MAGAZINE n째3
2 —Introduction
Who’s playing where and when at Food For Your Senses? The FUZE smartphone timetable for FFYS
With over 70 acts playing on 3 different stages spread out across a big site and over 3 days, even with a clear timetable there’s still a chance you could miss an act you want to see. That’s why at FUZE last year we came up with a clever idea; a timetable for your smartphone calendar! The system proved popular so we’re doing it again, tweaked for Food For Your Senses 2013.
www.ffys2013.fuze.lu
Scan the QR code with your smartphone or go to the website ffys2013.fuze.lu and you’ll be directed to our site to download the complete FFYS timetable. You’ll then get hourly reminders of who’s playing when for that hour and on which stage. Plus if the line-up or times change, we’ll do the work and your timetable will be automatically updated too! Enjoy this year’s Food For Your Senses and don’t miss a thing!
All about FUZE Luxembourg Despite Luxembourg being a tiny country, there are more than 150 bands just itching to hit local stages. However many musicians focus only on their music and not the important organisation around it. How do we promote an EP or a concert? How and to whom shall we send press releases? Will anyone take photos at our next gig? Can we promote our music on the radio? To answer all these questions and more Adam Walder and Daniel Clarens created the FUZE Luxembourg community to help and support local music talent and spread the word to a wider audience. When they began thinking about a concept for a FUZE magazine their target was clear: It should aim to help young musicians understand the Luxembourg music scene process and feature information on how to obtain significant support at the start of the band’s life. Your FUZE Luxembourg team www.fuze.lu www.fb.com/fuzeluxembourg
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page 4-9
All about Food for your senses
page 10
Say Yes Dog interview
page 14
page 16-21
page 31
FFYS bands shout-out wall
FFYS Line-up 2013
Screaming Fields 2013
Editorial
Impressum Printed by Saint-Paul Luxembourg printed on UPM NEWS 52g Print Run 100 000 copies Text Adam Walder — adam@fuze.lu Photos Daniel ClarenS — daniel@fuze.lu All band photos from FFYS © FFYS
The ashtrays are overfilled and the coffee machine might be working harder than we are. There’s still a lot of work to be done and just a few hours to sleep. However, the sun is lurking and the festival feeling is just on the horizon. The excitement is big and the music programme attractive. But what we’re especially looking forward to right now are the revitalising FFYS specialities: healthy gastronomic delicacies, free massages, and a lot of sun! Get Food For your Senses but don’t forget Vitamin A,B,C, and D. Food for your senses organisation team
Cover Photo photo FfYS 2012 & Illustration by FFYS Design Daniel Clarens — www.clada.lu
4 — Food for your senses history
Food For Your Senses the story so far…
Some people say that Food For Your Senses is now about to enter its seventh year of existence, others claim that 2013 will actually be FFYS’s twelfth year. What’s the answer? Well in fact both are correct!
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The whole idea began back in 2002 when, down in the basement of Tuntange’s elementary school, a group of youngsters plotted to create a little festival of local music. And so ‘Rock de Steier’ was the baby, born with just a few bands in its line-up. For several years the annual festival grew in both size and popularity until the dark and dingy school basement could host Rock de Steier no longer! In 2007 the festival burst out of the basement and onto the streets of Tuntange. This time it was called ‘Food For Your Senses’ and three stages set up in different places around the village welcomed 30 acts and about 1,500 visitors. 2008 saw the FFYS’ popularity grow even further as the festival became a 2-day event for the first time, which was repeated in 2009. Then came 2010 and Tuntange village seemed too small to continue hosting the festival so a site just outside Tuntange was chosen where the now 3-day event became the place to see 90 acts with about 6,000 visitors. A little art and photo exhibition was also added.
The visitor figures shot up in 2011 as an average of 3,000 people per day turned up at the field near Tuntange to watch the ever increasing and impressive line-up of bands on three big stages. The art exhibition was further developed and became an integral part of Food For Your Senses Moving on to 2012 and things were getting serious! 4000 people per day flocked to the festival which was when another dimension was added to the event. A ‘Sens’Area’ was a welcome addition with the aim of stimulating the five senses. A lounging area, a garden, oriental food and drink, workshops, and a massage area were all added. On top of that there was a little stage where poetry slams and other performances took place. And so to the present day! 2013 has proven to be another milestone in the FFYS history as once again the festival’s location proved too small as it continues to grow. This is the first year it takes place in Bissen, still not too far from its roots in Tuntange. The stages have changed, the Sens’Area has been extended further and, who knows how many thousands of visitors will flock to the festival this year. Here’s to another seven years! Or is it another twelve?
