Almost a week and a half ago there was another wicked Gifgrond edition that had the Dutch city named tillywood and its surroundings trembling on its foundations. We might not have seen this happening at a daily episode of the news, but trust me the shakes have thrilled many lives until they had turned upside down. My one certainly was, expanded from the ceiling for quite abit until reality kicked in a few days ago. It was probably Christmas Eve until the toxins from the music extravaganza that Gifgrond had to offer had finally left my body and soul (for a bit). In any case it left it enough to put on my reporters hat and pen up whatever that I could remember from this party of parties.
Before the brain-damage really kicked in it was DRIVING WITH PENELOPE that placed its enigmatic music on the scenery for a perfect opening of this night to remember. It was pretty amazing how the artist took everyone’s attention with his ability to bring his introvert intimacy to the outside world. His voice was soothed, often mutated through the help of a magnificent vocoder, but always having that sensitivity going on that only the purest expressionistic artist have.
He was truly devoted to his songs, faced his shyness by conquering it with songs that sounded purely intelligent in all it’s intimate ways. His anarchistic look along with his face hidden behind dark hoody and cap revealed true personality and individuality through his music. With his output coming at you with sentimental beautiful melodies, triggered by guitar, laptop, keys and a sniff of unrefined certain sadness he had me single handily trapped in a delicious delicate sounding emotional state. This was a artist truly exposing his deeper core to the masses and didn’t shy away from opening his soul through music at any time; I have the highest respect to this man.
I might be wrong as things always get a little blurry at Gifgrond reports, but I did believe it was RYSKINDER AND THE NEW AGE that came up to rock out on the Gifgrond grounds from their deeply rooted guts, with their wild hairs all the way to their toes (not literally) they made everyone hyped up and sweaty. They made their music performance look like a case of serious business, with their baselines going through bones and skulls it was an easy party pleaser for anyone that had gathered inside.
The three band formula gave a true showcase of what they are capable off, bringing somewhat lush shoe gaze-ish songs to the ears under a groove that wouldn’t wanted to leave you alone. You could see and hear the tightness in their sound, going with serious detail for that special ‘zone’ that only music of this kind can give you.
After this many ears became out of order thanks to a bulge of noise that didn’t go for easy ways out. This was the work of a fierce looking DEEAT PALACE who produced material that felt to me like a washing machine of rhythmic harsh noise, something strongly aimed at you through the artist who delivered it as a mistress of dark sound waves. She puked and vomits through words and the crowd simply went in a mentalist state of psychedelic torture and pleasure; sometimes the lines of these two are blurry indeed. Her attitude to these harsh industrial sounds and the total destruction of them all became like a gigantic blast, ones that made me think of the early days far towards the Big Bang of the creation of the universe.
Was this artist creating universes or destroying them? We will never know because many ears and minds became perforated as the artist in all her pure concentration triggered all the right tools, working together in order to become one of the most loudest earthquakes inducers ( ever! )performed on the Gifgrond grounds. Her physically chainsawing the premises with a glorious amount of microphone feedback must be the material that sound engineer’s nightmares are made out of. It is a violence that got all the aggression out and left you more fit and sweaty than attending a sportschool for any game of silly squash. This was a performance not for the faint hearted but geez what was it good!
ROCCOW brought something entirely different to the evening. In fact it was the light and happiness. With a quirky personality he drove his jolly gameboy sounds like a feel good maestro all through the speakers, bringing the festive vibes with melodic cheekiness, friendly fires and handsome bleeps that formed unforgivable technoid dance floor crackers. It got at times even surprisingly funky as he enthusiastically showcased his chip tune real life mastery skills, but also his love for this act that doesn’t take square-waves ever so lightly.
The true enjoyment sits in the eye of the beholder & with ROCCOW he had himself completely soaked into it; if big charismatic auras had been made out of gameboys he had basically a whole army of gameboys flying around him. In fact he might be a human game boy as he definitely deserves and earns that title! The crowd went nuts with his upbeat happy clappers of nostalgic banging dance floor bangers! Nobody could know that even a few hours ago he had teached a whole bunch of people a private ‘how to make gameboy music’ course! Blimey this man has unstoppable love and power!
If I hadn’t messed up the entire report, I believe it was dj DMDN‘s turn to bring down the night with his excellent deejay skills. He had pulled out a diverse set of records out of his neat looking beard and slammed the desk like no other could or would do. Setting the place once more on fire, making everybody fly high and hotter than hell; saving them all a walk (or ride) home!
It was indeed a night that took its toll, ears had been beeping and bleeping from the artists and their unforgettable sounding sets, yet I can only say that the proper damage was like always well worth it! Can’t wait for next gif!
http://gifgrond.nl/program/
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All credits for the photographs in this report go to Frank Janssens.
Also Love to T and Linda Pinda for bringing extra Eyes and ears..
Yeah I Know It Sucks 