SpaceFest! 2015 transforms Gdansk into East European Music Mecca, spreads hope in winter

SpaceFest-2015

Il SpaceFest! shuttle entra nell’orbita per la quinta volta. Come negli anni precedenti, il festival di quest’anno ruota intorno a shoegaze, space-rock e tutte le sfumature psichedeliche di musica alternativa e si svolge al Zak Club a Danzica.

Il gruppo clou indiscusso della prima giornata è stato  la leggendaria The Telescopes, una band del Regno Unito dal sound molto influente per quanto sperimentale. Il gruppo, fiore all’occhiello della Creation Records, ha girato con artisti del calibro di Spacemen 3, Primal Scream e The Jesus and Mary Chain. Ed ancora  insieme con Ride, Slowdive, Whipping Boy, Bleach, e The Cranes.

[tube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLgf8i2CstQ[/tube]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLgf8i2CstQ

L’headliner della seconda giornata è stato il gruppo finlandese Kairon; IRSE !, che ama evocare spac jam dai suoni anni ’70 in stile progressive rock e   vibes alt-rock anni ’90. La band ha un suono solido, dalla voce vetrosa e gli arrangiamenti mozzafiato.

Il festival propone anche  Wales’ Lights That Change, una delizia speciale per gli appassionati di dreampop etereo e shoegaze con belle voci femminili e i TAU, un progetto guidato da Shaun Nunutzi e Dead Skeletons, che in precedenza hanno già suonato allo SpaceFest! due anni fa. Il loro sound è un collage di induzione alla trance, dai paesaggi sonori Hypnotising ispirati a canzoni sciamani indigene.

Tra le altre band anche i  DYN, un lo-fi duo garage-psych-sperimentale proveniente da Berlino. La line-up mette in mostra anche alcune gemme dalla Polonia, come i Folder – un gruppo alternativo popolare alla fine degli anni Duemila. Una menzione speciale anche per i  Snowid e DJ Mushroom Man dai  suoni elettronici pronti a indurre  l’ascoltatore  ad  uno stato di trance interstellare.

Allo SpaceFest! anche : Zimowa, una banda (da Wodzislaw Slaski), la cui musica è un mix di chitarre fuzzy e elettronica malinconia con sottili, voci sensuali e Lotry (da Cracovia) con il loro sporco, chill-out , rock psichedelico.

Per dessert, Dr Switchoff ci serve i suoi dj set eclettici che mettono in mostra il meglio e il peggio della musica strana di tutto il mondo, utilizzando impianti hi-fi, degenerati analogici, synth sovietici, field recordings e oggetti sonori non identificati.

[tube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBWsrVbG2ps[/tube]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBWsrVbG2ps

Come negli  anni precedenti, l’attività concertistica del festival è preceduta dalle prove del Pure Phase Ensemble, un gruppo creato appositamente per SpaceFest.

L’anno scorso, il frontman del Pure Phase Ensemble è stato Mark Gardener dei Ride. L’anno prima, era Laetitia Sadier di Stereolab. Quest’anno, è cantante australiana e chitarrista Hugo Race, tra l’altro noti da The Bad Seeds e il vero spirito. Incarnazione di quest’anno del complesso dispone anche di musicisti polacchi da Lord & The Liar, Ze velocipedi, Daktari e C4030. La line-up sarà completato da Karol Schwarz , da Nasiono Records, che è stato responsabile del coordinamento e la coesione musicale del progetto DPI fin dall’inizio. Ascolteremo i risultati nelle ultime ore del festival, che sarà registrato e pubblicato in forma fisica a metà del 2016, aiutando gli altri ad unirsi alla SpaceFest! viaggio nel tempo ttraverso e, forse più importante, attraverso lo spazio.

[tube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jfhFlPemCo[/tube]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jfhFlPemCo

SpaceFest! 2015 Kicks Off, Transforming Gdansk Into East European Music Mecca

The SpaceFest! shuttle enters orbit for the fifth time for the weekend of December 5-7! As in previous years, this year’s festival revolves around shoegaze, space-rock and all psychedelic shades of alternative music and takes place at Zak Club in Gdansk.

