While London sweltered under the hottest weather in quite some time, Musexpo Europe 2009 provided shelter from the oppressive heat in the form of our first night of showcases before the more serious matter of talking shop began.
The Borderline, home to many a discovery at last year's Musexpo Europe, saw temperatures ris
e for the smoking London debut from Germany's Aloha From Hell. 16 year-old front woman Vivi Bauernschmidt busted some top notch rocker moves out front, while a band which could have been products of an assembly-line for rock musicians (standard T-shirt issue: Motley Crue, Guns N' Roses) certainly had the chops to convince. They've cast their net wide already with hits in Austria and Japan where they are a priority for SonyBMG. Perhaps that net might spread even wider after this incendiary appearance.
Hilltop Hoods followed, bringing a glimpse of Australian hip hop to the London audience. Platinum
at home, selling 100,000 records thus far, with album The Hard Road hitting No.1, they've also received the prestigious J Award for Best Australian Album. We also learned of a more impressive achievement: at recent sold-out Islington Academy shows, the crowd (no doubt very thirsty antipodean ex-pats) set the record for bar takings, splashing over £5,000 on booze. No wonder, this is perfect music to get rowdy to. Watch out for their anarchic brand of provocative beats.
Norway are the current Eurovision Song Contest title holders, so we w
ere interested to see what kind of sugary pop extravaganza they could throw our way on Musexpo's European jaunt. Datarock's pulsating dance/rock/comedy show confounded our expectations and definitely turned the heat up with an addictive set of memorable bangers. Dressed in immaculate (if ill-advised, given the weather - have we mentioned how hot it is in London right now?) red hooded track suits, they bounced, raved and generally did awesome things like sing songs about Commodore 64's, which we enjoyed. They even closed with a song which paid homage to Prefab Sprout. A brilliant party band.
With our appetites whetted for two further nights of showcase action, we also have to get our serious heads on for two days of networking and panels. Can you stand the heat?
The Borderline, home to many a discovery at last year's Musexpo Europe, saw temperatures ris
e for the smoking London debut from Germany's Aloha From Hell. 16 year-old front woman Vivi Bauernschmidt busted some top notch rocker moves out front, while a band which could have been products of an assembly-line for rock musicians (standard T-shirt issue: Motley Crue, Guns N' Roses) certainly had the chops to convince. They've cast their net wide already with hits in Austria and Japan where they are a priority for SonyBMG. Perhaps that net might spread even wider after this incendiary appearance.Hilltop Hoods followed, bringing a glimpse of Australian hip hop to the London audience. Platinum
at home, selling 100,000 records thus far, with album The Hard Road hitting No.1, they've also received the prestigious J Award for Best Australian Album. We also learned of a more impressive achievement: at recent sold-out Islington Academy shows, the crowd (no doubt very thirsty antipodean ex-pats) set the record for bar takings, splashing over £5,000 on booze. No wonder, this is perfect music to get rowdy to. Watch out for their anarchic brand of provocative beats.Norway are the current Eurovision Song Contest title holders, so we w
ere interested to see what kind of sugary pop extravaganza they could throw our way on Musexpo's European jaunt. Datarock's pulsating dance/rock/comedy show confounded our expectations and definitely turned the heat up with an addictive set of memorable bangers. Dressed in immaculate (if ill-advised, given the weather - have we mentioned how hot it is in London right now?) red hooded track suits, they bounced, raved and generally did awesome things like sing songs about Commodore 64's, which we enjoyed. They even closed with a song which paid homage to Prefab Sprout. A brilliant party band.With our appetites whetted for two further nights of showcase action, we also have to get our serious heads on for two days of networking and panels. Can you stand the heat?
No comments:
Post a Comment