FAUST

VENUE STUDIO 9294, LONDON

DATE 14/09/2019

SUPPORT CAMERA, DATASHOCK

The level of excitement in front of the mixing desk is bordering on the uncontrollable. as the insistent and instantly familiar one-note riff and elemental percussive pounding of it’s a rainy Day, Sunshine Girl become apparent, certain sections of the audience are making their joy utterly explicit.

“Oh my God!” exclaims one chap, sweat pouring down his incredulous face. “can you believe it? Two of the members of the original FaUSt are actually playing this tonight!”

and with that, his head begins to resemble a woodpecker making its way through a particularly bounteous tree. as his body begins to shake and convulse in time with the music, it’s tempting to see if he’s attached to a defibrillator. he’s not the only one, as suddenly the collective movement in front of the stage becomes palpably more primordial. The only thing missing is a fire in the middle of the venue to dance around. and while FaUSt carry a reputation for pyrotechnic displays with a questionable regard for health and Safety, there’s none of that this evening.

But the reaction isn’t too surprising. Of all the bands to have emerged from the fecund breeding ground of Germany’s underground scene of the 70s, FaUSt are held in particular high regard among the faithful thanks to a stance that defies the very notion of compromise. moreover, since re-grouping in the early 90s around the core of vocalist/bassist Jean-hervé Péron and drummer Werner ‘Zappi’ Diermaier, the pair have been augmented by a revolving cast of guest players but the aesthetic remains the same: to push as far as out there can go.

This they do with varying degrees of success this evening. While there’s no denying the eradication of boundaries, how far one is willing to travel with them is debatable. in some ways, FaUSt recall monty Python’s Flying circus. celebrated for its groundbreaking approach and classic sketches, it becomes a little too easy to forget the misses and so it proves with FaUSt. So while they go interstellar with a truly kosmische reading of Krautrock, the well-intentioned concerns of listen To The Fish feel dated thanks to over-earnest lyrics. yet for all that, it’s not hard to be beguiled by the use of a cement mixer as a percussive instrument or the deployment of a sander on cymbals fed through a phalanx of effects.

it’s entirely apposite that they’re later joined by the members of support bands camera and Datashock. as evidenced by the former’s set of beats-driven space rock centred around the minimal yet effective rhythms of michael Drummer, their lineage can be traced back to Neu!’s motorik drive. yet much like latter’s ability to literally breakdown barriers between performer and audience by joining the crowd to explore unconventional sound, both mirror FaUSt’s ideas that will continue long after they’re gone.