12th Edition - 5 / 9 October 2010.
Like each year, schools comeback in lower Normandie is to be done in Caen's area with the famous festival : Nordik Impakt.
This year, no coldness (usually the festival is held in early november) but rather a bright sun for the closing week-end. Maybe we could go with just one shirt? Anyway, we are still in Normandie and in evening time, so for this Nordik Incity (friday night), better plan to get sick the day after with the big closing night. This year, I went even the day before - I've been told about an off festival in town, plus a Tsugi night at Le Cargö (the city's gig venue for nowadays music), and I didn't need anything else to make me arrive one night earlier.
We arrived at Le Cargö and Adam Kesher is already done (what a shame!) and morevover Goose is already playing for several minutes apparently. The program was announcing a new project for the Belgium quartet and quite a lot of changes for their new album Synrise. Well, after two/three tracks, we can only say that it is still the same thing : rather edgy synthesizers added to a few guitare tunes from a rather insignificant pop. That is, it won't be today that I will start to like this kind of music.
In the small room next door, Mr Maqs is mixing, not so badly, and all styles; it makes you want to dance, it's fresh. We go again on the other side, the trio electronic-rock from Marseille "Nasser" will start. The specialised press announced that they might be the new Lcd Soundsystem... The journalist in question might be right, a very edgy music, drums, guitar and dj and here we go for one hour and a quarter of pleasure, a good discovery in short. We go back to the club scene, Mr Maqs keeps delivering his good little music, and it's still very fresh but it is rather late, and tomorrow the big ceremony will take place, so let's keep our strength and go to bed...
Let's get down to business, let's talk about the closing night.
Tonight we can't be late : electro's pope and main artist of the night is playing at 10.30 sharp. Maybe you already understood of who I'm talking about? I meant Sir Aphex Twin : aka Richard D. James for those who know him less. There are already a lot of people in the car park : bottles up, cans everywhere, and various sounds coming from cars as soundtrack. It is already 11 and I have to take my ticket at the invitational stand, but tiny problem : there is a quite long queue who doesn't seem to move very quickly. Thirty minutes later, there it is, I have my precious paper and I can go straight to the big stage to assist to the genius' show. No time for a drink, or tickets even, I have to be in the first ranks to appreciate at its best the talent of IDM sacred monster (intelligence dance music). As usual with Sir Aphex the last half hour is going in various unsimilar directions, and it is really hard to recognize all of his compositions but at least I know what he didn't play (more or less) : Come to daddy, Boxing Day, Girlboy, Windowlicker. And as each good show who has self respect, there is not only music, there are also visuals : a wall of at least a hundred meters long, covered by entangled triangles and more visuals covering them up, a creation by ANTIVJ. It gives us, in the end, a movie with the audience's faces transforming into Aphex Twin's own face. Simply incredible and a never seen before for me.
The show is of course ending too soon, it's a shame that he was on so early and blame on me for not paying attention to the time before. Now, place to Adam Beyer's tasty techno.
Before talking more about our show, let's review the festival scenes. This year, the Nordik Impakt (closing night) took place on three stages : the big stage (main floor), the second floor - with for decoration 12 pikes disposed in circle and representing the hours of a clock; the bar being in between this representation and the stage with its 3D screen to boost the dj's shows, and the 'lost floor' that I will call 'the beach' (you will understand why later).
Let's go back to the main floor, and on for Mr Adam Beyer. His 'tek housse' that I knew few of is making its effect : it's powerful, minimal as it should, without being annoying : perfect program's choice for the ArtsAttack team (few big artists, but quality names for live sets of one hour thirty, even two hours for some).
We hurry to the second floor to discover Jack Beats, little prodige, so they say, of bassline. And it was a very good discovery, no whoring electronic like Ed-Banger, but rather a big bass to remix the best tracks of nowadays, and to give a beautiful conclusion with the boisterous song 'Get Down' that I recommand for all lovers of the kind.
It is already 3 o'clock in the morning, it's now the turn for one of the biggest figure of dubstep to start : Benga, aka Beni Uthman : big bass, big sound raging all the way. Yes, it is still the same that I saw in Dour and twice in Paris, but it's still that good. For those who would like to know more about the guy, I would advise to have a listen to the bombastic songs he's producing right now.
Damn! 1h30 is going so quickly when we are in a gig, and now I only know Don Rimini for the rest of the night but it isn't a problem since it is time for discoveries. The second floor is proposing drum n'bass, and I'm going to see how A.MOCHI is doing, one of the reference for japanese's techno. It isn't really my type of thing, techno without much flavour and quite difficult to alternate with repeated and 'quiet' rhythms, when you just spent one hour and a half to jump like crazy on big violents basslines.
Therefore, I go to familirize myself with the Lost Floor and its thin sand, and who says sand says lazyness, says also beach chair. And it's quite good since there is one line of those next to the scene. Incredible once again, this Nordik Impakt is quite well organised. We then found ourselves laying in those chairs, moving like stupid on Don Rimini's quite explosive set. In any case, it is way better than in Dour or in a club (playing for fluokids, electro teenager version).
The energy is filled up so we can hang until the end of the night, we decide to see if we can still find love for the hardcore scene. This year it's Maissouille who is there, but if parties are good to discover violent electro, it is too repetitive and agressive at this hour; I can't even handle it for fifteen minutes!
Not really a problem, since Len Faki (Berlin's Berghain Club's resident) already started his show and on for more than 2 hours of devilish techno. We often say than the best is kept for the end : it is true, definitely the best moment of the weekend and as well the best discovery. A minimal techno quite mindtaking and dancing even if it is still techno and that it is rather difficult to 'dance to the max'.
Anyway, like I was saying, the guy is handling it like a pro, it shows that he is most pleased to play here, with for proof, 20 minutes of extra show, and as the festival end's song : Dead By Housse. Genius, simply magical and for all the style's lovers who didn't know it yet.
And another success... Nordik Impakt is THE meeting for electronic music's lovers in the north of france. Amazing visuals (congratulations in order for antivj), great spaces to relax to, and as usual, a program more than pertinent, giving what we are proposed elsewhere.
Two last words before the usual top/flop : congrats and thanks!
Top
1. Len Faki
2. Adam Beyer
3. Aphex Twin / Benga
Flop
1. Aphex Twi's set (way too early)
2. Waiting to get your pass back
3. Ed Banger's people on the Last Floor stage from 23h30 to 4h00 (you will say : there should be for everyone, and i should reply i need a third flop")
By Mr Tintin. Translated by LittleSyd. Images from web.
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