Wave Gotik Treffen 2017: literary ambitions, Cola mit Spee and pitch-black music

The WGT. Wave Gotik Treffen. The biggest black festival in the world and an unforgettable experience every time again. A gathering of like-minded creative and eccentric people, individualists who exceptionally blend into a larger whole.

It's my ninth edition already, and I see no reason to leave it after it. This year - like every year - there is some criticism of the program. Not enough big names, perhaps. But are we not here to discover new things, and to see bands that we will never see in our own country?

The program is very eclectic. There are numerous stages throughout the city, but there are also exhibitions, lectures, guided tours, parties... I intend to make it a total experience. As the performances start only about four or five o’clock, it is impossible to see more than five concerts a day. On the other hand, you have a lot of time to experience other things.

The first day

I begin in a very classical way at the Agra. This is the beating heart of the WGT. The largest concert hall with a capacity of 5000 people, the camping, a wide variety of food stalls and a large market with clothes, discs and accessories. Ideal to do some purchases - you want to look good, don’t you? - and to add some jewels to your CD collection.

I rush to be on time at the Schauspielhaus - the theater that will be my favorite place in this edition - to see Herbst in Peking. That did not prove to be necessary. Against my expectations, not so many people wanted to attend the concert. You may not know Herbst in Peking, but they are legendary here in the former GDR. They played a role in the fall of the wall. Herbst in Peking was one of the many punk bands that existed in the GDR, and they had a small hit with 'Bakschischrepublik', or backsheesh republic, a tremendous criticism of the GDR.

The DDR government didn’t like it, especially since they thought the name of the group referred to the massacre at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, a slaughter that didn't want to be mentioned. In fact, the name from a book by Boris Vian's with the same name, and the band carried this name since 1987, long before the slaughter in Beijing. However, Herbst in Peking was banned. The ban did not last long, as the wall fell soon afterwards.

A punk band in a theater room. Isn’t that exceptional? It will soon be clear why that is the case. Herbst in Peking has never restricted itself to punk. For instance, they also made songs with metal percussion à la Einstürzende Neubauten. But nothing of all this tonight. Here they play atmospheric music with a lot of attention to the lyrics. The band always had literary aspirations, as was also widespread in the alternative GDR scene (today Herbst in Peking play a song based on a poem by punk poet Bert Papenfuss, a central figure from the DDR scene). I'm surprised that the singer starts in English, but he switches to German regularly. Those who came to hear the old work might have been dissapointed, but it was an intense and successful performance nevertheless.

The crows call Jarboe welcome. Once upon a time she was half of the misanthropic duo Swans, today she plays here alone. Not entirely alone. A folk guitarist accompanies her. Consider the guitar as a drone - sometimes the guitar literally plays only one chord per song - supporting captivating female vocals. It's original, but it’s a hard stretch to keep the public’s attention for a longer time. Many people leave half way the concert.

In Gowan Ring used to be part of World Serpent - the record label of Death In June, Current 93 and many others - and so they are sometimes counted as neofolk. In reality, they are pure hippies making music for a world of harmony. A big difference with the world of perdition and misanthropy that is called neofolk. Masterbrain B'ee - who lives in Leipzig - tells about the drugs he took during the previous edition of the WGT, and how the hangover following that was the inspiration for a song about his childhood memories, which is now performed here a year later.

No big attendance for Andi Sex Gang. It needs to be said that he will perform again with Sex Gang Children on the next day, and they are the real thing, off cource. Anyone who thought Andi would perform his solo work was at the wrong address. Almost the whole set consisted of Sex Gang Children songs, performed with Matthew J. Saw on the guitar. It was somewhat amateurish. The sound check took too long and so the organizers decided that the performance had begun. In Leipzig, everyone must start and end on the announced time so that people who change stage are sure they can see the bands of their choice.

The two gentlemen want to leave the stage, but are told to play. Andi complains that he left his water is backstage and asks for a new bottle, which he does not see, however, until a staff member puts it in front of his nose. As a final disaster, Andi let’s his guitar fall, breaking his reinforcement element. An additional micro is added to amplify the guitar in a hurry. Strangely enough, the performance will be very good from then on, though it remains the question why this performance had to take place with songs that will sound much better tomorrow with the whole band.

The second day

One of the many exhibitions free for visitors to the WGT is 'Modern Times' in the history museum of the Altes Rathaus (Old City Council). This gives an overview of Leipzig's history in the 19th and 20th centuries. We begin in 1815 - the victory over Napoleon in the Völkerschlacht in Leipzig - and get an overview of the 1830's hunger riots, the 1848 revolt (smashed in blood), the German unification after the Franco-Prussian war of 1870, the tremendous Anti-Semitism, the rise of socialism (of which Leipzig was a bulwark), the First World War, the rise of Nazism (of which Leipzig was also a bulwark) ...