6 — FFYS organisation
Just what goes into FFYS organisation? There’s far more to organising a festival than first meets the eye, and with more than 70 bands, three stages, and a new location only being the tip of the logistical iceberg, Food For Your Senses takes an enormous amount of planning and coordination. So in an office located inside the Discolux warehouse in Colmar-Berg the hub of Food For Your Senses, FUZE grabbed Luka Heindrichs, one of the main organisers, from his busy schedule to explain the workings of the festival. Luka dips his hands in just about everything related to Food For Your Senses but is in charge of press communication, associations coordination and all things linked to strategy and planning of the festival site. “Organisation goes on all year long, but the big stressy stuff comes three or four months ahead of the festival” explained Luka, adding “but it is really important to start planning at least 10 months in advance, especially with regards to what we want to do or where we want to go with the festival. What kind of extras do we want to offer? What kind of associations do we want to include that we didn’t the year before? These are the kind of things we always start with for the whole brainstorming process,” he stated. Of course when the public arrive at a festival like Food For Your Senses they can be oblivious to the fact that it has taken a lot of time and effort. There’s a lot behind the scenes they don’t see.
“Most important is the content and many people don’t realise what’s actually involved. They think you just give a call to Rammstein and they come over, fly in, no problem, no big deal, which of course is not the case! That’s what most festival-goers don’t realise; the work behind and creating the content”. Of course you can’t talk about festival organisation without touching on the subject of money and budgets which Luka went on to explain. “After content there are the costs. It’s obvious visitors don’t have any knowledge of how much the event costs, which in a way is good. They just see the tip of the iceberg when on site, even the area that is not open to visitors is huge”. “And then managing people. If you include the artists you have about 350 people working per day!” Luka then looked back to previous years comparing them to the festival’s current situation. “Programmewise it has changed a lot, if you compare 2010 for example with 2013 there’s a big evolution. The idea behind the festival hasn’t changed and I keep repeating it; to have bands that are not very famous, and the aim is to get them on stage at the right moment, to get young bands to exchange with others that may be a bit further than they are. Then I think we’ve become much stronger on everything that’s design such as website appearance”.
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But the number of visitors to the site have increased a lot in recent years too, requiring more organisation. “The whole management that’s involved has changed too; in 2010 we had about 6,000 festival-goers, now it’s almost five times more, so all the measures we have to take like security can no longer be compared to the issues we had back then. Everything has become a lot larger and there are many more little issues to think of, before they happen if possible”. There are several changes for 2013, the main being a new location which Luka admitted he was “really excited about”, before explaining that it was in fact a lot easier logistically than the old site in Tuntange as the ground is a lot flatter with easier access. “Of course there’s no longer the landscape we had in Tuntange so that’s going to be a change, but I am confident people will still enjoy it just as much or maybe even more with easier access!” he grinned. The stages are one of the most important changes for this year which the enthusiastic festival organiser described. “In previous years we had two big open-air stages and one smaller tent. This year the tent is actually becoming the second stage with a third open-air stage that’s a little smaller than the tent, where the ‘rougher’ music will play”. The Sens’Area that began life last year is also growing with more on offer, as well as an info point being added to the festival grounds. “We have more space in general”, said Luka.
Of course it’s the bands people come to see and the lineup has progressed year on year, but apart from local acts, how are the international artists selected? “They are bands we’ve encountered over the year, many we have seen live. Many are on the verge of breaking through with really good press reviews like ON AN ON, Jacco Gardener, or Ewert and the Two Dragons, and we are super excited to have Balthazar from Belgium!” This year there’s not only a campsite, which has been the norm for several years, but also campsite shop for the first time supplied by Pall Centre, a festival partner, selling everything from toiletries to basic food for people to cook on the campsite, as well as several essential festival items such as water guns! “Whatever your style in music you’re going to be blown away because we have great heavy music, we have super indie bands, pop, folk, everything! Take the time to listen to the music before coming!” concluded Luka Heindrichs. Indeed it’s well worth visiting the official website sporting a kind of mosaic photo system and with a simple mouse roll-over a snippet of each band’s song can be heard, making it easy to listen to just what each act has to offer. Website: www.ffys.eu
8 — Sens’Area
It all makes sense! Interview with organiser Metty Hoffmann
There’s one aspect of Food for Your Senses that has recently grown alongside the music in both size and popularity. Dubbed the “chill-out” zone of the festival site designed to stimulate the five senses it’s aptly named Sens’Area. Officially 2013 is the second year for the Sens’Area but the festival dabbled with an art exhibition in 2011. Due to its success a whole host of other ideas and activities were added a year later to become the now established Sens’Area. Metty Hoffmann in charge of the whole concept, explained to FUZE what the Sens’Area is all about: “The main idea is to have a place where you can go for a break from dancing or when you’re tired, to talk to people, meet people, and discuss stuff like art,” said Metty. With a Sens’Area expansion planned for this year, Metty ran through just what we can expect at the site in Bissen. “This year there will be an exhibition or “sensibition” with many different types of art shown. There will be a new feature of a cinema showing short films at several times during the festival as well as a few music videos and of course the FFYS documentary that was filmed at
last year’s festival”. Indeed many people are looking forward to the results of the documentary that involved bands telling stories while sitting on a sofa placed on the roof of a cabin at the site. “Then we have free massages for those who had a wild night or day! There’ll be a space for workshops where visitors can create many different things”. Metty didn’t go into details about the workshops as he wished to keep an element of surprise but did mention that one workshop involved how to do graffiti with the results visible to the public afterwards. “There will be a stage with music, one night there will be chill-wave, and some surprise guests too”, winked Metty, again wishing not to disclose everything. “There will be a poetry slam which will mostly take place on Sunday. Apart from that you’ll find a small garden with sculptures and things you can walk and climb on and a lounge area with food”. When asked how important the Sens’Area has become to the entire festival Metty had quite a poignant answer, “the Sens’Area is above all a platform for exchange. It’s all about music and art, that’s the main part. How important is it in relation to the music? If you see the entire Sens’Area as a fourth stage, that’s how you could compare it”.
