Krach am Bach Festival ,Beelen, DE July 31st-Aug 1st, 2026

This festival has a 31 year history and I know many bands that have played there so it was such a honour to play the festival with Black Moon Circle. I came in early on Friday (only cheap flight I could get from Portugal) and was greeted at the airport by the lovely Karen. I had no idea it would be a 2.5hr drive to get to the festival from the airport. Wow. We talked about bands we know and lots of stories, etc.. Lovely lady. 

Anyway, I arrived that festival and it is super organised and great people. Get your wristband, food and drink tokens. They have a great backstage for the artists to hang out in and there is food, fruit, snacks, the entire festival and basically free drinks. Awesome. BMC were not arriving until like 22 so I just hung out with old friends, spoke to fans, signed some records, etc… Perfect weather, a bit of clouds and 26C.. awesome. 

Lazar (DE) were the first band on the main stage and delivered a set of stoner rock grooves, a few doom riffs and some dream post rock flavours at times. Not a very original sound but they do it very well and had a decent audience for so early in the day. 

Scott Hepple and the Sun Band (UK). I had seen this name around on some festivals this summer and they had a great energy and super cool visual projections by Dave and his crew of 3 doing all the visuals on the main stage. They were awesome. Wow.. Impressive.. Anyway, Scott´s band is a trio at the moment (I thought they were a four piece) and delivered a high energy rock and roll show with some great songs influenced by garage rock, 60s rock and classic rock. I missed a lead guitar play though. Scott did some solos though.  They were clearly having fun and the audience for sure were into it.  

Icarus Burns (DE) was another instrumental band and the first on the smaller stage in the forest. It is fenced in so only about 500 people can cram into the area. These guys were very powerful but I was annoyed that drums and bass were just too loud and while they had a great energy, the music did not really catch me. The audience were into it though. They have a great PA and real pro sound folks but if you are in the front, the bass is very powerful, too much for me..

Kombynat Robotron (DE), old friends now, have really changed their look and style and it was the first time to see them since we played together.  All I can say is fucking hell, they were so intense, like a psychedelic steamroller, that just pulverised everything thing in its path.  There is this strange way they improvise with the freakouts, but the energy level and intensity was impressive. They also had song/jam that was just bass and drums and the guitar player ran around shouting and doing crazy vocals. Crowd loved it. NOISE ROCK. 

Wedge (DE) were a band I have crossed paths with many times over the years but I have not seen them in like 10!  They totally rocked with a great 70s rock vibe, some great guitar solos and organ as well on those 3 tracks or so they had the organ. (the bass player played the organ). I really dug them and so far they were my fave band of the day. Great stuff. 

Set List: Intro, Nuthin, Role, Easy, Friday, Computer, Constellation, Wrong, Lucid

1000 Mods (GR), seem to be everywhere these days.  I guess these guys are probably one of the most constant bands in the stoner scene delivering a classic 90-2000 era stoner sound and they do it fucking well. A lot of the same style riffs (sort of like what Slomosa are doing but they are too melodic for me and have almost no guitar solos).  They rocked and the crowd liked them. I would love to see them try to diversify a bit more. Nice guys as well. Lights were too bright for these guys so I actually move away as you could not watch them with out getting a headache..

The BMC guys were here and it was great to finally meet the new drummer, Alessandro! Guys were in a good mood and ready to rock tomorrow. 

Skyjoggers (FI) from Finland, are a crazy trio. I had fun talking to them backstage. I had never seen them so I had no idea what to expect. The drummer and bass player provide this intensity and the guitar player has a lot of pedals and effects and uses them in really cool ways and plays riffs, spaced out delay guitars and just goes wild. It was fucking great. I was pretty blown away and would have loved to had made some space sounds with these guys. Brilliant.

I was super tired as I have been up since 530 in the morning to catch an early flight so I wanted to go back to the place we say. Vemund and I got a ride back while the others stayed til the end.  I should also say the lovely folks that play in Sula Bassana, were going super cool lights at the small stage. Awesome....

Dead Meadow (US) I had seen at Sonic Blast in the last year or two, so i knew what to expect. They were just starting to space out when we left. Alessandro said they were a bit boring and felt the drummer was too lazy and they lacked energy.  

Day 2

We got a ride back to the festival about 1330 so we were able to catch about 20mins of Sons of Arrakis (Can). I had never heard of this band but damn, they were really good. A bit of groove rock, a bit of metal (one song reminded me of Iron Maiden), and cool guitar solos. I liked it.

Tommy & the Teleboys (DE), were very nerdy looking guys but what a set. IT started slow and I thought they were a bit boring but wow, what a build they had as the just kept lifting the intensity until they had the audience in the palm of their hand!  Pretty impressive in the end..