There are links with our scene. The fire in the Reichstag in 1933 - featured in the number ‘Feurio’ of Einstürzende Neubauten - led to a process in Leipzig. Besides the arsonist Marinus van der Lubbe, a number of prominent Communists had to stand trial. The latter were released in the trial, but the Nazis kept writing in their publications that the communists caused the fire. Communist Willy Münzenberg wrote a rebuttal of this statement from Paris: ‘Braunbuch uber Reichstagbrand und Hitlerterror’, or ‘Brown Book’, a major and controversial record of death In June (forbidden in Germany because it contains the Nazi party song ‘Horst-Wessellied’). We also read that the euthanasia program for mentally and physically disabled people - the subject of Samsas Traum’s ‘Poesie: Friedrichs Geschichte’ - started in Leipzig with the killing of 'Child K'.

The exhibition also shows the fall of the wall, which began with tens of thousands of Leipzigers demonstrating weekly with the slogan ‘Wir sind das Volk’. Remarkably, this slogan - meanwhile taken over by the hateful Pegida - was often accompanied by ‘Wir wollen raus’ - ‘we want to go’ screamed by people who wanted to leave the GDR (while the current Pegida is against migration).

The exhibition ends with a small room with 'Szene-Erinnerungen', which shows some material about the early gothic scene in Leipzig. Actually, it is a small follow-up of the 'Leipzig in Schwarz' exhibition held last year for the 25th anniversary of the WGT. There is not much to see, but we learn that the museum is still looking for material for a next exhibition about the theme. We are looking forward to it.

The Stasi Museum 'Runde Ecke' is also showing an exhibition about the early goth scene, in particular explaining the prosecution of subcultures by the Stasi, the state security of the GDR. There is also a 'reading', which is actually a performance of a piece by two actors. The topic is a research by the Stasi about the wave group ‘Schadestof’. First, a student is called to become Stasi ‘Informele Mitarbeiter’ - there were hundreds of thousands of ‘IMs’ who spied on their co-citizens in the GDR - in order to gather information about the band.

That's how Sabine is approached, a brilliant pupil who appears to be close to the ‘Gruftis’ - a German name for tomb-people or wavers - also dressed like them and attended various concerts of Schadestof. The performance is based entirely on true documents of the Stasi, of which only the order was slightly modified to clarify the story line. Sabine eventually accepts to become Informele Mitarbeiter. The presentation ends with her written report to the Stasi, the last sentence of which states: ‘All Gruftis drink their cola with Spee (laundry detergent which, according to some, has anesthetic effect in combination with cola), but they do not have to do if they do not want to.’

You can also read through the numerous Stasi reports about Gruftis. It's obviously terrifying to see how the police state kept watch of the youth, but it's also funny at times. For example, reference is made to 'Codix' or 'Goortik', wrong names that found their origin not only from the Stasi but also from the young people they interviewed. There are also references to 'Kürfans' and 'The Chur', as well as to 'New Menticks', 'Depache Mode' and 'Depesche Mode'.

It's even more threatening when it comes to fights with skinheads that took place regularly. Skinheads attacked wave parties to cut off the hair of Gruftis, in which Gruftis were also wounded with knifes. The Stasi acknowledged that the violence came from the the skins in the first place, but found that Gruftis were also guilty of violence and injuries, ‘usually in response to provocations of other youth groups as skinheads.’

There is a strange story about Gruftis who wanted to celebrate Adolf Hitler's birthday on 20/04/1989. Luckily, the Stasi concludes that the story is unfounded. The Stasi recognized that Gruftis are usually against violence and neonazism. Perhaps there was confusion with Robert Smith's birthday a day later on April 21, which of course was celebrated. The Stasi also concluded that Gruftis, when hearing the voice of Robert Smith, raised their arms and fell on the ground in ecstasy. Hmm, yes ... can be.

Should there be more music? Of course! Let’s go to the Taubschenhalle. This is the place were mohawks and deathhawks unite. And you know what that means: deathrock, postpunk, batcave ... Delicious. Singer Suzy Sabotage of Masquerade looks like a young version of Siouxie with bleached hairs. Also, her voice and dance moves reminds us of this great lady, even though it must not be intentional. Together with her companion and bassist Saph - both have another deathrock group in which Saph sings: Virgin in Veil - they bring a mix of punk and post punk, which unfortunately does not totally convince me.

‘After 26 years it's not easy to find new groups,’ the introducer to Soviet Soviet told us. Soviet Soviet - the council of councils - is such a newcomer. It's one of countless bands playing postpunk without having something to do with the black scene. They can bring forth some interesting elements, but they repeat them endlessly until you’ll ultimately get bored with them. Totally unnecessary performance.

