- Competing for critical acclaim with bigger and better-funded festivals from within a sparse and spread-out country like Norway may seem idealistic, but it's with an enthusiastic spirit that the organizers of the Ekko Fest invite music lovers to the compact west coast Norwegian city of Bergen each year. Since its inception in 2003, it hasn't booked the same big names or breakthrough artists seen at the larger events. Instead, it's compensated by mixing some astute and timely international bookings with fledgling local talents.
This hand-picked selection gives the event an intimate feel—a sensation that there is camaraderie among the passionate and genuinely friendly community of music and arts-following locals. Contributing to this, the venue for Ekko Fest, USF Verftet, also plays host to an Ekko art exhibition for several weeks with the actual musical side of the festival running over only three short days in September. A former sardine factory, the majority of the building was opened up for Ekko Fest this year and included three large performance rooms, a cinema room (Cinemateket) and a neat side space for warm-up DJs to fill time between performances on the main stage in the large Røkeriet room. (This latter space allowed for the whole room to shift quickly and smoothly between sets.)
This year's line-up included a homecoming of sorts for Tromsø boys Röyksopp, a duo that had not played in Bergen for nearly ten years. (Odd, considering they're based from time-to-time in the city.) Undoubtedly one of Norway's biggest contemporary electronic music acts, they were joined by—amongst others—the epic and atmospheric Danish band Efterklang, Warp's resident folk electronicist Clark, the loop-happy The Field and the acid disco drone of Nite Jewel. All of these acts performed well, but there were few surprises, save The Field's warm, inviting and captivating performance and Clark's relentlessly eclectic collage of folk and electronic samples. The latter's live show in the upstairs Studio room was one of the highlights of the festival. That said, the best crowd was of course the one that waited for Röyksopp, as they seamlessly plundered through tracks new and old to rapturous delight from the proud and loud crowd. Flawless yet familiar, their set never risked much, but was perhaps all the better for it.
In terms of creative endeavor and exploration, the most interesting project of the festival was Real Ones Instrumental. Normally associated with psychedelic hillbilly folk rock, this quintet created a special one-off performance of electronic grooves. Elsewhere, Berlin-based Voltek and Action Beat's educated but hard industrial machine sounds added a dark edge that contrasted nicely with the softer and synthy acts like Jonathon Johansson.
Of the local acts, Bergen producer and DJ Tobii celebrated the release of his first EP, Skranglejazz, with smooth deep and minimal house on the opening Thursday night. Velferd's live set, however, was far more interesting, filling the intimate upstairs Studio room in short order with a set of progressive and locked groove disco. Obviously a talented musician, it wasn't a surprise to discover that he's also a member of one of Norway's most talked about new bands, The New Wine.
It was yet another well-thought and balanced mix of music at this year's edition of Ekko Fest, making for an open and friendly atmosphere that is rarely seen in other festivals or Norwegian clubs. Ekko may not have a massive following outside of Norway yet, but you get the sense that's about to change. Or perhaps not. With the inclusion of the contemporary art exhibition in the same building, it didn't seem like they could cram much more into the space that they so carefully transform each year. Maybe that's a good thing: This engaging, fun and excellently run medium-sized festival could teach its bigger cousins a thing or two via its sustainable approach.