A Special Time Creative

Confessions Of A Traitor

Just recently I went to one of the concerts which are organised by ‘Camden Rocks Festival’ as a series of ‘presents’ shows giving some of the best new metal, rock, indie and alternative bands the chance to present themselves in front of a new audience. The main band of the show at the Night Club Kolis which I attended was Confessions Of A Traitor.

Formed in 2013 in London, the quintet comprising vocalist Stephen MacConville, drummer Seb Olrog, guitarist Jack Darnell, bassist Tony Nagel and guitarist Dominic Pool have created a unique raw metallic hardcore sound. So far, they released two EP’s which are ‘Seasons’ (2014, self-released) and ‘Illuminate’ (2016, self-released), mixing heavy guitar riffs and breakdowns with motivational lyrics. The songs are energetic and sometimes hectic in the verses, contrasting the more melodic choruses which helps engaging the audience to engage with the band’s performance at their live shows.

At around 6pm, the doors of the Nightclub Kolis opened up to for s quite mixed audience which consisted of a very small amount of people and seemed to be mainly family and friend of the bands. The first group on the stage was the British post-metalcore band Centuries from London. Formed in 2015, the quintet comprising Sam (vocals), Nathan (guitar), Matthew (drums), Sam (bass) and James (guitar) creates modern heavy music, mixing metalcore with lots of influences while sowing heavy and atmospheric elements. So far they released one single officially in 2017 which is ‘Reset:Rebuilt’.

The second band bas the British post-hardcore quintet You Win Again Gravity, from Windsor. Jack Jennings (vocals, guitar), Daniel Dreelan (guitar), James Mackenzie (drums), Johnny Bastable (guitar) and Andy Janson (bass) mix heavy music with melodic sections and soft, ambient touches. So far they released the two EP’s ‘Let Go Lightly’ (2015, self-released) and ‘What’s Left of the Distance’ (2016, self-released), as well as one debut album ‘Anyonymity’ in 2017 (self-released). Musically they show influences of bands such as Oceansize and Deaftones, creating metal combined with, technical prog-rock and melodic indie.

Next were the Indian prog-rock band The Multitude. Formed 2008 in Bangalore, Ashvin Devasundaram (guitars), Rajeev Ethiraj (drums), Tekin Irengun (vocals), Sukhbir Kalsi (vocals), Fabio Ramirez (bass) and Bret Sinclair (guitars) mix lyrically driven and melodic metal sound with hints of neo-classical elements layered onto progressive rock soundscapes to create a synergy between different audiences. So far, they released one EP in 2016 titled ‘The Globalisation Trilogy’ and plan to release their debut album in 2018.

The fourth band on the stage was Cohesion, an upcoming industrial-rock project that is spearheaded by founder, writer, arranger, performer and producer Stuart Cooney. To explore the limits of their music the open project uses a blend of contributing musicians which allows the listeners to experience the different personalities of each musician involved and gives each individual song a more unique flavour. Musically, the mix industrial sounding guitars with partly sung, spoken and roughly screamed vocals.

Finally, the last band of the evening was Confessions Of A Traitor. Luckily, there were a few more people arriving and lining themselves up in front of the stage. There was more energy around and the crowd seam to warm up a little bit. However, Stephen MacConville joined the crowd singing in front of the stage surrounded by the audience, jumping and running between them as well as animating them to engage. The audience was really hard to convince, in my opinion, but did get more involved during Confessions Of A Traitors show which shows how energetic their music and show was. In the end the fans even shouted for one more song which the band would happily have played when the venue wouldn’t have had such a tight time plan. Nonetheless, it shows once more how much the audience enjoyed the band’s performance and music.

The lights were kept simple for all of the bands keeping the focus on the actual music. Therefore, it was important to have a good sound with a decent mix of the vocals and instruments which luckily was offered.