I didn’t hear anything from The Scary Bitches for a long time. It appeared no one heard from them in the last five years. But here, the ‘Lesbian Vampires From Outer Space’ are back for their first concert since 2012. They are working on a new album that should be released next year. They already play a song from that album, but rest of the show consists of classics like my favorite 'You'll End Up Looking Like The Scary Bitches'. Nothing to take seriously, but enough to get a smile on our face once every five years.

The first performance that really touches me today is Bloody, Dead & Sexy. I remember when I first saw them in The Steeple in Waregem, as an opener for ... Sex Gang Children! What a coincidence. Today, the band celebrates its 20th birthday. For the occasion, a compilation was issued: 'Crucifixion, Please!' They play a lot from this new CD, so it is actually a 'best of' set. It seems like time stood still, since it is as overwhelming as the first time I saw them.

Yesterday, I wondered why Andi Sex Gang had to perform solo with Sex Gang Children songs. Today, everything becomes clear. Sex Gang Children also has a new compilation - "Electric Jezebel", which collects singles from 1982 and 1983 - and they play this in full, and with the original guitarist Terry Mcleay in the band. Matthew J. Saw was referred to the bass for the occasion. (The chance that the original bassist Dave Roberts will ever play in the band is nihil after the rumors he has spread over Andi Sex Gang.) The performance thus consists of the classics of the first years of the group: 'Times of our Lives', 'Salvation', 'Sebastiane', 'Oh Funny Man', 'Mauritia Mayer'... Just genius!

The third day

On the third day I wake up with a gigantic hangover in the afternoon. I’ve been staying too long at a dark-romantic party this morning. The musical offer available today does not excite me much. I've heard enough of all the postpunk and electronic groups, so I opt for something radically different: black metal. The Felsenkeller offers a fascinating bill in the genre. It starts with Nachtblut, a band that is clearly very popular here. The trio looks fantastic, with bodypaint and extravagant hairstyles. The singer spits his lyrics into the audience as the German version of Dany Filth. Add some orchestral and acoustic elements to it, and you have a particularly powerful and varied performance.

From the dark hollow holes deep in the black forest comes Unlicht, who like to call themselves 'The Black Forest Hell Ensemble'. They also wear bodypaint and should be careful not to hurt themselves at the long nails hanging at their arms. Where Nachtblut brings their black metal with elegance and melody, the intention here seems to be to produce unsustainable noise. They manage to achieve that, to the extent that leave halfway through the concert.

Back to my favorite hall: the Schauspielhaus. Myrkur recorded her first ep entirely on her own, as is required in black metal. It contained black metal prolonged with idyllic heavenly singing that quickly got attention. Her original intention was to stay anonymous and not to release pictures of herself, but it was inevitable that the world realized that the beautiful Danish photo model Amalie Brunne was behind the project. From black metal to neo classical, a big step for humanity, a small step for Amalie Brunne. She is assisted tonight by a guitarist and two singers, and accompanies herself on piano, nyckelharpa and drum. The result is beautiful.

We’re in for even more beauty. Moon Far Away mixes Russian folk music with electronic elements. Count Ash has included four accomplices for this performance, including a singer with a beautiful voice. Count Ash's folk guitar and its multitude of effects is also central, as well as electronics, bass and percussion. Call it folk, neofolk or post folk, but take it from me that it's fantastic.

The fourth day

Pentecost. All good things come to an end. There is no consensus about the bad things. It's the last day of the WGT, and today I really want something really dark, something pitch-black.

The hall of the Haus Leipzig is already full when I arrive in time for the ‘reading’ of Oswald Henke. Henke will perform songs from Goethes Erben accompanied by piano. It seems a good concept. Oswald is still singing his dark songs very expressively and theatrically. In addition to two songs from the fantastic recent musical theater 'Menschenstille', the emphasis is on the older work: 'Ich liebe Schmerzen', 'Das schwarze Wesen', Kaltes Licht', '5 Jahre' and 'Der Weg'. A wonderful set. And really dark, so I am happy.

I leave, still impressed by the performance of Henke. On my way, I pass a table of books, with titles like 'Gespräche mit Goth' (conversations with Goth) and 'Ich war ein Grufti' (I was a Grufti). Their author is Thomas Manegold, and he is the next guest here. He trickled my attention and I turn right back to the room I just left. Manegold presents his book ‘Gespräche with Goth’, an episode novel that consists of several short stories that are connected.

The main character is a former DJ and music journalist who struggles with a burnout. Manegold appears to have a particularly sharp pen and a wide range of humor. His description of the self-centered amateur music journalist who cynically looks down on the people he interviews and sees himself as an indispensable link between the artist and the public must undoubtedly cause some teeth cringing at the Dark Entries editorial board.

