Melt 2012 sunday

Lazy sunday. My favorite day at Melt. Everybody is a bit hungover and fluffy. Movements are slower, in a common pace, people got used to each other, made friends and are a bit emotional because a great time is going to end. I got to see many, many concerts that day and in the very end had the lovely surprise to see my unexpected highlight. Here we go.

First concert: Lana del Rey. And the girl can sing! Really good and friendly, excited fans and perfect chilled music to start the last day. Pleasant surprise. Next were Freedom or Death. New discovery which I liked a lot.


Waiting in the evening sun to see Destroyer.


I was looking forward to this concert and wasn’t dissapointed. Daniel Bejar treated the microphone stand like a flamboyant walking stick. Very elegant, smooth and unexcited.


Hopping over to the sleepless to see if everything was alright in the last sunbeams. It was.


Gesaffelstein starting with some fat, slow electro disco french house smash. Ok, so party again.


Here you see a ZDF Kultur toy where every floor panel makes a different sound. Great idea but I pity the crew who had to look over it and listen to the noise for 4 days in a row.


And Justice for all. Very, very loud, but somewhat not really funky.


The Gaslamp Killer felt underemployed and jumped on stage as MC for Brodinski.


My personal Melt! highlight: Symbiz Sound celebrate a Latin infused Dubstep party at the Sneaker Freaker stand and made a spontaneous crowd jump and sing. People just came along and stopped, being dragged into the show by these great entertainers. They deserve a big stage!


And that’s it. A tired mainstage covered with the leftovers from the last days.

Thanks for a great festival again!

Melt 2012 – saturday

Saturday is the most crowded day at Melt and the line-up is packed. I tried to see a lot and in the end felt a bit dissatisfied. I should have concentrated a bit more, I guess. Plus, I got to play in the VIP tent from 5am to 6am which drew too much of my attention. It was surely a cool thing to do, but I wasn’t good at all and there was hardly anybody there. Instead of copying mp3s to USB sticks and plan the set I should have enjoyed the shows.

Anyhow, here’s my recap.


The Sleepless floor was packed the whole afternoon and boasted with a crazy atmosphere, Gerd Janson played a very warm and fluffy sound, exactly right for the people.


At the same time, also very good, but not in the picture: Todd Terrje and later Dixon on the Gemini stage.


Araab Muzik proved why he is the “MVP on the MPC”, solely performing with the touchpads, every sound live from the sampler without any loops or synths. Amazing. No wonder that his hands hurt in the middle of the festival season.


Made the people go dancing..


.. and swimming..


.. and even headbanging..


Casper did a good job connecting with the audience who seemed somewhat skeptical in the beginning but later produced an impressive mosh pit.
Afterwards Two Door Cinema managed to rock the big stage this time. I like them and being the good musicians they are, they do a very tight live show.


Modeselektor initiated a pillow fight and the crowd drowned in feathers which could be found all over the festival area afterwards. Fun moment.

Melt2012 – friday night and saturday preview


There is a kind of rain which seems inconspicuous. But it’s crawling into your bones after a while, it’s steady and mean and merciless. The horizon becomes blurry and faces become grey. It’s not refreshing, it’s not dramatic. It’s just annoying.

On a festival, this kind of rain is even more depressing and I was really afraid that we were going to have it here at Melt2012. But slowly, during saturday afternoon, clouds faded away and with The Rapture entering the stage, the sun came out eventually. Stage and people bathed in the golden light and the festival finally could start for real.

Friday is costume day at Melt so you see many people in colorful disguises. I spotted especially feathers, bows and arrows, Native Americans seems to be a common motto this year. But I also saw Pharaos, popes and sailors, policemen, prisoners, bears and tigers.

The Rapture left a happy audience and I went over to the Big Wheel floor which is perfect for sunset. This year, the stage rotated so that te sun shines directly on it in the evening. John Talabot and Maya Jane Coles had a good groove there.

Plan B were ok later on, I don’t like Dillon, I heard Boy were really good, M83 are overrated in my opinion, they proved that again, Caribou were good, Bloc Party well received, Hudson Mohawke really made a difference, Shed took a bit too long to start banging and Nero were really impressive, loud and massive and fun.

The rain started again but that did not stop the people from dancing.

Today I am looking forward to seeing Benga, Phon_o, Lazer Sword, Araab Muzik and Modeselektor live. You can see some stuff live on tv at ZDF Kultur.

Melt 2012 – Thursday night and friday preview

Melt started yesterday with a soft preparty in the Intro tent. Considering the rainy weather, the tent will probably be the most popular venue this year. Toy were one of the openers and did a good job with impressive trumpets and trombones. Mike Skinner as a DJ was quite disappointing again, he has a selection but doesn’t mix and has no strategy whatsoever. People liked it anyhow.

I could spot a first fashion trend this year: Apart from the necessary rain boots, track suits and animal hats seem to be a common style statement.

It’s 1pm and people slowly get up or start arriving at the festival site. It’s been raining all day already but there’s a little light at the horizon. Everybody yearns for a beam of sunlight. At least, Pasta from cans taste better in the rain.

Today I am looking forward to seeing Raveonettes, Boy, Frittenbude, Caribou, Nero, Shed, Mouse on Mars and Hudson Mohawke. Markus Kavka opens at 3pm on the Big Wheel stage, the Vaccines start at 5pm at the main stage. First highlight though is MC Fitti who performs at the camping site at 3pm with his flamngo girls.

MC Fitti

Frittenbude

Shed

Melt 2012 – Arrival

This is the 8th Melt! festival in a row for me. During the last years I have constantly worked as an artist host, taking care of Goldie, Deichkind, Bloc party and many many more. This year, for the first time, I will “only” be a guest. I’ll probably feel strange and look for some beer crates to carry around anyway.

Since I do not have to wear a walkie talkie and run around super busy I actually spent a minute thinking about the right style and what to wear. Inspired by Milenskaya and her festvival styleguide I thought about what could be my sailors hat. Could I combine a horn around my neck with motto shirts like “honk for a hug”, “honk if you’re hot”? We’ll see how that goes.

I am also curious to see if the friday will be costume day like last year. I saw lots of fairies, superheroes and nurses.

Anyway, I am looking forward to 5 days filled with music, people and party!! Here’s the festival trailer:


Rainy lake


Crew catering


Artist info point

Melt! 2010 documentary video

Without many comments, it is finally here, the ultimate video looking-back to the most awesome Melt! festivals ever. This year, I actually had the time to shoot some videos and finally (erm, 1,5 months later..) edit together a 15 minute piece of our experiences as artist hosts at Melt festival. Me and a friend had the pleasure to work there and took some time to bring you music and impressions by Skate, Shout Out Louds, Two Door Cinema Club, Black Rose, Groove Armada, The XX, Modeselektor, Daniel Haaksman, Hurts, Edu K, DJ Shadow, Moderat, Get Well Soon, Broken Bells, Massive Attack and Who Made Who.

All condensed in some very intense 15 minutes, filmed with a flip camera.

If you are looking for the official all concerts of Melt professional high quality documentations, you can find it at 3min.de

Melt! I’m coming

I am almost on my way to Melt! festival 2010 where I will be working again this year. Massive attack, The XX, Goldfrapp or Get Well Soon will not be any of my clients but Kode 9, Mala, Maskinen, Modeselektor, Four Tet and Schlachthof Bronx will. I am excited to show these artists around the festival and make them comfortable. Follow me on Twitter to get updates and pictures during the next three days or check the hashtags #meltfestival

Check out all the previous Melt stories from the last few years on Stylewalker.