XVI WROCLAW INDUSTRIAL FESTIVAL

One of the most enigmatic projects in the panorama of industrial music of recent decades.  Autopsia is constantly present in the music scene, however, the members of the project always remain incognito. Long-living Autopsia (their roots date the late 70s) derives from the post punk alternative scene. Their activities flow between London and their homeland ex-Yugoslawia. The music can be described as absolute no-pop.  Monumental form of Autopsia includes elements of Neoclassicism, noise, beat, as well as some elements close to Bela Bartok and others, inspired by folk innovators of XX-century classical music. The project incorporated themes of religious and folk music. Their multidisciplinary activity comprises many structural elements. Autopsia's demonstrations involve instalations, linking sound, vision and text. Music is accompanied by radical graphic design, films, special philosophical manifests, series of commercial prints,  graphic art, posters, etc. The visuals expertly circle around the legacy of the XX – century visual artwork. Autopsia crosses politics and esthetics, at the same time exploiting totalitarian topics. The slogan 20th Century is Dead – proclaimed the death of XX - century modernist utopia, failure of the progress idea facing regress and ex-Yugoslavian war. In the 90s Autopsia relocates their activity to Prague, appearing in many galleries of Central and Eastern Europe. For the last few decades Autopsia's work has been marked by permanent experimentalism and indestructibility…

Sprengbagger 1010: Carl-Ludwig Achaz-Duisberg (1929)

Synopsis: Germany, 1929 – After developing the plans for a huge excavator for his coal mining company, the engineer Karl Hartmann yearns for the fresh air far from his smog-filled industrial world. He returns to the village of his childhood going back to his roots in the countryside, participating in rural life, working in his grand-mother’s mill and enjoying his free time with Camilla, the pretty girl from the nearby castle. However, his assistant, Olga Lossen, discovering the plans for his machine and recognising their importance, asks the board of directors to bring Hartmann back in order to build it.                                                                                                                                                   The engineer is torn apart by the two women and the two conflicting ways of life. At the very moment he has to make a choice, he discovers that the village was built on a giant coal mine. This revelation seals the fate of the whole community. The giant machine, like an apocalyptic creature begins its deadly task, swallowing up the very ground, destroying the natural environment and the castle, tearing people away from their collapsing homes and bringing death and ruin into the midst of what ought to have been an Eden.

Cent Ans de Solitude and Flint Glass offer a musical interpretation of the conflicts arising throughout the movie. The live performance consists of a mixture of their own unique approach to sounds, made up of electronic layers and including acoustic elements deriving from objects being transformed from their original functions, such as scratching metal, hitting stone or bending springs. These sounds mimic the devastating effects of the monstrous machine and the industrial world it comes from. This cinema concert immerses the viewer into a dense musical environment, backed by the melodic electronic lines which echo the cold and brutal sounds of metal.
:::::

Representatives of different generations of the industrial scene: Flint Glass alias Gwenn Trémorin and Cent Ans De Solitude aka Jean-Yves Millet – together in one special audiovisual plan. Jean Yves, active since the middle 80s, a representative of oldschool industrial – a musician, constructor of his own instruments, plus fluent in today's advanced technology and sounds, from IDM to rhythmic noise, digital drum’n’bass up to electronic ambient - Flint Glass. The French sound artists decided to work on a relatively unknown silent film Sprengbagger 1010 byCarl-Ludwig Achaz Duisberg from 1929.
The basis of it is exposing a dychotomy between nature and culture/ civilisation which is universal in history of culture. A fronde, between the Arcadia of life in harmony with nature, and a boundless strive for progress, up to extreme exploitation od human capacity. The industrial artists serve a musical interpretation of the conflict which is a central part of the film. Sprengbagger 1010 was recognized as a work of art ahead of its time. Live performance of Cent Ans De Solitude vs. Flint Glass will be a blend of their original music concepts and a different approach to material. Brutal striking of metal against metal will reflect a civilizational nightmare. We can predict the use of found objects, stone, metal, wires, springs – combined and counterpointed by catchy  electronic lines. Nature vs. Man. We should be prepared for audiovisual streaming of XX - century opposition. (WS)

Co-founder of SDGE and KoldHaus, a series of events in Łódź. For several years acting intensively on the dark independent scene in Poland and hosting parties and festivals throughout the country. Enthusiast of cold, mechanical dance and depressive disco.

Wiktor Skok - this name come to mind when you’re thinking: „Lodz’s underground”. Still present since the 80’s. Witnessed the decline of city's industry he became a true Stakhanov of bruitist music. Promoting numbers of D.I.Y. industrial electro parties, inviting bands and artists from abroad, organising punk shows in bunkers, warehouses tunnels and old factories he became one of the most active scensters of Poland’s underground. He promote machine culture and esthetics from the year zero. His discoteca output differs from pounding strong industrial beat, rhythm’n’noise, EBM just to electro punk and sweet ultra danceable electroclash. A great admirator of Expressionism and Film Noir, his musical tastes go from SPK, Esplendor Geometrico and Slogun by Front Line Assembly to John Foxx or Adult. Besides he is the singer of the most (in)famous polish industrial band Jude, publish his own zine Plus Ultra and try to make a living writing articles and revievs to some mags and actively DJing around. An explosive in an urban decay. 

