Kirlian Camera

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Kirlian Camera
Kirlian Camera live at Nocturnal Culture Night 2018
Kirlian Camera live at Nocturnal Culture Night 2018
General information
origin Parma , Italy
Genre (s) Dark wave , electro wave , electro pop
founding 1980
Website www.kirliancamera.com
Founding members
Angelo Bergamini
Mauro Montacchini (until 1980, 2003-?)
Fabrizio Chiari (until 1982)
Simona Buja (until 1987)
Current occupation
Angelo Bergamini
Elena Alice Fossi (since 2000)
Falk Pitschk (since 2005)
Andrea Artusi (since 2010)
Kyoo Nam Rossi (since 2010)
former members
Giorgio Vecchi (1980-1982)
Paul Sears (1982–1985)
Bruno Bizzarri (1982-?)
Piero Canavera (1983-?)
Renato Ollivo (1983-? Unofficial)
Charlie Mallozzi (1985-?)
Emilia Lo Jacono (1991-2001)
Simon Balestrazzi (1991-1997)
Barbara Boffelli (1997-2000)
Ivano Bizzi (1997-2004?)
Sarah Crespi (2007-2010)
Andrea Fossi (2000-2006)
Andrea Savelli (2000-2009)
Singer Elena Fossi at NCN 2018
Keyboarder Falk Pitschk at NCN 2018

Kirlian Camera are an Italian music project founded in Parma in 1980 . The name comes from the Kirlian camera , which can be used to display electrical fields, which is interpreted as an " aura " in esoteric circles . The external and image-defining distinguishing feature of the group Kirlian Camera is the masking of the front man Angelo Bergamini and partly the band musician with a balaclava .

style

The music of Kirlian Camera is mainly characterized by slow melodic arrangements. In terms of style, the music is often assigned to the dark wave environment, initially with conventional electro wave tracks occasionally alternating with neofolk compositions. Techno elements were increasingly used from 1998 onwards , and this changed again at the turn of the millennium when Kirlian Camera changed the line-up. The album “Invisible Front. 2005 ”from 2004 then alternated between electroclash and pop music with the charm of the 70s and occasionally combined these sounds with trip-hop passages. The compositions, which are mostly carried by gentle female singing, create a profound and serious atmosphere. Synthesizer surfaces, choir sounds, strings and sometimes acoustic guitars are used for the melodies. The rhythm elements mostly seem more subtle and are arranged sparingly. For this, Kirlian Camera mostly uses electronic sound generators or drum computers . The import of voice samples is also characteristic. The melancholy effect of the music is also implemented in the lyrics. Thematically, it is about personal fears, grief, loneliness, memories of love and longing for death. With the stylistic device of a dark romanticism, questions of faith are addressed, among other things. Often a mental journey is undertaken into a futuristic science fiction world. For example, the song Solaris refers to the work of the same name by Stanislaw Lem and Andrei Tarkowski .

The compositions also include danceable songs such as B. "Blue Room", "Edges", "Ocean" or the first version of "Heldenplatz". Time and again, experimental pieces are created that work with sound collages and can be stylistically assigned to ambient music.

The song "Eclipse", probably best known in German scene clubs and released in several versions, is considered a classic.

history

The band was originally founded in 1979 by singer and keyboardist Angelo Bergamini under the name "Suicide Commando". However, since there was already a music group with this name, Bergamini changed the name in 1980. At the time he was occupied with esotericism and so he took over "Kirlian Camera", the suggestion of bassist Mauro Montacchini. In addition to Bergamini and Montacchini, Fabrizio Chiari (keyboard) and Simona Buja ( vocals ) were part of the original line-up.

With the first publication Dawn in 1980, Montacchini separated from the other members and was replaced by Giorgio Vecchi. In 1982 Chiari and Vecchi left Kirlian Camera, and were replaced by Paul Sears and Bruno Bizzarri. After the first long-playing record It Doesn't Matter, Now Piero Canavera (electronic drums) and unofficially Renato Ollivo ( guitar ) were added.

With the single Blue Room released in 1985 , Kirlian Camera became known outside of Italy. Paul Sears ended his membership with Kirlian Camera. Producer and drummer Charlie Mallozzi, who already worked on the debut album It Doesn't Matter, Now , added to the project again. The two singles Ocean and Heldenplatz then appeared on the new label Virgin Music . Kirlian Camera became known through TV appearances , especially in their home country Italy, but they came under pressure to succeed, especially through the contract with Virgin.

