Elektro vox: Best of 2019 lists!
Having started Elektro Vox on a bored and frustrated afternoon in March, I've come to interview, review, and befriend some incredible artists across the world of Industrial including many an artist who I never thought I'd get the chance to talk to. Now here we are with many an interview under my belt and Elektro Vox's very own music festival coming in March next year. 2019 has been quite the year! In celebration of that I've put together some lists of what I would consider to be the 'best' of 2019. Before I start, this will be as Elektro Vox's mission intends, to be focused on industrial and other similar electronic music styles. If it weren't, Heilung and a few other bits and pieces would be thrown in to the lists. Therefore there will be a special mentions sections for those that don't quite fit the lists or the theme, at the end.
Best live performance: 1. Welle:Erdball (E-Tropolis Festival. Oberhausen, Germany.) I'd only heard a few of their songs prior to the festival and knew they were an eccentric band but I was unprepared. Having caught a few Die Krupps tracks, I headed over to the second stage and joined Mary at the front of what was already an extremely energetic performance. Germans don't tend to dance as much as us Brits do at shows but almost everyone in that crowd was bobbing and jumping away like mad. There were gifts thrown in to the crowd, there were balloons a-plenty released followed by the band giving out fists full of sparklers. It was the most entertained I've ever been by a band who were just beyond comprehension with the silly atmosphere they exude whilst still being professional performers first and foremost.
2. iVardensphere (Beat:Cancer festival 9th November. Slimelight London) So not only did we get to do an insanely hilarious interview with these guys but we were front row to the only European performance of the year. Absolutley mind blowing energy that was a seratonin and dopamine rush from start to finish!
3. Rammstein (Milton Keynes Bowl)
Fire.. Fire.. Some MORE fire, and a damn good rollercoaster of emotion. Full review here
GIFs by Robin lee
4. Jan Doyle Band (Fiddler's elbow)
Nothing quite prepares you for the performance art of Derek Williams. You see him and any performers he happens to be joined by at any given performance, dressed in what you assume to be glam rock clothing and therefore expect as much.. Oh how wrong you are, what follows is both nightmare fuel and entertainment bliss. Full review here
5.Priest (E-Tropolis Festival. Oberhausen, Germany.)
Now it was very close between Priest and Solar fake for this last spot at the same festival as they were both spectacular. Solar Fake made me absolutley fall in love with their music and charisma but Priest, priest took me on a journey I've never been able to describe. No other band sounds like Priest, they are in a world of their own with their euphoric twist on dark synth pop. When their track 'Vaudeville' was pumped through those powerfull Turbinenhalle speakers.. Just wow. (Full E-Tropolis review here)
We were then lucky enough to video interview Priest in their only video interview later on in London: