Kinky Star Ghent

Artists That Influenced The Sparkling Debut EP By Belgian Synth Pop Act TURQUOISE…

Posted on by JL

Making noise about up and coming artists…

18 May 2019

A couple of weeks ago Turn Up The Volume got really charmed by the tantalizing, self-titled 4-track debut EP by Brussels-based synth-pop quartet TURQUOISE, led by the sensuous vox of Sarah Boom. Their sonic influences come from several decades and several artists, but the musical excellence and strength of this foursome lays in the seemingly simple, yet extremely difficult talent and inventiveness of writing alluring and fetching songs, creating infectious tunes that make hearts and souls glow, that put a smile on people’s faces.

Last Thursday I saw the band perform live for the first time. In my hometown Ghent they showed with flair that they’re not just a studio exploring project, but an ambitious team of musicians that aims to take their electronic musings to another vivid level than on record once they step up a podium. And they succeeded tremendously well with old, present and new work.

It triggered me afterward to listen to the fresh EP and the artists that influenced
its four cuts another couple of times and share my aural impressions right here…

1. MIRROIR
The flourishing opener that will make your heartbeat jump for joy has the dancey dynamics of 80s British duo Erasure, a Sisters Of Mercy drumbeat and resonates
vocally like legendary French singer/actress Jane Birkin. Beatific score.


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2. MIRADOR
A reflective and starry-eyed, atmospheric Cocteau Twins soundscape colored
with blissful synths and glimmering guitar touches turning this sweet little pearl
into an uplifting happening.


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3. CHAT NOIR
Sparkling, yet some darkish twilight poppiness. Like early Slowdive moodiness fused
with illuminating The Cure guitar sequences and seductive vocals bringing 60s pin-up chanteuse Françoise Hardy to mind. Magnifique!.


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4. PARABOLE
A ravishing combination of vocal Vive La Fête sensuality and enthralling New Order
guitar electricity turning this multi-layered humdinger into my favorite piece. Top!


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Picture this
Kinky Star, Ghent, 16 May…


Electr-o-fying waves…


Amplified pop dynamics…


Angelic voice…


Setlist…

TURQUOISE: Facebook – Debut EP available on Bandcamp

(concert pics by Turn Up The Volume!)

British Hellish Rockers SAINT AGNES Kicked Belgium In The Face With Satanic Blues Force

Posted on by JL

SAINT AGNES – Kinky Star Club, Ghent, Belgium – 14 May 2019

To be honest, before seeing this 4-headed British blues-rock psych monster called SAINT AGNES last Tuesday Turn Up The Volume! had no idea of the existence of this awesome, dazzling rawk engine. But NOW I KNOW more! One: the band is named after “the patron saint of girls, virginity and chastity, who was martyred at the age of 13 in AD 304.“. Two: this group worked their sweaty asses off for several years to shape their sizzling sound, live and on record. Three: two weeks ago these dirty devils released their crushing debut longplayer WELCOME TO SILVERTOWN. Trust me… it’s A BOILING KILLER RECORD!
And this sledgehammer is one of the many bang-up highlights…

Now back to Tuesday. When SAINT AGNES started their set with the above jackhammer ‘The Death Or Glory Gang‘, your awakened mind instantly knew, your shaking body instantly felt and your sped up stream of adrenalin instantly signaled that you witnessed something really HEAVY AND HUGE. It seemed at first like this firm furious foursome wanted to crush you ‘right now, right here‘. Their mammoth power and towering energy had an immediate impact on all of your senses from the get-go.

Luckily for us, they just continued to steamroll madly and wildly as if this wasn’t the first but the last gig of their European tour. Firework key members Kitty Austen (vocals/guitar & keys) and Jon James Tufnell (vocals/guitar) sucked up all the visual and aural attention with their unstoppable tsunami of bloodthirsty guitar uppercuts and nastily screaming vocals while a merciless drum/bass tandem kept the merciless beat going on in the back. WHAM BLOODY WHAM BAM! As flamboyant as the kooky New York Dolls, as tempestuous as the burning The Black Crowes and as fucked-up as the two desperadoes of Royal Trux. Yes that viciously good.

It’s only the month of May but I’m sure this FUCKING RED-HOT PSYCH-O-DELIC BLUES ROCK TORNADO SHOW will be on Turn Up The Volume‘s best-2019-gigs list. The absentees were wrong, those present are all devoted disciples now of this bewitching holiness…

Stream debut album
WELCOME TO SILVERTOWN here…

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LP/CD available here

Picture this…


Saint Kitty…


Satanic guitar fury…


Blood, sweat and hair……


Kinky Stars…


Glory gang…


Witching keys…


Black horse(s)…


These boots are made for rockin’…

SAINT AGNES: Website – Facebook

(Concert pics by Turn Up The Volume!)

