After going to so many goth or metal gigs, one question often comes up: “But where are the young people?”, both on stage and in the audience, where you often see the same faces you’ve been seeing for 10 or 20 years, or even longer. Well, the young were at the Atomic Cat for the electro-punk night organised by Bleeding Edge, featuring Kai Cult, GØK2 and Lui Surreal!
As you step into the unmissable cyberpunk/post-apocalyptic-themed basement, there are a few cool things going on. Firstly, the air conditioning’s working: the Atomic Cat isn’t a dump like the Defense Arena, where the Iron Maiden crowd found themselves in complete darkness earlier this week – here, things actually work! Next, there's Kai Cult, the night’s headliner, who goes round to every person in the bar to introduce himself: “Hi, I’m Louis, it’s my first time in Paris, I’m so happy!” So CUTE. We haven’t even seen him on stage yet and we’re already melting, despite the air conditioning. So let’s give a big thank you to Bleeding Edge for this unique and inspired line-up, just two days after they’d put on the mind-blowing Violent Magic Orchestra… an organiser to keep an eye on, for sure!
LUI SURREAL
Don’t confuse Louis with Lui Surreal, who’s about to take to the stage. We mentioned earlier that the crowd at the Atomic Cat was, on average, a fair bit younger than during goth events – a sign that often means what we’re about to see doesn’t really care much for the old genre conventions… bingo! Lui Surreal mixes all sorts of things: we go from punk done by the book (his anthem Gatekeeper has all the feel of a pint smashed on the floor in a pub one October evening) to thumping electro, via a few melancholic post-punk tracks, always with that spark of madness that sets the place alight.
On stage, Lui Surreal admits to suffering from the heat. With his adorably emo-punk-party-goer look, he exudes a certain incongruity – a blend of sweet naivety and a desire to shake things up. Beyond the fun factor – and the urge to get moving that’s already taking hold of the audience – the focus is on emotions: there’s attitude, energy and fun, but also a great deal of sincerity.
He draws extra energy from the audience (tonight, the artists are generally spending just as much time on stage as they are in the crowd) and invites Kai Cult to join him for a track. Together, they’ve collaborated on two songs, and after exchanging ideas and working together for quite some time, they met in person for the first time this summer. So cute, we tell you!
GØK2
With GØK2, there is a change in tone. As with the other two acts on the bill, the stage set-up consists of a solo singer. The artist, who is originally from Turkey and lives in Estonia, has already performed in France and in Paris. In fact, he gives us a demonstration of his best French with three essential points: “bonjour”, “merci” and “BOUGE TON CUUUUUUL” ("move your ass") . That’s more than enough to get a crowd moving – and to drive through Paris, too. The sound is aggressive, it packs a punch – a mix of big beat, nu metal, rave and trap: once again, who cares about narrow-minded genre labels, as long as it’s sincere and in-your-face.
On stage, Göktug is a whirlwind of enthusiasm and energy. The audience can’t resist him – nor can his T-shirt. Once again, he spends most of his time amongst the crowd as the tracks from his latest EP, THERAPY DOESN’T WORK, work their magic – from the unstoppable melodies of B.F.T.D. and its furious outbursts to the choruses of You Don’t Know. It’s the sort of music you want to listen to at full volume; in fact, you’d love to turn it up even louder. In her little booth—a mysterious cave hidden in the shadows at the back of the venue—Clem, the sound engineer and queen of the parisian underground dark scene's sound, has to turn the volume down a notch. Maybe it's the end of the world, but there are still a few rules, and apparently not everyone has turned into a wild beast. Not like GØK2, whose charisma and infectious madness create a joyful chaos as he dashes about, jumping in all directions (watch out for the spotlights though – they’re low, ouch ouch ouch!).
KAI CULT
Kai Cult seems to be having the best night of his life. After saying hello to everyone in the bar, he’s right at the front for every gig… But when GØK2 finishes his set, his excitement seems to double: “I’m next!”, he tells everyone he passes, all fired up. He’s come to have a good time and seems to be old friends with everyone there. Like his mates before him, he then decides to go and party with his friends for the night and spends most of his own gig in the crowd!
Kai Cult is from Australia; he spent all his savings to come to Europe. Before Paris, he was in London and clearly realised there was ‘a thing’ going on between the French and the English: without losing his huge smile, he throws out lines like ‘fuck London, fuck the UK’, explaining to us that the food there was rubbish and that everything is way better in Paris. He tries to jump around but realises, “I can’t jump here!” With such a low ceiling and everything hanging from it, there are loads of hazards… in fact, the suspended projector won’t last until the end of the evening!
Kai Cult is partying, treating us to a track about riding a kangaroo into the sunset (surely something they learn in Australian college), and his bittersweet blend of electro, punk, metal and hyperpop hits the spot. He naturally returns the favour to Lui Surreal by inviting him to sing their second track together, even though the two of them end up spending just 20 seconds on stage together, each keen to enjoy the moment with the audience.
We’re treated to millions of thank-yous; he even thanks his mum for giving him a French name for some reason… And then, all of a sudden, it’s over. Or almost. Whilst everyone else heads for the bar or the exit, Louis – aka Kai Cult – carries on going up to people to thank them for coming. A big thank you to you, Louis, above all! We hope to see him again one day, both for his music and for his super-fun attitude and irresistible charm. So cute, definitely, let's call this guy Kai Cute from now.