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All about the Sensibition Interview with organiser Fanny Weinquin
value. Mediators will be present to let people know what they can and cannot do. “For example, you can’t propose a CD to a 55 year-old artist for his work”. Last year did produce some amusing jovial offers of sexual favours for art, “yes, as last year was the first time we did this” laughed Fanny “people didn’t quite understand the concept”. Rumour has it though that this may have worked for some pieces of art but, joked Fanny “well this is beyond our influence!”
Although there’s a lot going on in the Sens’Area this year, the heart of it and indeed the inspiration for everything else that followed has to be the art exhibition or “Sensibition”. With about 30 artists exhibiting works of all different styles and types this year, an organiser is of course essential, and in charge of everything Sensibition this year is Fanny Weinquin. Fanny began by explaining the artist selection process for the Sensibition: “We posted a call-out to artists on the FFYS website and then had to choose between 25 and 30 artists as the space isn’t unlimited with a 200 square metre tent this year. What’s really interesting about who we chose is that they range from young artists just starting out or are studying art, right up to well established artists. So the youngest is 17, the oldest 55. It’s really diverse too and ranges from drawings to paintings, urban art, sculpture and photography”. It’s not just about staring at pictures hanging on a wall as Fanny explained. “We also try to get the artist to propose some more interactive works so that visitors can get involved more than just looking at something”. Inspired by an art exhibition in Brussels, the idea of bartering for art was brought to FFYS last year where the public can exchange pieces of art for something of similar
2012 saw quite a few interesting ‘serious’ propositions; one example was the artist Anne Mélan who designed a special silk-screen printed piece of art especially for the festival with the five human senses as its theme. It was admired by many visitors including local band Eternal Tango, who loved Anne’s work so much they asked her to design a T-shirt for them. Fanny then wished to point out some key unique points for the Sensibition. “This is the third year we are doing this and what I see in the artist scene, is an evolution that kind of matches the music scene. FFYS can become a reference place to exhibit like it is already for music”. The fact that the Sensibition is not located in a traditional gallery or stuffy museum but out in the open-air at a festival is really attractive to many artists which is in the context of their work, “especially for young artists, they get more stimulation exhibiting to an audience that has more or less the same age”, added Fanny. As an extra this year prizes will be awarded to exhibiting artists, a first for the festival; FFYS itself will issue one prize, another from an association and a special prize from the Service National de la Jeunesse which works closely with young artists as well as the Food For Your Senses festival. Full interview & more artist info on fuze.lu
10 — Interview with Say Yes Dog
Leading a dog’s life Interview with Say Yes Dog by Adam Walder
The saying goes, ‘every dog has its day’ and there’s certainly one particular dog that’s been sniffing out the music scene both locally and further afield recently; Say Yes Dog! With their mesmerising and original electropop sound, the pack of three; Aaron, Paul and Pascal, in a very short time have certainly got tails wagging and managed to turn heads wherever they play. In just one
© Say Yes Dog
year they’ve been working like dogs playing an impressive list of gigs in Luxembourg, the Netherlands and a couple in Germany, and a remarkable line-up of festivals awaits them this year and beyond. So it was about time FUZE hunted down Say Yes Dog, and got them to say a little more than just ‘yes’:
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© Janika-Jüris
When and where did you guys meet? We met in The Hague at the Royal Conservatoire in 2010. Two of us studied sound engineering and met a drummer from the jazz department.
Do any of you have dogs? No we don’t but Paul loves to hang out with his parents’ dog, Emma. We might take Emma on tour one day if she feels like it.
When was Say Yes Dog formed? After doing some loose projects together, we decided to get together more frequently, writing songs and making it a band! We played our first gig in March 2012.
Do you have any band names you rejected that you want to reveal? “Aaron, Paul and Pascal” but we thought that was a little too long. No seriously, Say Yes Dog was pretty much the first one that came to our mind.