The undisputed highlight of the first day are the legendary The Telescopes, a UK band who have been mining a unique anti-myopian seam of highly influential experimental, drone, noise, dream and psych for over 20 years. The group, who were a staple of Creation Records, has toured with the likes of Spacemen 3, Primal Scream and The Jesus and Mary Chain. Later on, they would play together with Ride, Slowdive, Whipping Boy, Bleach, and The Cranes.

The headliner of the second day is Finnish group Kairon; IRSE!, whose fog-fuelled space jam sounds bring to mind 1970s progressive rock and 1990s alt-rock vibes. When the band’s guitars are not beautifully whining in shoegaze mode, roaring waves of krautrock crash over the audience. The band has a solid sound, with glassy vocals and stunning arrangements.

The festival also features Wales’ Lights That Change, a special delight for fans of ethereal dreampop and shoegaze, beautiful female vocals and anybody appreciative of 4AD Records’ early output (think This Mortail Coil, Dead Can Dance, Cocteau Twins), as well as TAU, a project spearheaded by Shaun Nunutzi from Dead Skeletons, who previously played SpaceFest! two years ago. Their sound is a collage of trance-inducing, hypnotising soundscapes inspired by indigenous shaman songs.

Other visting bands include DYN, a garage-psych-experimental lo-fi duo from Berlin. The line-up also showcases some gems from Poland, such as Folder – an alternative group popular in the late noughties, who have come back for just one show. A particular highlight is Snowid and DJ Mushroom Man, whose pagan-occult-cosmic electronic sounds are bound to bring us into a state of interstellar trance.

SpaceFest! is also showcasing two groups selected in the young bands competition: Zimowa, a band (from Wodzislaw Slaski), whose music is a mix of fuzzy guitars and melancholy electronica with subtle, sensual vocals and Lotry (from Krakow) with their dirty, chilled out, psychedelic rock.

For dessert, Dr Switchoff serves us his eclectic DJ sets showcasing the best and worst in weird music from all over the world, using broken hi-fi equipment, analogue Soviet synths, field recordings and unidentified sound objects.

As in other years, the festival’s concert schedule is preceded by rehearsals of Pure Phase Ensemble, a group created especially for SpaceFest. For one week, musicians are going to work together to create a concert’s worth of original material and then perform it live at SpaceFest! Last year, Pure Phase Ensemble’s frontman was Mark Gardener of Ride. The year before, it was Laetitia Sadier of Stereolab. This year, it is Australian singer and guitarist Hugo Race, known i.a. from The Bad Seeds and The True Spirit. This year’s incarnation of the ensemble also features Polish musicians from Lord & The Liar, Ze Velocipedes, Daktari and C4030. The line-up will be completed by Karol Schwarz from Nasiono Records, who has been responsible for the coordination and musical cohesion of the PPE project from the very outset. We shall hear the results in the final hours of the festival, which will be recorded and released in physical form in mid-2016, helping others to join in the SpaceFest! journey hrough time and, perhaps most importantly, through space.

Enjoy one of the best festival trailer’s you’ve ever seen here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLgf8i2CstQ

FESTIVAL LINEUP:
The Telescopes (UK)
Lights That Change (UK)
TAU (IRL/DE)
Folder plays Red Lof (PL)
Lotry (PL)
Kairon; IRSE! (FI)
Pure Phase Ensemble with Hugo Race (AU/PL)
DYN (DE)
Zimowa (PL)
Snowid (PL)
+
DJ Adam Czajkowski (PL)
DJ Dr.Switchoff (RU)

For more information on the festival, visit http://www.spacefest.pl
SpaceFest! is organised by Nasiono Association in cooperation with Laznia CCA and Zak Club. The festival is co-financed by the City of Gdansk, and coordinated by Anna Szynwelska (SpaceFest!) and Karol Schwarz (Nasiono Records).

PPE 4 feat. Mark Gardener ‘Morning Rise’

PPE 4 feat. Mark Gardener ‘Notatki’

PPE 4 feat. Mark Gardener ‘Zostan Na Nos’