WAVE – GOTIK – TREFFEN 2014 Festival Preview – by Fotini G. aka Malice F.

WAVE – GOTIK – TREFFEN 2014 Festival Preview – by Fotini G. aka Malice F.

WAVE – GOTIK – TREFFEN 2014: dark-romantic celebrations every year at Whitsun in Leipzig – Germany

Festival Preview – by Malice F.

The biggest worldwide music -and not only- gothic festival is back for the 23rd consecutive year. There is not a single fan of the new & dark/ EBM/ Industrial/ Gothic scene that hasn’t heard of and furthermore hasn’t dreamt of visiting it, at least once.

From June 6th to 9th, again more than 20,000 Goths from all over the world are expected to come together again in Leipzig to celebrate the Wave-Gotik-Treffen as THE international gathering of the dark family.

23 years ago, two Gothic people from Leipzig had an unusual idea: They didn’t want to create yet another dark music festival, but rather a supra-regional gathering of like-minded fellows for relaxed meeting, chatting and celebrating. When in 1992 the 1st Wave-Gotik-Treffen took place in 1992 at the edge of Leipzig with about 2,000 visitors and just a handful of bands, it is unlikely that anyone imagined that within a few years the WGT would become the largest meeting of Gothic people in the world, taking possession of a whole city every year at Whitsun.

All over the city there will be about 200 bands performing, projects and single artists covering the whole wide range of Gothic music: from Electro-Pop to Goth-Metal, from EBM to Neofolk, from medieval music to Industrial. Apart from famous bands of the scene, you are invited for new discoveries with several less-known real underground bands or artists from the edge of the Gothic music universe. The concerts and events take place at more than 30 venues spread throughout Leipzig, for instance in the vaults of the Moritzbastei, in the splendid neo-antique cupola hall of the Volkspalast, in the green round of the open-air Parkbühne, as well as in large concert halls.

The WGT program will also include beautiful classical music again, such as opera, musical, chamber music and Mozart’s requiem as ballet.

From its beginning the Wave-Gotik-Treffen has been much more than a music festival: its guests may step back to the romantic atmosphere of ancient times at the medieval market place at the Pagan Village (Heidnisches Dorf). We will present authors reading and unusual theatre; cinematic performances will take place as well as a big live action role play. People in historic clothing will gather in the park for a Victorian Picnic. For four days a large hall at the AGRA -Messepark will be transformed into the biggest Gothic-wares marketplace in the world. In numerous clubs DJs from all over the world will invite you to dance until dawn. There will also be a large fetish party where entrance is only possible by following a strict voluptuous dress code. A stroll through the winding passages of city centre of Leipzig with its historical buildings of the Renaissance, Baroque and Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) eras is especially worthwhile for art and culture lovers: the entrance to several of Leipzig’s museums is free for WGT-guests. A special exhibition will present fantastic original artworks of HR Giger. This year, the AMI (Auto Mobil International) will take place at the same time as Wave-Gotik-Treffen for the first time. Therefore, the Leipzig Trade Fair organises an exclusive special exhibition showing historical hearses, as well as a professional photo shooting.
The city of Leipzig and its’ inhabitants are extremely friendly, as well as familiar with the Festival and its’ visitors. Οver the last two decades – there are no longer any prejudices and the gothic guests are very welcome here. The most fascinating aspect of the Wave-Gotik-Treffen is surely its unique magic atmosphere that covers the whole city. More than 20.000 Goths from all over the world celebrate their gathering in a peacefully relaxed manner, turning Leipzig into a diverse wave of black.

Cheap and entertaining accommodation is available at the huge Treffen camping ground. To enter, you need a special ticket (called Obsorgekarte), which includes also the extensive WGT-program-book. Public transport in the city is free for all WGT-guests from Friday morning until noontime Tuesday.

For camping you need a special ticket called Obsorgekarte for 25,- € (including advance sale charge). It contains the following service-package:

Camping:
For camping you need a special ticket called Obsorgekarte available for 25,- € (including advance sale charge). It provides the following service-package:

• Camping at the Treffen-Campground (agra-fairground)

• “Pfingstbote” (“Whitsun-herald”) – the extensive Treffen program book

Parking: For car parking at the Treffen-area you have to purchase a parking vignette for 15,- € (including advance sale charges).

Parking at the Treffen-area (agra-fairground) is definitely not possible without a parking vignette.