We now had to set up and soundcheck while out friends in Kanaan & Æverstaden (NO) were preparing to play with the folk band on the main stage. I managed to hear some of the soundcheck and take a few pics. We could hear some of their set but did not really see it as we were on just after them. Sounded really great and interesting though. Very different from Kanaan.  Hung out a lot with those guys.

Black Moon Circle (NO) It was a great time playing with the guys. I did a couple of minute intro on my new modular box and then the guys came on the stage and went into Snake Oil! Audience was totally into it and great to be on the stage with the guys again. Audience loved the little bit of War Pigs at the end of Snake Oil. We played very well. Øyvin smoked too many cigs the night before and so his voice was not as good as it could have been. The audience dug it. We had a bit of jamming Enigmatic and Psychedelic Spacelord.  People loved it. Great response.. 

Set List: Snake Oil, Spirit World, Enigmatic Superbandit, The Ghost, Serpent, Psychedelic SpaceLord. 

                                                                  (foto by Karen)

Upapayãma (IT) was next on the main stage. I helped in the merch as I could take down my stuff fast and we sold most of the vinyls and t-shirts so that was great. I could hear this band from Italy though and it was very interesting. Guitar (who also played Sitar on 2 tracks), flute, guitar/vocals/synth, percussionist, drummer, bass.  A sort of world music psych rock. They had a lot of different styles explored in the music. 

Set List: Sound Mirrors, Fliiim/Laliimph, Moon needs the Owl, Mistic Chords, Fil Dagi, White Oak, Noriko, Mas

A/lpaca (IT) were pretty incredible, what an energy. I was tired so did not see that much of them but I heard them. It is a very intense four piece band. Kraut, punk, psych… wild and intense. 

Meatbodies (US) played Dinosaur Jr, Nirvana, grunge type sound. I liked the more slow track, Psilocybin. Audience was not that big those that were there dug it. No one had sounded like these guys at the festival. 

Weite (DE), a sort of Elder side project, who has released two records were really cool instrumental music. They started with some synth drone stuff. Nick (who plays drums and synth pad) in the band and the keyboard player (who is in Elder now) lead the way as the guitars and other instruments slowly came in.  They have a cool sound. A bit like Motorpsycho era (2016-2023) mixed with proggy sort of stuff. The guitars play like southern rock or the grateful dead in a way but I was not very improvised if at all. Very scripted in perfect in some way. I really wish the guitar players had done more solos, instead of sort each playing the same style of melodic stuff for long periods in sections. Anyway, they were great and one of the highlights of the day for sure. Very good band. 

This will Destroy You (US) are a real post rock band. I can best describe them as a more melodic, less depressing, less heavy version of Neurosis!  It was not my thing at all and I think they also had all these very bright white lights which really annoyed me and did not seem right for that band.  

Green Milk from the Planet Orange (JP) are insane. I do not know how else to describe this trio. Everything was intense. One of the most intense drummers of the festival, intense bass playing, intense wild vocals and just strange chords, like proggy riffs and chords but super wild and yet they play sitting down!!  It was something else. Just blew everyone away. I saw the drummer exit the stage I was watched most of the show from the backstage side where you could look across and see the band. Anyway, he was just dripping wet…. steam coming off his body as it was cooled off quite a bit. WOW:.

Fu Manchu (US) always deliver the goods and they only had a 60min set to close out the festival. The BMC guys had never seen them and were getting pretty drunk by now.  We all hung out and saw the entire show so of it the Kanaan guys were with us as well.  That was fun.  Pretty much the same set they have played since forever.  Mongoose, Reagle Beagle, Californina Crossing, Hell on Wheels, etc…. they closed with a great version of Saturn 3.. I spoke a bit with Bob before the show. Super nice guy. 

Just incredible and diverse festival. Very well thought out line up of bands. So nice to meet up with Anders (Liquid ORbit), Elder guys (including Jack), Kanaan guys. Huge thanks to the amazing team at the festival (Birgit, Klaus, Uli, Rene, Karen and many more)..  Highly recommend this festival as an artist but also as a music fan. Awesome…

Unifant Festival-10 year Anniversary, Travanchina, Portugal July 24-26th, 2026

Unifant is a local run non-profit all volunteer festival. None of the people working or artists are paid, only a free ticket (and one guest each for the artists), a ticket for food and drink. One meal and 2 drinks…  It is a lovely atmosphere and such nice free spirited people. It is not only about the music program which runs for 2 1/2 days but there are all sorts of workshops and things for the kids as well.  Impressive list to organize. Check this out!!!

