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While the final, brutal, notes of Amen Ra rolled over the audience, I started wondering where I should begin this review. I could have started with praising the bands, or by mentioning how I enjoyed the talks with the artists, or how I helped a girl getting back home because she missed her last train, or how delicious the food was, or how I enjoyed the woods, or how well we were treated by the nice people of the bed & breakfast we stayed at, or how much money I spent at the merchandise stands, or how friendly the audience was. Maybe it is best to start by offering my deepest respect, congratulations and a huge 'thank you' to the organisation of this fine festival. They created something unforgettable for everyone involved. Over a thousand people, including audience, crew and bands are probably quite exhausted by now, just like me but we all had three amazing days...
It's my birthday today. I'm listening to a post-rock, shoegaze and ambient playlist on my media player. A fresh cup of coffee will have to keep me awake to write this thing, and if it doesn't, I'll just take a new one. Sometimes my eyes close for a little while but then I think of all the stories I'd like to tell you. It doesn't really feel like it's my birthday today but I do feel like I had a huge birthday party that lasted for three whole days. My body doesn't really agree with that behaviour. My feet hurt, my legs are constantly tired and my heart refuses to beat faster than the abolute minimum bpm to stay alive. But my brain is wide awake and sends tons of signals to my fingers, which wrote two intros for the exact same review in five minutes.
It's my birthday today. I'm listening to a post-rock, shoegaze and ambient playlist on my media player. A fresh cup of coffee will have to keep me awake to write this thing, and if it doesn't, I'll just take a new one. Sometimes my eyes close for a little while but then I think of all the stories I'd like to tell you. It doesn't really feel like it's my birthday today but I do feel like I had a huge birthday party that lasted for three whole days. My body doesn't really agree with that behaviour. My feet hurt, my legs are constantly tired and my heart refuses to beat faster than the abolute minimum bpm to stay alive. But my brain is wide awake and sends tons of signals to my fingers, which wrote two intros for the exact same review in five minutes.
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Thursday - Smartphones, Squirrels and Soundscapes
We arrived at the lovely town of Zottegem in the early afternoon. We walked through the city centre, following a pretty unreliable GPS to Fine Fleur Bed & Breakfast. Once arrived, we were informed that the owners of this place worked as volunteers at the festival. They gave us a map, which was way more reliable than that thing on my phone, and offered us a ride to the festival. So we took everything we needed, which is quite a lot, and got into the car. We drove over small roads and looked at the beautiful meadows. When we arrived, the crew was making the final preparations. It quickly struck us how friendly and kind these volunteers were. A little problem with my passbook was quickly solved and I decided never to use that thing again. Smartphones are assholes.
Since there would be a few hours left before the first band climbed on stage, we decided to take a walk through the woods which surrounded the festival area. A few garbage bins were attached to some of the trees, in order to keep the woods clean. During the festival the audience proved this worked very well. The effort of making this a clean, vegan- and eco-friendly festival was welcomed by most of the visitors. At times the cantine, or catering-area, was a mess but even there many people cleaned the tables when they finished their meals. We'll get back on those meals later by the way.
We made some pictures of baby frogs and tried to photograph a squirrel but the bastard was way too quick for us. A snail climbing a tree was a bigger succes since it had about the same speed as our legs after the festival. At our feet, a little shrew stared at me for a second and then ran off, into the grass. The weather was quite nice by then but the KMI (the Belgian weather institute) forecasted a lot of rain. Back at the bar I ordered a cola and received another great effort in eco-friendliness: a reusable cup. I wanted to keep one of those but I simply forgot.
Since there would be a few hours left before the first band climbed on stage, we decided to take a walk through the woods which surrounded the festival area. A few garbage bins were attached to some of the trees, in order to keep the woods clean. During the festival the audience proved this worked very well. The effort of making this a clean, vegan- and eco-friendly festival was welcomed by most of the visitors. At times the cantine, or catering-area, was a mess but even there many people cleaned the tables when they finished their meals. We'll get back on those meals later by the way.
We made some pictures of baby frogs and tried to photograph a squirrel but the bastard was way too quick for us. A snail climbing a tree was a bigger succes since it had about the same speed as our legs after the festival. At our feet, a little shrew stared at me for a second and then ran off, into the grass. The weather was quite nice by then but the KMI (the Belgian weather institute) forecasted a lot of rain. Back at the bar I ordered a cola and received another great effort in eco-friendliness: a reusable cup. I wanted to keep one of those but I simply forgot.
