If Ääniwalli has ever excelled in anything as a venue, it certainly is for electronic music and more generally, music for dancing. Tonight, on the occasion of the latest Helsinki Synth City event (organized together with Fullsteam), it was no exception, as the party atmosphere going on all night made most people dance to the tunes of the three acts performing on stage.
It was not just the crowd that got to show their moves: multiple times during LEVINSKY‘s show, aside from the intriguing tunes that got the fans’ hearts racing, the visual aspect was strengthened during the set by the dancer accompanying the songs, performing a diverse repertoire of moves from modern to more traditional dance, donning different costumes and props as well. The combination of the music, movement, and the visuals was a total winner. Not being very familiar with the band (other than listening to some of their material in the past), made me want to dig more into it and definitely check their live shows again in the future.
Next up was MILLENNIUM FALCK: this was a more somber setup – starfighter-like helmet aside – as the artist expressed his futuristic view from “Neo Helsinki” with elements of retro-’80s sci-fi style mixed with a more modern sound. It was also nice to glance occasionally at the graphics on the screens at both sides of the stage. Like for LEVINSKY, they added to the story and enriched the overall performance. Eventually, the artist took off the helmet while continuously inciting the audience, who, in return, kept dancing on throughout the set.
Finally, French EBM/dark/synthwave artist SIERRA came on stage to present her debut album “A Story of Anger.” After previously releasing four quite successful EPs that brought her to warm up for CARPENTER BRUT last autumn (that’s how she got introduced to the Finnish audience, and quite successfully I might add), and further touring across the globe, for instance, on the occasion of her brilliant Roadburn performance last April – where she also had the opportunity to perform a DJ set the night before due to Boy Harsher‘s delayed arrival – and the more recent tour dates in the US. In her short but now fast-rising career, she has also been collaborating with CARPENTER BRUT and HEALTH, which has surely helped in reaching a wider audience.
But enough introductions: over the span of about 75 minutes, SIERRA brought to her fans some of the highlights of her music, conquering the crowd with her catchy powerful beats and original soundscape. The resulting atmosphere engulfed the listeners to the point that closing your eyes you could easily get lost in the moment. Of course, most of the set was focused on the artist’s first full-length, including hits such as “Never Right” and “Stronger,” with half of the set divided between the earlier work (“Unbroken,” “Trapped,” “A Cold Night,” “Hide,” to name a few tracks), giving a pretty extensive overview of what she is capable of.
If you haven’t heard of SIERRA yet, you might as well give it a spin and keep an eye out for her next performance near you. The same goes for Helsinki Synth City; check out these events if you are up for this kind of night! Check our photo gallery here…
LEVINSKY
MILLENNIUM FALCK
SIERRA