When I finally walk into a concert hall and see Vain Warr at work, I have to think about my late grandmother. She often complained that the young generation of artists did not bother to articulate. It is a generalized cliché that you hear more often in the French-speaking world. I came here for an additional portion of pitch-black darkness. The program promised something inspired by The Sisters of Mercy. Well, the drum machine sounds like Dr. Avalanche on a lesser day and the guitars are reverbing and delaying like they should. It's not overwhelming, but it's not bad either.

I was initially afraid Holygram would be the next thirteen in a dozen postpunk band, and it turned out to be true. The singer sings his lyrics as if they were terribly boring, and that turned out to be true too. But hey, at least he’s articulating. Actually, this is a good performance, at least if you have drunk some beers and do not give too much attention to the lyrics (I'm better at the former than at the latter).

Back in my favorite concert hall I notice two cops looking carefully around. After all the reports about terrorist attacks on concerts, I get anxious thoughts. Suppose a freak with bad intentions has has entered the place, how do you distinguish him from all the other freaks? It's a question you should not think about too long.

I'm here to see Theodor Bastard. I saw them when they played pitch-blach darkwave. Meanwhile, they have seriously evolved towards world music, and the result is impressive. How do you mix Dead Can Dance with goa, folk, world music, dark wave and industrial? Theodor Bastard knows the secret, but will not tell you. You can enjoy it, though, without limits.

As a closer for the festival, Corde Oblique is a safe choice. It’s not pitch-black, but rather consists of infinite beauty. A combination of tiredness and excessive drinking makes me unable to enjoy the performance in a good way, but from experience I know that the neoclassical group around classical guitarist Riccardo Prencipe sounds heavenly, and in my moments of clarity, I am reaffirmed in this opinion.

Time to go to sleep then? Indeed. This edition will have me suffering from the inevitable Leipzig Blues for the next few days. But I'm returning home with a suitcase full of great experiences, CDs and books that will keep me going for a while. And my decision is already clear: I will be back again next year.

Setlist Oswald Henke: Ich liebe Schmerzen / Das schwarze Wesen / So weiss ich doch du wärst / Traumsuche / Keine Farben / Lilien / Kaltes Light / Der Abschied / Stadt der Träumen (Artwork) / 5 Jahre / Der Weg

Xavier Kruth

Pictures: Luc 'Who Cares' Luyten

Wave-Gotik-Treffen 2016, part I: If only it could always be winter and always night... (the music)

When I walk out of the station on Thursday afternoon, May 12, I bump into a traditional long line of extravagant goths who immediately want to receive their wristband for the 25th edition of the Wave-Gotik-Treffen. I have no patience for this and head for the hotel immediately. Along the way, I can still taste the atmosphere Leipzig enjoys throughout the year, when not trampled by black folks. Leipzigers are a colourful bunch. Literally: dyed hair and piercings are everywhere. You regularly see punks and emos. And goths of course, because even outside the WGT, Leipzig can rely on a very big dark scene.

Thursday, May 12

The big jubilee party was to be held on Thursday in a theme park, and again, we can witness an endless line of people waiting to get on the bus. I am not that enthusiastic, and I decide to take a look at the Gothic Pogo Festival, which is organized independently and simultaneously in Werk II. Gothic Pogo aims at batcavers and minimal wavers, and organizes parties all over Germany. The festival is at its 11th edition in Leipzig. At the entrance is a message that racists, sexists and homophobes are not welcome. I feel very welcome, though I found it bit less sympathetic when my friend and colleague Dimi was denied access two days later because of his Death In June t-shirt. On a positive note, there was a very beautiful exhibition by Incestum and Danjela Diamond at Werk II, which showed metal insects and other strange animals in an obscure cellar lighted with red light and candles.

There are no big names on the program, but perhaps it's an opportunity to discover promising new groups. Lizard Pool isn’t one of them, though. Their third-rate English indie rock is full of clichés and deserves to disappear quickly into the anus of music history. Dividing Lines by contrast plays decent batcave including mohawks, tribal drums and screaming guitars. That is what the public what the public here wants to hear, and I enjoy it too.

Friday May 13th

I visit the Agra-plain - the beating heart of the WGT - to pick up my wristband. This place holds the probably largest gothic market in the world, with clothing, footwear, jewellery, CDs, books and other accessories. Something tells me that you can spend quite a lot of money here in only a little time. Fortunately, I restraint and I just eat and drink something I hear the theme park yesterday was very nice, but there were tons of people and you had long queues everywhere.