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Celestial Wolves had the opportunity to open this festival. Usually, opening a three day festival isn't a grateful job. Most visitors have just arrived and want to explore the area or unpack their stuff. This time however, the tent was already filling up before the band even started. With good reason to, because Celestial Wolves blasted their strong, almost metal-like, post-rock through the speakers and convinced a large crowd of their abilities. The audience immediately showed their appreciation and the tone was set for a great day.
Second in line was Cecilia::Eyes. This is Belgium's finest post-rock band and, sorry Mike, a solid competitor for being the best live act in our little country. We witnessed their greatness in Trix a while ago but on Dunk! Cecilia::Eyes lifted themselves to a higher level with an intense and mesmerizing set. This was a very early highlight of the festival and an early victory for Belgium in this international line-up. Most of the tracks came from the latest album 'Disappearance' but they premiered a new one as well. Sheer beauty...
Second in line was Cecilia::Eyes. This is Belgium's finest post-rock band and, sorry Mike, a solid competitor for being the best live act in our little country. We witnessed their greatness in Trix a while ago but on Dunk! Cecilia::Eyes lifted themselves to a higher level with an intense and mesmerizing set. This was a very early highlight of the festival and an early victory for Belgium in this international line-up. Most of the tracks came from the latest album 'Disappearance' but they premiered a new one as well. Sheer beauty...
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Cordyceps couldn't quite please me but that doesn't mean they were bad. In fact, they were the first true surprise, blending heavy breakbeats with rolling bass to create something weird and otherworldly. This is Intelligent Dance Music with a rock-attitude and a lot of power. I just wasn't ready for it but still, respect for walking unexplored paths.
While enjoying some coffee, we met a nice Chinese girl who studied in France. She came to Dunk! especially for Wang Wen, a Chinese band that does something very beautiful with post-rock. Adding trumpet and trombone to the somewhat traditional post-rock line-up, their music sounded fresh and warm, as if Ennio Morricone would have started a post rock band. A simply beautiful set with a lot of variety and pretty intense pieces.
While enjoying some coffee, we met a nice Chinese girl who studied in France. She came to Dunk! especially for Wang Wen, a Chinese band that does something very beautiful with post-rock. Adding trumpet and trombone to the somewhat traditional post-rock line-up, their music sounded fresh and warm, as if Ennio Morricone would have started a post rock band. A simply beautiful set with a lot of variety and pretty intense pieces.
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Helen Money, known for her work with Russian Circles, Disturbed and Mono, was the first double-bass, or cello, solist to perform at this festival. This instrument has a dark, deep sound that immediately grabs your attention. The result was a drony modern classical performance that stunned a lot of people. We enjoyed it from outside the tent on one of the last rain-free moments that day.
After the live interview with Trans Views a bit earlier that day, the members from Jakob were standing outside, looking a bit tired. I introduced myself and I was pretty happy that they knew who I was. For Jakob, this was the final date of their tour and they were simply exhausted. Knowing they would be spending 25 hours travelling back home wasn't something they were looking forward to either. Their show however was a blast. Once these guys climbed on stage, the fatigue was gone and we were treated to a stunning performance. I loved the 'Sines' album and I love it even more now. Jakob was heavy, destructive and highly energetic.
Another album I love is 'Black On Black' by Monophona. This Luxembourg based trio presented quite a beautiful live set as well, fragile and dreamy at the same time. Their multi-layered trip-hop was highly enjoyable. I think at one moment I was even dancing a little bit, which rarely happens. This set had a genuine touch of magic and a peaceful atmosphere that was very welcome after all the crushing guitars we had been witnessing so far.
Mono is one of the biggest post-rock acts on the planet and are widely known for delivering fantastic live shows. On Dunk! this was no different. These Japanese sounded as epic as this genre can possibly become. However, after a few songs we realized we had a 40 minute walk in the rain ahead of us, plus two more days of high quality music so we slowly wondered off, into the night.
Friday - Love, Lust and Laughs
After a nice breakfast we decided to walk back to the festival area, again a 40 minute undertaking. You have to know that we live in the concrete suburbs of Antwerp but both of us were born 'in the country'. So we love nature, we love grass, we love cows, we love flowers and we love brooks. We pretty much everywhere take our time to enjoy these things and walking is healthy as shit. I've been trying to tell that to my feet but they refuse to stop whining like little babies.