08:30 Qigong (Debra) - Harmonize with the elements
10:00 Aerial Workshop (Carinan + Tanya) - Expand the limits of your movement 10:00
10:30 & 14:30 Creating with Clay (Deborah) - Get your hands dirty and see what emerges!
11:30 Mandala Journey (Nicole) - Explore your inner world through colour 11:30
12:00 Being in contact (Nicky) - Listening Touch, Playful Movement, Deep Rest
13:00 Make your own festival accessory (Elis) - Recycled bracelets, belts and headbands
14:30 Shamanic Journey with the drum (Suze) - Find power and support with Power Animals
14:30 Creating with Clay (Deborah) - Get your hands dirty and see what emerges! 14:30
16:00 T shirt Printing (Anne) - Create your own special Unifant garment
16:30 Facepainting (Efi) - Be your fantasy character
16:45 Singing Circle (Talya) - Vocal flow for all 16:45

I arrived about an hr before the Opening Ceremony, which started about 18. It was a great gathering of people from the area. Not a lot of Portuguese people but lovely people of all sorts. I talked a little with everyone I met.  Nick and Mad, who are half of the main 4 people who started this festival gave an introduction speech and then Suze, who has been the mster of ceremoines to get things in the right place mentally for the festival chanted, advises, spread bay leaves about and drummed.  Nice way to start things.

Nick, who, plays bass in Idiotheque had a band called Music for Humans, that was the first act that opened Unifant 10 years ago, reunited with Iz and Braun on backing vocals and Suze on hand drums and played the same opening song they did 10 years ago. Very cool. They also played another song as well.  

The Crusties, were the first real musical act of the day with a full set of interesting cover songs from the 1930s to the 80s, I guess.  Beatles, Frank Sinatra (These Boots), old blues tracks, etc.. all done with accordion (Levon), which makes it a bit different. Steve did the harmonica and some lead vocals, Dave on acoustic guitar, and Christian on cajon.  Fun stuff. Not a lot of people watching them though. 

Master Scavenger (DJ), played funk, soul, pop, metal, etc… popular stuff while the Precipice set up and soundchecked for their gig. They have played the festival at least 2x before and this was the first gig in 2 years and with a new drummer, Christian (yes from the Crusties).  

The Precipice played all the same songs as the past years except one new one but they were more tight, more beefy. Rudy sings better than ever after quitting smoking and drinking a few years ago. This was the first gig with new drummer, Christian, who is a really powerhouse drummer and lifts the band to a new level. The audience enjoyed the set a lot.  Powerful set of original rock songs with a message, so listening to the lyrics is important!!   I hope they will record some of these songs in the studio soon. Never know.. 

Set List: Don´t wait for Judgement Day, Freedom of Life, Sleepwalkers, What If, Flush, The Lock on your Circle, 2020-2021, Plug Out, I Am, Stand tall for who you are, Hold the Wine, The Precipice, Wake Up

dUASsSEMicOLCHEIASINVERTIDAS were next but since they did not bother to move their gear close to the stage and they were switching out all the gear to play on their own, the 30mins was not nearly enough time and they started 30mins late and were fucking wild and intense. I think the audience had no idea what they were in for!!   I do not know how to describe them. It is like noise rock with a psychedelic edge. THey have samples, intensity of punk rock at times and really spaced out saxophone and flutes with loops and delays, etc..  I love them. What an amazing band. 

Set List: ?, Glo, 213, Poda, Xamâ, Rincon, Gazelle, Feng Chui, To Polina, Benco, Fintro

That was it for me for the night but there was still AFEK (DJ) and Stealth Moose (DJ), going until 0230 in the morning. It looked like it could rain but it never did. Phew…

Day 2

I slept ok but Zephyr woke me up earlier than I wanted to get up. Tried to get a bit more rest before lunch. I wanted to see my friend Larry and his Attack of the Mutant Unicorns DJ set at 12 but was way too tired, so I headed out to the festival around 13 and arrived just in time to see the entire Joe Chambers set.  What a great local talent. Plays mostly original songs from his recent album on bandcamp, Rivers of Gold. He did one JOhnny Osbourne song as well Pretty much the same set of songs I saw him play a month ago or so but totally solo this time.  

Set List: Sail Away, Forest, Find your truth, I trust, Fear no More, Worry no More, I was Made, Truths and Rights, All my Winds, Freedom, Rivers of Gold

In between the bands they have a LOUD DJ playing at full volume and this is very disruptive for the band setting up and the audio people trying to figure out monitors on an Ipad and there is no stage manager so the DJ just kept playing at loud volume well  into the time that they should start and the band was just standing their wanted to test their monitors and hear them mics and so this started like 45mins late. Ridiculous.  It would be even worse later. 

The Lunch Club are lead by Chris and Shelly (Brother and Sister) and get together with friends every Thursday for lunch and music. They play only cover songs of classic Irish, English folk, blues and rock. They have played the festival at least once before. Bass, acoustic guitar, mandolin, drums, and lead guitar.  It is a really good selection of songs but the execution was not that great on this day. I think overall people still enjoyed it. 