A goth with hay fever, how is it possible... Oh, if only it could always be winter and always night, it would not happen to me. Fortunately, there is a pharmacy right across the Felsenkeller - one of the dozens of locations around the city for concerts - where I start my musical program with a portion of gothic rock. Golden Apes can be situated somewhere between gothic rock and post-punk. (Please don’t tell me that it's all one and the same, you infidel!) They apparently enjoy great success in Germany, and rightly so. The Angina Pectoris is a goth legend of the German 80s. They perform for the first time in 15 years, and you can clearly hear that. The musicians are not attuned to one another. The guitarists come from the metal scene and do not realize that they should let their guitars echo widely to make credible goth rock. The result is a kind of pitiful hug rock metal. I get out of here.

Before I go to the Shauspielhaus - the stage for connoisseurs in Leipzig - I can overhear a nice conversation at restaurant. Someone explains that it is ‘Wave-Gotik-Treffen’ in the city. ‘It’s a pity that there are not as many here now,’ someone else replies. Goths here have almost become an attraction for the average resident, and that’s fine with me.

In the Shauspielhaus, you will not hear any beats or heavy guitars, but mostly neoclassical music. We can perfectly illustrate this by Kirsten Morrison, a lady who also plays keys with Lene Lovich. She stands alone on stage, armed with a violin, a harpsichord and an impressive soprano voice. All the rest is pre-recorded. Her magical songs are based on poems by Edgar Allan Poe, Rumi, Shakespeare, Rimbaud and William Blake. Kari Rueslåtten is perhaps an odd choice for the WGT, but there is a large and devoted audience in the room to listen to her. This is certainly not intellectual music, but both the texts and the slow music are in line with the better melancholic pop.

The Deadfly Ensemble - the avant-garde folk group of Cinema Strange singer Lucas Lanthier - sound much more batcave live than on CD. It will be up to the guitars played by Steve James - also active in Christ vs. Warhol - and the impressive bass and drums. Only the cello of Marzia Rangel - also active in Christ vs. Warhol - and the folk guitar of Lanthier give the sond a folky touch. The dancing and singing style of Lanthier and especially the horde photographers photographing exhibit a group with a great sensibility for absurdity. Nice concert.

Saturday, May 14

Today, I have only one venue on the program: the Taubschenhall, whit a lot of good stuff for the real batcavers. With Christ vs. Warhol for example. Alas, I am not the only one who wants to attend the concert. On arrival, I am informed that the hall is packed and that I can’t enter. The smartass I am puts himself at an opening at the bar where he can see the guitarist and an occasional glimpse of the singer, and where he can enjoy this delicious set. This is batcave from the top shelf. Several new songs are played, and that’s good since their only album dates back to 2010 (we also found a promo CD from 2014 at the merch stand). I look forward to a new CD from this wonderful band.

We only know Lene Lovitch from the song ‘Lucky Number’, but she appears to have other lucky numbers. She brings a very successful show with wacky new wave. We sometimes found Tragic Black too screamy to be called death rock, but any doubts are professionally cleared by a grand performance by the extravagant trio. The newer work goes back to the classic death rock sound. Guitarist Stich can also excel with a song from his former group All Gone Dead. Tragic Black closes with two songs by Christian Death (‘Death Wish’ and ‘Skeleton kiss’).

With ‘The Grey Eyes of Evening’ and ‘Quatorze exemples autheniques du Triomphe de la musique décorative’, Cinema Strange delivered two classics in the batcave revival of the new century. Then, for some stupid reason, they quit. That’s very sad, but we are so happy to see them perform exclusively here again. Because Cinema Strange was so exceptionally original in almost everything they did: their appearance, the vocals, the melodic bass and guitar lines, the constant rhythm changes, the imaginative lyrics ... They gave a great performance, but without any prospect for new work.

Sunday, May 15

The festival hosts more than 243 performances at 75 venues (I also include all museums, exhibitions and sites where lectures or special events occur). However, you can grab only four or five performances a day. The program is designed so that each venue has a coherent range of bands that are stylistically closely related. Moreover, groups can play here longer than at other festivals, so we can enjoy the concerts even more.

Aargh, a flat tire - I happen to do all my trips by bike - I cannot get in the Volkspalast in time for performances of Winter Severity Index and other beautiful things. Once the defect is resolved, I'm headed straight to Agra. This time, I feel no constraints to spend a lot at the gothic market. But that's not the reason I'm here. Although I believe that Leipzig is an opportunity to discover or see exclusive smaller groups that never come to Belgium, I make an exception tonight and I'm going to watch a few classics in the Agra-Halle. There is some criticism of this hangar which is converted to a concert venue, but it's the only room that can receive 5,000 persons. Thus, the biggest and most popular groups play here. Lacrimosa is one of them, and I never miss a chance to see them live.

