The New Wine, Annie @ Ekkofestivalen. Bergen, Norway September 5th 2008
Outrageously priced Tiger Beer, hip and experimental electronic musicians plying their trade in a labyrinthine converted fish-smoking warehouse, more moustaches on show than you were sure was legal this side of Magnum P.I: it could only be a small-scale Norwegian music festival. And yes, it is of course the return of Ekko, Bergen’s Electronic Music and Art Festival. Having moved from the cramped, but intimate surroundings of centrally located Landmark, Ekko set up shop in the far larger, but rather more forbidding and cavernous USF Verftet this time around. The building’s architectural complexity is only partially explained by the fact that (in the days before six hundred people would squeeze into tight trousers and a sweaty hall to nod fashionably at experimental Dutch electronica) the main hall served the more humble purpose of having masses of dead fish hung from its rafters and smoked for preservation. Or however the Norwegians do such things.
Anyway, the increased capacity means bigger names on the bill, and four different spaces in which to enjoy their various charms. Although perhaps attracting foreign artists is not always a good thing: my festival is kicked off by Englishman Grovesnor, who may be a former member of Hot Chip but really shouldn’t be allowed to go at it alone, at least not until he’s learned that desperately uncool music does not become cool if played by cool people in front of a cool crowd. It is all a little too Lionel Richie.
The New Wine
It is up to a local act to kick-start proceedings more properly, and they rise to the occasion admirably. The New Wine are four frustratingly young and talented Bergen boys who continue the current trend for reclaiming neglected elements from past (and regrettable) musical fashions, and crafting something both modern and chic: 70’s mood-organ, 80’s synths, disco guitar riffs and retro Nintendo beats all combine to create a sound that is understandably having the band tipped as The Next Big Thing. The New Wine aren’t quite there yet; they appear bemused at the screaming girls clogging the front row, and prove to lack any genuinely meaty melodies, but they have everything else in place. Moments of Vampire Weekend’s youthful musical maturity, Metronomy’s bouncy electronics and even flashes of Foals’ tight guitar recall other bands of the moment, but perhaps the cap emblazoned with the legend ‘Devo’ which I later see the singer wearing provides the aptest point of reference.
It seems that despite the larger venue Ekko has managed to retain the endearing intimacy that means that wherever you go, you invariably end up next to one or other of the artists on the bill. For The New Wine I was trying gamely not to block the view of the bassist and keyboardist from The Whitest Boy Alive, whilst out of the corner of my eye I spied local label impresario Mikal Telle videoing the concert. I then stand next to that guy from Hot Chip to observe French duo Zombie Zombie who overlay frantic live drumming and gothic-tinged house beats by grunting and moaning into their microphones. After this it’s the turn of The New Wine and Erlend Øye to gamely throw shapes in the aisles of the rather constrictive cinema stage to the excellent Alpo Ja Tomi, a semi-improvising Finnish duo who hike up the fun quotient. Dutch/English pairing Wouter Van Veldhoven and Greg Haines are apparently a bit too much for the other performers, however: only a few members of the public join me in being enthralled and unnerved by their startling combination of looped live cello and cassette-based eerie electronics that end in an inevitable wave of distortion. There is just time for a quick glance at Black Dice’s riotous set that proves impossible to dance to because the beat changes so often, if there even is one, and one of the more WTF inclusions: Berlin-based Planningtorock, who delivers an eccentric one-woman-and-a-backdrop-of-egotistical-visuals show, sort of like Roisin Murphy as seen through the eyes of David Lynch, before it is time for the day’s main event.
Annie
It takes a while for the crowds to assemble prior to Annie’s homecoming performance, but the sweaty throngs are massed and expectant when the starting time for the gig comes and goes. Annie is fashionably late, and, when she arrives, fashionably dressed in a black origami number that recalls one of the costumes for her recent ‘I Know UR Girlfriend Hates Me’ video. Strutting and preening, looking every inch a pop queen, she opens with a rocked-up version of old hit ‘Chewing Gum’, pointing flamboyantly at random audience members whenever the lyrics call for a spot of accusation. What first then, the praise or the criticism? Best till last I suppose. Right, Annie’s gig is by no means perfect, her vocals are often far too quiet, and her voice is thin at the best of times – some songs, like oldie ‘Greatest Hit’ suffer irreparably from the former of these quibbles, and when her earpiece hits a snag and she has to constantly fumble with its receiver the latter was ever more evident, closer ‘Heartbeat’ finds her eyes darting between the crowd and the little black box on which she rather desperately twiddles knobs and buttons whilst she tries to hit the high notes. The main problem is that you don’t really get the impression that Annie is particularly enjoying herself. Her set feels rehearsed and choreographed, perhaps not surprising for someone who is, after all, a pop artist, and a shout out of ‘it’s been a long time’ is the only real indication that she has any special connection with the city. Oh, and one of the new songs, ‘What Do You Want (Breakfast Song)’, is absolutely horrible.
Now for the positives. Despite all of the above Annie’s show is hugely enjoyable and packed with danceable, delectable and impossibly catchy tunes, all very ably presented and skillfully adapted by the live band that she has in tow. Ketil Mosnes of Datarock, Tomi of the aforementioned Alpo Ja Tomi, and long-term collaborator Timo Kaukolampi combine brilliantly to give the bubblegum hits that extra live punch, and at times the set even delves into darker electro-prog territory. Annie’s delivery may not be particularly friendly but it is definitely confident, and it is easy to see why. On the evidence of this show her forthcoming Don’t Stop is going to be huge. ‘Chewing Gum’ and ‘Heartbeat’ are classics of the genre, but some of the new efforts blow them out of the water. Lead single ‘I Know UR Girlfriend Hates Me’ is extremely catchy and is delivered with a good dose of humour, but its appeal is decidedly throwaway. ‘My Love Is Better’ and ‘Loco’, however, are, on the basis of this gig, the best things Annie has done yet. She is in her element pouting out the impossibly wonderful pop melodies of this new pair – working with Girls Aloud’s producers has clearly taught her a thing or two about catchy choruses, but the truth is that the English group would kill for these two. Annie is not going for a full on assault on the mainstream, however, her claim to make ‘pop with edges’ is proved to still be valid by the gig highlight ‘Songs Remind Me Of You’, a dark and swirling effort that is punctuated by the most lovely electronics. With a cry of ‘thank you Bergen’ Annie runs gratefully off-stage, the crowd’s cries for more so enduring that she has to come back and apologise for simply not having anything else to play. It’s not a perfect homecoming, but a triumphant one all the same.
Words: Dan Roberts
Photos: Eirik Lande
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