Set List: What you Do, Blue on Black, Summer Wind Cottage, Gold Dust Woman, Ain´t no love in the heart of the City, I´m on Fire, Blackleg, Step it UP, Seminole Wind

The Serratones, are a local choir, usually big but today 7 woman and 2 men. They were fast to set up and did a soundcheck song and 4 other songs, only about 15mins or so. It reminded me of African music singing at times. There was one religious song, not that surprising, I guess. It was cool and very different. They were great. Lead by Laura from Khelas Collective (I wish they had played). 

Nawy Pharmas, who have played here before were next and have expanded the band to include a female back up singer, who also played acoustic guitar on one song near the end of the set.  Stand up bass but also banjo plus cajon and acoustic guitar. Two main singers and almost all original songs. Very political, some very funny and just a great vibe to this music. I really dig these guys. People were dancing and having fun. A little bit of time was made up here. 

Carlos Geometri, a local DJ from Brighton, also plays congas in Idiotheque, laid down a cool hr long set of funk, African, hip hop and Latin rhythms and added some killer scratching at times. Wow. he was fucking great at it.. A decent number of people dancing but he was also on just when they had opened the Pizza area again at 18, so that drew some people away..

Now, we were only 15mins later instead of 45. Hayah and K.Ra was next. Hayah was the DJ and the show started off as slow stoned dub, moved into post-dubstep and then into techno. K Ra played a small trumpet with some delays. I wish he had more effects though as he more or less did little bits of the same thing over and over..  People were really ready to dance and had a good time. Still managed to keep to about 20mins late. 

Fliptrix, a local hip hop rapper, who sounds black but is white, is pretty fucking amazing. His beats, etc was all done by Hayah, from the previous concert.  Idiotheque tried to get some stuff set up in the background while they performed. It was not my kind of music at all but the crowd loved it.. 

Now the mess began.. Giles and Rudy took over from Mike and Adam, who had done a pretty decent job on the sound considering both are old school and used to using a desk and now, it was all on an Ipad app.. Big learning curve…. Anyway, Giles and Rudy, take over and also are not used to this and it is a big fucking mess and people are standing around for an hr!!!! Yes, a fucking hr.. All of Tom´s big plans for a glorious entrance of the band and himself and a choir on the hill are fucked..  Not sure if it was Giles or Rudy but one thought it would be a good idea to erase everything Mike and Adam had set up so suddenly, they have to set all the channels up from scratch and they do not know how to do it. This is what caused the delays, Bad idea guys. 

Anyway, 75min late but they finally get started with a bit of the original plan with Tom arriving on this throne like Nero and dancers in the front and the choir on the hill (but the sound guys never got around to that microphone, so no one heard them). Close your Eyes with the lyrics on the screen opened the show. It was fucking a great idea and cool. Mostly they pulled it off. Sounds was rough to start but they had to just get going. They could not delay any longer as there were 3 DJs after and a curfew at 3am.. Anyway, it was a really fun set, The band looked great, the people danced, sang the songs and besides the rhythm section not being very tight, it was a good show and great lights by Leon and his wife.  I had a lot of fun and filmed the show from the soundboard but there will be a lot of talking on the recording I fear. 

Set List:  Close your Eyes, Mountain Man, Test my Faith, Again, Destination, Too Cold, Todos Equas, Honey, HI, Give me More, Space Age

I left at 1220 or so, the next DJ up, Red Panda was supposed to start at 2245, so they were more than 90mins late now so all the DJs will have to shorten their set by 30mins or so.  Itasan and Yoka, were also on later but I had gone home

Day 3

I am pretty tired after only 5 hrs sleep.  Doctors of Space play at 22 tonight and I have to be on it. It is also going to be 31C today, so much hotter than the past days.  Jolan & Lila, CO2, Cabaroke, 

I arrived just as Selecta Higgla (Dub) were still playing so heard a bit of their dub set. It was cool that they played only vinyl records and mixed them in interesting ways sometimes. They had a synth box but I never saw him use it. THere was one guy on the turntables and one guy smoking joints and he did a bit of singing at one point. 

I have never seen Frankedelic, an improv funk group with Noah, Guy and Nick from Idiotheque. There was also a clarinet player, trumpeter and of course Frank on the drums, who sings as well and leads the group. It was mostly jamming but they clearly had some parts that were worked out, especially the horns. It was really cool. I dug them a lot. A big African vibe at times with interesting vocals. Awesome.  Of course we are running behind as people stand and around and chat and Ball Zee and Lisa were no where to be found when the set ended. They should have been there with their stuff all ready to go once the stage was clear. They need a stage manager very badly. 

Ball-Zee and Lisa Oribasi were just amazing. What can you say…..  World class beatboxing with a fantastic singer and songwriter. Most the same songs as they played at the last Unifant but one new one. The people were really into it.  Lisa also played bass on one song, her first time live she said. Very talented lady. Ball-Zee did a couple of tracks on his own as well. Great set..