Diary of Dreams is playing here too, as on just about every dark festival. I've lost count of the number of times I've seen them live. I have often said that their CDs are interchangeable, but always of high quality, and that goes for their performances too. It is noteworthy that Adrian Hates is very proud of what the group has produced in the current line-up, for there is much from the last CDs in the setlist. These songs, however, are nicely interspersed with older classics as ‘MenschFeind’, ‘Giftraum’, ‘Kingdrom’ and ‘Butterfly:Dance’. Remarkably, nothing is played from the success album 'Freak Perfume'.

Lacrimosa is playing for the seventh time at WGT, which makes them the band that has performed the most at the WGT. It was WGT organizer Michael Brunner who persuaded Tilo Wolff to perform live with a first show at WGT in 1993. Who knows, if not for him, Lacrimosa could have remains a studio project. That would have been a pity, because they are phenomenal live. Their set includes a lot of songs from the last album ‘Hoffnung’. A very dark album, and one that has really touched the fans, as I can measure from the reactions in the audience. But of course, songs are played from all periods. Both Tilo Wolff (in the masterpiece ‘Stolzes Herz’ and the old gem ‘Crucifixio’) and Anne Nurmi (with beautiful ‘Apart’) are in an excellent condition.

I thought I would go to sleep after Lacrimosa. The WGT indeed starting to look like a war of attrition. But there still appears to be a band on the programme. Grandpa Punk John Lydon will occur with his band Public Image Limited. Since I have seen an episode of Reynebeau & Rotten, I have serious doubts about this lad. But I also read that the reunion tour of PiL received much praise. And after this performance, I need to add my name to the praisers. The old sacks play really well and manage to create the right atmosphere. Much to my astonishment, I must add.

Monday, May 16

I’m disturbed. Christine Plays Viola was programmed but neither Christine nor her viola can be seen. Instead, there are five furry guys on stage who play (nice) gothic rock. I want to hear violin and hurry to the Shauspielhaus where Saeldes Sanc will be playing. We first heard from this project of Hannah Wagner by their coopertion with Schwarzblut, and we could not suspect that the project would be so popular. Or could it be due to Ernst Horn, the man behind Deine Lakaien and Helium Vola, who plays with Saeldes Sanc? Hannah Wagner certainly looks disarmingly girlish and authentic with her stunning red gown, her pregnant belly and her bare feet. But she can provoke laughter and astonishment, and above all, she sings like a nightingale. When after a wonderful show, Wagner and Horn intone ‘Withering Heigts’, we feel lifted to withering heights and we realize that we have discovered something really extraordinary here.

I initially had my doubts about The Visit. Only cello and vocals? Is that enough to impress? After a performance by Saeldes Sanc? It is though, as appears after a few songs. Voice and cello complement each other perfectly and can be used in a varied way. The duo from Canada succeeds, to their merit, and they reap the appropriate praise.

When you listen to the music of the Sangre Muerdago, you would not think that they come from the Galician punk and metal scene. It all sounds so soft and harmonious... But it involves some sort of criticism against a capitalism system that reduces people into mindless consumption and production products. Songs from their latest brilliant ‘O Camiño Das Mans Valeiras’-CD - ‘the way of the empty hand’, an allusion to how material wealth should not be equated with spiritual wealth - alternate with older and new works, with also a lot of instrumental pieces. Beautiful.

 
The fight against sleep has increased in intensity, and to avoid falling asleep in the soft seats of the Schauspielhaus - it almost happened during Sangre de Muerdago - I'm going to take a chance to get in at the concert of Pink Turns Blue. Unfortunately, the queue before the venue approximately corresponds to the capacity of the room. Returning to the Schauspielhaus is not an option, because people are lining up there to see the heavenly Irfan. What's left? The Felsenkeller? Well, it’s on the way to my hotel.

Korpiklaani, a Finnish group of forest workers who understand the art to look like a bunch of freaks, are already playing excellent folk metal with violin and accordion. I will not fall asleep here, that’s for sure. Though the inevitable last notes resonate here also. On the way to the hotel, I wonder whether I should be sad or glad it is over. It was wonderful, but it would have been impossible to keep up at this pace much longer. Sleep well Leipzig. Make beautiful dreams. We’ll see each other again next year.

Xavier Kruth

Pictures by Xavier Marquis: Cinema Strange, Tragic Black, Christ vs. Warhol, Public Image Limited, Lacrimosa (in Roeselare)

Read part II: There once was… (the history)

Wave-Gotik-Treffen 2016: Part II: There once was… (the history)

25 years WGT. That's quite a while, and I hope this will continue for many more years. It is also a time when we can look back. For this jubilee, there are various exhibitions that focus on the history of the festival and the Gruft scene in East Germany. The main exhibition is undoubtedly the ‘Leipzig in Schwarz’ historical review in the Stadtgeschichtliger Museum.

