Kadebostany (Solidays)

A difficult choice had to be made on this second night at Solidays festival: Franz Ferdinand and Kadebostany were scheduled to play exactly at the same time... I gave this dilemma some thought: I saw Franz Ferdinand twice in one year, I never saw Kadebostany... Dilemma solved!

Well, turns out this solution was no disappointment at all. What a show!... Self-described as the "new colonists of the pop empire", this band clearly takes you on a whole journey during their concerts. You have to get into the concept, of course... What they're offering you on stage is a whole new country. "Welcome to the Republic of Kadebostany", greets the electronic genius bent over his futuristic machinery like some sort of twisted puppetmaster. Obviously as a country, they have their flag. Their uniforms. Their culture...

And this culture turns out to be a mixture of electronic and organic music, combined with breath-taking visual effects, coming both from the machines and the humans on stage. This dichotomy between the electronic/machinery side and the organic/human side is constant throughout the concert and obviously emphasized by the very appearance of all the musicians: the "military" or dark leathered uniforms transmit a cold, controlled, somewhat disturbing atmosphere, also highlighted by the beautiful lighting that play a lot on the shadow/light contrast, all of it transcended by the hypnotic, edge-cutting electronics of the music. The presence of musical instruments reminiscent of a fanfare both highlights the military concept and overcomes it by adding such an organic feeling to the ensemble, strengthened by the presence of a powerful bass line. 

The free element in all that beautiful and twisted scene is the presence of the singer. Her beautiful, powerful voice seems fit for rapping as well as for singing more alternative rock-like melodies, then again stressing that inherent dichotomy between controlled, enunciated vocals and more sensual melodies. She also seems to effortlessly include dancing in her way of moving around the stage, adding some more visual impact to the performance.

OK, I realize that I might be interpreting all of that in a highly subjective way but that's really the way that concert made me feel and in the end, isn't that the purpose of art?! Seriously, it was a beautiful moment, an intense concert and I really hope to see them again soon, hopefully for a real concert of their own so that there aren't as many limitations as for a festival format. Because it's a seriously fucked-up country they have here and I'm not sure I would like so much to live in Kadebostany but their invitation is quite irresistible!... ;-)



Commentaires

john smith a dit…
That is why the Japanese and the German cultures of today are so different from those of their ancestors. Serious Electricians