Where do you three guys come from musically? All three of us had bands in which we played when we grew up, from a Luxembourg ska/punk band (The Disliked) to German rock band to a pop/funk band. Our musical background as well as our current influences are pretty diverse. Two of you are German, one Luxembourgish and you all study in the Netherlands. When people ask you “Where is Say Yes Dog from?” what do you reply? Or does it depend on who asks? It probably also depends on who answers the question. Basically we say we’re from Luxembourg...it sounds the most exotic ;-) Cliché question – what’s with the name Say Yes Dog? How did you come up with that? While uploading our first song we had to come up with a name. We thought it should be something that would sound and look good rather than having a special meaning. We do not really think of a dog but more of a friend, a mate, dude...
You’re still quite a young band, but tell me in a kind of timeline what you’ve managed to achieve in your short lifespan so far? We managed to play some great concerts which is the most important for us. Besides a couple of festivals such as ‘Fusion Festival’ in Germany and ‘Sonic Visions’ in Luxembourg, we managed to play a mini tour through Benelux and Germany in autumn 2012, which was great fun. We’re surprised by the amount of feedback we’re getting and that’s the most important achievement for us. You must be proud to have achieved so much in such a short time? Well, we’re definitely very pleased with the reactions we got up to now. And it’s probably not the most natural thing getting to play at some famous festivals without any professional booking agency or label that supports us. So I guess we can be proud of that. For those that have never heard Say Yes Dog, how would you describe your music? That’s always a bit hard. Normally, we just say we do
12 — Interview with Say Yes Dog
Photos: Eric Brausch
electro-pop and if people are satisfied with that answer we leave it at that. And if they want to know more, we tell them it’s danceable, with a lot of acoustic elements, influenced by house music although we still play real songs! Where have you performed so far and in which countries? For most of our gigs we played in the Benelux area and had two gigs in Germany so far. What has been the Say Yes Dog highlight up to now? Hard to tell, I guess the highlights differ a bit for each of us. The Fusion Festival last summer was definitely a highlight, although it was probably the gig with the least amount of people listening. But those who were there really enjoyed it I guess. The first gig in D:qliq in Luxembourg was great as well. We didn’t know what to expect, how many people would come and in the end it was a crowded and very sweaty night!
There’s a lot of Say Yes Dog in Luxembourg this year, run through what you’ve done here so far in 2013 and what is coming up. Well you know about our first gig in D:qliq already, then we played in the Rockhalcafé at Sonic Visions in November and the return to D:qliq with Sizarr two months ago which was great. Last year’s Food For Your Senses was already really cool and we’re very happy to be back there this year. We just played at Out Of The Crowd and will play at Fête de la Musique Luxembourg, and Rock um Knuedler. What is performing in Luxembourg like for you two German guys? Since we haven’t played in Germany that much it’s always nice to play here, where people can understand us when we talk German at our concerts. I think it’s great that the Luxembourgish people grow up with three languages,
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it’s always a bit of a confusion when we discuss what language we’ll speak on our concerts, German, English, a bit of French!?! We really like the Luxembourgish language, us two really wish we could speak it; we always have a close listen when Pascal is on the phone with his friends or family. Maybe after all those concerts here we’ll get better at it.
Pascal was playing with an electro duo called Magnetic Messiahs. It was the first gig of Magnetic Messiahs and their set was not long enough to fill a whole slot. Aaron and Paul who were good friends already joined in for one or two songs. I think we even played ‘Around My Neck’ back then, if I remember correctly.
You plan an album release soon, tell us a bit about it; number of tracks? Concept? All we can say at this point is that we are working hard on finishing our debut album and we are really excited to get our songs out there really soon. This may take a little while, but you will definitely get to hear some delicious new tunes before the album release. You have some very exciting international festival slots this year, run through those…. There is the “Liverpool Sound City Festival” at the beginning of May, Brighton’s “The Great Escape”, then two really charming festivals which are a bit smaller, “Les Aralunaires” in Arlon, Belgium and the “Appletree garden” in Germany. We’ll also be playing the “Juicy Beats” in Dortmund, and the “Europavox” in ClermontFerrand. There are a couple more in sight, but that’s not really official yet. Your music is very soothing and calm or as you put it “oozing synth-scapes”, Who writes the music? What is your writing process? How does the music ooze from initial thought to final performance? Most of the initial ideas come from Aaron. Sometimes that can be just two chords and one vocal line, on which we start, sometimes it’s an almost finished song. Then we get together, start working out the songs, write lyrics, and arrange them for our live set. It’s not really always like that, we don’t follow a master plan to which we stick when we come up with songs, we go with the flow and if something comes around that sticks in our heads, that’s normally the best sign for a good song. Is this the first Food For Your Senses for Say Yes Dog? What does it mean to you and have you anything special planned? We actually played at Food For Your Senses last year and funnily enough we also had a short appearance in 2011.