The WGT arose in 1992, or more precisely even in 1993 when the original ‘Moonchild Festival’ was renamed the ‘Wave Gothic Treffen’. But there was a whole history even before these dates. In the second half of the 80s, the ‘Gruftis’ - the German word for tomb people - also surfaced in the communist GDR. The Gruftis were often viewed negatively, and the Stasi - the East German secret service - kept a sharp eye on them.

More or less legal events were organized everywhere. CDs and cassettes were smuggled out of Hungary or from the West and then copied endlessly. There also was an underground circuit in which local music circulated on cassettes.

Michael Brunner played a central role in the Leipzig scene. This mystique young man went to take a course in Potsdam, where he also met kindred souls. He took the initiative to celebrate Walpurgis Night at the ruins of the castle Belvedere in Potsdam, and invited his friends from Leipzig to come over. The turnout was unexpectedly high: 150 participants from all over the GDR, with even some West Berliners among them. Most of them were arrested by the police, unfortunately, but for a minority, the party on the Pfingstberg got along.

It was not only police and state who were hostile. Skinheads often attacked the passive Gruftis too. In August 1990 - the wall had fallen by then - there was mass violence against Cure fans who wanted to see their idols at work in Leipzig. Extreme right-wing groups were scattered among the road from the Leipzig station to the arena where the concert took place, and attacked the concertgoers.

However, it was not all hostility. At that time there were many links between Grufties and punks. Punks often got along well with metalheads, but the latter often looked down on the soft Gruftis. All have had a common enemy, though: the Stino or Stinknormaler (stinking normal people). These bonds between subcultures, however, would disappear along with the GDR.

Michael Brunner was also the man who, in 1991 - the GDR was now absorbed by the Bundesrepublik - founded the organization ‘Moonchild’ along with his friend Sandro Standhaft, and began to give parties at the Villa. The Villa was of course too small for the larger plan of the two men: organizing a Moonchild festival. They had to move to the Eiskeller at Connewitz Kreuz for that end. That soon proved too small too, because the capacity of 800 men was nothing compared to 2000 people who came to attend (mainly through word-of-mouth). For those who could not enter, there was also a street party outside with bonfires and drinks. 

That may have been the impetus for the second edition - in 1993 - to be renamed a Treffen (a meeting in German). The nostalgia for GDR times - when togetherness was more important than the commercial aspect or the program - plays a part in this. The location moved a few hundred meters to Werk II and even more goths attended. And so the anticipated criticism resounded that there was indeed more programme and commerce, and less contact between the participants.

Goths like to complain, which is known, but despite all the criticism, the festival grew year after year. For the third festival, a new organization was formed: Sol et Luna, led by Brunner. Standhaft was removed and for many years pulled out of the city as the festival took place. The name of the festival was changed to ‘Wave-Gotik-Treffen’ as a counterweight to the ubiquity of English in the scene. It was also the first time that there were multiple venues.

In 1998, the number of visitors totalled 12,000 ghosts, and in 1999 20,000. The festival was bursting at the seams. The organizers aimed too high in 2000. They invited no less than 349 groups, where there were only 112 the year before. As a result, the festival could not pay the fees of the groups. The organizers didn’t get along and the coordination was flawed. A lot of gigs had to be cancelled. On Sunday, the security personnel stopped working and suppliers started breaking down the stages.

A number of people took the initiative to save what could be saved. Bands played for free and offered their material. There was even a gothic security service. The police also helped, if only to avoid greater chaos. However, that did not appear to be necessary as the public remained unbelievably calm. This can only happen at gothic festivals. (Is there anyone who has not made the comparison with the Belgian Eurorock festival last year?)

There’s more that puts this ‘Chaos-WGT’ in a bad light. Since a few years, there are complaints that the festival gives space to right-wing extremist ideas and bands. For example, the right-wing magazine Sigill gets a yearly stand at the gothic market. In 2000, Von Thronstahl is invited to play. Singer Josef Klumb - whose ringt-wing publisher Verlag + Agentur Werner Symanek also receives an annual stand on the market - is known as a supporter of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and gets a prohibition to perform by the city council. The group then performs without singer, but with masked men waving flags. On the flags: an image of the black sun, an occult symbol that was part of the SS castle in Wewelsburg. (WGT got criticism again in 2009, when an image of the black sun was printed on the camping tickets of the festival.)

Anyway, the festival is bankrupt in 2000. The organization is taken over by Move GmbH in 2001. They restore financial order, although this inevitably involves criticism that it has become too commercial and that the festival lost its alternative spirit. The program is even more diverse and now includes events at the opera and exhibitions in museums. With sales of 3 to 4 million annually, the importance for the municipality cannot be underestimated. It is no surpise, then, that the festival got awarded with the Leipzig Tourism Prize in 2014.