Hemelbestormer is a Dutch word. Google translates it to 'idealist', but literally it means 'one who assaults heaven'. They did. With their intense mix of post-anything, black metal, ambient and doom they blew the clouds away and the sun came out. However, we were still in that huge tent, dwelling in absolute darkness with this mindblowing Belgian band. Actually, they were so good that they immediately sold out their album so I got myself a t-shirt.
Hemelbestormer is a Dutch word. Google translates it to 'idealist', but literally it means 'one who assaults heaven'. They did. With their intense mix of post-anything, black metal, ambient and doom they blew the clouds away and the sun came out. However, we were still in that huge tent, dwelling in absolute darkness with this mindblowing Belgian band. Actually, they were so good that they immediately sold out their album so I got myself a t-shirt.
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Then things got a bit confusing. Doomina cancelled because their van broke down. They were replaced by Stories From The Lost. This post-metal band actually made us forget Doomina cancelled by playing a very solid, and loud, set. However, before that, we witnessed the beautiful post-rock and ambient from Lehnen and the groovy, stoner related, sounds of Katabatic. Huracan blasted their foreful sludge through the speakers in the Stargazer stage and Solkyri brought us more shoegazing loveliness but it all passed so quickly for some reason.
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There's a number of reasons why I mentioned several bands in one paragraph. Like many other people on the festival area, we decided to enjoy the music from outside. The sun had come out and in a very short time it became warm, almost hot even. Many festival goers took on a more horizontal approach to partying. After all, it had been drizzling from the day before throughout the night. Everyone was cold and tired.
Another reason is actually the sheer quality of this festival. The lightshow is mindboggling, at times almost epileptic, and the sound is perfect. From the very first tones on this festival this quality has been lifting bands up to a higher level. The bands I mentioned in that paragraph were good, very good even but didn't manage to deliver a lasting impression because of the huge number of surprises and musical highlights we already faced.
Another reason is actually the sheer quality of this festival. The lightshow is mindboggling, at times almost epileptic, and the sound is perfect. From the very first tones on this festival this quality has been lifting bands up to a higher level. The bands I mentioned in that paragraph were good, very good even but didn't manage to deliver a lasting impression because of the huge number of surprises and musical highlights we already faced.
A day earlier I introduced myself to Thisquietarmy. This brilliant drone-act would play a gig in the woods if the weather allowed it. On Friday this finally happened. From a distance I saw Eric and crew moving equipment into the forest and shortly after the first drones resounded through the forest. It was a captivating concert that drew a lot of attention. Many people hoped he would repeat it the next day but that didn't happen. This really was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Thisquietarmy is somewhere in the middle of this
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When I was enjoying the deep cello soundscapes of Jo Quail, I suddenly noticed a heavily waving Diego coming at me, followed by Romain. Shortly after, we were reunited with some of the biggest friends our webzine has since we began: Alice In The Cities. We love these guys and we think they are quite fond of us as well. None of us minded missing Tangled Thoughts Of Leaving or The Ocean. We were just happy to see each other, isn't that cute?
Diego told us that they took a wrong turn somewhere in Zottegem and arrived at a blues festival.
Before giving the correct directions, the organisation asked Alice In The Cities to play there but the band graciously refused. At one point in the conversation, Diego mentioned that it was a big festival, 'B.B. King might be playing there' he said. Unfortunately the blues legend passed away that night, leaving us a bit stunned the next day.
Diego told us that they took a wrong turn somewhere in Zottegem and arrived at a blues festival.
Before giving the correct directions, the organisation asked Alice In The Cities to play there but the band graciously refused. At one point in the conversation, Diego mentioned that it was a big festival, 'B.B. King might be playing there' he said. Unfortunately the blues legend passed away that night, leaving us a bit stunned the next day.
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Of course, Alice In The Cities weren't just there to see us. They were there to play and my god, what the hell was that? I already mentioned that the sound quality lifted bands to a higher level, and the enthousiasm of the audience helped quite a bit as well. Alice In The Cities rose to a level I could never have imagined and the entire audience seemed to agree. What was expected to be a nice, relaxed post-wave-rock concert became a glorious party. Sorry Caspian, but Alice In The Cities won on Saturday!