Hence, in conclusion, it was a nice evening with well talented new and upcoming bands within the metal scene. Unfortunately, the crowd was very small and hard to motivate but got their energy back when Confessions Of A Traitor started their set. Both the bands and the crowd seamed to have a lot of fun and a special time 🙂

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I’d rather be – photo challenge

I just caught myself daydreaming about the lovely places ‘I’d rather be’ right now while procrastinating the work I actually should finish, when I realised that this was this week’s topic of the Daily Mail’s photo challenge 😀

As the weather just turned winterly cold again my mind took me to the lovely West coast in Ireland around Galway. The nature is absolutely gorgeous there and the calmness is highly relaxing. For me, these places felt like a completely different world, even though I’m used to being surrounded by forests and fields. Travelling in Ireland has always been a special time, as there is loads to explore and nothing looks the same!

CIMG0728x Lough Inagh — Lough Inagh – County Galway, Ireland

CIMG9636x Doo Lough — Doo Lough – County Mayo, Ireland

CIMG9817x — Clare Island Ferry Harbour – County Mayo, Ireland

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Dream State

Two weeks ago, I went to another concert that I really enjoyed.

The Welsh alt-rock band Dream State, comprising vocalist CJ Gilpin, guitarists Aled Evans and Rhys Wilcox, bassist Danny Rayer and drummer Jamie Lee, came to the Camden Assembly finishing off their recent tour. Founded in 2014, the quintet released one EP ‘Consequences’ in 2015 (self-released), as well as three singles which are ‘Burn Them Down’ (2015, self-release), ‘White Lies’ (2017, UNFD) and ‘In This Hell’ (2018, UNFD). Musically, they show influences of post-hardcore and alt-rock, as CJ mixes both very rough and screamed vocals with softer clean vocals. Her range and the very personal, vulnerable lyrics create a unique vibe to the music.

IMG_0231x — Dream State enjoying the stage

Around 7pm, the doors to the venue upstairs at the Camden Assembly were opened and the space in front of the stage started filling up with a rather young audience. First band on the stage of the sold-out show was the British emotive hardcore band Parting Gift which I was excited about as I knew their music and really liked it. Since their formation in 2017, they officially have released three songs which are ‘Be Still’ (2017, self-released), ‘In Mind’ (2017, self-released) and ‘Asleep’ (2017, self-released), combining very dark, spherical and mysterious sounds with emotional lyrics. Their whole appearance is still quite mystical and vague with only little information that can be found. However, the quintet from Manchester just updated their website, promising new things to come. Nonetheless, the crowd seemed to enjoy the vibes and sound of their music which was a great start of the evening.

Following up, the second band on the stage was the British alt-rock quartet Chapter And Verse from London who was formed by Josh Carter (vocals), Darren Gosling (guitar), Jonny Hopwood (bass) and Ash Morton (drums) in 2016. Until now, they released one EP ‘The Wolves Back Home’ (2016, self-release), mixing heavy guitars with mostly clean vocals with screamed parts now and then. Especially Josh’s great vocal range was impressive and adds a unique feature to the band’s sound. As their music in general is very energetic, they captured the crowd right from the beginning and transferred the energy from the stage into the big circle pit in the middle of the crowd, which Josh himself joined towards the end of their set.

IMG_9519x — Chapter And Verse having fun

With Dream State finally entering the stage, the crowd went mental and the venue burst with energy. Everyone sung the lyrics back to the band on the top of their lungs and danced along which was highly appreciated by the band. As it was the last day of the tour, not only the bands tried to give their very best making it a memorable final, but also the crowd was extremely motivated which resulted in circle pits, jumping and dancing around. CJ took the chance at the end of their set to jump into the crowd for some crowd-surfing. All the musicians were great and delivered a very good vocal and instrumental performance. Dream State couldn’t thank the crowd enough at the end and was overwhelmed. They stayed with the crowd to take a group picture and chat with their fans.

Luckily, the acoustic at the venue was well balanced so both the vocals and instruments sounded properly. The lightshow was kept quite dark which suited the vibe and ambience of the music. Especially Parting Gift had a mystic and almost haunting vibe during their set which created curiousity. The light bulbs at the back of the stage created a nice vibe and added a different feature to the normal lights above the stage.

