- This is the first time we’re playing in Denmark… And we like it, said Ella Blixt from her place behind the keyboard. Together with Robert Kretzschmar, she makes up the Swedish/German indiepop duo It’s a Musical. While Ella plays the keyboards and occasional guitar and Robert handles the drums as well as (simultaneously!) the xylophone, both of them sing in classic boy/girl vocal style.

It’s a Musical was the first of Thursday’s four InterSPOT concerts. The audience seemed to enjoy the resulting gentle and naïve electro/indiepop. The turn-up was moderate – perhaps due to the fact that the SPOT 2010 opening concerts had only just ended when It’s a Musical came on stage – but as the concert progressed, more and more people gathered on the floor.

An orchestra of human beatboxes
- We’re Bauchklang, and we make music with our mouths… As you can see, there are only five microphones on the stage.
It was plain to see, but sometimes hard to believe. The audience – which had grown considerably by now – soon drew closer to the stage to see how on earth the five men on stage could make such convincing musical sounds.

Far from any traditional a cappella style, the Austrian group easily substituted an entire orchestra and ‘played’ an impressive concert of hip hop, house and techno. The audience responded with enthusiastic clapping, cheering and dancing. Especially the ‘bass’ called disbelieving smiles to their faces, when it made the room shake and chests vibrate.

Among the dancing Danes was Dirk, 39:
- I like beatbox. Usually you only see one or two people doing it – this is the first time I’ve ever seen it in a ‘band’ set-up. It’s pretty impressive, he said.

Bauchklang has been working with the ‘electronic’ sound for almost ten years, said bass vocalist Alex Boeck after the concert.
- Our musical inspiration ranges from groove, funk, hip hop, reggae and drum’n’bass to movie scores and classical music – but mostly the stranger stuff, he laughed.

Bauchklang’s voices frequently remind the listener of well-known sounds – a guitar solo, a clarinet, etc. – but always with some kind of twist:
- We try to invent sounds that don’t sound exactly like already existing instruments. So when it happens to sound like a real instrument, it’s completely by chance, said Alex Boeck.

A chance to sneak around

Andreas Gstettner from Austria's Radio FM4

At the concert, SPOT Live ran into Andreas Gstettner from the Austrian Radio FM4. He is a member of the SPOT On Denmark jury, which will select a number of Danish bands to play on next year’s European showcase concerts.

- There are so many bands here at SPOT, it’s almost a bit overwhelming, said Andreas. – But it’s more interesting than the usual big festivals. When you go to seven or eight of them each summer, you can get a little fed up with hearing the same big names over and over. It’s nice when you can just sneak around and maybe stumble upon some tiny little band that you’ve never heard of before.   
It’s a chance to be surprised, to see something unexpected. That’s how I like it best, said Andreas.

His fellow SPOT On Denmark jury member Julien Rouyer from the Swiss daily newspaper Le Matin was also at Studenterhuset. Like Andreas, it is his first time at SPOT.
- I really don’t know much about the Nordic scene, but I’m excited to find out, he said.

‘Brasilian country pop’ with banjo
Next on the stage was the Swiss trio Mama Rosin, who are also on their first visit to Scandinavia. With guitar, drums and banjo – and occasionally harmonica – they played a trashy and energetic garage rock with elements of bluegrass, country/folk and blues. The combination turned out to be surprisingly partyesque, and the audience, which had thinned out slightly, was nonetheless dancing wildly.

One dancer was 29 year-old Annika. When asked how she liked the music, she immediately held up her thumb:
- Perfect! It really cheers you up, she said and described the music as ‘Brazilian country pop’


Mama Rosin was the last band scheduled to play a Studenterhuset this evening, but due to the closing of the ship Stubnitz, one final act had been added to the line-up: DJ Bootsie Quartet from Hungary.

All in all, four very different musical experiences from five different countries and an interesting first year of InterSPOT seen from the venue Studenterhuset.