Wrocław – a multicultural city, a city of masses and machines, monuments of history. A city that hosts a festival that brings it all together in a way that’s unvarnished, honest, intriguing, and truly unique. The 2021 edition is a complete summary of over 20 years of Industrial Art’s activity. Maciek Frett and Arkadiusz Bagiński, along with the people supporting them, have been creating for years, without respite, situations, a time, and a place where artists, bands, promoters of art, and all sorts of forms included in the very broad idiom of so-called Industrial Culture. This melting pot wouldn’t be complete without the fans – followers, who sometimes become active elements of this culture themselves, forming bands, creating art with audio-visual media, and fulfilling themselves by setting up labels and publishing music and periodicals.
The phenomenon which is Wrocław Industrial Festival is also about the place. The Gothic Hall, located in a former Dominican convent, is where the festival is held in the first week of November. The event is a kind of ritual for some people and for others – an opportunity to commune with similar individuals while listening to the music that brings them here. The Old Convent hosted most of the previous editions, too.
The broad range of subgenres presented during the previous editions of WIF is, to a large extent, the pillars of industrial culture, e.g. Brian Williams in the cult dark ambient behemoth of LUSTMORD, Arturo Lanz, who has been the person behind the project ESPLENDOR GEOMETRICO since early 80s, Dirk Ivens in his many guises as DIVE, KLINIK, SONAR, and ABSOLUTE BODY CONTROL, or the members of THROBBING GRISTLE performing as the duo CARTER TUTTI (Chris Carter and Cosey Fanni Tutti), SOISONG (the brainchild of Peter “Sleazy” Christopherson), PSYCHIC TV, led by Genesis P-Orridge. Also, there has been no shortage of extreme forms of expressions in the shape of MERZBOW, BRIGHTER DEATH NOW, RAMLEH, and many other ones worth remembering. Of course, you could make a long list and descriptions of each of the over 400 performers who have appeared in Wrocław over the years, but words cannot replace experiencing their art live. Among those many bands, there are some which returned from the state of nonexistence, many years of hiatus, especially for their concerts at WIF. The bands performing at the festival don’t only hail from the UK or USA, but also all parts of Europe, or remote places such as Asia or Australia. An important cog in the machine that is the Wrocław-based festival are concerts of what can be considered the pillars of the Polish scene: GENETIC TRANSMISSION, JUDE, SPEAR, NEMEZIS, SZELEST SPADAJĄCYCH PAPIERKÓW, or JOB KARMA, a project co-created by WIF organisers. The line-ups also include projects with a few years of experience as well as those just starting out, each interpreting the industrial idiom in their own way, be it in the form of ambient, rhythmic sequences, or neofolk chants. There is no limitation; what counts is sincerity and intensity.
Wrocław Industrial Festival is not only about concerts, but also exhibitions, lectures, film screenings, and a space to exchange ideas. The festival itself has gone beyond the walls of one place, presenting part of its offering in gallery spaces, a place of religious worship, i.e. a synagogue, or the Old Mine in Wałbrzych. Each concert evening ends with sets of DJs, who, just like the preceding performers, showcase a wide range of styles from danceable guises of EBM, TECHNO INDUSTRIAL, and the like, all the way through POS TPUNK, NEOFOLK, and SYNTH POP, to POWER ELECTRONICS and ANGST POP.
The fact that the Festival is rooted in the fabric of the city seems natural today, bearing in mind the past 20 years of its existence. For many participants, including yours truly, it’s half a lifetime. Myself a resident of London for 10 years, it was only in Wrocław that I had the opportunity to see bands and artists that I’d never thought I would hear, let alone have a conversation with. WIF is one of the few places and moments where industrial culture in its full sense is evolving and doing well.
The phenomenon which is Wrocław Industrial Festival is also about the place. The Gothic Hall, located in a former Dominican convent, is where the festival is held in the first week of November. The event is a kind of ritual for some people and for others – an opportunity to commune with similar individuals while listening to the music that brings them here. The Old Convent hosted most of the previous editions, too.
The broad range of subgenres presented during the previous editions of WIF is, to a large extent, the pillars of industrial culture, e.g. Brian Williams in the cult dark ambient behemoth of LUSTMORD, Arturo Lanz, who has been the person behind the project ESPLENDOR GEOMETRICO since early 80s, Dirk Ivens in his many guises as DIVE, KLINIK, SONAR, and ABSOLUTE BODY CONTROL, or the members of THROBBING GRISTLE performing as the duo CARTER TUTTI (Chris Carter and Cosey Fanni Tutti), SOISONG (the brainchild of Peter “Sleazy” Christopherson), PSYCHIC TV, led by Genesis P-Orridge. Also, there has been no shortage of extreme forms of expressions in the shape of MERZBOW, BRIGHTER DEATH NOW, RAMLEH, and many other ones worth remembering. Of course, you could make a long list and descriptions of each of the over 400 performers who have appeared in Wrocław over the years, but words cannot replace experiencing their art live. Among those many bands, there are some which returned from the state of nonexistence, many years of hiatus, especially for their concerts at WIF. The bands performing at the festival don’t only hail from the UK or USA, but also all parts of Europe, or remote places such as Asia or Australia. An important cog in the machine that is the Wrocław-based festival are concerts of what can be considered the pillars of the Polish scene: GENETIC TRANSMISSION, JUDE, SPEAR, NEMEZIS, SZELEST SPADAJĄCYCH PAPIERKÓW, or JOB KARMA, a project co-created by WIF organisers. The line-ups also include projects with a few years of experience as well as those just starting out, each interpreting the industrial idiom in their own way, be it in the form of ambient, rhythmic sequences, or neofolk chants. There is no limitation; what counts is sincerity and intensity.
Wrocław Industrial Festival is not only about concerts, but also exhibitions, lectures, film screenings, and a space to exchange ideas. The festival itself has gone beyond the walls of one place, presenting part of its offering in gallery spaces, a place of religious worship, i.e. a synagogue, or the Old Mine in Wałbrzych. Each concert evening ends with sets of DJs, who, just like the preceding performers, showcase a wide range of styles from danceable guises of EBM, TECHNO INDUSTRIAL, and the like, all the way through POS TPUNK, NEOFOLK, and SYNTH POP, to POWER ELECTRONICS and ANGST POP.
The fact that the Festival is rooted in the fabric of the city seems natural today, bearing in mind the past 20 years of its existence. For many participants, including yours truly, it’s half a lifetime. Myself a resident of London for 10 years, it was only in Wrocław that I had the opportunity to see bands and artists that I’d never thought I would hear, let alone have a conversation with. WIF is one of the few places and moments where industrial culture in its full sense is evolving and doing well.
Jakub S.