Blacksun Festival
Encyclopedia
Gothic rock
Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
and industrial music
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
international festival
Festival
A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....
held in New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
spread out between several different venues. The festival started in 2005. The festival bills itself as more than just a weekend long concert, but also as a social event designed to pull people together from different parts of the world who share an interest in goth and industrial music. In addition to live performances, the festival includes a gothic fashion show, variety show
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
s, a trivia contest, dance afterparties featuring various international goth and industrial DJs, and various music and fashion vendors.
Since many larger goth and industrial festivals are held in Europe, the Blacksun Festival provides a closer opportunity for North American bands to get a chance to perform in a festival setting alongside with better established European bands.
Band lineups by year
2007 (August 10-12)
- Anders MangaAnders MangaAnders Manga is an American recording artist with a loyal underground following of fans worldwide. He was nominated for "Best Band" in 2006 by Gothic Beauty Magazine and has released 6 albums since 2005, most recently, "Infinite Gaze to the Sun" in winter 2009.-Personal life:Anders' father, Jerry...
| Bella MorteBella MorteBella Morte is a gothic band that was formed in 1996 in Charlottesville, Virginia. They also incorporate elements of metal, darkwave, deathrock, alternative, and synthpop. The name is Italian for "beautiful death."...
| The Birthday MassacreThe Birthday MassacreThe Birthday Massacre is a synthrock band, based in Toronto, Canada. The band formed in 1999, known then as Imagica...
| Black Tape for a Blue GirlBlack tape for a blue girlBlack Tape for a Blue Girl is an American Dark Wave band formed in 1986 by Projekt Records' founder Sam Rosenthal. Their music takes on elements of dark cabaret, Dark Wave, ethereal, ambient and neoclassical music. Director David Lynch...
| Decoded FeedbackDecoded FeedbackDecoded Feedback is a Canadian musical project which incorporates styles of electro-industrial and aggrotech. The duo currently releases music on the North American distributor Metropolis Records, and the European record label Out of Line.-History:...
| Gothsicles | GothministerGothministerGothminister is an industrial metal band from Norway. Formed in 1999, they have released four albums and have had success in Germany, playing many German music festivals, including Wave-Gotik-Treffen , the Dark Storm Festival, the M'era Luna Festival, and performing for over 10,000 people at the...
| InterfaceInterface (band)Interface is an electronic music group based on Long Island, New York. It was founded in 1993 by Eric Eldredge . Its career has been lined with a steady output of songs and dance remixes for other artists and several lineup shifts...
| Imperative ReactionImperative ReactionImperative Reaction is an electro-industrial band founded in 1996 by Ted Phelps and David Andrecht from the remains of the band D.N.A.-History:...
| Life Cried | Nicki Jaine | No Response | Scrap.edx | Stochastic Theory | StromkernStromkernStromkern is a band that blends electronic music and hip-hop. The band was formed in 1994 by James "Ned" Kirby.Kirby was originally a DJ in Madison, Wisconsin as a teenager, experimenting under the moniker "Flowers for Ravers" before founding Stromkern. Disenchanted with the music he was receiving...
| Tearwave | TerrorfaktTerrorfaktTERRORFAKT is an industrial-power noise musical project from New York City, and created in response to the events of September 11, 2001. They are currently signed to Metropolis Records....
| Unto AshesUnto AshesUnto Ashes is a musical ensemble based in New York City that incorporates madrigal, folk, and elements of neo-medieval and dark wave. Founded by Michael Laird and Susanna Melendez in 1997, the band has released five full-length CDs on the Projekt label...
| VoltaireVoltaireFrançois-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state... - DJs: Fuligin (Corrosion, New Haven, CT); Tom Gold (The Castle, Tampa FL); Jet (Cybertron, New York, NY); Bruno Kramm (Das Ich, Germany); Phil Phaid (Flux, New Haven, CT)
- Special guest promotions by Contempt! (New York, NY) and Das Bunker (Los Angeles, CA)
- Additional events: Art Show & Reception, Panels, Tech Styles Fashion Show, Vendor Market
2006 (July 28-30):
- Android LustAndroid LustAndroid Lust is the industrial solo project of Shikhee, that combines elements of rock, industrial, gothic and classical styles into a blend of music that she describes as "electronic and dark."-History:...
| Bloodwire | The Brides | CausticCaustic (band)Fanale has claimed Caustic's genre to be "Jizzcore," as a joke about the amount of self-indulgent, artist-created subgenres in industrial.Influences Matt Fanale has referenced include Revolting Cocks, Hank III, Pop Will Eat Itself, Chemlab, Atari Teenage Riot, and Stromkern, as well as the...
