Rock um Knuedler Special

In the studio, 5 July 2009

It may be just as well that year after year, the Rock um Knuedler festival is headlined by outfashioned bands of elderly ex-popstars that only attract the kind of people who also think that the crap they show you on television is actually watchable. This allows those of us who prefer to spend their Friday and Saturday nights at concerts to check out the local bands that start playing from 3pm on, and rarely play longer than 7pm in the early evening.

The last time Minipli paid us a visit, they had not even released their debut album, instead chose to play a live session during the show. That was two years ago, and since then, a lot has happened for them. Playing at the prestigious Bourges festival has only been one of the important cornerstones in their career. Their beefed up minimal disco sound has lately been brought by them to many foreign countries.

At least since their CD release party a few weeks earlier at the Kulturfabrik in Esch/Alzette, even the last sceptic must have learned that Mutiny On The Bounty are the hottest export in indie rock music from Luxembourg right now. Their combination of catchy melodies with insane math acrobatics must have hit the zeitgeist, or how would you explain their unprecendented success?

After playing countless concerts as a laptop and bass duo, the two brothers of Artaban decided to have Max switch to the drums, the instrument he also plays in his other band Miaow Miaow. It may be hard to believe, but switching the bass guitar for the drums made their performance sound incredibly more dynamic, making not only me hope that they will pursue this direction further in the future.

The Disliked came seven men high, bringing the Radio ARA live studio close to bursting. Their ska punk rock with strong hit character has hit the sign of the times, giving them today the opportunity to crowd the big Lion stage and entertain their growing fan base with their infectious danceable music.

A couple of months ago, the Dandy Robots came out from nowhere, with an obscure Facebook group that didn't reveal who they were. Later it turned out that they consisted of the former core members of Low Density Corporation. Rocco is still doing the vocals, while Olivier has decided to take on the keyboards again, after a years long musical break that he took to start in his new job as the director of the Rockhal. The band is complemented by drummer Luc (formerly of Astronoids and Pantau).

Quentin Lagonza are one of those bands that feel best when they can wallow in extreme musical anachronisms. Their Seventies inspired rock music has a predilection for long structures, endless guitar solos and a general feeling as if the last thiry years had never happened. Eventually it's their innocent approach that gives them the credibility they need to be taken seriously after all. Our last guest for the radio show was Sug(r)cane, but time constraints somehow made us forget to take a picture. Interviewing seven bands in two hours finally had us set a new record for ourselves, leaving us exhausted, heading for the Horse and Lion stages to catch the remaining local bands to perform before the international "top" acts would risk lulling us into sleep.