After the gig, the three members of Alice In The Cities were a bit mesmerized by the audience's response. The day before they had played a pretty decent concert in front of fourty people, but here were over 200 of them shouting and applauding loudly after every song, filling the band with adrenaline and enthousiasm. |
The Eye Of Time brought us a very confusing set with a lot of silence and a lot of 'what's going on' questions. Nonetheless, it didn't really matter because everyone was in a state of absolute happiness. Especially one couple in the toilet building. Like most people there, at one point I had to pee. It happens to the best of us. Suddenly I heard a repetitive pounding and low, moaning drones coming from one of the cabins next to me. This extremely short performance was quite intense but somehow I missed the point of the loud sludge-like vocals right before it ended. They didn't get a lot of applause afterwards but I think the couple was quite satisfied.
I have an odd relation with Caspian by the way, mainly based on stories I heard on Incubate a few years ago. They were late then, resulting in some gossip and slander about the attitude of the band. When I saw them at that edition of Incubate, I wasn't really into their gig either and neither was I at Dunk!. It's not that Caspian is a bad band, on the contrary, I quite like the music but it seems that they once again had become the victims of fatigue. For the second time I was too tired to enjoy Caspian. They'll have to convince me another day...
As we wandered off to the bed & breakfast, I wondered what happened that day. I lost memory of some bands in a haze of friendship and companionship. It was a weird day, but a great day nonetheless.
I have an odd relation with Caspian by the way, mainly based on stories I heard on Incubate a few years ago. They were late then, resulting in some gossip and slander about the attitude of the band. When I saw them at that edition of Incubate, I wasn't really into their gig either and neither was I at Dunk!. It's not that Caspian is a bad band, on the contrary, I quite like the music but it seems that they once again had become the victims of fatigue. For the second time I was too tired to enjoy Caspian. They'll have to convince me another day...
As we wandered off to the bed & breakfast, I wondered what happened that day. I lost memory of some bands in a haze of friendship and companionship. It was a weird day, but a great day nonetheless.
Saturday - Beers, Beards and Buttcracks
By now it should be clear we walked a lot in the past three days. Once again we were on our way to the festival area. It started drizzling again but we didn't really give a damn. In fact, we walked on clouds because this was becoming one of the best weekends we've ever had. Like most visitors we started this last day with coffee and a tired gaze in our eyes.
Ilydaen are from Liège and if you have never seen them, go see them. This complex blend of post-rock, metal and hardcore is intense and immense. Besides, their set-up is quite unique, playing in between the crowd, in front of the stage. Once again Dunk! has managed to wake up the festival with a stunningly powerful Belgian band. We didn't see a damn thing by the way but who cares, this was fantastic.
Astralia gave us some very nice proto-post-rock which I loved a lot. I wasn't the only one and I wasn't the only one who decided to enjoy this sitting down with my eyes closed. Ornaments brought a highly convincing piece of instrumental doom. Somehow we completely missed Tom Wolf but I'm sure we'll have another chance soon. Same goes for Innerwoud, who we already witnessed at Incubate. This double bassist, the third on this festival, is a very interesting act to see so next time we'll defintitely check him out.
Ilydaen are from Liège and if you have never seen them, go see them. This complex blend of post-rock, metal and hardcore is intense and immense. Besides, their set-up is quite unique, playing in between the crowd, in front of the stage. Once again Dunk! has managed to wake up the festival with a stunningly powerful Belgian band. We didn't see a damn thing by the way but who cares, this was fantastic.
Astralia gave us some very nice proto-post-rock which I loved a lot. I wasn't the only one and I wasn't the only one who decided to enjoy this sitting down with my eyes closed. Ornaments brought a highly convincing piece of instrumental doom. Somehow we completely missed Tom Wolf but I'm sure we'll have another chance soon. Same goes for Innerwoud, who we already witnessed at Incubate. This double bassist, the third on this festival, is a very interesting act to see so next time we'll defintitely check him out.
What happened next was something nobody expected I think, at least not the bandmembers themselves. The End Of The Ocean were about to start their very first gig outside of the USA. Even before they started playing, they were welcomed by a loud applause. Then the concert started and blew everyone's mind. This was an amazing performance with all the ingredients to make it special, perfect even. After the first few songs, Tara (keyboards) looked up and saw a tent, packed to capacity with enthousiastic people. It almost startled her and she showed a nervous but spontaneous smile. But the band continued and shot themselves in (probably) everyone's top-5 list of Dunk!2015
Labirinto was a lot darker than I expected, even after hearing that their new release is pretty dark itself. These Brazilians immediately grabbed the attention of the entire audience and didn't let go, at all. Surely the fantastic light show helped but this was once again a brilliant performance by a highly talented band. However, they were a bit unfortunate because of the blast that The End Of The Ocean delivered.