What about the future for Say Yes Dog? What’s ahead? Album? Video? More touring? There will be the first real video for one of our songs really soon, which one we won’t tell, that will be a surprise. Our plan for now is trying to play live as much as possible, and working on our songs for an album, which will take some more time, but it’s definitely coming! If you could describe yourselves in two words, what would they be? Aaron: Tall Music Pascal: BOOM, CLAP Paul: Professor Pergamentus If you wanted to leave FUZE readers with a Say Yes Dog message, what would that message be? ‘So viel’ Tage es gibt im Jahr, so der Fuchs am Schwanz hat Haar’. Say Yes Dog contact corner: FUZE: www.fuze.lu/bands/say-yes-dog Facebook: www.fb.com/sayyesdog Say Yes Dog is performing at FFYS on Saturday 18th May at 11:20pm
14 — FFYS band shout-out
The FFYS BAnD ShouT ouT WALL
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only Food For Your Senses has the answer... Be there!!
We think the FFYS is a nice and sunny festival which always manages to stay a TRue music happening – organised by music lovers for music lovers.
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says Daily Vacation
Elysian Gates says:
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Three days of good music, sun (hopefully), camping and our first gig with a new live line-up. We’re looking forward so much to it!
says Seed to Tree
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It’s always nice to be part of such a big event, especially in Luxembourg. It’s great to see the scene develop and we’re glad to be able to help out! says Box Social
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We will play our very first gig on the Food For Your Senses festival! We are prepared and ready to rock!
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says Soulhenge
We’re very glad to be part of one of the most recognised festival in Luxembourg. We’ll give our best and rock on stage! come and you’ll listen to good music: hopeSound!
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says Hope Sound
The Food is an absolute must for us... They’ve got perfect organisation, friendly staff and the best atmosphere. one of the best crowds says De Läb we played in front of until now.
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Dear FFYS, stay as you are and don’t believe the hype! d’Jongen says The Disliked
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We’re playing it for the fifth time and it never gets boring.And we love the FFYS crowd, because they’re always as drunk as we are! says Versus You
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We love the Food for your Senses Festival. It’s the festival that in our opinion has the best atmosphere in Luxembourg. says The Neverminds
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An excellent festival with an impressive line-up. very much looking forward to be part of it! says Say Yes Dog
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We are definitely looking forward to play at FFYS festival 2013! We have not been there before but only heard good stuff about it, so we can’t wait.
says Benoit Martiny Band
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We think that FFYS is awesome! It gives young bands a chance to perform in front of a big audience and on a professional stage. It’s the best example that Luxembourg supports local bands like no other country does.
says Why we failed
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3 years ago, we played for the first time at FFYS.The atmosphere was great. We had an awesome time and we’re happy to be part of the line up for 2013. says An Apple A Day
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FFYS is great festival and it’s always cool to be a part of it. The last time we played at the tent stage that filled in seconds! It was one of our best gigs that year! says Lost in Pain
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We decided to release our first 7” at FFYS, because it is the most important rendezvous for the local music scene of the year. We are very happy the festival has grown to such an impressive size with an interesting says Ice In My Eyes line-up that gets better each year.
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This year is going to be our fourth time at FFYS! As we missed last year’s edition we’re glad to be back and happy to present a new band member to the crowd
says The Barcodes
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The atmosphere at FFYS is a very special one! It´s not that typical Rock am Ring feeling but it´s more like the legendary Woodstock Festival! Food matches a lot of music styles in just 1festival!
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FFYS is one of the events we look forward to the most each year!! We always prepare a special show and we love the energy of the crowd.
FFYS the place to be for bands and fans! Meet new people, discover new bands and have a great time with your friends! says Thoughts of the 4
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says Scarred
I’m going to play for the first time at the FFYS this year and I’m proud to be a part of this amazing event. Ready to kick it on stage!
says Maka Mc
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Playing the Food for the first time this year and we’re very excited to play one of our favourite festivals in Luxembourg!
says Impact Hour
We’re obviously looking forward to playing at FFYS, but we’re also sad because it’s not in Tuntange anymore as we’re really nostalgic Luxembourgish douche-bags. Get ready for the biggest eargasm you’ve ever had!
says The Fitness
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says Diario
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16 — FFYS 2013 Line-up
Food for your senses 2013 Line-up
The line-up was correct at the time of publishing however it is subject to change. To make sure you are totally up to date, check the FFYS booklet or download the FUZE smartphone timetable.
