Tag Archives: rock

More Throwback: Dissection Midsummer Massacre

11 Jul

DISSECTION

Recently a fan commissioned prints of my Dissection Midsummer Massacre photos. I used the opportunity and re-edited all of the official photos, as well some photos that have not been shared yet. Among them is this red photo of Jon. Due to the motion of the camera the candles on the stage altar are forming eleven numbers seven. I thought this was a nice detail, hence this date of 11/7.

Another photo I had not shared before is one of Jon and Erik Danielsson, rocking beside each other. It surely was a strange twist of fate that Erik would jump in for this very last concert in the history of Dissection. Yet on stage he fit in as any long-time member of a band would. I remember Jon commenting, how Erik was an artistic person and switching instruments would come just natural to him. He learnt the songs really quick. Erik put his heart and soul into the performance – as he always does.

Photos of the Dissection Midsummer Massacre, at Hovet, Stockholm 24/06 2006

For physical prints and print files of these photos please e-mail me at contact@wr-photography.com

Advertisement

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sensifer at Elbhangfest 2015

1 Jul
Sensifer playing a near two hour set at this year’s Elbhangfest, Dresden
Sensifer rocking
Guitar goddess
Mad Xylophonist
Sun coming out
Ansage (lead-in): drummer comes infront and dedicates the next song to his parents
High spirits, Sensifer playing nearly 2 hours
Skateboard intermezzo: in between songs, doing a stunt for the audience
Elbhangfest 2015, old timer passing by whilst Sensifer is playing
Exorcism

Saturday, June 27 2015

I arrive at Grottenwirtschaft, the sky is gray and clouded, but it has stopped raining… I am still tired from last night, now enjoying a beer, chatting and finally the music starts… at first glance one wouldn’t think so, but Dresden post-rock band Sensifer produce one massive guitar sound on stage, which draws you in and takes you away… it’s a weird surreal scenery: the band is playing inside this garage, the audience is standing at the other side of the road, in the distance the boats on the river and summer-green meadows… people are passing by as the band keeps playing, cyclists and passengers turn heads, slowing down, stopping, some stay and become immersed in the atmospheric guitar sound, others keep walking on by, from one stage to the next, following the river upstream and downstream… then the clouds tear open and the sun breaks through… rays of light are blinding me as I continue listening and photographing…

Sensifer play nearly 2 hours at this year’s Elbhangfest. I had come here because I expected this to be the perfect music for my melancholic mood. Turns out it is a hell lot of fun, which ultimately results in me walking around with the begging hat and collecting donations from the audience, who approves… Sensifer in concert means commitment. They are currently working on a new Ep. For news visit: http://www.sensifer-music.de/news.

Deutsche Version:

Als ich an der Grottenwirtschaft ankomme, ist der Himmel grau und voll Wolken, aber es hat es aufgehört zu regnen. Ich bin noch müde von der letzten Nacht, genehmige mir nun ein Bier und unterhalte mich hier und da, bis die Musik endlich anfängt… Auf den ersten Blick würde man es nicht vermuten, aber die Dresdner Post-Rock Band Sensifer erzeugen einen gewaltigen Gitarren-Sound auf der Bühne, welcher dich hineinzieht und mitnimmt…

Es ist eine sonderbar surrealer Anblick: die Band spielt dort in dieser Garage, das Publikum steht auf der anderen Seite der Straße, in der Ferne sieht man die Bote auf dem Fluß und die sommergrünen Wiesen… dazwischen die Straße, Menschen laufen an uns vorbei, während die Band weiter spielt… im Vorbeilaufen drehen Fahrradfahrer und Passanten ihre Köpfe in Richtung Bühne, werden langsamer, bleiben stehen… manche verharren und tauchen in den atmosphärischen Gitarren-Sound ein, andere gehen weiter, von einer Bühne zur nächsten, sie folgen dem Fluß stromaufwärts und -abwärts… dann lichten sich die Wolken, die Sonne bricht hindurch, ich bin geblendet von ihren Strahlen, als ich weiter der Musik lausche und fotografiere…

Sensifer spielen beinahe 2 Stunden auf dem diesjährigen Elbhangfest. Ich kam mit der Erwartung her, dass die Musik sehr gut zu meiner melancholischen Stimmung passen würde. Doch am Ende war es ein Höllenspaß, was letztlich dazu führte, das ich mit dem Sammelhut herumging und vom Publikum Spenden einsammelte, welches die Aktion auch belohnte… Sensifer im Konzert, das bedeutet vor allem Hingabe.