Overall, it was an incredible final gig for Dream State’s UK tour which was not only highly enjoyed by the bands but also by the fans who discharged their energy in a huge circle pit and by singing on the top of their lungs. Everyone seemed to have a special time and a lot of fun.

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Story – photo challenge

This week’s photo challenge of the Daily Post is different to the usual ones, I guess, but a lot of fun for all the lovely viewers and readers 🙂 As the topic is ‘story’ and the pictures should tell the story themselves I am not giving away too much and let space for imagination. However, as a little hint I love horse riding and used to go to the stable every week and I always had a special time!

aa (3)x — Relaxing sand and sun bath after a little riding lesson

aa (5)x — Looking nice and clean again 😉

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Out of this world – photo challenge

I’m very sorry for posting a little delayed again! However, I still wanted to catch up on the weekly photo challenges, hence, here is my post for last week’s topic ‘out of this world’. In my opinion, it is a really lovely idea. We all get used to ‘normal’ things that surround us. However, sometimes there are little changes – maybe normal as well – but they let the usual seem very alienated and strange, or even out of this world. This feeling overcame me quite a while ago when I looked out of the window in the morning and found the branches of a tree outside covered in tiny spikes that shimmered in the beautiful sunlight. As I took a closer look, I recognised it was not snow as one would think seeing a white tree, but big ice crystals created through a mix of heavy fog at night and very low temperatures. It looked amazingly beautiful and I’ve rarely seen it ever since. The same occurred also a while ago when the settled snow turned into a sparkling spiky, gem-like cover. As the sun melted the first layer of the snow unevenly, the cold wind must have frozen the water and turned it into little ice crystals which looked absolutely beautiful. Furthermore, now turning from the beautiful but icy winter wonderland to a little warmer place, instead of finding the usual riffled sand patterns caused by the tides of the sea, there was a slightly new and more unusual pattern to be found with the low tide arising. The sand was structured into many little branches, almost looking like a network of veins in a human body.

Discovering all these strange or unusual natural experiences has been a lot of fun and definitely a special time 😉

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — Branches covered in spikey ice crystals

la susi holland 1040x — Sand covered in unusual patterns

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Deaf Havana (2)

Last Friday, I went to a very special concert. Deaf Havana have been part of The War Child Brit’s Week which was a series of different concerts, giving fans the opportunity to see some of the biggest names in music in intimate venues across London and Manchester while raising money and awareness for children whose lives have been affected by war. War Child is a non-governmental organisation which was founded in 1993 in the UK providing assistance, educating, protecting and standing up for children in need in conflict areas. Together with o2, they organised 11 concerts in small and intimate venues, using the money from the ticket sales as funds for the charity.

Deaf Havana, being James Veck-Gilodi (vocals, rhythm guitar), Lee Wilson (bass), Tom Ogden (drums, percussion), James’s brother Matthew Veck-Gilodi (lead guitar) and Max Britton (keys, piano, acoustic guitar, percussions), who I’ve seen before twice (one time in Coventry and one time in Cologne), played an incredible sold-out show at the Union Chapel in London which is a gorgeous atmospheric and individual venue with an amazing acoustic. For their set, the alternative rock quintet from Hunstanton, Norfolk, teamed up with the London Contemporary Voices and Parallax Orchestra, playing songs of their latest release ‘All These Countless Nights (Reworked)’ (2017, SO Recordings) which shows a range of different vibes and styles featuring strings (e.g. Ashes) or Latin oriented influences (e.g. England). Having a real strings ensemble, as well as a choir in the live set, made the concert even more special and created magical vibes. Nonetheless, there was still the full band set with drums, electric guitars, bass and acoustic guitars. James’s voice was absolutely on point and gorgeous. Not only the choir but also the fans sung along all of the songs and screamed the lyrics at the top of their lungs, filling the chapel. The resonance of the crowd, which was quite a mixed and slightly older (twenty plus) audience, and all the positive feedback were highly appreciated by the band who could not thank the crowd enough and was very overwhelmed. Even though it was a seated concert, the audience could not resist to stand up for the last song which was ‘Caro Padre’ from their album ‘Old Souls’ (2013, BMG Rights), and dace around, lining up right in front of the stage, bursting with energy. As the re-worked version of ‘Anemophobia’ (Fools And Worthless Liars, 2011, Easy Life Records) is one of my favourite Deaf Havana songs, the re-worked version of ‘Anemophobia Pt. II’ was one of my absolute highlights and created an incredible, as well as honestly vulnerable, atmosphere.