FR
17.05.2013
Scan QR code go to ffys2013.fuze.lu
Cayucas (US)
Compuphonic (BE)
Diario
DJ Radic
Dry the River (UK)
Fox
Heart in Hand (UK) Heights (UK)
Ice Cream Cathedral (DK)
In Circles
Los Duenos
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Mambo Schinki
Order of the Oceans
Rangleklods (DK)
ŠCedric Letsch
Robin Sukroso
Seed to Tree
Sonic Boom Six (UK)
THE DEVILLES
Versus You
Why we failed
Abby (GER)
An Apple a Day
Birdbones
Birdy Hunt (FR)
(GER)
SA 18.05.2013
Betraying the Martyrs (FR)
18 — FFYS 2013 Line-up
Black out Beauty
Coely (BE)
Daily Vacation
Everyday Circus
Five Cent Cones
Hacktivist (UK)
(GER)
© Mario Zollo
Heartbeat Parade
Hoboken Divison
Hoffmaestro (SE)
Hurricane Dean
Ice in my Eyes
Impact Hour
Kid Simius (ES)
Kill the Innocent
Marteria (GER)
(GER)
(FR)
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On an On (US)
Retro Addictz
Rude Revelation
Say Yes Dog
Scarred
Scheppe Siwen
Sizarr (GER)
Sohn (AT)
Soulhenge
Southberry Lane
TMI
Vierkanttretlager (GER)
Balthazar (BE)
Beat culture (US)
Š Erik Weiss
SUN 19.05.2013
20 — FFYS 2013 Line-up
Benoit Martiny Band
Box Social
Daniel Norgren
David Mourato
De Läb
Elysian Gates
Ewert and the two Dragons (EE)
Giraffage (US)
HopeSound
Jacco Gardener
Lost in Pain
Lucy spillt um Späicher mam Däiwel
Maka Mc
Make some Noize
(NL)
(NO)
Honningbarna
(NO)
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NIVA (SE)
P.O. BOX (FR)
Sam (GER)
Slow Magic (US)
The Barcodes
The Computers
The Disliked
The Experimental Tropic Blues Band (BE)
The Fitness
The Lungs
The Majestic Unicorns from Hell
The Neverminds
Thoughts Of the 4 XXYYXX (US)
(UK)
Young Rival (CA)
22 — FUZE photos
fuze photos A selection of photographs taken by FUZE
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1 — Scene Writers 2 — Angel at my Table 3 — Daniel Balthasar & Band 4 — 4s 5 — Open Seas
24 — FUZE photos
1 — Ronny Riff 2 — James Borges & Lawyers guns ‘n’ money 3 — Hope sound 4 — Color of art 5 — Eternal Tango 6 — Hal Flavin
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26 — Interview with ON AN ON
ON AN ON
‘give in’ and talk to FUZE Interview with ON AN ON by Adam Walder
One of the main highlights of FFYS has to be the American group ON AN ON. Only formed in 2012, although all hailing from previous band ‘Scattered Tress’ the trio have managed to release two singles, a debut album and are rapidly growing in popularity worldwide with their “exploratory and melodic” music. Ahead of their stop in Luxembourg ON AN ON took a moment to talk to FUZE: Can you give me a short “timeline” journey that ON AN ON has taken up until now? The three of us formed ON AN ON in April of 2012, that’s when we recorded ‘Give In’, (the album) in Toronto. We focused on mixing the album for a couple months. When the record was finished we started rehearsing for live show and went on our first tour last fall. Since then we’ve been touring almost non-stop and we’re still going strong. We love to travel and perform, so I don’t see us settling down too soon. Now here we are looking into the summer months gearing up for all the festivals! We couldn’t be more excited. As you’ve yet to conquer several European countries, including Luxembourg and are little known here, can you guys just tell me where you’ve come from musically before forming ON AN ON? We have been in some of the same bands since we were teenagers. Most notable of those groups was a band
called ‘Scattered Trees’. It was a six-piece group that toured the US for the better part of nine years. There was a whole lot of sacrifice and not much measurable success. So that band ended up dissolving. After that the three of us decided to start a new group and employ some of the lessons we had learned. No one should be over sacrificing as that’s not sustainable over time. We should operate with as few creative limits as possible. We wanted to break some of the musical habits that formed over the last nine years. We needed a fresh start, so we gave ourselves one. The name ON AN ON, does that describe a characteristic of one of you? All of you? Or how often journalists ask silly questions like that? That’s a common question we get, but it makes sense to wonder. Originally it was sort of meaningless, but we all felt like it was a good fit and it was the right name for us.
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Over time it has defined us more and more. There’s a sense of inherent momentum to it.
