photosindarkness
Band Presentations : Happy to announce Sono and Honeymoon Cowboys to complete our Line Up
Der Klinke takes place of A slice of life
INTO THE DARKFEST DAY 1
PARTIKUL started as band 3 years ago in Brussels. In June 2019 they recorded 4 songs, a EP ( VENUS VIRUS ) released in October 2019, before the pandemia. In spring 2021 they recorded their first full length album ‘ Related Memories ‘ and it came out in October on their own label ‘ Exit does not exist Records ‘ . They had the chance to shoot their first video ‘ Curse ‘ in a manor from a friend and it was a great experience. Just playing some music together and being creative as a couple is already something special .
They are influenced by bands such as : Siouxie, Boy Harsher, the soft moon, Moon duo, Tuxedomoon, Nitzer Ebb, the Smiths…
FACTHEORY A band build with the ashes of many more or less alternative groups of the 80s, 90s and 2000s. Factheory represents a successful compromise between a darkwave with unstoppable melodies and a postpunk rock with electro trends.Factheory are referring to the legendary FACTORY label that saw the birth of Joy Division, a majorinfluence for all members of the band, even though the musical style evolved into an almost romantic melodic postpunk with influences as diverse as Fad Gadget, The Stranglers or Wire. Singing in turn in English and French following the harmonic inspirations of the songs, Factheory’s repertoire seems to
THE ULTIMATE DREAMERS are a post-punk / cold wave band conceived in 1986 in Lessines (Belgium), birthplace of René Magritte, the surrealist painter. Frédéric (vocals), Joël (synthesizers) and Laurent (bass) launched as a trio on a bed of cold wave and post-punk. The frigid, organic tones tainted with melancholy melodies maybe catchy, maybe verging on the dissonant, serve as a backdrop for themes dominated by raw dreams, distressed love and social criticism. Thirty years on, Covid oblige, the recordings resurface After selection and mastering, 11 tracks were to be selected under the banner of Live Happily While Waiting For Death, released on September 26, 2021.
The magic is back. The Ultimate Dreamers are reverie no more, they are back in a new configuration: Bertrand on guitar, Frédéric on vocals and Joël on bass with Sarah (Turquoise, ex-Les Panties, ex-Empereur) on keyboards. The repertoire is exhumed, resuscitated and enriched with new creations…
The INSTANT LAKE are composed of Gennaro De Lena (vocals and lyrics), Dario Amoroso (synth/drum machine), Pierluigi Michele Grauso (guitars) and Carlo Landolfi (bass guitar). Originally founded as an experimental duo by Dario Amoroso and Pierluigi Grauso in early 2015 in Caserta – Italy, to which the remaining members were subsequently added.
From debut the band performs live in several italian and european cities including: Naples, Bologna, Milan, Wien, Paris, Rennes, Bruxelles, Prague, Malta etc.
ASH CODE is an Italian dark wave band founded in 2014 in Napoli by Alessandro Belluccio, Claudia Nottebella (keyboard) and Adriano Belluccio (bass). Ash Code Music consist of a whole spectrum of genres like dark wave, post-punk, synth-pop en EBM.
The two initials of the band, A and C match those of the bandmembers. They chose “Ash” as hommage to the Vesuvius, the active volcano near Napoli and to Daniel Ash. “Code” was added to evoke something indefinite but existentialistic. Their music is heavily influenced by early 80s songs by bands like Depeche Mode and The Sisters of Mercy, a sound dedicated to the drum machine, powerful synthesizers and benefiting from the versatility of a Fender VI bass, a formula previously used by New Order and The Cure.
HONEYMOON COWBOYS
Honeymoon Cowboys ‘Liberating The West.’
Dark and gloomy sounds from the Wild West with great passion and a touch of joy.
Honeymoon Cowboys is a Belgian band formed by Antonio Palermo (siglo xx) with TomVan Troyen as singer (Spiral of Silence)
After a try out at Eurorock 2015 they deceided to keep the band going and released liberating the West. Then there was a break because they toured with Siglo XX but now honeymoon cowboys are back and finalizing their new album as we speak.
LENE LOVICH BAND. She scored her biggest hit in 1979 with “Lucky Number”, which became a new wave classic; this launched her career. In 1980 Lene Lovich acted in the cult film Cha-Cha alongside Nina Hagen and Herman Brood. In 1986 she made the protest song “Don’t Kill the Animals” with Hagen, against the use of laboratory animals. After a long silent period during the nineties, she released a new album. Lene Lovich has a heavy alto voice, which she combines with falsetto. She plays the saxophone on many of her songs; her songs are often whimsical and unpredictable in terms of melody.
The well-known chorus “Uh-oeh-uh-oeh” from “Lucky Number” is a striking illustration of how she plays with vocal registers. Some orchestrations seem bizarre at first; her songs generally have a somewhat eccentric character.
