What a night, an evening to remember, one to be etched in the skull forever. Yep it was Skronktronic number whatever. A number so epic it lost count. I might still be a little off the world too, but as a true reporter on the case, a bit of toxins in the veins shouldn’t stop a honest report of such an event that this was.
What kind of an event was it? One for in the history books of course, as if it doesn’t end up in there we for sure might think it was just a pleasant feverish dream of some delirious kind. Why did I wake up with a couple of ‘best friends’ in bed? To find out I must recall my troubles memories and begin at the beginning:
It all started with the apparently super fesh collaboration by the gracious Unknown rockstar, the ballistic Ivy Nostrum and the fiercely presence of Ciara Mulholland. Holy smokes – it was good! I’ve never seen or heard a trio of this caliber making so much sense together. They must have been born out of different mothers but they truly did seem to be born for performing together. Even though I expect it to be improvised, the three individuals seem as if they rehearsed till perfection, executing a strong and seemingly well thought out show from start to finish. In their epic beginning they came across as if they had come with a certain hilarity, popping up from the back of the room through the audience with their own bunch of garbage and chaotically embracing them as instruments.
Within this trashy arrival in which Ivy Nostrum reluctantly tossed sound making trash around in a way that was edgy and unpredictable, to the perfect gently way how the Unknown Rockstar came up stage to stand next to a spare looking house plant , ringing a little mini Cymbal as if it was a delicate porcelain tea cup.
When all three of them united on the raised platform they settled in to deliver a stark scene in which the event space turned into a nuclear power plant and Ciara Mulholland the proud owner and defender of it all. She stood there with her fitting coat on, strong and devoted to embrace the nuclear energy of the great soviet times. The unknown rockstar rocked out while leaning back with his string instrument, as Ivy Nostrum cracked the code of noise crackles and Ciara embraced her power for a full on vocal set that took us straight into a nuclear reactor!
What a head trip! Looking at the mesmerised audience members at the height of this set I couldn’t help myself imagining them all with biohazard suits on! These three where solid and a great opener of a night in which the weird and the wonderful seemed to have found a nice meeting point in the middle.
While this trio had been doing their thing, a colourful upbeat character named Maryam Hashemi was keeping up he own review of the events on the evening. Unlike me and my crappy writing on a evil mobile device – She reported on the moment by dancing and painting! Completely captured by the sounds and music she simply let her brushes twirl colours over a designated place on the wall, turning the emptiness into strokes that reflects what the sounds would feed her, resulting into a painting that would slowly reveal itself as a visual report of this (by the Doll curated episode) of Skronktronic.
It didn’t take long before the illustrious mysterious ‘the oneiorologist’ revealed itself, ready to team up with Bettina Schroeder for a (what professional music writers would call) ‘a cow and sheep bell extravaganza’.
I was glad to see that these torturous bells had finally gained a more pleasant purpose, as their life as a instrument in Bettina Schroeder’s hands must have been a huge relief to some cows and sheep necks out there. Now they became part of a collaborative set in which at times you wouldn’t know who would be responsible for the sounds, clearly blending the talents of these two sound lovers together like bread and jam…
but at other times they clearly distinguished themselves from each other in order to form a pleasant noise drone set that took me away to green scenes that resembled to me a very high ‘the hills are alive with the sound of music’ environment, while the oneiorologist sparkled spontaneously a free jazz vibe in there to make the whole thing even more surreal than it already was.
I closed my eyes and thought about the idea of being on a field in which the two skronktronic music makers would perform this abstract droning material for the animals out there, a thing which could be seen and heard as a generous act that would attract many happy cows and sheep within this countryside of dreams. Super intriguing to say the least – even (or maybe more so!) to hear and see with my eyes open!
And yes, Maryam Hashemi danced and painted continuously, probably capturing this moment in time better than any of the words that i could come up with. Luckily i made some sneaky pictures so you could view her review of this evening as it progresses slowly into the realm of authentic performance art versus genius mental ward worthy epicness!
Yep, the moment that most attendees had been waiting for; a collaborative effort by The Doll and the famous Yol had came after this. First it was a solo version of Yol whose passionately and expressive antics easily proofed that you don’t need a lot to deliver an incredible set, as Yol and his palette of limited pieces of iron, chains and other random audible stuff was truly a force himself as the staring middle point of it all, letting his body dive into the sadness of Dead wales , clearly giving himself fully into the moment, in order to truly become a vocal-body-instrument as he channeled a entranced tragedy of words and noises from elsewhere.
After him it was up to The Doll to get completely into it. Which she did literally! Armed with her army of little amps and special microphones she embraced noise life in the most unusual way. Using a vinyl record and a magical pillow that could change colour by stroking it in opposite directions as a instrument, but also sticking one special mic deeply into her neck in order to deliver the most authentic way of ‘throat singing’ that I’ve ever heard.
My eyesight isn’t great so I wasn’t sure if she would have to actually open her mouth or that she miraculously could vibrate her vocal chords and magically amplify it through her neck, but let me tell you that Tibetan throat singers would have been probably quite amazed and impressed. She would top it off by singing like an enchanted chant that made my head fly away on a carpet all the way to the magical realms of mysterious India.
Than Yol and The Doll did a finale with a team effort that was thrilling and exciting. Together they filled each other vibes, amplifying their expression for a case of hidden teeth and fanatic character building! I doubt that Yol and The Doll actually needed more character to be build, as they where so incredible and out there that they might actually have pushed their characters to the limit! Amazing!
After this it was time for a certain Toxic Chicken to pop up while riding on an (as you do) actual chicken. Going straight for a relieving sensation that is all about the need to produce superglue, the poultry sticked sloppiness through the air onto the floor and craptop thanks to the help of a smelly ejaculation of cream. Almost efficiently killing off his own show while yet the most fun had yet to begin. Thanks to the help of maryam who quickly stopped her painting process to wipe the chicken feathers as well as the frozen device & with a quick restart, the set continued!
Hooray! with the help of a donated melodica and laptop filled with cheesy piano and organ sounds to freak out with, a cat keyboard and a microphone; the fun really seem to flourish from the point of view that I had been witnessing this concert from. Quirky melodies dipped in speed (only play the black keys and you can’t go wrong!) and feel positive that it’s a mutual exchange of fun for you and fun for me. It was a special day as on the evening itself a very special limited tape ‘best friends’ had been released through Dubbed tapes, which you can get (if you are lucky) over at the following friendly link:
https://dubbedtapes.bandcamp.com/album/best-friends
The headliner of the night was nobody less than NNJA RIOT delivering a spot on intoxicating set that came with enough militant electric rhythms to start a mini war with. She ordered her electronic machines to beep, squeak and hiss and she pushed these noises to dance inline like a bunch of granted wishes.
They bounced of the walls as her sound cracked the new river side open from the inside out, stomping away in a intoxicated daze in which admirers would have fainted if it didn’t had to come to an end thanks to strict curfew times of the venue. No ambulances had been needed to come down, although the music seemed to have fired up Maryam enough to violently finish her painting, revealing not just a pretty picture but most importantly a much better review of this unforgettable night than I could ever sketch in words.
Thanks The Doll, Rick, Skronktronic, Maryan Hashemi, Unknown Rockstar, Ivy Nostrum, Ciara Mulholland, Yol, NNJA RIOT, the oniologist, Bettina Schroeder, dubbed tapes, new river studios, the people who work there, the audience, mum and dad, the cat and dog, the birds in the sky …. you!
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Yeah I Know It Sucks 