Doctors of Space, it was more than 30mins late now so we did not start until nearly 2230 but we got it going pretty fast and i had great sound on the stage. I had planned a special entry but it was running behind. Nick did a small introduction and then we were off with 6 songs we had rehearsed to last one hour.  The lights were nice and people were dancing. I guess about 30-40 people. Hard to tell in the dark. I had some tech problems but mostly it ran pretty well. Martin was just so amazing. What a pro on the drum machines. Incredible.  FUN… 

Doctors of Space- foto by Kate Weaver

I was very tired and just packed up my gear and said goodbye to a few people.  I did not see the last 3 DJs, but people were dancing to DC up in the bar area as I left.. 

DC (DJ)
Marc-O (DJ)
Intira & Kobiko (DJ)

Huge thanks to Tobias, Sara, Nick and Mad, the four main people making this festival happen each year. You are all awesome and the people have such a nice time..  A great experience for all.  And affordable!!

http://unifant.pt 

Astral Magic and Paul Roland- Light of the World (ASTRAL066)

This is the 2nd collaboration album between UK based Paul Roland (Acoustic guitar, vocals, keys) and Santtu (all other instruments) in Finland. It also features Jonathan Segel (guitar, violin, mandolin) and Anton Sailo on broken Kannel (?).  THe album features 12 tracks, two of which hae been released before in different versions (Mind Melt Machine and The Illustrated Man. 

Every Night I Journey to the Starts starts things off.  The vocal is very relaxed with a steady drum beat and dreamy synth layers and a bit of slide and acoustic guitar. Nice opener. I am not Here continues in a similar vein. I really dig 23rd Century track. Nice violin playing by Jonathan. Catchy vocal line and nice bass line. Interlude is next and goes into Light of the World. This features acoustic guitar and is a mellow spacey track, very melodic light singings. Nice wah guitar solo and an upbeat ending. When I get to Heaven is a long mostly instrumental track.  I woake as from a Dream has a great mysterious vibe to it but is really short, under 2mins. Mind Melt Machine, you probably already heard on the 10” or digital but this is a slightly different shorter version.  Davidsons Eyes has a bit of a Syd Barrett -Pink Floyd like vibe. The Illustrated Man, has also been published before. The album ends with Dark Angel of Mine.  My wife really loves this album.. so check it out.. Say Mrs Space…

http://astralmagic.bandcamp.com 

http://paul-roland.bandcamp.com 

Anandam Collective- RIJU, Coja, PT July 10th, 2026

This was a very special event and I am glad that I was part of it.  It started about 1830 with the collective being introduced and on stage and Sali on the floor addressing the audience. IT was a bit of a conversation about Indian music and how it works and affects you and then it was all about getting the audience into singing, breathing and dancing to be part of a collective environment. 

There was a 10min break for some fruit and then the Anandam Collective played for about 90mins. The first raga was a mellow slow growing evening raga featuring primarily Pt Abhishelk on sitar. He was amazing and played with so much feeling.  His wife (on the other sitar), she also has chops and was able to really shine in the 2nd more uptempo piece that built to a great crescendo. Each of these pieces were about 25 or so minutes long. The 3rd raga was a more mid tempo one with a bit more singing.  They were over time now as it as 2115 but did one more short raga they had been working on the past days. It was about rain.. Lovely… Incredible sitar playing.. Wow... they were all great..

After the show, a traditional southern Indian vegan dinner was provided. It was pretty much the same food as the last event Sali had put on. Red rice, lentals, chickpeas, cous cous and some fresh vegetables mixed in.   People were happy…. It was a great event with great musicians and well attended with about 50 people..  Cost was 20€ for the entire event with food… 

Anadam is: Ibram Kashi (IT) tabla, Nada Yogi (Voice) Sali Siva, Pt Abhishelk- Sitar, Dr Murchana Adhkary- Sitar

http://sitarjugalbandi.com 

Uria Tsur- Canta, São Sebastião da Feira Portugal July 3rd, 2026

My daughter, wife and I went down to have some food and be outside and meet some interesting people before the show.  Nice bottle of Vinho Verde, vegan food by Savory Bakes. Very good fresh ingredients but just nothing that tasted totally amazing or had any wow factor. The filo pastry filled with and sauces was much better the week before. The lemon poppy seed cake was a winner though… 

As usual, the concert says 20 but did not really start until 21. Uria started slow by talking for 10mins. It was like 35C inside Canta so it was nearly unbearable so I went back outside. He said this was the first concert like this in 10 years, that he has mostly been travelling the world and doing singing circles, groups, etc…  It was a mixture of his own original songs and covers and Reggae. He played in a reggae band in Israel a long time ago.  IT was 70% women I would say. A lovely audience, who got to hear lots of stories, some music and lots of singing was encouraged. I think it was a pretty amazing and emotional experience for everyone there. He is very engaging. I just wanted to hear him play his songs. Check out his bandcamp site… 

https://resueno.bandcamp.com/album/breathe 

Dennis Young- Nova (Primitive Substance)