INTO THE DARKFEST DAY 2
WE ARE OOH PEOPLE are a Belgian 5 headed band using influences of punk, electro, dance, techno, … covered with a creamy layer of melancholic new wave. They define a new sound but the dark sounds of the good old ’80 always hit the surface. What started as a duoproject in 2011 quickly turned into a 5 member band with 2 singers (male/female), computer and analogue synths, guitar and bass guitar.
After releasing several EP’s, a full album on vinyl and online platforms was born.
We Are Ooh People created a mystical and intriguing live acht with a big light cube on stage where the full band plays inside. With visual effects of light and smoke they create an atmosphere of alienation and mystery.
SUBATOMIC STRANGERS is a Belgian female-fronted band from Roeselare, West Flanders. They bring you synth rock and new wave, so an all-round eighties vibe is very much alive! Subatomic Strangers’ catchy synth melodies, spacey guitar riffs, tight basslines, groovy drums and soothing vocals open up a gateway that will lead you to another dimension!
ERATO is a Belgian cult gothic rockband. After a pause for a couple of years they are back to celebrate their 30th anniversary with us on stage in Zonhoven.
DER KLINKE
It all started in 1985 when Geert Vandekerkhof (Chesko)decided to turn his brick garden house into a café to celebrate his 16th birthday. “De Klinke” quickly became legendary and, despite being completely illegal, it became known all over the country. It was fun to make music myself and Chesko also started writing lyrics to some songs that Melissa Vandewalle had given and started composing. De Klinke’s regular customers also included the musicians of Red Zebra and that is how Sam Claeys (bass) and Chris De Neve (Drums) were brought in. The live sound sounded quite different from that first CD “Square Moon”, so it was decided to record the second CD “The Second Sun” with everyone together and so the band continued to grow and evolve. But the typical Der Klinke sound that was there from the very beginning was retained. 15 years later, the group is recording their sixth album and they continue to surprise again and again.
THE FOREIGN RESORT. Hailing from Copenhagen, Denmark, The Foreign Resort combines the shadowy mystique of The Cure’s pornography era with a driving production aesthetic akin to LCD Soundsystem. Intricate reverberated guitar lines glide over motoric bass and powerful drumming, while tight and sincere vocals command your attention.
The Foreign Resort has toured relentlessly, addicted to the allure of America’s lost highways, sharing bills with bands like Cold Cave, Killing Joke, The Soft Moon, She Past Away and many more. Since 2010, the band has been rigorous in playing over 500 shows in North America and Europe performing at various festivals including SXSW, Iceland Airwaves, Canadian Music Week, POP Montreal, Nocturnal Culture Night, Wave Gotik Treffen and W- Fest.
EMPATHY TEST was founded in 2013 in London (UK) by childhood friends Isaac Howlett (vocals/songwriting) and Adam Relf (production/composition). The pair captivated listeners around the world with their debut track Losing Touch. Since then, Empathy Test has self-produced and released three stunning albums: Losing Touch (Remastered) and Safe From Harm in 2017 and Monsters in 2020.
Empathy Test’s “big dramatic sound swoons ecstatically between the nostalgic and immediate” (KCRW), earning them comparisons to classic acts like Depeche Mode and A Flock of Seagulls, as well as modern synth-pop acts like CHVRCHES, Purity Ring, and Hurts.
Despite being offered more than their fair share of record deals, Empathy Test has opted to go their separate ways, building a legion of devoted fans while still managing to earn features from Vice on HBO, MTV’s Catfish , Netflix, Fresh on the Net, BBC Introducing, Clash, LoBF, Earmilk, PopMatters and many more.
SONO
F. Sikorski and M. Weiland have been producing music together since 1995 and are pursuing careers in the music industry. F. Sikorski is a sound engineer and runs a music studio, “Maratone Music”. Madonna, Britney Spears and Kelly Clarkson, among others, have recorded and mixed there. M. Weiland is active in the commercial music business in labels and sales.
L. A. Salomon, originally a drummer, singer and guitarist for a large number of local bands in Hamburg, joined in 2001, marking the Foundation of SONO. He works as a composer and musician and runs the funk and rock band project Jeroboam, among others.
Musically, SONO can be broadly categorized as pop, with strong influences from techno, house and electro. This musical diversity has provided SONO with a significant number of fans from different music scenes
SHE PAST AWAY was founded in 2006 by Volkan Caner and İdris Akbulut, after having previously played in smaller local bands. She Past Away was the first band for both of them in which they decided to sing in Turkish. In their own words, this was because they could express themselves more naturally in their mother tongue than in English. The band’s success abroad is sometimes dismissed as an ‘exotic bonus’, because they stand out as an alternative band from a conservative country. The band is often referred to as one of the representatives of an alternative Turkey, but Öztürkcan calls this only an illusion. Although the success abroad does, according to him, ensure that the band is tolerated in its home country, they do not feel they contribute to any change in living conditions in the country itself. In 2019, the band’s third album, Disko Anksiyete, was released. To promote this album, the band toured North America, among other places.
(source: Intothedark)