IMG_7627x — Matthew and James sharing the microphone

IMG_7698x — Deaf Havana having a blast on stage

IMG_7829x — Deaf Havana and the choir on the balcony

IMG_7836x — Beautiful lights and the orchestra in the back

IMG_8015x — Deaf Havana and the orchestra

IMG_8399x — James, Matthew and the orchestra

IMG_8435x — The fans in front of the stage for the last song

IMG_8486x — Deaf Havana thanking the fans

After the crowd entered the chapel which opened the doors around 7.30pm, the Scottish singer-songwriter Colin Macleod from Stornoway opened the stage. Musically, he creates modern and moody folk music. So far, he released the single ‘Dream’ (2016, BMG Rights), his EP ‘Old Fire’ (2017, Country Punk Records) and the latest single ‘Kicks In’ (2017, Country Punk Records). For the concert, he performed all songs by himself with his guitar which created an amazing atmosphere and suited the venue well.

The acoustic of the venue, the Union Chapel, and the lighting were great. Very often, rounded and small venues appear to be echo-ish and unpleasant to listen to. However, the technician did a great job as the sound was carried perfectly through the room and filled the space with a clear and well mixed sound. The lighting was nice as well as supported the atmosphere of each song.

All in all, the concert was a great experience and a special time. The music was incredible emotional, delivered by talented musicians in a gorgeous venue, supporting the War Child Foundation. Both the audience and the bands had an amazing time and enjoyed the evening. Deaf Havana delivered a beautiful set which was highly appreciated by the audience who joined the performance by singing along. The band was overwhelmed by the positive resonance and couldn’t thank the crowd enough showing even more how down-to-earth they are.

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A Face In The Crowd – photo challenge

Last week’s photo challenge of the Daily Post was about ‘a face in the crowd’ but with a slight twist. Instead of exposing the person on the picture, anonymity is the key – meaning capturing a person’s shadow, picturing them from behind, or when they hide their faces.
I really liked this idea, especially as I don’t like people in my pictures normally (except when I try to take a picture of a specific person of course 😀 ). Nonetheless, sometimes silhouettes of people can create great vibes on pictures and add value. I chose some pictures, I think the silhouettes create the actual vibes and show the feelings of these people as they had a special time 😉

CIMG2160x — Children playing – Bodensee, Germany

CIMG2151x — Child inside the ball – Bodensee, Germany

IMG_4936x — People playing on the beach – Northern Ireland

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The Word Alive (2)

Just recently, I went to another concert to see the American post-hardcore band The Word Alive. It was the second time I saw them live and I absolutely loved it. The first time I saw The word Alive was last year as special guest for Attila. Hence, as I saw they would have another tour this year I got myself some tickets.

The Word Alive was founded 2008 in Phoenix, Arizona (USA) and consists currently of vocalist Telle Smith, lead guitarist Zack Hansen, rhythm guitarist Tony Pizzuti and bassist Ryan Daminson. So far the band released four full-length albums which are ‘Deceiver’ (2010, Fearless Records), ‘Life Cycles’ (2012, Fearless Records), ‘Real.’ (2014, Fearless Records) and ‘Dark Matter’ (2016, Fearless Records). Before their tour with Falling In Reverse in mainland Europe and their solo tour through the UK the heavy alternative quartet released a new single ‘Misery’ (2017, Fearless Records). Musically, they combine personal lyrics and engaging melodies with heavy and dark guitar riffs. Telle’s screamed and clean vocals add a powerful and dynamic element to the band’s music, creating a unique and atmospheric sound.

Camden Assembly, where the concert took place, opened the doors at 7pm to a capacity of up to 400 people. Being a pub on the ground floor, the concert venue was on the second floor and hosted a quite young and very energetic audience.

