See you all next year. We already miss you.

Love, Strøm

On the poster were Soffie Viemose, The New Spring, and Solhorn ft. Krogsbøl, out of whom I only managed to catch The New Spring. Despite all the praise for Bastian Kallesøe’s debut effort under this moniker, I had yet to give his record a spin, but now that I have seen him play, I realize how grave a mistake that was. With an acoustic guitar and a healthy dose of weltschmerz, Kallesøe played so gently that all memories of, say, being completely off your face to Aphex Twin, quickly faded. Seeing a stripped down, acoustic performance was surprisingly refreshing after a week of electronic music in all possible incarnations.

Seeing such a large crowd – admittedly, the weather probably attracted quite a few people on its own – once again made it clear that Strøm has matured immensely this year. Laying aside the blogger hat for a second, it warms my heart to see so many people engaging with the music they like, even in untraditional contexts. From the hands-on workshops and master classes to the more straightforward concerts in Enghaveparken, people were ready to explore new ground and take chances. Kudos to the bookers for their confidence in an uncompromising lineup, but most of all to the people who had the courage to check out something new this week. Although it is hard to avoid at a festival like Strøm, those first steps out into the unknown are no less daunting. And who knows, once you are out there, you just might find something that you like.

For an artist with only a few buzzed-about releases, Lone had accumulated a surprising amount of hype for his Strøm appearance. Surprising mainly because his music is vastly different from most of the other acts on the bill. But then again, there isn’t a lot of music that compares to Lone’s on any level. In true minimalist fashion, his stage presence was little more than Cutler himself, an array of equipment, and the first PC I’ve seen at a concert in a while. For me, the most striking thing about the concert was just how many layers Cutler operates with. Everything is stacked, twisted, and glued together, and while the mixing was… primal, my overall impression was definitely positive. As bass music gets increasingly sophisticated, hearing something that went straight for the guts turned out to be a welcome change.

Walking from the Grass to the Main stage afterwards meant more than just a slight change in surroundings. Where Lone was borderline chaotic, Brandt Brauer Frick was all about control. You would never guess that the three suit-clad Germans were here to play techno and not to crunch numbers, especially since they approached the task with an eye for detail most accountants would envy. Unfortunately, the sound of the Main stage did not do the trio’s music justice with a strange muddy feeling in the lower frequencies. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to say that techno without proper bass is a pretty mellow affair. On top of that, the trio relied heavily on tried and tested techniques with little room for serious variation, leaving the crowd satisfied but not exactly raving.

Back at the Grass stage, Jatoma had taken the stage. I had heard great things about the trio’s Roskilde performance earlier this summer, but had not managed to catch the group live before. With a real drummer, plenty of vocoder, bells, and a whole lot of percussion, Jatoma embarked on a set that drifted between straight up techno and esoteric, even psychedelic experiments. It may just be that my experience with Jatoma is too limited, but I found the first half of the set relatively trite with the four enjoying their own chores but rarely reaching out to tie things together. Still, the more explosive parts of the set, especially those with a minimal feel, brought out the best in the collaboration. In my humble opinion, Jatoma are best when they work towards a clear goal – An aspect of the group that we got to experience yesterday, but not to the extent that I had hoped.

Also remember to follow the site for all the photos from yesterday’s concerts and features from our lovely bloggers.

Enghaveparken
Once again, we’re starting the day with upcoming Danish artists especially selected by our bookers under the name “1st Hit Wonders”. Furthermore we are lining up one of the most exciting new house artists Pional along with hit makers Djuma Soundsystem and French artist Fulgeance. Tonight we are also feautring UK artists Ghostpoet, Space Dimension Controller and Guido, Gemmy & Shadz w followed by drum’n’bass pioneer Andy C and MC GQ.

Events

Need we say more than: APHEX TWIN!!! In the company of Danish artists Zavoloka, Klaus B, Hvad and Bjørn Svin, Aphex Twin takes over the Carlsberg Brewery’s TAP1 from 11 pm, supported by an extremely impressive lights and laser show. Not far from Copenhagen in the city of Hillerød, Støj and Strøm also present a full day of electronic music with a wide range of Danish and international artists. The venue runs from early afternoon to well past midnight.

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Lyt til: Offbeat mandag – Kommentar: Skanderborg bedre end Roskilde?
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Photos by Claus Randrup
clausrandrup.com

Enghaveparken
Asking what we haven’t lined up for you today would seem appropriate: we have the newest and most talented young producers uniting as 1st Hit Wonders. We also have Ben Westbeech, Lone, Girl Unit, Egyptrixx, Danish trio Jatoma and German techno lovers Brandt Brauer Frick. And last but not least, we are proud to present the living legends Thomas Fehlmann and Alex Paterson, whom you may also know as The Orb.

Events
Today’s events are all about the bass, when Basstard and Strøm start the night presenting a showcase of underground bass culture in the city of Elsinore. Later today in Copenhagen’s Meat Packing District, Rewind invites us all to this year’s biggest bass clash with special UK artist Mensah.

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Where did he start? With the very basics, it turned out. Landmarks like the first voice recording, the first manipulatable sounds, John Cage’s experiments, reel-to-reel cut-ups, and all the other steps that allows today’s youngsters to twist knobs and look cool, to paraphrase Christensen, were duly covered. Although the importance of these events cannot be questioned, my guess is that the majority of the crowd – again of a pleasantly surprising size – were mainly interested in the tipping point where electronic music became less about the electronics and more about the music.

Christensen’s focus on the former was perhaps much needed educational input for those of us who never put much thought into those prehistoric times. As technology advanced, however, both the lecture and the musical evolution it covered became more coherent. The jumps from, say, Lee Scratch Perry to Giorgio Moroder or Larry Levan to Frankie Knuckles are, after all, easier to make. That is not to say that they are more important, but merely that they revolve around a musical landscape much closer to that of today.

Of course, this is also the point where electronic music becomes so widespread that covering every newly bred genre seems naive. Focusing on a few key elements, Christensen described how Juan Atkins grew out of Kraftwerk’s man machine and how the ensuing second summer of love fostered both a UK depression and subsequently a new and meaner genre of music as hardcore and drum’n’bass came into being. Christensen’s extensive knowledge of the scene was obvious, and the constant struggle between the limits set by technology (today, unfortunately also the instances present on stage) and the pioneers pushing them forward became crystal clear.

With words on ”bedroom scientists”, the slightly derogatory ”intelligent techno,” ”braindance,” modern dubstep (from haunted to soulful, Burial to Woon), the beauty of the accidental, and the sounds of Shangaan Electro, Christensen rounded off his presentation. I cannot say I expected a 90-minute lecture where Frankie Knuckles took over the Warehouse with 15 minutes to go. Then again, my perspective on the history of electronic music was certainly broadened, which might not be a bad thing. I wouldn’t mind sitting through another lecture with a stronger focus on more recent events, but if the goal was to go as far up as possible in the electronic family tree, Christensen succeeded.

Photos by Marcus McNair and Adam Garff