Die Band arbeitet gerade an ihrer neuen EP. Für mehr Neuigkeiten besucht bitte die Website unter http://www.sensifer-music.de/news.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

In the mail today: New Single by Path of Samsara!

2 Jul
Path of Samsara – Veil of Gold / Dawn of Saturn

When you least expect it! Now here is another jewel from this German band – in my mail today.

Unpacking is a pleasure. No note from the band just an envelope and the CD inside. Cover and backside are stamped with a traditional print, front showing the beautifully done band logo by Akherra Phasmathanas/Ars Leprosa. The seal on the back was created by the hands of Kitti Solymosi of Anatiummi Arts. (Will have to check her out!) The CD sporting the classic look of vinyl is another nice treat. Gray in gray, a simple and well-designed booklet with credits and another mysterious illustration of a devil’s hand, reminiscent in style of tantric artworks. The packaging alone would deserve a price.

But on to the music. So there’s two new songs. Putting them on you immediately recognise the band. They continue merging Western sounds with Eastern motifs. There’s always a bit of playful Roky Erickson, blending in broader stoner rock elements and making something listenable out of it. We don’t like genres. So for the sake of convenience I will just call this pop. (Pop can be good music also.)

The first song Veil of Gold is driving, pushing forward. They put quite a bit of force in the drumming and there’s a nice dirty solo, thrashing in the end, but still melodic and rounding this song off nicely. The second song Dawn of Saturn starts with a melancholic melodic guitar part, followed by a dark driving beat. There are certainly homages to the last the Devil’s Blood. Dark yes, heavy, but also somewhat self-effacing. They build up tension and you basically wait for the great culmination, but instead they tone it down again. It’s like a struggling for something, then radio-friendly, then again mystical. Waiting, tic toc, now, solo, beat, heavy, chorus – “The skies are burning. The dawn of Saturn comes. And on demon wings. On and on I fly…” swaying, “Till love will fall”, repeat, “till all will fall”, end. 5 minutes, 34 seconds. Neat.

Judging by the previous album Black Lotus, which I have had spinning many times and the music of which accompanied quite a few hours filled with working on art, I expect this little two-side single to be on rotation for a bit. Alas, I am thirsty for more already…

If you have also licked blood check out the Path of Samsara website. Besides they currently put down the prices on everything in their webshop so do not miss out on this chance to get some of the first shirts and records they printed as long as they are still available: http://pathofsamsara.bigcartel.com

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Saw it, listened to it, bought it

22 Jan

In the mail today:

IMG_1733++

It’s about time I share some of my favorite records. Not that I’d have that many – actually it’s quite a small collection consisting of but a few dozens of vinyls and CDs I have managed to keep after moving and relocating a couple of times. Also, opposed to adolescent dreams I did not turn exactly into an audiophile, but anyway… this ought to be about having fun and that’s also what I’ll concentrate on in this blog series.

So, I am starting with my recent acquisition, which is a milk white 10” vinyl single by Hole. The background story is that around new years we were watching some music documentaries on tv whilst I was lying in bed with a stupid stomach flue, which brought amongst others Hole to my attention. Actually I have not been overtly interested in them before as that whole grunge thing and related had more or less passed me by. However, I remember to have been quite fond of Courtney Love’s acting in The People vs. Larry Flynt and began looking for Hole music videos and interviews on youtube. After listening to some stuff from the 90ies I finally checked out the latest (and last?) album Nobody’s Daughter, which I’ll have to give another listen. Then visited the merch site and came across the glass slipper poster… continued to look for records on ebay and was quite happy to find this was indeed the art on the single release. Honestly, why else buy a single if not for some attractive cover art? Well, it also got a heartfelt cover version of Codine on the B-side, which makes a nice addition, however I could live without that. I bought this record chiefly for the visual aspect. The white vinyl adds to this and I must say it feels nice to hold this record in the hands, there is not much fuss around it apart from the cover. Therefore it has one dirty rock song on it. (Love the contrast.) Secondly I imagined this song may sound nice on vinyl and infact I like a lot how it sounds on our old vinyl player. Besides, at first we accidentally spinned it at 33 rpm… doom baby (don’t go slower). My mum then asked me if it was a man singing (however the record was already spinning at 45 rpm then). Well, I think next time she’ll recognize the voice! A final remark, I appreciate the fact there is still someone like Love in the alternative ‘mainstream’ department continuing to do music like this. This is rock the way it’s supposed to be. Good choice to release this song as a lead single. Btw. if you have not seen it yet, here is a nicely done video by a fan.

Bought from: hhv.de (fast shipping, safe packing, good customer service)

Tags: , , , , , ,