Cybersonik : Autumn 2012

Since the feature to review live shows has been taken down (It was never used), This article will document my experiences with Cybersonik 2012 on Saturday 13th October. Hosted at the famous Slimelight/Electrowerks, this festival showcased some of the best in UK Industrial, and even threw in a couple of Swedes for good measure.

It started on a hot day, and as this reviewer sat in Soho Square looking at the bench dedicated to Kirsty MacColl (RIP), my phone went off. It was Kettil Sundberg (Project Rotten, Syndrome x/209). I hot-tailed it to Camden with the premise of lunch. Lunch never happened as we had to go straight to the venue for soundchecking, but we made it just in time for an excellent buffet backstage. Meeting Fredrik and Kettil in the flesh enforced my ambitions towards them, their energy was obvious, and after spending hours talking to each of the acts, the festival was shaped to be something excellent.

The first act to take stage was FutureFrenetic. Live, they consist of Paul Baumgartner (Music), and Dawn Kierznowski (Live Synths). They're a Futurepop/TBM crossover, and focus on extremely heavy beats and melody, with Paul's vocals utilizing the vocoder. Live it was absolutely awesome, the mic troubles that seemed to plague the duo during soundcheck had gone, and despite the audience being tiny (first band syndrome), they decimated me. The beat and bass was the strongest of all acts, and the performance of "E.E.V.I.L" and "Live Free" were highlights for me.

These were followed by Matt Powell's Digital Deformation. Consisting of a set of newer material, heavily focused on the upcoming self-titled album, Matt and Dan's live show was hugely better than expected. For me, Matt's stage presence was the best I've seen live this year, every movement of his matched the beat perfectly, and the new songs "Forget Me" and "Strong" were incredible - I told Matt this at the time, and I stand by it, but live, this act need to be huge. The new CD even sounds excellent, and for all my earlier dispositions, Digital Deformation are mindblowing right now.

The real surprise of the night was Synthpop-cum-spacepop act Spacebuoy. I missed a chunk of their set due to stomach difficulties, but I saw the soundcheck and the latter half. This group are quirky, bouncy Synth, with an aesthetic of orange suits and Sunglasses. Not only are they fun and unique, but their material has some of the catchiest hooks this side of Jupiter. Their EP 'Fashionista' is currently out, and having supported the mighty Erasure, these guys are going to be big in 2013.

Organizers and regular performers Machine Rox were next, their chaotic mix of Electro-Industrial crippling my mind. There was so much going on it was insane. Richard and Aga gave it their all, and the passion and drive is unprotestable. Live additions Nuj and Valerian boosted the act somewhat, and I won't be shy on seeing them again.

The next act was the act that I'd waited a year to see - Project Rotten. It nearly didn't happen due to laptop issues and a 20 minute delay, but Spacebuoy saved them - is there anything they can't do? At 9 20, they finally appeared on stage, and the set was not disappointing. Fredrik danced, shouted and performed like a King, Kettil made himself known and threw everything at it, and the set filled the dancefloor for the first time that evening. The three I can recall were "Freakshow" - with its two minute ending that gets faster and faster making the floor look like a swarm, "Bleed You Dry", and "The Hunger" - my favourite track of the night. It's the first time I've heard it with Fredrik on vocals too, as the studio version uses Javi of Terrolokaust. Flawless live, it's a shame that they're not a regular on the UK scene.

Following up Project Rotten is a tough act, but no one could do it like Deb and Steve from System:FX. Having a female Drummer is quite uncommon, but watching Deb attack the Drums at 5000BPM is amazing. Steve's long period involved in the Metal and Electro scenes pays off, and his Guitar work and vocals lend a brilliant edge to this aggressive electro act. They were handpicked to support Be My Enemy at Resistanz, and it's obvious why. They sound and look excellent, the new material is fine, and they're brilliant people.

The headliner Mechanical Cabaret were completely missed as I had to go home. Apologies to them, but I can't write up on what I didn't see. There's live videos on Youtube though.

So moving forward from here, each act that played is going to get bigger. Brutal Resonance are avid supporters of the local scenes, and not one band had a weak moment on stage.

Over the coming months, I'll be doing interviews and reviews with the above, but for now, I strongly suggest you take it on yourselves to check them out - this was one hell of a show.

Thanks to Daniel Erdmann for the use of the Photos, Richard and Agnes for putting it on and guestlisting me, and to everyone who played. Each of you made me a very happy journalist.