Dennis is a self taught musician and great promoter of music on his you tube channel and elsewhere. This is a completion CD he put together from him collaborating with different artists that he has interviewed for his show.  There are 10 artists from 5 different countries (USA; Canada, Germany, Portugal and UK). Mark Jenkins (UK), Scott McGregor Moore (Canada), Bernhard Wöstheinrich (Germany), AeTopus (US), Stephen Buckley (UK), Alexander Paul Dowerk (Germany), Tim Morse (US), Josh Pollack (US), Henry Warwick (Canada) and Dr Space (Portugal).   It is mostly pretty cool synthesizer based tracks, some with drum machines. 

Pulsar by Bernhard reminds me a bit of of Devo some how. AeTopus is a very strange track, simple and trippy.. Stephen has a kick drum driven track that really gains pace as it evolves but slows and spaced out at the end. Alexander has a more mellow vibe and is more lead synth driven. Tim his track has some nice spacey layers in this short track. Josh has a very strange beginning and pretty spaced out piece.. Henry created one of my fave tracks. Something really special….  Dr Space (me), has the last track and it is a very special one. Pretty trippy stuff I have to say. I had a lot of fun with that one. Check out Dennis´s other music on bandcamp…. Links below…

https://dennisyoungmusic.bandcamp.com/album/nova 

http://dennisyoungmusic.net 

http://primativesubstance.bandcamp.com 

DeGuy- Canta, São Sebastião da Feirra, Portugal June 19th, 2026

DeGuy, is from Germany (via Israel) and lives locally.  I have known him for about a year and he is the guitarist in the local afro-funk band, Idiotheque. This was his first solo gig since moving to Portugal and it was great.  Canta is a lovely small intimate place for artists to play.  Everyone plays for donations. DeGuy has released 3 albums and an digital EP last year, two of which were on sale at the gig, one on LP and one of CD, 

It started almost an hr late compared to the advertised time which is normal for this place. I see no point saying it starts at 8 when the artists rarely start before 2045 or so.  Anyway, DeGuy played all original songs on acoustic or electric guitar, keyboard (setting Piano). He was often accompanied by a lovely lady on djembe and backing vocals.  Later, he played two songs from a friend from Leipzig, who then sang the lead vocal.  At the end of the hr show, another man came and played primarily cajon but also some other percussive items.  It was a really well crafted set of diverse music and passionate songs. Basically singer songwriter stuff but with a clever use of looping, to create more rhythm but often, just atmosphere. It really made the songs more special and interesting for me. Loved the track where he played Harmonica and did some interesting vocal manipulation at the end. There was a bit of a jam at the end with Alex and Nick from Idiotheque came and jammed with him.  Very nice evening and congrats on a nice and diverse set of new and old songs. Surprised none of the songs on the EP from 2025 were played though. 

Set List: Rivers Fall, Bridge, Going Away, Wise Tree, Like a King, (M-Kash-guest singer)- Black Tee and Fish, Wanna be Free, Harmony Way, Motion, Better Times, ???

http://deguy.bandcamp.com 

Joe Chambers- Canta, São sebastião da Feirra, Portugal June 5th, 2026

Joe is a local singer songwriter, who played the opening of Canta on May 31st, 2025 so it was a sort of anniversary.   He was joined by local musician and producer Shahar Kaufmann (bass, ??) as well as special guests Jonas (Oud) and Marijam (Violin) from Tau Ensemble. 

Show was to start at 20 but like is normal in Portugal, it was late and they did not start until 2040!  I had to leave early sadly but got to see about 40mins of the concert. It was all original songs, I am pretty sure and what a great voice he has and interesting guitar playing. The other players worked seamlessly as if they had all been playing for years. Wow..   Fantastic music. I filmed the intro… He played a lot of songs from his latest album, River of Gold.

https://joechambers.bandcamp.com/album/rivers-of-gold

Idiotheque- Quinta das Corgas, Tábua, PT May 30th, 2026

This was a big market and music day with lots of kids activities as well about 25mins from our house.  IT is a lovely place and they have these large glamping houses and camping area, two big pools and smaller pools, a restaurant and bar. ‘

The music stage was set up right next to the 2nd pool.  A guy named João played some acoustic songs, mostly covers but he does them very well.  We had seen him play here at the Christmas Market last year.  There was another duo also playing most covers.. Sadly, everything as far as music was running really late so Idiotheque, the headline act, did not get a sound check.  This delayed things a lot as they had to get the sound ok for this 8 piece band to play well.  They were due to play at 21 but did not get started til after 2120… 