In 1988 the band canceled their contract and singer Simona Buja left Kirlian Camera. At the same time, the second LP Eclipse: The Black Monument was released. The singer and keyboardist Emilia Lo Jacono, who has since been part of the regular line-up of Kirlian Cameras alongside Bergamini, also worked on this album for the first time. The title track Eclipse became an international hit.

In 1991 the third LP Death Angel was released with great success : The Fall of Life on Lo Jacono's independent label "Heaven's Gate". The third permanently integrated member Simon Balestrazzi (drums, guitar programming) followed a period in which Kirlian Camera regularly albums on the market brought, including collaborations with projects such as Dive and : Wumpscut: . At the same time, Kirlian Camera became more and more popular across borders. In addition to Austria , Switzerland and the Netherlands , Germany in particular became a key point of the supporter community, where numerous tours took place.

Simon Balastrazzi left Kirlian Camera in 1997. In his place came Barbara Boffelli (vocals) and Ivano Bizzi (keyboard). The latter had already stepped in earlier.

In 2000, Barbara Boffelli left the group and was replaced by Elena Fossi. In 2002 the band members dedicated themselves to side projects such as Stalingrad (Angelo Bergamini, Elena Fossi and Ivano Bizzi) and Siderartica (Elena Fossi with Andrea Savelli and her brother Andrea Fossi, who support Kirlian Camera at concerts as live musicians).

At the beginning of 2003, Mauro Montacchini, co-founder of the band, came back, so that the regular line-up with Bergamini and Fossi again consists of three people. Alternatively, Emilia Lo Jacono, Nancy Appiah, Roberta Astolfo (also known as Leutha), Lydia Dumfeh and the former singer Barbara Boffelli performed live. In 2004 Simone Mulè from the group “La Fille Biaise” joined the studio, but only for a short time.

In 2004 Kirlian Camera released the album Invisible Front. 2005 , when it came to collaboration with projects such as Naevus, Jarboe and other artists. Already in the albums Still Air (2000) and Absentée (2001) there were clear changes in music style.

Falk Pitschk joined the band at the end of 2005 and replaced the keyboardist Andrea Fossi in 2006. Furthermore, from December 2006 Sarah Crespi was appointed violinist.

In 2009 Kirlian Camera released the album Shadow Mission Held V , including new versions of Edges and Heldenplatz .

At the end of 2009 the Kirlian Camera Collection Odyssey Europe was released with all the singles in the band's history as a double CD and a limited edition of 4 CDs (Universal Music).

Due to the many changes in the line-up and the musical activities of the former and current members outside of Kirlian Camera, e.g. B. in the form of side or solo projects, the result is a network of musicians (United Gladiators), projects and bands, whose center seems to be Kirlian Camera and above all Angelo Bergamini. In addition, the side projects are listed in the discography on the Kirlian Camera homepage.

Controversy

An interview by Spiegel on April 26, 1999 with the anti-fascist author Alfred Schobert sparked allegations of right-wing extremism. Samples of a speech by the Romanian-speaking fascist leader Corneliu Zelea Codreanu can be heard on the 1991 album Todesengel - The Fall of Life (in the piece "U-Bahn V.2 Heiligenstadt") .

It was criticized that the band also used images from the Third Reich for video performances. Furthermore, the title The Theater of Dreams (Birkenau 1995) would refer to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. The grouping Goths against the Right tried to prevent concerts abroad in Germany with calls for boycotts and disruptions.

The band contradicted the criticism, especially since their line-up includes left-wing politicians and a black African. The use of associations with the Third Reich underlined the morbid character of the music and was more in line with aesthetics than ideology. In the meantime, any misleading representation is dispensed with live.

Kirlian Camera also set several pieces by communist and Jewish writers such as Alfred Mombert and Rudolf Leonhard ( Der Tote Liebknecht , 1992).