You begin a European tour at the beginning of May in the UK, but you’ve toured Europe before right? How was it and what difference, if any, do you expect this time? I admit I hadn’t heard of you guys before it was announced that We crossed the sea back in February for a short promo you would play in Luxembourg but I instantly fell in love with tour. Our album was released in March and we got to your music. Many people here will be in the same boat so could play a bunch of shows and do a bunch of press in its describe your own music? anticipation. We absolutely loved touring Europe--its We try not to define our music for people. Not that it way different than the States. This May our European defies definition or anything lofty. It’s just more tour is longer, hopefully warmer and will include those interesting to hear what you or someone else thinks. It’s good festival vibes. always different from person to person. If we had to though, it would be vague. Maybe this, exploratory and Have you ever been to Luxembourg before? melodic pop songs that respect the past, but are more No – first timers interested in seeing the future. What do you know about Luxembourg without googling it? You’ve recently released a debut album “Give In”, is there a That is very very small but very very awesome. concept behind it or simply a collection of great tunes? (reviewed on page 30) Is Food For Your Senses in Luxembourg the only festival you’re The album came together quickly but we all had demos playing at in your European tour this year? What do you we were working on. Once we started recording the expect? (by the way you can get free massages!) album themes started to emerge but not one single Whoa free massages! We are actually playing many theme or concept. Life and death, power and corruption, European festivals this May, but Food For Your Senses relationships ending and beginning all seem to be has the most interesting title. themes of the record. Find ON AN ON at… Outside of the US, which country is your music most known Website: www.itsonanon.com in? Where have you received the best reception? Facebook: www.fb.com/itsOnAnOn The first time we ever played London was a sell out welcome - we were floored by their reception. We look forward to playing and getting to know more and more ON AN ON is performing at FFYS on countries and people all over Europe Saturday 18th May at 9pm
28 — Interview with Roger Hamen
Roger Hamen:
‘Big Daddy’ of Luxembourg music Interview by Adam Walder With over 40 years’ experience in the Luxembourg rock, pop and jazz music world whether it be as a musician or music advisor, Roger Hamen could be described at the “Big Daddy” of the local music scene. Amongst the thousands of things he’s achieved over the years, he’s been the drummer of countless bands and one of the principle founders of the Rockhal. In the local rock scene and beyond, it’s hard to find a musician who hasn’t heard of Roger and he still hasn’t given up his love for seeking out young, local talent. You’ll often spot him quietly lurking at the back of a gig no matter where it may be, soaking up music of all styles. Now he’s set up his own music coaching and consulting agency ‘Kadakes’ and talked to FUZE about the past, present and future of Luxembourg music.
that Chris Birch also part of the band said “Let’s call ourselves Mid-life Crisis, then we’ve got that out of the way and we don’t have to deal with it again!”. Then I was in Chris Birch band for a very long time. So when did the other side of music, being a music ‘advisor’ begin? Back then we didn’t have any venue or music ‘structure’ in Luxembourg. We had lots of random places like Kockelscheuer. I was president of an association called Backline, which lobbied for rock and jazz music. So, in fact, the first time people were talking about a Rockhal idea was actually 20-30 years ago. We created the Rockhal with music and resources, rehearsal rooms, a recording studio and the médiathèque. And now young musicians have something to believe in as they know the Rockhal is there and can aspire to play there too. What is special to you about the Luxembourg music scene? It’s not professional! There are many great musicians, they have the talent, that’s not where the problem is the musicians are there, the quality is there, but all these professional music business structures are not! And why not? It’s too small so somehow we have to go abroad, or we invent start-ups!
How long have you been in the music world? Since I was 12, which is how many years… careful! I’ve just celebrated my 61st birthday so you can work it out. What’s your story as a musician? I started playing drums at 13 and I played in quite a lot of bands. I was in ‘Cool Breeze’ when we did our first vinyl album recording as it was back then. In fact we were the first band in Luxembourg to record an LP! Another band was Mid-life crisis! The funny thing about the name was
So where do you see the local music scene in say, 10 years time? I think change will happen much earlier than 10 years. Don’t forget you now have music:LX and they’re really working hard as are the Rockhal and Atelier. Also on the promoter side there’s a family – Atelier is promoting events at the Rockhal, and Exit07 also works closely with other venues. If you put all these things together and everyone is willing to build that “music factory” and everyone is doing their part of the chemistry, it will
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work and at a certain stage let’s say 2 or 3 years I am 100 percent sure you will have 2 or 3 bands that will make it big out of Luxembourg. How important a role does FFYS play in the music scene in your opinion? The most important! It’s enormously important, especially as an open-air festival. I really admire what Jaakes and the team there created. It is important for most of the bands to play there even if they are famous, Porn Queen played at FFYS last year because many of these musicians just want to play music, they want to play gigs and FFYS is great for all levels of bands. It is a really important emerging music festival . How has the perception of Luxembourg music changed? The audience is there! Years ago, rather than going to a concert we preferred going to eat a pizza. This attitude changed because now they combine these things; first we eat a pizza then we go to a concert! Tell me about your new venture ‘Kadakes’? When I left Rockhal I said to myself, in order to give young musicians a chance you need to help them and
advise them, because the whole music business is so huge that somehow you need to find a way to build bridges. You can’t expect everything now for the music and resources so you have to find another way which I now have with SNJ. In the world of music you have to advise, you have to consult, and that’s why I created Kadakes. Now I’m working with coaching and consulting experts to help train young musicians. Where does the name Kadakes come from? That’s a funny story. During my Rockhal days I always said that when I retire I’m going live in Cadaqués in Spain with my wife because I love this place! And so everyone used to joke with me “are you not ready for Cadaqués yet?”. I replied: “no I still don’t have the money, but be surprised!” I then created the agency but changed the spelling to Kadakes. Then I went back to all these people and said to them “now, are YOU ready for Kadakes!”. Contact Roger Hamen at Kadakes: Email: kadakes@yahoo.com Above interview is shortened For full interview go to fuze.lu
30 — Cd review
Chris’s CD review corner
All releases from bands playing at Food For Your Senses reviewed by Christophe Reitz
De Läb Sex Drugs an e Prêt
BalthazaR Rats
De Läb has been playing Hip-Hop “op Lëtzebuergesch” since 2006. The long awaited album was released on 5th April. It’s loaded with different influences and guest appearances, such as Deborah Lehnen (“Déi falsch Schlaang”) or Maxime Bender (“Häppy Hippokrit”). De Läb is known for calling a spade a spade. “Sex Drugs an e Prêt” is more than the sum of 19 tracks, namely a vivid artistic synthesis packed with laid-back beats, rough rhymes and lots of criticism.
