- On my way to Katowice in southern Poland, it suddenly dawned on me that I had absolutely no idea what to expect from Tauron Nowa Muzyka. Save for the festival's website and a handful of reviews, there wasn't much online to really prepare me, and the lineup wasn't giving away any clues either. It's hard to imagine a place on earth where Venetian Snares and the Brandt Brauer Frick Ensemble would be easy bedfellows. I did know one thing—I'd travelled from London, and by the time Friday evening rolled around, I was most definitely ready for a party. And what better setting than down an old mine?
But unfortunately the underground industrial setting that should have been central to the weekend was unusable due to building works. The festival had to be relocated at the last minute—an element of fate that can bring big events crashing to their knees. I prepared myself for it to a damp squib, but when I arrived onsite, any doubts I had quickly disappeared. This was not a crew of amateurs. Now in its eighth year, Tauron Nowa Muzyka ran like a well-oiled machine. You never queued too long for a drink, or got crushed into an ill-fitting tent. The perfect size for the numbers, everything was within reach. It was hard to believe that this was in fact the last-minute replacement site.
I got there around 8 PM, just in time to catch Holly Herndon open the LittleBig stage with her unique brand of off-kilter, vocal-driven techno. Throughout the night, challenging and often harsh noise was the driving force, whether it was Squarepusher's jazz fuelled drill-n-bass, the moshpit-inspiring broken beats of Venetian Snares, or the sparse 808 kicks of Zebra Katz. Which isn't to say it was inaccessible. Jon Hopkins' live set on the main stage was a complete show-stealer, and the soul-funk noodlings of Thundercat proved a welcome respite from the skittering bass drums. Dawn Day Night brought the evening to a frankly unsatisfying close, choosing to rely on spectacle rather than the strength of his productions. Then again, you have to feel sorry for anyone who follows Venetian Snares.
The vibe on Saturday was completely different, with Gregor Schwellenbach and his chamber group playing their re-imaginings of the Kompakt back-catalogue. The music kept up to the previous night's standard, but was softer and less rave-focused, thanks to acts like Brandt Brauer Frick Ensemble. Over at the Numbers showcase, SOPHIE was showing a more party-focused crowd his über camp day-glo bass music. Omar Souleyman faced some pretty massive technical issues, but the crowd hardly seemed to care—his keyboard players' frantic melodies were impossible to resist.
Photo credit: Radoslaw Kazmierczak
Finally it was time to see the festival's mighty headliners: Moderat. Despite the massive rush to catch the German supergroup, there was enough room in the tent to get a good position for the show, which definitely did not disappoint. Their melodic and bass-heavy pop really demonstrated why Moderat are such an in-demand festival draw, with Apparat's vocals providing plenty of sing-along moments. Afterward I wandered over to the RBMA stage to catch Robag Wruhme. Opening with his remix of Modeselektor and Thom Yorke's "The White Flash," his set was a fitting closing to the day, providing restrained techno grooves and classy house until 7 AM (an hour later than scheduled).
Photo credit: Radoslaw Kazmierczak
As strong as the first two days had been, Sunday was the real treat. The capacity dropped from around 9000 to 300, and the event relocated to a church in the city. Music was provided by Darkstar, whose emotional and haunting electronics fitted the intimate setting perfectly, and Silesian Sound, a one-off trio of sound artists who had recorded samples from around the site and stitched them together into an hour-long ambient techno improvisation. If this is how good Tauron Nowa Muzyka was with a last minute relocation, you can't help but wonder how great it would have been if everything had gone to plan.