The first band of the sold-out concert was the US grunge band Lowlives formed in Los Angeles in 2017, California by vocalist Lee Villain, drummer Luke Johnson, bassist Steve Lucarelli and guitarist Jaxon Moore. So far the band has officially released two songs which are ‘Burn Forever’ (2017, self-released) and ‘Thieves’ (2018, self-released). As The Used, with whom the quartet was currently touring, had to cancel the rest of their European tour, they were able to join The Word Alive for their UK shows. Lowlives have a very specific grungy sound with influences of bands such as Nirvana. Lee mixes rough but sung vocals with some screams to create more tension. The vocals are accompanied by heavy and dark guitars that occasionally break out of the regular and present a solo. Together, it is a unique sound especially after the grunge era seamed to have vanished as such. Nevertheless, the sound was very well received by the crowd who immediately picked up the energy and started moshing.

The second band on the stage was the British melodic metalcore band The City Is Ours (they previously toured with Slaves (US) in 2017), who was formed by Conor, Jay, George, Sam and Mikey in 2015 in London. So far, the band has released two EP’s which are ‘Wildfire’ (2016, self-released) and ‘Hollow Hope’ (2017, self-released). Their sound is a mix between melodic choruses and heavy verses, as well as breakdowns during the bridges. Both screamed, and partially clean vocals create dynamic and energy, which was well received by the crowd who danced and jumped along.

The third band of the evening was the Welsh metalcore band Continents, who were founded in 2011. Currently the band consists of Phil Cross (vocals), Darry Sweet (guitar), Rhys Griffiths (guitar), Tim Vincent (bass) and Scott Waters (drums) who so far released two albums, being ‘Idle Hands’ (2013, Artery Recordings) and ‘Reprisal’ (2015, Artery Recordings). Musically the quintet combines a very heavy guitar sound with mainly screamed vocals, creating a lot of energy and tension.

IMG_4492x — Continents enjoying the stage

With The Word Alive finally entering the stage, the energy seemed to increase even further. The band opened their set with their latest single ‘Misery’ (2017) and the whole crowd screamed every single word of the songs back to the band who was overwhelmed. There was a huge circle-pit in the middle of the crowd with people running around, jumping and enjoying themselves. The band played a good mix of their old and newer songs, which was highly appreciated by the fans, and ended the show with ‘Trapped’ (2017). Telle’s voice and performance were on top, as well as the performance of the other bandmembers. They had a lot of fun and appreciated the highly energetic, as well as engaging crowd which created an amazing vibe.

The acoustic was well balanced between the instruments and the vocals of all the bands which made created an enjoyable sound. Simple lights and a glowing pattern made of many bulbs attached to the back of the stage created a special ambience and suited the music perfectly.

Overall, it was an absolute pleasure and a special time, especially with such an energetic audience and the amazing performance of the bands. The Word Alive gave their best on stage which was well received by their fans and highly appreciated, resolving in the crowd going mental. It was impressive to hear the whole crow screaming every single lyric of the songs back to the band who was very thankful and overwhelmed.

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Don Broco

A little while ago, the British alternative rock band Don Broco released their third full-length album ‘Technology’ (2018, Sharptone Records) and had a live release concert on the album’s release day.

The current members of the band, formed in 2008 in Bedford (England), are vocalist Rob Damiani, guitarist Simon Delaney, bassist Tom Doyle and drummer Matt Donnelly. So far, the quartet released their first EPs ‘Living The Dream’ (2008, EmuBands), and ‘Thug Workout’ (2008, EmuBands), while touring with bands such as Enter Shikari, as well as their third EP ‘Big Fat Smile’ (2011, EmuBands), followed by more touring and festival visits. In 2012, they released their debut album ‘Priorities’ via Sony Music and a fourth EP ‘You Wanna Know’ (2013, Sony Music) shortly after. The second full-length album ‘Automatic’ (Sony Music) was released in 2015, followed by the bands support of Bring Me The Horizon’s European Tour, were I luckily was able to go to one of the concerts. As I enjoyed Don Broco’s set at the concert, I was really happy when I saw they would release new music and have another concert, which was part of their solo tour.

