the set and felt that’s enough for me.
Final performer of the festival was LINEKRAFT. I have seen him play in Tokyo already back in the day when he didn’t have albums out. Was it 2008 or perhaps 2012. His previous group Mothra did last release 2007 and Linekraft continued from there. Early works were improvised metal percussion and physical muscle power. Now almost 20 years later we are witnessing Linekraft that has refined his approach and style has been audible in albums published on large number of internationally celebrated labels. Black Blagve, Hospital Productions, Tesco, Old Europa Cafe, Aussaat, Steinklang and more! Linekraft set was well planned and well executed. Industrial noise to the core, with charismatic body action. Masahiko Okubo was climbing on top of PA speakers, throwing propaganda leaflets to audience, doing oil barrel percussion, vocals and live electronics. Songs have structure and detail and set kept you alert for entire duration. Indeed, this is industrial, not “japanoise”. I am interested to see him again!
Festival would have continued with DJ’s and industrial floor, but I was ready to go sleep. Next day plan was to take bus to Berlin and get to see Current 93 show as I missed them when they recently played in Finland. I have no positive things to say about Berlin and also C93 was kind of hit & miss. Calm and atmospheric songs sound as good as they do, but some of the classic neofolk anthems have mutated into parody music. As if party rock group would jam out parody of the song. Not to mention part of the crowd was something I strongly considered smashing bottle to couple guys faces, but managed to just gently grab by the shoulders and notify it would be good thing to shut the fuck up. In Tower Transmissions, I didn’t see this type of thing happening at all. I would suspect such a legendary names as C93 pulls plenty of die hard eccentric fans, but also tourists and posers. Tower Transmissions in the other hand, felt like this is place where people actually come almost exclusively because of the music? Sure it is gathering of people as well, but most of all there aren’t even warm up bands per se. From beginning till end, something people come to see.
Once again, compliments to Ina and Eric and rest of TT crew making things happen. Even if it has been announced this was the last TT, no panic! Already December 5th same venue and same crew will host another event! Genocide Organ, Ex.Order and Spur On To XS. G.O. will be performing legendary Leichenlinie album and additional tracks! Limited number of tickets, so check out here:
https://towerpromotions.bigcartel.com/product/swtwcii