MEET Arty Creepy Crazily Whacky Madly Hurly-Burly Sturm Und Drang Combo DIANE GRACE…

Posted on by JL

DIANE GRACE – Kinky Star, Ghent, Belgium – 17 July 2018

From Antwerp, Belgium here’s chaotic noise beast DIANE GRACE. A clamorous band you can scare your neighbours with, a theatrical turmoil band you can go totally berserk to, a tumultuous band capable of starting ketchup revolutions in shitty nightclubs, a punk band for psychic patients, a harebrained band of wackos you can cause PANIC with…

Yesterday night they did it again in my hometown Ghent, sounding, looking and acting completely… whizzy, scuzzy, frizzy, queazy, snazzy, exequy, zincky, quacky, jimply, blowzy, jockey, frowzy, jiminy, jangly, jingly, cozily, frouzy, frenzy, manicly, floozy, godverdomme, jalopy, veejay, litzy, peppery, jinny, skivvy, beastie, qwerty, chips with paprika, arty, hazily, japery, chubby, jetway, chuffy, whacky, alkoxy, miljaar, packly and kinky. I have actually no idea what all these bloody words exactly mean, I
just picked them because their nutty sound matches last night’s liberating spirit. I am
sure, this diabolic three-headed monster doesn’t give a flying fuck either of how people perceive them as artists. That is what makes their exuberant sonic exorcism so damn fascinating. Don’t try to analyze them, don’t try to put them in a box, don’t try to even understand them. Just e-x-p-e-r-i-e-n-c-e them…

Some yesterday’s visuals…


Heeeeeellllll yeahhhhhh…


Play that funky music, white boys…


Neanderthal man on a rip-roaring mission…


Back to earth…


DIANE GRACE: Facebook

(concert pics by JL/Turn Up The Volume!)

Darkwave Turbine ‘KILL YOUR BOYFRIEND’ Inflamed The City Of Ghent With Gothic Punk Smacks…

Posted on by JL

KILL YOUR BOYFRIEND – Kinky Star – 5 April 2018

KILL YOUR BOYFRIEND is the title of a macabre comic book with the story written by Grant Morrison. It’s also an Italian trio of shattering Goth punks sounding like Sisters
Of Mercy on speed instead of Valium, like The Jesus And mary Chain with crashing slams instead of pop tunes, like Joy Division losing control completely. The band was formed
back in 2011 by Matteo Scarpa on (guitar, vocals) and spectacular drummer Antonio Angeli Yesterday this two-headed turbine, assisted by a thumping bassist, produced a non-stop eruption of mind-boggling darkwave hullabaloo. Hair-raising, deafening, tons of piercing feedback and bloody entertaining overall. Their sonic shit navigates perfectly between all post-punk clichés. Their razor blade havoc covers several decades, but you can’t really label them, which proves that this squad moves in a dark zone of their own. Hallelujah! Here’s an idea of their inflammable act…

Stream newest, staggering stomper
single ULRICH right here…

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Picture this…


Black is black…


Big bangs…


Let’s make some noooiiissseee…


Goth punk tornado…

KILL YOUR BOYFRIEND: More KYB noise on Bandcamp – Website – Facebook – Twitter

(all concert pics by JL/Turn Up The Volume!)

Garage Grunge Demons PINK ROOM Thundered Robustly At Luminous Dash Festival…

Posted on by JL

PINK ROOM – Luminous Dash Festival at Kinky Star, Ghent (Belgium) – 3 March 2018

Luminous Dash is a highly popular Belgian website with a massive heart for Belgian musicians. The passionate people (all volunteers) behind the site have Belgian music
in their sonic DNA, and they do not restrict themselves to inform everybody daily
about what is going on in our little country by writing until their fingers turn blue.
Oh no, last year these dashing music junkies started a monthly showcase festival, organized in various small clubs, for flamboyant bands with a Belgian passport.