| ChemlabChemlabChemlab is a coldwave and industrial rock band formed in Washington D.C., USA, in 1989 by Dylan Thomas More, Joe Frank , and Jared Louche . Influenced by the pioneers of the industrial genre, such as Throbbing Gristle, Chemlab mixed experimental sounds with rock and metal, which they dubbed...
| Claire VoyantClaire VoyantClaire Voyant is a dream pop, darkwave, ethereal wave band from Sacramento, California. The trio were once part of a 5-piece band called Murmur, which split over creative differences...
| CombichristCombiChristCombichrist is a Norwegian Aggrotech band formed in 2003 by Norwegian Andy LaPlegua based in Atlanta.-Formation:The first material LaPlegua wrote was a few powernoise/techno crossover tracks under the moniker DRIVE...
| CTRL | Das IchDas IchDas Ich is a German electronic music group formed in 1989. The group, fronted by Stefan Ackermann and Bruno Kramm, were one of the prominent founders of and contributors to "Neue Deutsche Todeskunst" a musical movement in the early 1990s...
| Filament 38 | InformatikInformatikInformatik formerly known as Informätik is an electro-industrial/futurepop duo from Boston that was formed in the 1990s and is represented by Metropolis Records in the US and Dependent Records in Europe. Band members currently reside in San Francisco area...
| Interrogation | Jenn Vix | The Last Dance | Null DeviceNull DeviceNull Device is an electronic pop band from Wisconsin, USA.-Band history:Null Device is an electronic band formed in 1995 by Eric Oehler, William Annis, and Tom Lawrence at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. After the amicable departures of Annis and Lawrence, Dr. Eric Goedken joined as a...
| PTI | 51 Peg51 Peg (band)51 Peg is an electronic/industrial rock band from the Washington D.C. area, named for a star in the Pegasus constellation. The band's unique blend of electronic, industrial, metal, and synthpop has brought it some success and a loyal fanbase in the DC/Baltimore/Northern Virginia region as well as... - And OneAnd OneAND ONE is a German New Wave, synthpop and EBM band founded by Steve Naghavi and Chris Ruiz.-History:The band formed after Steve Naghavi and Chris Ruiz met in 1989 at a Berlin club. Being fans of early EBM music, Naghavi and Ruiz decided to follow in the footsteps of New Wave/synthpop band Depeche...
was originally slated to perform, but had to pull out due to visaVisa (document)A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...
complications. Das Ich took their spot in the lineup. - DJs: AddamBombb (Northampton, MA); Annabel Evil (New Haven, CT); Atterlothe (Providence, RI); Death In Jim (New Haven, CT); DV8 (Cleveland, OH); Kangal (Washington, D.C.), Mange (Hartford, CT); Mighty Mike Saga (Philadelphia, PA); Morgana (Toronto, Canada); Mothra (Boston, MA); Mouse (Raleigh, NC); Nitez (New Haven, CT); Phil Phaid (New Haven, CT); Ratboy (New Haven, CT); Reverend Brian (New Haven, CT); Th'Elf (Toronto, Canada); Vladvamp (Bandung, Indonesia)
2005 (August 5-7)
- Bella MorteBella MorteBella Morte is a gothic band that was formed in 1996 in Charlottesville, Virginia. They also incorporate elements of metal, darkwave, deathrock, alternative, and synthpop. The name is Italian for "beautiful death."...
| Carfax AbbeyCarfax AbbeyCarfax Abbey is a Philadelphia-based Industrial Rock band that started out in 1997. They have appeared on several Dark Alternative compilation albums such as Music from the Succubus Club, Asleep by Dawn, Dancing in the Dark: 10 Years of Dancing Ferret, and Dancing in the Dark 2006.The name of the...
| Cesium 137Cesium 137 (band)Cesium_137 is an American futurepop musical group composed of Isaac Glendening and Vince Guzzardo. It originally also included Matt Cargill.-Biography:...
| Decoded FeedbackDecoded FeedbackDecoded Feedback is a Canadian musical project which incorporates styles of electro-industrial and aggrotech. The duo currently releases music on the North American distributor Metropolis Records, and the European record label Out of Line.-History:...
| Ego LikenessEgo LikenessEgo Likeness are an American darkwave/industrial rock band from Baltimore, Maryland. They were formed in 1999 by artist Steven Archer and writer Donna Lynch.-Early Work:...
| IrisIris (Texas band)Iris is an American synthpop band, formed by Reagan Jones and Mat Morris in 1993. After releasing their first album Disconnect, Matthew Morris was replaced with Andrew Sega, who pushed the band's sound into a more experimental electronic direction...
| mindFIELD | Nightcrawler 1947 | Platform One | Razed in BlackRazed in BlackRazed in Black is an gothic electronic music act created by Romell Regulacion and is supported in live performances by band members Chris Nelson and Raj Kapololu....
| VoltaireVoltaire (musician)Voltaire , is a popular dark cabaret Cuban-American musician...