Tickets:

4-Day-Tickets for all events within the 23rd Wave-Gotik-Treffen Whitsun 2014 are available for 99,- € each in advance ticket sale (including advance sale charges). The Treffen-Event-Ticket includes free using of public transport (tram, city-busses, regional trains, suburban trains within the zone 110 of MDV) from June 6th, 8.00 a.m. to June 10th, 12.00 p.m. / noontime (except for special routes).
All tickets can be ordered via www.wave-gotik-treffen.com

We will all meet at this year’s 23rd Wave – Gotik – Treffen in Leipzig!

Thousands of Goths from all over the world are coming home!

– Contact:

Phone: 0049-341-2120862 / Email: info@wave-gotik-treffen.de

– Photos of the last years:

www.wave-gotik-treffen.de/english/photogallery.php

– Websites:

www.wave-gotik-treffen.de/english
www.facebook.com/WaveGotikTreffen

If you are travelling to the WGT for the first time, you can find lots of useful information for planning your trip on: www.sadgoth.com

The following artists have already confirmed their performances at the 23rd WGT (line-up not finished yet):

!Distain (D) – 7JK (GB/PL) – Absolute Body Control (B) – Aeon Sable (D) – Ah Cama-Sotz (B) Dark Ambient Set – Albireon (I) – Alcest (F) – Anne Clark (GB) – Apoptygma Berzerk (N) – Ascetic: (AUS) – Beck Sian & Jonathan Kershaw (GB) – Bloodsucking Zombies From Outer Space (A) – Cécile Corbel (F) – Chrom (D) – Collection D’Arnell-Andréa (F) – D-Tox (S) – Der Fluch (D) – Desiderii Marginis (S) – Downstairs Left (D) – Ext!ze (D) – Faderhead (D) – Fetisch:Mensch (D) – Finsterforst (D) – Folk Noir (D) – Front Line Assembly (CDN) – Geistform (E) – God Module (USA) – Hamferd (FO) – Heimataerde (D) – Hexperos (I) – Hocico (MEX) – I-M-R (D) – Ignis Fatuu (D) – Ikon (AUS) – Illuminate (D) – Imaginary War (D) – Imminent (B) – Ingrimm (D) – Inkubus Sukkubus (GB) – Job Karma (PL) – Joy Of Life (GB) – Katzkab (F) – Kiss The Anus Of A Black Cat (B) – Kitty In A Casket (A) – Klangstabil (D) – Konstruktivists (GB) – Lacrimas Profundere (D) – Lebanon Hanover (GB) – Little Nemo (F) – Mantus (D) – Martello (I) – MDS51 (D) – Nachtblut (D) – Oomph! (D) – Oppenheimer MKII (GB) – Orphaned Land (IL) – Ost+Front (D) – Persephone (D) – Placebo Effect (D) exlusive one-off show 2014 – Pouppée Fabrikk (S) – Primordial (IRL) – Psygnosis (F) – Rainy Days Factory (P) – Rapalje (NL) – Remember Twilight (D) – Rotersand (D) – Sardh (D) – Saturmzlide (D) – Schneewittchen (D) – Sieben (GB) – Siva Six (GR) – Solitary Experiments (D) – Sonne Hagal (D) – Tarja (FIN) – The Bellwether Syndicate (USA) – The Crüxshadows (USA) – The Devil And The Universe (A) – The Eternal Afflict (D) 30th anniversary show – The Fair Sex (D) 30th anniversary show with special guests – The Hiram Key (GB) – The Klinik (B) – The Lost Rivers (D) – The Marionettes (GB) – The Revolutionary Army Of The Infant Jesus (GB) – This Morn’ Omina ( B) – Trepaneringsritualen (S) – UK Decay (GB) – Ulterior (GB) – Umbra Et Imago (D) – Untoten (D) – Verdiana Raw (I) – Violet Tears (I) – Vomito Negro (B) – Wolfenmond (D) – XIV Dark Centuries (D) – Xotox (D) – XP8 (GB) – Yura Yura (F) – Zwielicht (D) – [:SITD:] (D)

For more information about the confirmed artists, there is a list of their official webpages here:
http://www.wave-gotik-treffen.de/forumwgt3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=19543
On the WGT website, you can enroll for a newsletter which quickly informs you about the latest program updates.


