Just a few metres apart, the Trianon and the Elysée Montmartre were sold out and people dressed in black lined up in front of both venues. There was no mistaking which door you were at: on one side, death metal band Dying Fetus came to atomise neurons, while on the other Front 242 was here to bid farewell to Paris. After a career spanning more than forty years, these EBM icons, true legends of electronic music, decided to leave the scene, taking with them a whole section of musical history. It was impossible for us to miss this last dance organised by Persona Grata in a packed venue. The sound system played DAF's Der Mussolini to set the mood: the EBM of yesterday, today and tomorrow was king for the evening.
SYDNEY VALETTE
Sydney Valette is everywhere: this statement applies just as much to the scenes he energetically explores as to the music that interests him. EBM, darkwave, italo disco, techno, cyberpunk: electronic spectres haunt him, whatever the label. And there's a real ghostly quality to the melancholy synth strings, the vocals dripping with cold-wave spleen and the poetic, mysterious, psychedelic projections filling the screen behind the artist, alone on stage.
But Sydney Valette isn't just a wandering soul: there's a body too, and muscle, a solid frame. Beats, dynamism, pounding rhythms... In short, there's never a dull moment. Above all, the man knows how to occupy the space, which is not lacking at the Trianon. He gambols, hops and calls out to an audience who were just begging to get rid of the pins and needles in their legs. The set only lasts half an hour, which is enough to get you warmed up without really having time to watch it go by. The next time we'll see him will probably be in a smaller venue, but the Trianon's wasn't an obstacle to proximity and it was a classy affair.
ULTRA SUNN
There was something of a passing of the baton that evening: the veterans of Front 242 were leaving while their young compatriots Ultra Sunn continued to emerge. The duo became a trio on stage and attacked with enthusiasm, leaving singer Sam Huge to take care of the show. The band from Brussels play a succession of singles from their debut album, US, released earlier this year (review). Some Ghost Could Follow, with its VNV Nation-style chorus, was a rallying cry from the outset, while the more recent Stories imposed its bittersweet touch, and the mix of EBM and futurepop, martial rhythms and softer angles, was much appreciated.
The audience is quickly won. Ultra Sunn know how to modernise their influences to offer music that is both respectful of codes and firmly rooted in the present and personal. With only one album in their discography, the band maintain a certain uniformity in a set with no downtime, the tracks following one another like so many variations around a relentless rhythm that never falters. We can't wait to see them grow and discover how they'll make us dance in the future and what new textures they'll come up with, their balance between spleen and tension being full of promise. ‘This is the sound of Belgium’, shouts Sam at one point: he's right to be a bit chauvinistic, and Gabi Delgado is unfortunately no longer here to contradict him.
FRONT 242
From the logo projected on the screen before the start of the concert to the short video showing the band's arrival and the way they greet the audience before the concert begins, Front 242 play with our emotions right from the start and know how to arouse our impatience. A farewell tour, a now bald Jean-Luc de Meyer: they could almost make us believe they've aged a bit. You bet, right from the start of their set with W.Y.H.I.W.Y.G. and the anxiety-inducing steamroller Moldavia, Front 242 turn the room upside down with an energy that seems inexhaustible. The music is as radical and uncompromising as ever, and as such remains timeless. Leaving when you're still on top: not many can afford that luxury.
Despite the coldness of the universe, the temperature in the Trianon rises again and again. ‘We were invited to Notre-Dame but we refused’, ’We even played at the Olympia, my father didn't believe me, he said that only Brel played there... well Brel isn't there any more, but we're still here!". These words are full of warmth and helped to ease the tension, giving is a chance to catch our breath. Richard 23 always had a flair for good punchlines.
In the pit, people in their fifties mosh as if the Berlin Wall were still there. Their hair is clean-shaven over their ears. EBM doesn't mess around with looks. It's physical, the bodies sweat and move, the movements are almost mechanical, like machines enslaved to the frenetic, martial rhythms supported by drummer Tim Kroker. But there's a soul, there's a heart, and that heart clenches as the clock ticks down, mercilessly. The ‘come on Paris, make some noise like it's the last time’ uttered as the end of the set approached was mordantly ironic and melancholic: let's just ‘pretend’ it's the lats time, then.
Naturally, despite this celebration of the present moment, nostalgia is an essential part of the evening. Not only has Front 242 not released a single album in over twenty years, but it's impossible not to be thinking about ‘after’ and how much we're going to miss them. We enjoy one last time the eternal classics, Body to Body, Punish Your Machine, Tragedy for You and Jean-Luc de Meyer's voice, husky and menacing, which fills the Trianon or, of course, Welcome to Paradise and Headhunter which shake the walls. Meanwhile, Gripped by Fear, Masterhit and above all Happiness act as unusual curiosities that are a joy to behold. The band return to bid farewell in front of a montage of archive photos spanning more than four decades of history, to the sound of Work 242. And then, all of a sudden, it was over.
The futuristic cyberpunk projections - minimalist, harsh and icy - were a perfect visual echo of the music, delighting our eyes and ears. With generosity and energy, the four musicians (five including Daniel B, who was absent from the stage but we wouldn't dare forget) offered the perfect farewell fiesta. As Front 242 departed, the band seemed, as usual, to be in top form. Bosses to the end, and probably for a long time to come.