Yesterday Luminous Dash already staged their fourth edition and it was noise trinity
PINK ROOM that made my day last night in a packed Kinky Star in my hometown
Ghent. A furious 3-headed garage grunge monster, led by demonic loudmouth Bart Cocquyt. A magnetizing primal screamer who makes me think of Kurt Cobain on a high dose of amphetamines instead of brain-damaging heroin. At one point I really thought
his heated head would explode as the forcible energy this frontman/bassist developed was truly smashing. Assisted by battering drummer Jonas Calu and devilish guitarist
Glenn Janssens (the one who forgot to wear his Hawaii shirt), Cocquyt turns this diabolic
trio into a trashing MC5 powerhouse. Hell yeah, kicking out the jams was what Pink Room did ferociously. Merciless riffs, clamorous tantrums and tons of decibels is what this punk combo produced non-stop. And as these crazed guys just released their first EP I’m sure we’ll hear more from these colorful gang in the near future…

Move your furniture, clear the room, open windows and doors – so your neighbors can enjoy too – and listen here to Pink Room‘s red-hot, 4-track debut, titled RELATIONSHIT
and find out why I’m in a euphoric state…


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Demons at work…


Hell yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah…


Nasty white riff machine…


Pink powerhouse…


Shirt of the night!…

PINK ROOM: Facebook

(concert pics by JL/Turn Up the Volume!)

Das Belgische Lebenslied Orchester ELEFANT Is Sharper Than German Knives

Posted on by JL

ELEFANT – Kinky Star, Ghent, Belgium – 21 February 2018

For those who still haven’t a clue about who das Belgische Lebenslied Orchester ELEFANT
is I can tell you that this mumbo jumbo combo consists of one nutcase, one screwball, one cuckoo and one wacko. Together they are four deranged noiseniks making Krautmetal music and screaming German nonsense all over it. Let’s have a closer look at all these wicked characteristics, so you can understand who these white monkeys actually are…

NUTCASE according to the Cambridge Dicktionary
“Someone who behaves in an extremely silly way or
an offensive term for someone who is mentally ill.”

WACKO according to Cambridge Dicktionary
“A person whose behaviour is strange and different
from that of most people.”

SCREWBALL according Dicktionary.Com
“A whimsically eccentric person, totally nuts.”

CUCKOO according to Oxford’s Dicktionary
” A silly or slightly crackbrained person.”

GERMAN NONSENSE examples…
“Raus, raus, raus, Schweinehunden!
Alles hat ein Ende nur die Wurst hat zwei!
Das Leben ist so krank wie ein Elefant!”

KRAUTMETAL according to Turn Up The Volume’s Dicktionary
“Loud racket made by a nutcase, a wacko, a screwball and a cuckoo.”

They SOUND like this…

… and this

…and this too

They LOOK like this…


Nutcase…


Wacko…


Screwball…


Cuckoo…

I hope, dear readers you’re all aware now of what this mental gang is all about!
Danke für Ihre Aufmerksamkeit, liebe Leserinnen und Leser, auf Wiedersehen…


Spreading the Elefant virus in Ghent…


ELEFANT: Facebook – Bandcamp

(All concert pics by JL/Turn Up The Volume!)

Turkish Punk And Roll Tornado ‘REPTILIANS FROM ANDROMEDA’ Hits Belgium…

Posted on by JL

REPTILIANS FROM ANDROMEDA – Kinky Star Ghent, Belgium – 15 February 2018

REPTILIANS FROM ANDROMEDA is a smashing punk and roll turbo out of Istanbul, Turkey led by the utterly charismatic frontlady Aybike Çelik Özbey and guitarist Tolga Özbey. Last Thursday they hit my hometown Ghent (Belgium) with crushing rock and punk firework. To be honest I’ve never heard of this trashy tornado until yesterday when I checked the band on YouTube and found this thunderous slam clip, which made me totally exciting to go out and see the band live…

And what a night it was. From the very smoking start to the burning end this 4-piece engine developed a non-stop rawk ‘n’ roll fury fueled with a tremendously clever mix
of own sledgehammers and covers of timeless crackers such as The Stooges‘ nasty firecracker ‘I Wanna Be Your Dog’ and legendary girl punks The Runways‘ striking smack
‘C-c-c-c-c-c-c-cherry Bomb’. A blistering set capable of inflaming the whole city. BIG FUN! MASSIVE TUNES! HOT PERFORMANCE! Rakish singer Aybike is the eye-catching star in the middle looking like a cross between the Plasmatics‘ Wendy O. Williams and Blondie‘s Debbie Harry on a wild night. Steamy, sexy and sweaty. You don’t need to go to big arenas to go bananas, on the contrary. To hell with mega bands playing mega arenas,
you find the real stuff on the club circuit. Damn right! Thank you, REPTILIANS FROM ANDROMEDA for proving me right!!

Some more snakes havoc right here…

.
Picture this…


Let it fly…


Yeeeeeeaaaaahhhh…


All together now…


Rebel rebel…

REPTILIANS FROM ANDROMEDA: Facebook – Twitter – Bandcamp

(concert pics by JL/Turn Up The Volume!)