Discography

Studio albums

  • 1983: It Doesn't Matter, Now (LP / CD, ATG, Norton North)
  • 1988: Eclipse - The Black Monument, (LP / MC / CD, Rose Rosse, Discordia)
  • 1991: Todesengel - The Fall of Life (CD / LP Picture Disc, Blue Rain)
  • 1995: Solaris - The Last Corridor (CD / 2-CD, Discordia)
  • 1996: Pictures from Eternity (CD / LP, Discordia / Triton)
  • 1999: Unidentified Light (CD, Triton)
  • 2000: Still Air [Aria Immobile] (CD, ENDE Radio Luxor / SPV)
  • 2004: Invisible Front. 2005 (CD / 2-CD, Trisol)
  • 2006: Coroner's Sun (CD / 2-CD, Trisol)
  • 2009: Shadow Mission HELD V (CD / LP, Out of Line)
  • 2011: Nightglory (CD / 2-CD / 2-LP, Out of line, Rough Trade)
  • 2013: Black Summer Choirs (CD / 2-CD, Out of line, Rough Trade)
  • 2018: Hologram Moon (CD / 2-CD, Dependent Records)

Compilations

  • 1998: The Ice Curtain (2-CD, Nova Tekk)
  • 2002: Uno (CD, ENDE Radio Luxor) - (Re-) release of Kirlian Camera (EP, 1981) and Dawn ... (Demotape, 1980)
  • 2009: Odyssey Europe (2-CD / 4-CD, Out of Line)
  • 2010: Not of This World (3-CD, Trisol)
  • 2015: Radio Music A - The Best of Kirlian Camera (CD, Norton North)

Singles and EPs

  • 1981: Kirlian Camera (Vinyl 12 ", Italian)
  • 1983: Communicate (Vinyl 12 ", Memory)
  • 1984: Edges (Vinyl 12 ", Italian / ZYX)
  • 1985: Blue Room (Vinyl 7 "/ 12", Italian / ZYX)
  • 1986: Ocean (Vinyl 7 "/ 12", Virgin)
  • 1987: Helden Platz (Vinyl 7 "/ 12", Virgin)
  • 1988: Austria - Tor Zwei (Vinyl 7 "/ 12", Rose Rosse)
  • 1992: Pain (CDM / Vinyl 7 ", Discordia)
  • 1994: Eclipse Two [Eclipse Part 2] (CDM, Discordia)
  • 1994: Memory (CDM, Discordia)
  • 1996: Your Face in the Sun (CDM, Discordia)
  • 1997: The Desert Inside (CDM / Picture Disc, Triton, Uranium's Studio)
  • 1998: Drifting (CDM, Nova Tekk)
  • 1999: The Burning Sea (CDM, Triton)
  • 2000: Le Printemps Des Larmes (Vinyl 7 ") - Re-release of the 1995 bonus disc
  • 2001: Absentee (CD, ENDE Radio Luxor / SPV)
  • 2004: Berliner Messe (Vinyl 7 ", Small Voices)
  • 2011: Ghlóir Ar An Oíche (MCD / Vinyl 10 "Picture Disc)
  • 2012: Immortal (CDM, Out Of Line)
  • 2015: The Three Shadows (CD / Vinyl 7 ", Norton North)
  • 2017: Sky Collapse (CD / Vinyl 12 ", Dependent Records)
  • 2019: Hellfire (CD / Vinyl, Dependent Records)

Collaborations

Kirlian Camera & Simona Buja

  • 1982: Passing Masks (12 ")

Kirlian Camera & The Human League

  • 1986: Human / Ocean (7 ", Virgin)

Kirlian Camera & Andromeda Complex

  • 1993: Split (3 "-CD, Blue Rain)

Ordo Ecclesiae Mortis

  • 1994: Central Cemetery I (1985–1986) (CD)

Kirlian Camera & Dive

  • 1995: Obsession (CDM, Discordia / Triton)

Kirlian Camera & Siderartica

  • 2003: FOS III (3 "-CD-R)

Kirlian Camera & Stalingrad

  • 2003: Live In London (CD)

Side projects (selection)

  • 1994 Andromeda Complex (with Angelo Bergamini and others)
  • 2002 Siderartica (with Elena Fossi and others)
  • 2005 Plastic Autumn (with Falk Pitschk, Angelo Bergamini -> producer)
  • 2007 Spectra Paris (with Elena Fossi and others)
  • 2014 New Processean Order (with Angelo Bergamini, Elena Fossi, Kyoo Rossi and others)

Web links

Commons : Kirlian Camera  - collection of images, videos and audio files