Anyway, it had been a year, almost to the date, that I had seen them last, not counting that they rehearse in my studio every week and I see them there. They have a new guitar player, Guy, and this was his 2nd gig. He was awesome and fit in well. Sound was rough for the first songs and they just sort of jammed for the first 15mins while the sound guy tried to get things sorted.  Eventually, they kicked things off but not with the song they had planned!   They sounded great. Wow.. I was impressed and the grooves were good.  They debuted a new song called Destination. I had heard them play it in the studio. It has a nice African feel to it.  Tom had an outrageous costume as did Adriana, the female singer.  Other guys not really dressed up much. Loved Guy´s psychedelic jacket though!  It was a great set about 75mins, I guess.   A lot of people dancing and having a great time and they were super well received.  For sure not another band playing all original Afro-funk music in this part of the world, anywhere near as good as these guys….

Check them out on bandcamp… They are still working on their first album..

https://idiothequelive.bandcamp.com/

Gouveia Art Rock, Gouveia, Portugal May 1-3rd, 2026

This was the 2nd year in a row I have attended the amazing GAR festival. I was there to see some of the free acts and panel discussions in 2024 but could not get a ticket. GONG was playing but no way to get in… Anyway, this is by far the musically most diverse festival in Portugal.  Meet up with old and always make new acquaintances. This year my friend Santtu joined me from Finland (Astral Magic, Dark Sun, his bands)..  I fucked up the time so we missed part of the first act.

CAR12, a Portuguese sort of music-vaudeville type thing. They put on a sort of play and use all these normal items like pans, dust brooms, crutches, bicycle, wooden barrels, etc.. lots of things that they then make music while putting on their show. Pretty clever and sometimes fun. A very strange and different thing but for sure Art, not rock.  It was fun..

Bipolar Bows (BE/FR), are a cello and violin duo.  Lotte and XXX are very talented classically trained musicians but ones that have learned step outside of the strict training and take the music thru a trip of European cultures and  countries with a mix of folk styles, experimental and classical from Balkans, Bulgaria, and Europe to create some very cool music. Some original, classical pieces with their own interpretations and traditional music. I really enjoyed it a lot, especially the first 45m or so…  Sadly, the sound level was so low that if some breathed or sneezed across the auditorium, you heard the louder than the music. A crime really.. it is ok to be louder than the person breathing next to you.. It was even worse for the solo piano next. 

David Meyers, the extraordinaire piano player who used to play in the genesis tribute band, The Magical Box, played an hr of solo Genesis songs. Incredible piano player and lots of notes.. Wow.. he told some funny stories as well. Incredible player…

Le Grand Sbam, WOW.. what can I say.. 22 people on stage. 20 musicians, a conductor and guy with a wolf mask who rapped, spoken word, actiing, etc.. This was quite extraordinary.  Think classical music, MAGMA like chants, vocals, Frank zappa weirdness and a lot of fun..  Never seen or heard anything quite like it… Fantastic… 

Day 2

We arrived on time as I really was excited to see Markus Reuter Truce. I have 2 of the 3 CDs (Thanks Leonardo) and really like a lot of his other projects, especially Sun Trance, a masterpiece. Anyway, it started more or less on time and still very low volume over all but great sound and I love the way Markus makes these loops that he then plays over while the drums and fretless bass keep it all grounded. Gives Markus a lot of space to take the music anywhere he wants, He can play insanely fast stuff with this 8 string guitar and his touch technique but mostly he is doing just extrordinary things with the instrument and just blew me away. Sadly, the great drummer had two very loud cymbals and when he decided to smash those, do to the low volume in the concert hall, all you heard was a lot of fucking noise and all the guitar disappeared.  Really sucked. I spoke to the sound guy and he said nothing he could do (except turn the overall volume up, which he did not) as he had turned off the overhead mics, the floor tom under the crash, the snare mic) and it was still flooding the room and destroying the sound.. Pity..  Sort of ruined the concert for me. 

Hedvig Mollestad Weejuns was up next, a Norwegian trio.  She had played here 2 years ago with a different band is a big fave of the organiser (they love bands from Norway). The Hammond B3 player, Ståle Storløkken (and analog synths) I had seen in Elephant 9 before and he has played with Terry  Terje Rypdall. Ole Mofjell (drums) was the best drummer so far in the festival. Just awesome. A very dynamic and dramatic concert that started very slowly, with the focus on the Hammond. Hedvig hardly played anything the first 10mins. She sure looked great though in this amazing sparkly outfit…   She would get her chance to shine later…  It was mostly a very laid back and spacey set but it got pretty heavy and dramatic at least 2x in the hour. Quite impressive in the end… 

Peter Hammill, needs no introduction.  Tall, thin and all dressed in white, he started off the concert with 25mins or so of solo piano and singing. I did not know any of the songs.  He still have a very strong singing voice for 78 years old but could not sing in key, was very flat but still out and passionate. This piano playing was also lacking in finesse but lots of attack and far from perfect but here was about the whole passion of the song and not about being in key or playing perfect.   He then switched to acoustic guitar and it was more or less similar but a nice change from the grand piano. Again, he plays well but far from really great acoustic playing. it was a powerful performance of what I guess was mostly his solo material. My friend Adam, had to leave though, he thought he was just so dreadful.  Interesting to see how different people see it. He got a standing ovation for his passionate performance…… despite its musical flaws..