The quintet is one of Belgium’s most promising indie/rock bands. “Rats” is their second album, released in 2012. It is an easy-listening indie/pop ten track experience. Although some parts may be sparsely orchestrated, the album never really sounds empty. Balthazar makes occasional use of brass and string instruments. Subtle percussion and acoustic guitars accompany vocal harmonies on large parts of the record, which can be followed by large classical solos. (“Any Suggestion”)
Daily Vacation Yumaque
ON AN ON Give in
The trio formerly known as “Fracture” combines different sound effects, heavily processed guitar and bass sounds, samples and drums to create atmospheric soundscapes. Daily Vacation was officially founded in 2011, the first LP “Yumaque” was released in October 2012. Their music is an experimental mix between electronica, shoegaze, and krautrock, titled “Psychedelic Tropical Surf”. They don’t hesitate in making reference to it. You’ll hear crashing waves throughout a whole track. (“El Café”). Ten well orchestrated sound experiments can be found on this LP.
Their debut album “Give in” was released in early 2013, only half a year after the band was created. ON AN ON sounds atmospheric, floaty and shimmery. One could call it experimental dream pop with indie, rock and shoegaze influences. Electronic influences can be found on “The Hunter”, which is one of the heavier songs on the album. Although most of the tracks sound calmer, you recognise ON AN ON’s characteristic feel throughout the whole album which can be found on the band’s Soundcloud page.
FOX Chasing 1993
Jacco Gardner Cabinet of Curiosities
New band – well-known faces. Fox combines laid-back vocals, acoustic and electric guitars as well as melodic organ sounds to create their own sound which you will recognise throughout the whole CD. According to the cover, this EP was published back in 1972. Although a source requesting anonymity confirmed that it was only recently released. And that’s basically how they sound: modern and vintage at the same time. “Chasing 1993” is a timeless Rock experience. The whole EP can be found online on the band’s Soundcloud page.
Jacco Gardner is a neo-psych/baroque pop artist from the Netherlands. “Cabinet of Curiosities” was released in February 2013. The special use of classical instruments such as strings and flutes mixed with various effects makes the album sound very exclusive. The instrumental title track is a good attempt to sketch childhood memories using many different sources, such as children’s laughter and fairground organs. This track is exemplary for the surreal atmosphere on the whole album. It is a sonic curiosity indeed, but definitely worth a listen.
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The fourth shout-out from Screaming Fields
© Adam Walder
Since 2010 the Rockhal has hosted a rather unique music festival especially for Luxembourg school bands or solo artists – Screaming Fields. Young musicians from across the country battle it out on behalf of their school to win a host of great prizes The Screaming Fields concept is the brainchild of the Rockhal. The aim being to not only to offer a stage to play on for the winning line-up, this year on 6th June, but also to make bands work to get there. It’s a kind of “mini-window” into self-promotion, something that many young musicians will no doubt face for the first time. There’s been a lot of support for the festival and FUZE has been a willing partner since 2011, but new for this year is the involvement of four Echternach schools working together as part of a management project to help organise Screaming Fields 2013. Already they’ve made their mark by adding a new jury selection stage to the festival, an exciting addition as the jury members are all well known Luxembourg musicians; Joelle Gelhausen - lead singer of Angel At My Table, David Schmit – known as the guitarist of Eternal Tango and John Rech of Dreamcatcher fame as well as organiser of numerous musical events and part of Music:LX.
How do I take part? Any band or solo artist from schools in Luxembourg can apply for Screaming Fields as well as youth club acts registered as part of the Service National de la Jeunesse “Proufsall” project. The list of steps acts need to pass through in order to become one of the final 11 to play at the Rockhal on 6th June, are as follows: ► 25th April to 25th May: Sign-up online at www.screamingfields.lu ► 30th April to 30th May: Public voting online ► 31st May to 2nd June: Jury decide their vote ► 3rd June: Final line-up announced ► 6th June: Screaming Fields festival 2013 at Rockhal Club with performances from winning 11 acts! The prize list for the winners is a long one including; free entry to Rock Tools workshops at the Rockhal for all, and special prizes for best live performance, best song, most creative promotion and the “coup de coeur” of the Music and Resources at the Rockhal. Just what are those great prizes? Head to the website to find out as well as loads more info. Website: www.screamingfields.lu Facebook: www.fb.com/screamingfieldsrockhal
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