The jubilee edition of the WGT also offers some smaller exhibitions. In the station of Leipzig - the biggest in Europe - an exhibition gives some basic information about 25 years of WGT, but especially displays beautiful photographs by different photographers. One of them is Gerd Lehmann, the man who released the ‘Gestus-Moon Calendar’ between 2007 to 1997. He is entitled to a separate exhibition at Haus Leipzig.

Lehmann was a famous fashion photographer in the GDR, but stopped in 2007, after a career of more than 40 years. Not only because he had a beautiful and long career. He was also reluctant to adapt to the requirements of digital photography. However, he still likes to exhibit his work in a scene where he has always felt at home. The Grassi Museum - finally -  offers an exhibition titled ‘Faces of the Wave-Gotik-Treffen’ with pictures of Marcus Rietzsch, a man who makes beautifully staged photographs of festival goers and issues them since 10 years in the yearly book Pfingstgeflüster.

There is a second important historical exhibition, this time about the time before the WGT. It is no coincidence that after the ‘Wende’ - the fall of the Wall and the reunification of Germany - a big festival was founded in Leipzig. After all, a great Grufti-scene appeared in the GDR in the second half of the 80s.

There is an exhibition at the Runde Ecke, the former headquarters of the Stasi in Leipzig, with the focus on how the Stasi monitored alternative youngsters. The exhibition has changed considerably since I visited it for the first time in 2012. Where the earlier focus has been on the Gruftis, there is now more attention for other types of ‘negative-decadent’ groups: Tramper (hippies), Punks, Skinheads, Heavy's, New Romantics and Popper.

The Stasi - the espionage service in the GDR - could count on a broad network of ‘Informelle Mitarbeiter’, people who reported regularly about suspicious events and friends. In the goth scene, the number of spies was even larger than in the total population, as we learn from a lecture by John H. Nicholls, a man who writes a PhD on the whole issue. Where in the population an average 1 in 50 cooperated with the Stasi, it amounted to 1 in 6 in the scene.

There are several factors why the Stasi could count on so many people. On the one hand, they could get access to Western goods and alcohol, on the other hand there were also people who participated by conviction, because they believed they could help building a socialist state in this way. This could lead to the contradictory situation where people who were very important and dedicated in the scene also went to report to the Stasi. On the other hand, cooperation with the Stasi could always be rejected without serious consequences for the person concerned.

The exhibition shows numerous reports of interrogations of Gruftis. It is striking that these usually give a very honest story. There are reports of night trips to cemeteries. This usually happened after a night out. There’s even a picture of a grave that has been desecrated with a graffiti of ‘Boy George’.

However, the information from the Stasi was not always correct. Thus, in a report, Gruftis were seen as listeners of psychedelic music (which then is defined as ‘dark, depressive music’). Even funnier is the remark that ‘Codix’ - yes, that’s how it’s written in the text - are an extreme form of Gruftis who are coming from the metal scene and like vampires and The Cure. You can recognise the ‘Satansgruftis’ by their red belt and shoelaces. They sleep in tombstones and destroy cemeteries. If you see a Grufti with his legs crossed, then you can bet he’s a supporter of Lucifer, because only they exhibit this kind of behaviour.

The Stasi also mentions more positive things, but even they are not always correct: Gruftis believe in an afterlife, feel connected to the church but are hostile towards the leadership of the churches, they want to help people in need and are characterized by a passive attitude. Because of this passive attitude, they are a favourite target for the much more violent skinheads.

We still don’t know when the Gruftis exactly appeared in the GDR. A document speaks of 1987. Another document states that The Cure got a lot of attention in the West German media in 1985 and '86, which certainly had an impact on the youth in the GDR. The already mentioned John Nicholls told us that the funding for the surveillance of ‘negative decadent youths’ diminished after the ‘Punk-Problem’ was declared to be solved by the Stasi in 1983, but that the budget was increased again in the years 1985 to 1987. Someone asks whether the first Gruftis might have arrived in the vacuum that the repression against punks in 1983 had left, or only at the rise of the second wave punk from 1985. If someone has an answer, please let us know.

The exhibitions offered a lot of information for those who want to study the history of the WGT and the Grufti-scene. The scene his far from dead, as the annual turnout at the festival shows. It has since stabilized around 20,000 to 25,000 participants every year. I hope this will last many more years, because knowing the history is one thing, but writing history is even more fun.

Xavier Kruth

Credits pictures:  poster for the exhibition '25 Jahre schwarz' / cartoon Uwe Roesch / Jennifer Hoffert-Karas / Runde Ecke / unknown photographer

Read Part I:  If only it could always be winter and always night...