Arve Henriksen (Norway), is an experimental trumpeter..  I had not idea what to expect. He sat in almost total darkness with this midi keyboards, laptop, three trumpets, and 3 different microphones, one which he spoke or sung into, the other two with different kinds of effects in the line of the mic and he could play towards one of in the middle to get the sort of effect he wanted and then he recorded loops of this stuff and created these soundscapes. Sadly it was also all so fucking low in volume that I heard more of the lady behind me blowing her nose and coughing than the fucking concert. Just a crime that the volume is like 70db and anyone in the 300 room hall who moves, scratches his head, coughs is louder than the music. Very distracting..

Anyway, he later was joined by a woman playing a strange like pipe organ meets harmonium type instrument. The stage was so dark you could hardly see anything..  They played a bit and then a woman with an extraordinary voice (I heard her more from the stage then the PA and was 3rd from the back row (at least it seemed that way). Her voice was like magic. Amazing…  Then a guy came out and played a sort hurdy gurdy like instrument that is bowed with strings and keys on it but had no crank.  The music became like middle age, medieval music.  Very cool performance but the low volume really sucks and is very distracting as you are constantly hear people talking across the room or making small noises in their seats that is louder than the concert.  It was so dark on the stage I could not get any decent pictures.. Sorry..

Meer, also from Norway, were a symphonic pop prog band. Two violins, keys, guitar, bass, drums and lead female vocals. Everyone but the drummer did some singing. Songs were mostly 3-5mins pop format with sappy make you want to cry ballad violins, not many keyboard or guitar solos at all but impressive playing and it was mostly about the vocals in Eurovision style (someone said to me)….. I think people liked it but it was not for me. We left before the show was over. I was very tired and still have 30mins to drive home after midnight..  Great day…

Day 3

We left a bit late so only arrived just before Dominic Sanderson (UK), a prog act from England. 5 piece- sax/flute, guitar, keys, bass and drums. Mostly instrumental music heavily inspired by King Crimson (71-75 era).  Long complicated songs but over all too much sax for me. He played nearly all the time, even over the guitar sections and solos. Did not leave much space for the keys (too low in the mix) or anything else. Impressive players and I enjoyed it a lot….

Soft Machine, what can you say??  I never thought I would see them.  All the original members are dead by guitarist John Etheridge, who has played with the band since the 70s on and off, keeps it going with high quality players. They just released their new CD, Thirteen, but forgot the merch to bring to the festival. They started the show with like 4 songs from the new album and then they played stuff even going back to the first US single, Joy of a Toy (1968), which featured the bass player.  A mix of cool tracks from the 70s and they got an encore and played Backwards from Soft Machine III.  One of the highlights of the festival for sure..

Now we had to hurry to the small church for the medieval music show with some of the artists from the festival that played with Arve Hendriksen yesterday. Friman-Vincens-Ambrosini Trio.  This started at 1815 and ran almost an hr. It was free to the public so when we got there pretty fast most of the church was already filled with locals but we got a see in the 5th from the back row on the right. Low volume as you expect in a church but people were mostly quiet and respectful.  The woman singing, she was extraordinary. Mind blowing voice.  Incredible. The music was very nice with this strange wind pipe organ and hurdy gurdy like instrument and female voice. She got people in the church to sing a one point. Arve played as well the last 15-20ms and pretty much dominated the sound. Very cool though. I really enjoyed it.

We only 40mins to get something to eat before Tangerine Dream, so a quick pizza and we got in like 2mins before they started. Phew.. Wow… they were LOUD.. 10db louder than any band.. Way louder.. Cool visuals and intense music at times. I was a bit disappointed that they relied on the computer prerecorded stuff so much in the beginning and less at the end. They played a lot of live synths over the top of this stuff but you get the feel like if their computer died, they could cancel the show even though they had 6 synths on the stage…  It was hit and miss,. Some was great and some was like techno light with too modern sounding drum samples……  the best parts where the solos on the mini moog….  I had not seen them since 1988 and this was totally different. They have a tiny foot in the past but mostly little to do with what came before in many ways.

Awesome festival.. Here is a link to a lot of short videos that my friend Santtu made. Enjoy.. See you next year. Would be great to play here with Øresund Space Collective.. 

Santtu GAR Video Collection