Efterklang - The Black Heart Procession - Olafur Arnalds - Crippled Black Phoenix - Long Distance Calling - Grails - Samavayo - Nils Frahm - Aucan

Amen Ra - Taint - Tephra - Leech - Elyjah - Robin Tom Ring - Kam:As - Formelwesen - Zatorkrev

Although I had so much time, my stupid mind woke up at 8 a.m., while the body wanted to rest at least till noon. Ok, we made an arrangement: brainwork in bed, with the notebook on the blanket and writing down the first day of FRICTION FEST ;) Before entering the festival area again I made a stop to celebrate the new opening of The Metal Shop. If you are looking for vinyl’s, stop by there ;)

:: pics ::

On time Italians :: AUCAN :: kicked off the second day. Not so many people showed up yet, was kind of strange music though. Keys, synth, effect gear and 3 dudes hectically twiddling the knobs… sounded like drum’n’beats with Techno and experimental sounds… If still sleepy you got awake at least.

Next up was Swiss act :: ZATOKREV :: a band I was looking forward since they play that special kind of all destroying and emotionally blasting Post Rock/Metal Neurosis are the godfathers of. But first they had to struggle through some technical problems, the amp of guitarist and singer Frederyk broke down. The guys were joking around, made a little a-capella performance and delivered a bass - drums solo…Finally things worked out now and ZATOKREV left scorched earth… um… stage.

:: NILS FRAHM :: now was one of the musicians I’ve never heard of before. Mr. FRAHM is a classic pianist and composer; strongly influenced by Russian composers (I love Shostakovich). He looked a little bit lost on this huge stage. His piano looked very old but utmost beautiful and so he played… a hauntingly beautiful and melancholic sonata *sighs*. His debut album entitled Wintermusik is now on my shopping list!

Afterwards :: FORMELWESEN :: stretched the time schedule till they had set up everything on stage. The band has a digital mascot who introduced into the show and also finished the performance. His graphic creators slipped into fancy dresses and supported the show with some action. The actual band performed hooded in grey sweaters. Great concept, but musically not really my cup of tea.

Next band :: SAMAVAYO :: was less complicated and way more rocking ;) Not really groundbreaking but much refreshing ;) I was just wondering, why one guitar player did not wear the band’s brand: a racer suit.

Without the least delay :: KAHM:AS :: went on. A bit more progressive again, more tricky but even more rocking. We gather momentum ;) In the meantime the bad sound on the second stage is clearly striking. Singing is mostly too quiet and there are speakers with slack joints (or is it always the same speaker?). Anyway, it’s cracking here and there…

Another outstanding instrumental band under the roof ov Neurot recordings was about to please its crowd :: GRAILS :: Here it is even more difficult to describe the music. As intensive as possible at least and deeply emotional. Sit down, close your eyes and just listen. With all senses. You can feel this music with every fiber.

Following singer/songwriter was :: ROBIN TOM RINK :: (who comes from my hometown?), who got supported by the band members of Elyjah. Here also problems with the singing appeared, some technical ones and some vocal. His voice obviously reached limits.

Aaaahhh, now finally a band after my fancy and for sure from my hometown :) :: LONG DISTANCE CALLING :: suddenly disappeared from the billing shortly before the festival. Instead an ominous special guest got announced… What has happened? The gents broke the 250 km rule of Wave Gotik Treffen (they are booked to play), which – note well – takes place in only 2 weeks! They in fact were allowed to play but not allowed to do any promotion for their show at FRICTION FEST. And now tell met that this isn’t outrageous nonsense! Really. However, time passed by quickly and the half hour of playing was just enough to play three songs, what did not hold LONG DISTANCE CALLING off to play as intensive and energetic as possible. The audience got enthused and granted rapturous applause ;)

Back again to the small stage. Same faces – different music ;) :: ELYJAH :: now played their own set: solid Indie Rock with beautiful melodies and a shoot melancholy.

And again I discovered an outstanding band! :: CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX :: made me standing there spellbounded. With closed eyes I devoutly listened to the music. So wonderful. So emotional. And much Pink Floyd-ish ;) I loved Troublemaker and even more Rise Up And Fight, songs full of piling up dynamics and thrilling melodies, which then eruptively unload. Awesome band!

Now it was upon time for :: LEECH :: a band I was much looking for since I missed them on tour with Long Distance Calling. Their current album Stolen View, together with their split with LDC are still on heavy rotation. Too bad that the Swiss mates had to play the small stage. It was pretty cramped and the guys had to watch out for not getting in each other’s way. They made the best out of it and delivered a fabulous show!

Till the ash takes us… ;) A certain volcano rules Europe these days and so it is even more surprising that Eyjafjallajökull did not stop the plans of :: OLAFUR ARNALDS :: and his string quartet. We can count ourselves lucky :) In the beginning of his show he asked the crowd to sit down for a more familiar atmosphere. A quick rustling and everybody sat down. The four ladies on violin and contrabass were placed in the middle of the stage, while Mr. Arnalds operated from the left side behind his keys and synths. Wonderful soundscapes, uplifting and beautifully orchestrated, with unobtrusive electronics, seeing the harsh beauty of Iceland in your mind’s eye… Oh, and finally some lights on stage ;)

Germany’s finest :: TEPHRA :: I did not see for ages. Let me think… it was in 207, together with Red Sparowes… Line-up has changed slightly. There is a new (live) bassist and I missed the keyboard player. TEPHRA played brand new songs but a new album is at least in the making. There sophomore A Modicum Of Truth dates back on October 2007. Dusty matter, eh? The sound was again… well… TEPHRA played with so much energy and aggression, who cares for minor sound deficiencies? Can be easily drown ;)

I don’t know what I had in mind after my I checked :: THE BLACK HEART PROCESSION :: on myspace. I, however, expected something different. Maybe I just confused all these new bands. What I found absolutely interesting was the fact that the guy played a handsaw with a bow and created some really cool tones ;)

It again became late and I was tired. Yep, I let things slide. I was still suffering a cold and the plan was to go back to the hotel to get some sleep. I had to be up early for my train back home and after the election in the afternoon a nightshift was awaiting me.
De facto I got stuck on the festival area with beer and red wine and listening to :: TAINT :: und :: EFTERKLANG ::, from afar. I had good talks instead ;) And showed up again, when the last band of the festival was about to enter the stage.

For some reason I had Doom in mind when :: AMEN RA :: rounded up this festival. Instead I got heavy, Neurosis-influenced Post Rock. Slow and sludgy but with unbelievable power. The lounge was totally crowded and no way to get close to the stage. I’d say, sound reached its negative maximum, besides, the Belgians played in darkness. Only three little penlights one might know from a garage lay anywhere down onto stage. Even worse, singer Colin H. Van Eeckhout performed with his back to the audience. All time, the other band members at least partly. Nice! Ok, I exchanged my cam for another glass of wine and just enjoyed the show ;)

Afterwards it got really, really late ;) Night (night?) was short and it was much difficult to get me butt up again in the morning. No rest fort he wicked… hehehe ;)
Now I hope all the efforts paid off and we will meet again on the second edition of FRICTION FEST next year :) Oh, and I have lots of recommendations for the next line-up… *laughs*