Empusae is a synonym of intensity, which cannot be closed in rational frames of mechano-ethnic rhythm noise. Empusae jest an individual creation of Nicolas Van Meirhaeghe, also known as Sal –Ocin. A sound artist fascinated both by modern technology and non-European esoteric traditions - in Empusae he included rhythm and noise, as well as echoes of different magic rituals. Rhythmic sequence of noise and beat serve as a building block for the ritual. The sounds are supposed to become a tool for initiation, entrancing to move away from matter, towards transcendence. Empusae is a rhythmic a sonic impulse, a stimulus to go beyond the ratio. Empusae's music can be a rhytmic discharge, both danceable and ambient drone. Its sound leads through suburbian solid waste landfill towards spaces of wild nature, unrestrained by civilisation.

As the name suggests, Ghosts Of Breslau evokes mystery and atmosphere of the city in music, as well as spirits of the lost or fallen inhabitants. Early productions of the connected with Wroclaw Patryk Balawender's electronic - ambient project founded in 2001 were a sort of a lost chronicle, existing only in memory, ghostly metropolis. The soundscapes were supposed to conjure up the spirit of complicated and often tragic stories. In such a way the album trilogy was made: Peste, And Should The Spring Come... and Sacred Place. Later on Ghost Of Breslau drew his attention towards drone, low tones, intricately  constructed music. We may expect such a form of concert in Ghost Of Breslau's home city Wroclaw. 

A rhythmic machine, ein zwei - Hypnoskull  - the unbridled product of Patrick Stevens from Belgium. His method of expression is rhythmic industrial. Compulsory, regular plod, crushed by anarchic breaks. Harsh sounds, beat and its anti-regularity ideally reflect the artist's character. The essence of Hypnoskull can be summarised in famous words electronic music means war to us. The creation of Hypnoskull is however weeded out of any ideological ballast, which was stressed by the artist himself in the memorable manifesto The Power of Noise in 1997. Hypnoskull is one of the cornerstones of Ant-Zen label, meritorious for this type of music. It is a flagship act of festivals, such as Electroanschlag, Machinenfest or late-lamented Schlagstrom. Hypnoskull is a sane cynicism plus a doze of black irony; it embraces techno, hardcore, breaking tempo, serial beat and another break.  It introduces total rhythm just to break it the next moment, shock with an absurd sample and again attack mercilessly with a storm of synthetic beat.

Jaakko Vanhala comes from  Oulu in Finland. The definig characteristic of his music, released since 2011, is an extreme degree of metal elements exploitation. The music is based on skillfully composed and preserved  unprocessed, acoustic sound of sheet metal. The original sound comes from raw, unfiltered, shredded and razor-sharp clash of metal. Not without importance is also the acoustics of the room where the sound is recorded. The distinctive feature is lack of elaborate production and sophisticated studio processing. All the electronic accounterment (tape delay, analog echoes, filters etc.), usually applied in such cases, even enhances the experience of roughness. The effect is striking – violent, sharp, relatively un/pleasant to hear.

Kafel's origins reach the grey 80s. PRL (People's Republic of Poland). Their performance in the room of Riviera Remont in Warsaw during VII Out Of Control Festival in 1986, gave the project a place in history. A largely unknown duo from Szczecin (Darek Krzywanski, Andrzej Panfil) demonstrated a coherent program, comprising grey noise of magnetic tapes plus coarse electronics. Hundred-percent by home-made means, with only one possible method DIY / do-it-yourself, young musicians produced interesting music. Their method was based on simple beats and monotonous backing. The sound made by Kafel brilliantly reflects the place and atmosphere of the times when it was made. The band disappeared in the early 90s. Recently, Requiem Records reinstated their old material as a part of serii reminiscences series of Polish experimental music. A short history of Kafel group evidences how times of scarcity managed to deliver timeless values. 

Short performances of MAAAA are a form of annex for the surrounding reality . The sounds emited byz Maaaa consist of communication offcuts, reverberation of conflicts, affray etc. They are a literal reflection of confounded current scene. Functioning for over a decade, individual project of Sergei Hanolaien has evolved from short, rapid noise attacks to more complex forms. Currently, Maaaa is multilevel blocks of concentrated information plus noise.Based on damaged tape loops, enhanced sounds of physical objects and field recordings, contemporary concrete music. 

The Rongwrong group was established in 1990 by Maciej Piaseczyński, Marcin Kamieniak and Piotr Gałczyński. In the mid-90s, they made several albums, including - "Epiphany" and "The Story Of Alfons Czahor". These projects were released by the legendary Obuh Records and today they can be classified as a classic of Polish post-industrial and dark ambient. After a long break, Maciek Piaseczyński reactivated his activity on his own and re-started his adventure with searching for sounds. The material entitled "Krwy" was created. This project is electro-acoustic sound impressions narrating to the authentic events of the past. The material was released by Requiem Records. Currently, the group consisting of Maciej and François continues the path, transforming sounds into dense multi-phonic collages (pojawy) immersed in complex electronic structures. The concert in Wrocław will feature an audiovisual spectacle where the long-told "story of Alfons Czahor" will be intertwined with the mystery of metaphysical transformation, works of alchemical practices... This time, dark sound sequences will reveal a long-written but never-told story. The while concert will be enriched by the visualisations and video instalations created by Łukasz Pawlak.

