A brief look at the Democrazy calendar (http://www.democrazy.be/en/agenda/) shows a motley collection of alternative musical evenings. Sunday evening, February 8th 2009 at 8 p.m., the Neue Slowenische Kunst helmsman Laibach came round again on the list, to rage in Ghent (Belgium). I remember a concert in the Vooruit room some years ago, where the totalitarian music art of the Slovenian collective released its anarcho-industrial noises. With pounding and sturdy beats, gnawing indoctrinating behaviour and an overwhelming Wagnerian atmosphere, that show was an ensemble of Volk-songs and industrial trance acts. Now, the audience could expect something completely different in the Minnemeers room: The KunstDerFuge tour was inaugurated in Belgium under the discerning mind of two Corazine employees.
LAIBACHKUNSTDERFUGE appeared in late 2008 as a full length album. It is the interpretation of Bach's last breathing. According to legend German classical colossus Johann Sebastian Bach finished his last opus in his final hour. The Laibach collective watched over Bach's deathbed and reinterpreted BWV 1080, Die Kunst der Fuge. Bach on the one hand did not make clear what the specified, leading instrument should be for his fugue masterpiece. On the other, the repetitive structures just fit in nicely in the Laibachian monumental, monotonous, electronic and reiterating music style. The outcome of this story is a fine interpretation in the shape of a combined play of industrial and classical tones. The computer, techno and noise samples form a unique high-spirited court chapel. I wasn't really sure that everyone in the Minnemeers hall knew what to expect. Everyone who counted on the presence of enigmatic front man Milan Fras, bringing the atmost grotesque, ludicrous, jet very enjoyable and accessible droning and thuds, could be disappointed.
I'm really not an expert on classical music art, but one of my all time favourite tracks is String Quintet in C minor KV 406 of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. I do like the sound of Bach too, but here again: I'm not a connoisseur. But I do am a huge Laibach lover, so I was eagerly looking forward to this imagery concert. And so were the other music lovers at the Minnemeers; a multicoloured mix of weird looking people, overaged avant-gardists and alternative industrial fans. Before entering the music hall, in the immediate surroundings of the Laibach touring bus I bumped into charismatic NSK-inspirer Ivan Novak. Speaking of a successful baptism! After some time in the waiting hall (at the box office, actually), we were welcomed in a classy, spacious lounge room, surrounded with a Bach warming up. We walked through his musical life cycle and caught a glimpse of the Baroque geniality: A pretty tasteful and extensive introduction to the party on the proscenium.
The first song "Contrapunctus 1" created a sublime and weird atmosphere. The fugues were brilliantly captured by the computer engineers, and the drum work definitely was no superfluous luxury! What a great pouring out of electronic noises. Sharp, fast, but short. Lovely. But it was the second track "Contrapunctus 2" that gave a repetitive alienating dash: This sound really was the concert opener. Some song parts of the set list were far more chaotic, but the whole always stayed harmonic. "Contrapunctus 6, a 4 im Stile francese" and "Contrapunctus 8, a 3" worked as a relaxing point in the show, but soon the drum work and scratching duels fuelled up the audience with techno parts. The visuals were sober, eye-catching, but too little controversial for Laibach. But the classical concept demanded to make a firm stand. The show was ended with organist play ("Contrapunctus 15, canon per Augmentationem in Contrario Motu", guided with cross-visuals (Greek and Roman crosses, swastikas and Byzantine signs, orthodox tokens and religious crucifixes) and deejay SVN concluded the music evening with a perfect flow.
The Minnemeers hall should have been a cosy room with agreeable seats for everyone (let us just forget the few snug corners). In that way, the electronic classical interpretation of Johann Sebastian Laibach (in the outfit of the pseudonymous Dachauer, Keller, Saliger and Eber) would have received a far more greater hearing. But we can't complain! The enthousiasm of the highly skilled musicians, following a puzzled out composition, was appealing and excellent. The daring and atraditional marriage between classical music and electronic industrial trance was more than superb. It takes the Laibach fan back to the avant-garde roots, and even beyond that! What would Bach think about this? He also wanted to take music outside the borders of the traditional schemes. He certainly would be astonished and full of appreciation. Like I was!
Tracklist:
- Contrapunctus 1
- Contrapunctus 2
- Contrapunctus 3
- Contrapunctus 4
- Contrapunctus 5
- Contrapunctus 6, a 4 im Stile francese
- Contrapunctus 7, a 4 per Augment et Diminut
- Contrapunctus 8, a 3
- Contrapunctus 9, a 4 alla Duodecima
- Contrapunctus 10 a 4 alla Decima
- Contrapunctus 11, a 4
- Contrapunctus 12, Canon alla Ottava
- Contrapunctus 13, Canon alla Duodecima in Contrapuncto alla Quinta
- Contrapunctus 15, canon per Augmentationem in Contrario Motu
Link:
http://democrazy.be/
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AUTHOR: Hamirubi
Hamirubi is becoming a Corazine-senior. He has, besides his obsessive dedication to the French néo metal scene, a very healthy interest for low profile underground music to the most commercial songs. You can also find him reading Benelux literature, riding his bike, drawing/collecting comic books and writing local history in his spare time.