We were hoping for a return of the Freak Frequenz, whilst knowing that nothing was guaranteed: the small festival dedicated to gothic and industrial music, organised by Black Speech Production, had struggled to fill the Ferrailleur during its first two editions, despite a line-up that combined quality and variety... So, as we gather once more, it is with genuine pleasure that we head to the banks of the Loire for another evening where synthetic darkness takes centre stage. Freak Frequenz has adapted and broadened its horizons (there will notably be darksynth on the second night): this year, five of the six acts on the bill are French. Coincidence or a conscious editorial choice? We suspect that, from a logistical point of view, it makes things easier, as well as showcasing emerging artists with distinctive styles. That said, in the absence of a major international headliner on the first day – and despite all the good things we think of Potochkine, who is set to close the evening – we suspect there will still be a bit of room left...
FAITS D'HIVER
That being said, le Ferrailleur soon looks packed. It’s not full, mind you, but it’s enough to give the impression of a massive crowd in the pit right from the start of the party. Well, “party” – you know what I mean. This is Faits d’Hiver, not 'Fêtes d’Hiver'. We’d seen Sevan Pochon’s synth-punk/cold wave project a few months ago at a tricky gig in Paris (report), marred by technical issues and a sparse crowd, and it was high time to see him again under better conditions.
The first surprise is the arrival of a new member! Faits d’Hiver are now a duo on stage, featuring a skeleton – rather well-behaved but smartly dressed! The opening is furious; there’s a punk-inspired energy bubbling through these French lyrics that are spat right in our faces. Sevan announces: “The next track is called Le Mensonge Règne; it’s also the name of the brilliant EP on sale at the merch stand, for those of you who haven’t been disgusted yet.” There you go, that’s exactly what we want: some dark humour, against a rather grey backdrop – this Freak Frequenz is off to a good start!
Then he warns us: ‘The next one might be a bit of a slog; I only finished writing it last night, so please bear with me,’ before introducing his new track, which he concludes with a ‘that was almost it’. But no, it was really good! It was very good because that blend of melancholy and fury, of defeatism that isn’t quite resigned and still burns with a desire to rebel, that feigned disdain masking tenderness, and that in-your-face EBM/punk energy really work. It grabs you, it makes you want to pull a proper sulk – in short, we come away delighted.
DENUIT
With their frequent appearances, numerous concerts and social media activity, Denuit are no longer a secret. The duo have their own loyal following, who flock to the stage and await them with excitement. It must be said that on stage, these two have a reputation to uphold, and right from the start of Tears Fall, we find everything we love so much: Lis and Ivi take to the stage holding hands, evoking all the love that this project exudes between two melancholic laments, then begin to play with their torches. It is at once infectious, theatrical, touching, fun, sad and brimming with kindness and a sincere desire to share.
The concert begins in this bittersweet balance, between banshee-like baroque vocals and synths influenced by the 80s – drawing on John Carpenter as well as goth, synthpop and darkwave. Cyanure follow up with Faceless, their latest single. Faceless, much like Ivi Topp, who is hidden behind his hair! All the lights go out, and the torchlight display begins again. Then comes Skeletons, which sounds particularly heavy and frenzied tonight, the intensity building to a crescendo. It’s pounding, the crowd is sweating, Lis is kicking out into thin air (well done both for the flexibility and for lifting shoes that look like they weigh 666 kilos).
The end is near. “The next track will be the last one; it’s called Show Your Face and comes out on 17 April.” Show Your Face – that sounds like a response to Faceless… so the faces appear, gleaming but smiling, happy. The only one who doesn’t show himself too much, as usual, is Ivi. Yet even his hair doesn’t quite hide his smile either. Denuit lied to us: there is an encore, Nemesis and all its raw urgency. As usual, the duo knows how to win over their audience. Did you feel like ghosts at school parties? Denuit has transformed the Ferrailleur into a haunted house and left his sorrows there, but above all his gentleness and kindness, sighing in every corner.
POTOCHKINE
Potochkine and Denuit share some similarities hard to ignore: both duos (“two inseparable souls”, as Potochkine describes themselves) know how to make the darkness shine, drawing on a variety of influences ranging from pop to techno via gothic elements, and share the same taste for raw emotions and a very personal sense of the theatrical. But with Pauline Alcaïdé and Hugo Sempé, the trance takes on the air of a biting exorcism, where madness and darkness eventually take over.
We start with Pénurie de Larmes. It’s dark. The pair exude a desire to do battle, a pent-up energy that eventually explodes, whether in Hugo’s furious gestures or Pauline’s facial expressions and screams. The recent album Sang d’Encre stands shoulder to shoulder with the previous Sortilèges, and there’s still that same intensity, that same cold anger, that thing that boils and boils underneath… With Préférer se Taire, we appreciate Pauline Alcaïdé’s distinctive diction, that way of making words resonate with theatricality and eloquence, of infusing them with irony, disdain and despair. Se taire ('keep quiet')? Never!
With Potochkine, there are, of course, the furious beats, that synthetic tension, that edginess which serves as both the skeleton and the muscle of the music. You really work up a sweat here too. But there are also the lyrics in French, which serve as the tormented soul of the tracks, much like the cathartic BI and that raw need to settle scores in a touching, schizophrenic gesture, somewhere between revenge and a plea for forgiveness. Potochkine is fragile, vulnerable, yet also powerful and dangerous. Pauline screams and pulls at her hair; Hugo seems to be wrestling with the darkness through fierce, vindictive movements: if we are plunged into the darkness, it's because the shadows the duo harbours within have spilled out onto the Ferrailleur. The experience is unique, at once poetic and intense, furious and sensitive, as these two have developed a style all their own, an atypical modern and expressionist world, at times even baroque.
Admittedly, this first evening wasn’t sold out. Nevertheless, by showcasing lesser-known acts rather than big-name headliners, Black Speech also played a vital role in highlighting innovative artists – ones we haven’t seen 666 times before – who represent the future of our dark music scene. All this took place, incidentally, under the watchful eye of Johan Van Roy, Mr Suicide Commando and star of the following day, who enjoyed the concerts from the balcony… where we spotted him taking a photo through the wire mesh. We tried to copy him, without much success. We’ll do (perhaps?) better tomorrow. In any case, the organiser’s willingness to take risks is to be commended and their approach urgently needs to be encouraged, if we want the future to be as rich and interesting as possible… because we’ve seen it once again: the darkness of tomorrow promises to be abundant and thrilling!