Musically, Don Broco combines different styles such as alternative rock, pop rock and post-hardcore. The main parts of the songs are sung with clean vocals. However, there are also heavy screamed, as well as more spoken or rap-ish parts, underlined with heavy and dark guitars. However, the songs vary a lot depending on the pace and vibe they bring with them which shows a great variety and individual style of the band.

IMG_3622x — Don Broco having fun on stage

IMG_4144x — Don Broco enjoying their music

IMG_3273x — Don Broco animating the crowd

The sold-out album release concert took place at the ULU in London, which has a capacity for up to 1000 people, and opened the doors around 7pm to a rather young audience. First band on the stage was the British alternative band Future Love from Northampton, founded by Andrew, Jake, Nik and Meg. So far, they released two EPs ‘The Long Bright Dark EP’ (2015, self-released) and ‘Passive Obsessive’ (2016, self-released). Musically, they create a melancholic and vibey sound, especially through the mix of Meg Amirghiasvand’s and Andrew Convey’s voices together with rocky guitars.

Unfortunately, the crowd was quite hard to motivate at the beginning and took a while to engage into the band’s performance. Towards the end of Future Love’s set, the audience was more energetic and started some small circle pits.

The second band on the stage was the British indie rock trio Press To Meco from Croydon, England. Luke Caley, Adam Roffey and Lewis Williams formed the band in 2010 and released two EP’s which are ‘EP’ (2012, self-released) and ‘Affinity’ (2013, Invictus Public Relations), as well as one full-length album ‘Good Intent’ (2015, Best Before Records). Musically, they combine a very heavy and dark guitar sound with light and clean vocals, creating a rock-pop and alternative sound. Their energy on stage quickly transferred to the crowd who started moshing and jumping.

IMG_2947x — Press To Meco enjoying the stage

With Don Broco on the stage the crowd went absolutely mental! They started their set with ‘Everybody’ and literally everybody started to jump, dance and mosh. As it was very tight, there was no way of not jumping with the crowd as they lifted one up with them. Don Broco played a very good mix of the songs from the new album, as well as some older songs, even though it was the release concert of the new record which was released the same day. The crowd sang on the top of their lungs and seemed to spend all the energy they have been saving so far. Ending the set, Don Broco played ‘T-Shirt Song’ and nearly everybody started to take off their Shirts and swung it round their heads.

Not only the performance of the bands but also their light and sound performance was great. Don Broco had a nice light show with loads of different coloured lights which fitted the show and vibe of the set very well. The acoustic was good and the balance between vocals and instruments was great. The first two bands also had a well-mixed acoustic, and kept their light show simpler regarding colour schemes which definitely created the best fitting atmosphere for their music.

All in all, the concert was amazing and a great experience. I had a special time there and absolutely enjoyed it. All three bands delivered a good performance which was greatly appreciated by the crowd. The fans sang on the top of their lungs and had a lot of energy, which they spent moshing around, jumping and dancing. However, not only the crowd but also the bands enjoyed their time on stage and had a great evening.

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Sweet – photo challenge

This week’s photo challenge of the Daily Post has the topic ‘sweet’. I guess everyone has an immediate image in their heads when they hear this word. However, it can be something very obvious such as sweet fruits, which I absolutely love, guilty pleasures such as ice cream or cookies, but it also could be a sweet gesture, animal or human being 🙂 Nonetheless, today I thought I would go for the obvious sweet indulgence which obviously give you a special time enjoying them. As already mentioned I love fruits. Especially blueberries, cherries, raspberries and strawberries. However, as I’m not a perfect person, there are definitely some less healthy treats that I can’t always resist. Especially when it comes to ice cream, and sometimes cookies or cakes 😀 As with everything, balance is the key, and treats now and then are totally fine, I guess.

DSC_00001 (254)x — Colourful selection of fruit

DSC_00001 (1839)x — Lovely ice cream from Yorica Moments

DSC_00001 (1883)x — Tasty cookies and (s)cream ice cream sandwich

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