Wave Gotik Treffen 2015 Preview

[dropcap]Wave Gotik Treffen [/dropcap] 2015 is nearly upon us (May 22nd-25th), and the lineup is fantastic this year.  Headliners like Front 242, The March Violets, DAF, Fields of The Nephilim are joined by newer bands such as Keluar, The Present Moment, Agent Side Grinder, Schonwald, King Dude, Ash Code, and way too many others…more than one can logistically see over the course of the the long Pentacost weekend in Leipzig.

Though all these bands do not necessarily share a musical background, there is one thing that unites many of them: the good ol’ analog synthesizer.  Newer bands are taking their 80s influences combined with today’s technologies, which include affordable Synths and production techniques, to create something that something that crosses over what you would expect from a standard gothic audience.

Bands like Keluar, for example, are featured in Vice’s Noisey—and this reflects the current Zeitgeist.  This is an era of music which marries the Berghain techno crowd with a growing resurgence in interest in acts such as Nitzer Ebb, Psyche or Front 242. Perhaps the most interesting act to displaying this interesting neu-wave is Orphx – A canadian techno producer, heavily influenced by Industrial music and EBM.

Indeed, there are many interesting blends of guitars and synthesizers appearing at WGT this year, and the line between what is Post-Punk, mainstream, techno, and underground is even harder to distinguish—and I think this makes this years WGT one of the freshest in years.  Oh yeah…did we mention The March Violets, Fields of The Nephilim, Twisted Nerve, The Frozen Autumn, Clan of Xymox, DAF, and Front 242 are playing?  We did?  Well then…

See footage from Rockpalast highlighting WGT 2014 (above), and our picks for bands to see during WGT 2015 (below)

THE MARCH VIOLETS (Post-Punk): Legends from Leeds with ties to The Sisters of Mercy. Everyone at at Goth Club has danced to their hit “Snake Dance” at least once.

FRANK THE BAPTIST (Post-Punk): Berlin’s finest Post-Punk heroes return to WGT to promote their latest album “As the Camp Burns”

THE FROZEN AUTUMN (DARK WAVE): From Turin Italy, The Frozen Autumn are one of the most oldschool Dark Wave bands active today, and are incredible live!

ESCAPE WITH ROMEO (Gothic Rock/Post-Punk): A Classic German Post-Punk band, best known for their hit song “Somebody”.

FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM (Gothic Rock): The UK Gothic Legends are celebrating their 30th Anniversary—any they did the whole occult thing way before you did, oh yeah, and Carl McCoy is a Steampunk Cowboy, and sorry, but only he can make that look cool!

TWISTED NERVE (Post-Punk): Healing from Edinburgh, Scotland they one of the most underrated and best gothic punk bands around.

CLAN OF XYMOX (Dark Wave): The legendary act (and 4AD alumni) that caused Jon Peel to coin the genre “Dark Wave”. Always a WGT favorite.

THE EXPLODING BOY (Post-Punk): There must be something in the water over in Sweden.  The Exploding Boy are a fantastic Post-Punk band not to be missed.

SOROR DOLOROSA (Gothic rock / Post-Punk) From Toulouse, France, Soror Dolorosa create melodic Gothic Rock with oldschool roots.

SCHONWALD (Post-Punk/Synth): Listening to Schonwald, I find myself lost in a forest of noise.  Their music branches out from being more than synth, more than shoegaze, and more than just a boy and a girl.

TOMMI STUMPFF (NDW/Electro Punk): German cult electronic solo act from Düsseldorf. Co-founder of
one of the most important german punk bands, the KFC.

DISTEL (Angst Pop / Industrial): Newcomers from the Netherlands, covering the harsher side of Electronic music. Their debut album HXXX is easily one of the best records of the last year.

FRONT 242 (EBM): The belgian EBM pioneers return to WGT to bring you Happiness, you modern angels.

DAF (NDW/EBM): Probably the most copied EBM bands worldwide. This will be one of your last opportunities to see those pioneers live, since they will disband again after a series of final gigs.

CRASH COURSE IN SCIENCE (Minimal/Experimental): The US Minimal pioneers and underground cult sensation will return to Germany to play one of their rare gigs.

OWLS (Neofolk/Experimental): Side project of Tony Wakeford of Sol Invictus/Ex-Death in June for those who like dreaming of greater times while drinking german wine.

MONOLITH (Industrial/Noise): Absolute Body Control’s, The Klinik’s and a whole shitload of projects-(co)-founder Erik van Wonterghem will assault your ears with droning noises and harsh beats.

MINUIT MACHINE (Dark Wave/Synth Wave): After the split of Phosphor, two thirds of the band reunited as Minuit Machine to continue the path they had undertaken: Gloomy, warm synth wave par excellence.

KELUAR (Synth Wave): The post-Linea Aspera project of Zoe Zanias and Schwefelgelb’s Sid Lamar brings you solemn and psychedelic dance tracks.

FIXMER/MCCARTHY (Techno/EBM): Techno pioneer Terrence Fixmer and Nitzer Ebb’s Douglas McCarthy reunite once again for WGT to make those with a soft spot for dancy music happy. Midnight techno for midnight people.

KING DUDE (Neofolk/Americana): King Dude sings songs about demons inside and outside his physical existence, drenched in whiskey and heavily influenced by american outsider folk and country music.

THE PRESENT MOMENT (Dark Synth Pop): LA-based Synth pop band The Present Moment, heavily influenced by 80s synth
greatness.

ORPHX (Techno/Industrial): Since Techno isn’t a no-no anymore, the Wave Gotik Treffen occassionally invites new protagonists of that scene: Canadian artist ORPHX will please those who like their music dark, dancy and hard.

AGENT SIDE GRINDER (Post Punk/Industrial): After the release of their latest album “Giants Fall”, the Swedish Electonic Post Punk act made a leap forward, both in quality and popularity. That show will be packed and surely one of this year’s highlights!

SOL INVICTUS (Neofolk/Dark Folk): Tony Wakeford’s other project to play at WGT. This will be a special show: The band will perform the whole “In The Rain” album, considered as one of Sol Invictus’ masterpieces!

ASH CODE (Dark Wave): Ash Code released their fantastic debut album “Oblivion” last year, which has sold out quickly. The band is a must-hear for those who like dark, catchy tunes!

DUPONT (EBM): This sounds like Ian Curtis collaborating with a really, really good EBM producer!

AUTOMELODI (Synth Wave): Xavier Paradis’ Automelodi has delivered two really strong albums and an extremely engaging live performance.