WGT special tips
Apart from famous bands of the scene, the coming WGT program will again include several hidden treasures whose names are maybe not known to everybody, but which will surely perform great concerts. So before visiting the WGT, it’s worthwhile to take a closer look into the program and to listen to some sample tracks of the artists you don’t know. Here are some hints on a few less known, yet interesting bands and artists which will play at the WGT 2014:


7JK
Ambient, Experimental | UK /Poland
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-Px0SxT9Lk
Interesting collaboration of the manic violinist Matt Howden (Sieben) with the Polish Dark Ambient masters of Job Karma, which will both also perform separate shows at the WGT.

Aeon Sable
Gothic Rock | Germany
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlheixEXpsU
New hope for fans of classical sounds by the Fields and the Sisters.

Alcest
Post Rock, Shoegaze | France
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PmCb9OiFYQ
Back again after their first live show at the WGT 2010, meanwhile much better known, also due to their comparatively catchy new album which was produced by Birgir Jón Birgisson (singer of Sigur Rós).

Ascetic:
Gothic Rock, Post Punk | Australia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HZ78lnZRo0
Young band from Melbourne in the tradition of Bauhaus, Joy Division and the Sisters.

Beck Sián
Folk | UK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pG9BYwTMXSY
The second cousin of Kate Bush (no joke!) presents fairy-like British “Ghost Folk”– even her voice is rather similar to that of her famous relative.

Cécile Corbel
Folk | France
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPCXFC1pmnc
Breton folk singer, who sings in several languages while playing the harp. She will perform twice, including one concert which will take place at the Pagan Village (Heidnisches Dorf).

I-M-R
Wave-Pop, Neofolk | Germany
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCIVEvmVgh8
This band was known in the past as “In My Rosary”.

Imaginary War
Synthpop, Indie | Germany
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBEu6xzGU5o
Young and skillful modern synth pop band for fans of IAMX or recent Depeche Mode.


Kiss The Anus Of A Black Cat
Wave | Belgium
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn2hOxuLY8M
If you ignore the bizarre band name, you will get fine Wave Rock.

Konstruktivists
Industrial | UK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrsoOhpKe4c
One of the last remained bands from the early phase of British Industrial of the 80ies with such contemporaries as Throbbing Gristle, Nurse With Wound, Whitehouse or Cabaret Voltaire.

Lebanon Hanover
Minimal, Wave | UK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBrsc_7RKc0
The high-flyer of a booming genre.

Little Nemo
Cold Wave | France
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4EF2Ibx9RI
One of the most important bands of the French “Cold Wave” or “Touching Pop” movement of the 80ies. Resurrected in 2008, now for the first time at the WGT.

MDS51
Industrial | Germany
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3I0gZGu3oXs
Young project for fans of November Növelet or similar stuff.

Oppenheimer MKII
Minimal Wave, Synthpop | UK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caP3tAmMEbc
Cult band of the 80ies, known in the past as “Oppenheimer Analysis”, active with the new name since the death of band member Martin Lloyd in April 2013.

Rainy Days Factory
Wave, Post Punk | Portugal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu1Af_V0Alk
Fresh new band, whose idols must be Joy Division and The Cure.

The Bellwether Syndicate
Gothic Rock | USA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAjXMB1Skjo
The new project of William Faith, founding member of Faith & The Muse.

The Devil And The Universe
Ghost Wave, Minimal, Dark Ambient | Austria
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7OGzaNFHq8
Obscure and interesting project with Ashley Dayour (Whispers In The Shadow), between modern Minimal Wave and occult Cold Meat sound, impressive live appearance with cowls and sleeping masks..

The Lost Rivers
Shoegaze, Noise Rock | Germany
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fELqBO6g5Q4
The dark offspring of The Jesus And Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine and Sonic Youth.

The Marionettes
Gothic Rock | UK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy5D_6CetBw
Resurrected Goth Rock band from the 90ies.

The Revolutionary Army Of The Infant Jesus
Neofolk, Neo Classical, Experimental | UK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP7iXGe1Ax0
The return of an obscure band from Liverpool with an affection to Christian mysticism. Published 3 albums in the 80ies and 90ies and was at that time often compared to Current 93 and Dead Can Dance.

Trepaneringsritualen
Industrial | Sweden
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xv5t7Y4tJik
Relatively young project with considerable cult status among connoisseurs. Pitch-black Death-Industrial in the manner of Brighter Death Now or Mental Destruction.

Verdiana Raw
Neoklassik, Dark Wave | Italy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5lmRD5QTf8
Dreamy and at times slightly weird sounds of a classically educated singer and pianist, accompanied by guitar and percussion – somewhere between Tori Amos and Diamanda Galás.