In the early 90s. Sielwolf offered real industrialcore. A band from Frankfurt left a perfect, continental response to Ministry or Godflesh. In addition to the mentioned inspirations, they affixed mandatory doze of dirt, post avant-garde attitude, staight from kraut tradition. Sielwolf sampled Test Dept and Slayer. Somewhere between those poles one can find the concept of the band from Frankfurt encapsulated. Their masterful album was Metastasen, linking harshness of the borrowed riffs with sophistication. Waste machine - Sielwolf masterly crossed the experiment and simple plod; nightstorm (Nachtstrom) with yawp, meat with liquid crystal. Sielwolf's artwork often referred to the cinema, you can feel here Videodrome by David Cronenberg, as well as lonely huntings of Dirty Harry. Drone-like, dub ill-dustrial of the next album V was produced by Mick Harris of Scorn (former drummer of Napalm Death). In the middle 90s Sielwolf remained quiet for years. After a long period of absence they returned as Sielwolf &  Nam-Khar. This transformation brought looped spatial ritual music. The new music did not lose its industriality - intensity and power.

The Young Gods have been pushing the limits of sound for more than thirty years. They began as pioneers of industrial punk who flirted with surreal cabaret, and as sonic wizards they moved on to shamanize electro/techno music, all the while forging their own unique sound. In the process they became legends of the European scene.

Rewind...

During the winter of 1984-85, Franz Treichler and Cesare Pizzi redefined the grammar of rock using rudimentary machines. They were inhabited by an uncompromising, raw and poetic vision. Joined by drummer Frank Bagnoud, they fine-tuned the formula of the Young Gods. Their first concerts were like electroshocks. They featured voice, drums and sampler... and walls of guitar sounds, but without guitars: their music was unheard of. When the first eponymous album appeared in 1987, the British press heralded the phenomenon: "The Young Gods are the New Thing, they are what happens next ..." In the early 1990s, with Al Comet replacing Cesare Pizzi on samplers, the trio surfed the wave of alternative rock. The album “T.V. Sky”, with its single "Skinflowers" rotating on MTV, opened the doors of the United States. David Bowie, U2 and Nine Inch Nails began citing them as inspirations. Things accelerated at a frantic pace. So much so that it all became too much. In the early 2000s, the trio regrouped in Geneva, redefined its priorities, and moved closer to the effervescent electro / techno scene. Bernard Trontin replaced Üse Hiestand on drums.

... Fast forward!

The Young Gods celebrated their 20th anniversary in 2005 at the Montreux Jazz Festival, with the Sinfonietta orchestra of Lausanne and the singer Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr Bungle, Fantômas). They also spearheaded a myriad of multidisciplinary creations, for Swiss Expo.02, for the Geneva Science Museum, with anthropologist Jeremy Narby for “Amazonia Ambient Project”, or reinterpreting the legendary Woodstock concert of 1969… They also collaborated with alternative hip-hop group Dälek, and with the trio of improvisers Koch, Schütz & Studer. To date, The Young Gods have published more than 10 albums.

Unplug & replug

After releasing an acoustic album (“Knock on Wood”, 2008), which they took on tour, the trio turned their machines back on and recorded the fiery “Everybody Knows”  (2010), with the support of a fourth member, flesh-and-blood guitarist Vincent Hänni. Then they performed their first two albums on stage, “The Young Gods” and “L'Eau rouge”, with Cesare Pizzi returning to his original place on samplers.

So what does the musical future of The Young Gods look like now? It started to take shape around Treichler, Pizzi and Trontin doing a public residence at the Cully Jazz Festival in 2015. At the time of writing, the Young Gods are no doubt a step ahead of any prognosis….

For festival Franz Treichler, Cesare Pizzi and Bernard Trontin have prepared a repertoire based on the first two albums "The Young Gods" (1987) and "L'eau rouge" (1989).

Revival band, whose sense is to give a new lease of life to the classic Throbbing Gristle. Like any band of such type, Throbbing Wafle had one goal on mind: to play covers of the original group. Since Throbbing Wafle was launched, the souce project managed to reactivate. The real TG also happened to release new material and play a few memorable concerts. Their reactivation raised a series of discussions and controversy on today's industrial scene. Throbbing Wafle is less stimulating, it is a project of Marcel Zamenhof, known from other artistic undertakings, and Lukasz (Ash Neuro).TW focus on early work of old TG. However, with the use of modern equipment and technology they reinterpretate, in some sort of way, the original versions of Gristle. Wafle were supposed to remain a short-term initiative (the idea was to feature only four recitals). Despite rare performances, TW has developed into a project still active until today.