Another big surprise came from Sixth Minor, an electronic act that brought us some heavy beats, dark soundscapes and glitchy electronics. Once again we listened from outside the tent but we loved every second of it, honestly.
Labirinto was a lot darker than I expected, even after hearing that their new release is pretty dark itself. These Brazilians immediately grabbed the attention of the entire audience and didn't let go, at all. Surely the fantastic light show helped but this was once again a brilliant performance by a highly talented band. However, they were a bit unfortunate because of the blast that The End Of The Ocean delivered.
Another big surprise came from Sixth Minor, an electronic act that brought us some heavy beats, dark soundscapes and glitchy electronics. Once again we listened from outside the tent but we loved every second of it, honestly.
Dunk! Festival and Maybeshewill have a very special connection. In fact, in some way they made each other into what they are today. One is a hard working and increasingly succesful post-rock band and the other is, well, the best festival in the whole damn world. So it's no wonder that these blokes from Leicester delivered a huge show and that the audience went completely gaga. Their latest album might be a bit goody-good but on stage, these guys party hard and come very close to perfection, escpecially on this festival.
For us, the evening could have actually ended with French Teen Idol. Soundscapes, electronics and mild rhythmic elements created a beautiful ending to what was by far the best day on this festival. By now, I've stopped counting the highlights because there were so many of them and French Teen Idol was one as well.
But, there was still Amen Ra, probably the most famous underground band in Belgium today. This sludge-vehicle was determined to end this festival in absolute destruction, darkness and chaos and did so with the volume up and the steamroller as slow and crushing as possible. They succeeded in the same way they always succeed. Amen Ra is a monster, a brutal machine that demolishes all the competion and they always deliver.
Halfway through the show however, we decided to leave. This day, and the whole festival, have had such an impact on us that Amen Ra simply became too much. So we said goodbye to our new friends and started walking back to the bed & breakfast. After a kilometer one of the volunteers picked us up and drove us to Fine Fleur. It was another example of the kind, gentle nature of this festival.
Halfway through the show however, we decided to leave. This day, and the whole festival, have had such an impact on us that Amen Ra simply became too much. So we said goodbye to our new friends and started walking back to the bed & breakfast. After a kilometer one of the volunteers picked us up and drove us to Fine Fleur. It was another example of the kind, gentle nature of this festival.
Sunday - Happiness, hope and home
In some way, Dunk! is a family festival. A lot of voluteers and organisers are members of the same family. Neighbours are welcome to join the activities and many of them start helping out here and there, joining the family. And at the end, organisation, volunteers, visitors and bands form one huge family (re)union where everybody does his or her best to make this unforgettable for all who are involved. I said it a few paragraphs earlier and I will repeat it. This is the best festival in the world. I've seen about 2000 bands perform in the past 30 years but I never experienced this 'higher level of performance' in such great numbers before. 33 bands and at least 20 of them were highlights and the ones that weren't, weren't even bad.
The food really deserves mentioning as well. I like food, so why not. Besides the legendary Dunk!Fries there was a huge choice of stuff to eat, from delicious (and healthy) chili, over tasty paella to vol-au-vent and meatballs in tomato-sauce, everything was freshly prepared with a lot of love and hard word by the volunteers. There was free coffee and tea all day, everyday, which was quite welcome because it's been tiring days.
So to end this review (at least for now), I'd like to send my sincere congratulations to the organisation and volunteers at this amazing festival. I'm already looking forward to next year. It's going to be quite difficult to equal this but somehow I have faith and I trust them to deliver some great days again in May 2016.
Serge
The food really deserves mentioning as well. I like food, so why not. Besides the legendary Dunk!Fries there was a huge choice of stuff to eat, from delicious (and healthy) chili, over tasty paella to vol-au-vent and meatballs in tomato-sauce, everything was freshly prepared with a lot of love and hard word by the volunteers. There was free coffee and tea all day, everyday, which was quite welcome because it's been tiring days.
So to end this review (at least for now), I'd like to send my sincere congratulations to the organisation and volunteers at this amazing festival. I'm already looking forward to next year. It's going to be quite difficult to equal this but somehow I have faith and I trust them to deliver some great days again in May 2016.
Serge
