OFF Festival 2012: Demdike Stare

For those wanting something even further off the beaten musical track, OFF Festival’s Experimental Stage was the place to head to. On Friday afternoon, we trundle down to see UK duo Demdike Stare, for both musical and patriotic reasons; I mean, you’ve got to support the Brits when they’re playing away from home, haven’t you? We stop short of adorning our shoulders with a Union Jack, but do inch our way to the barrier in order to experience Demdike’s set in unobstructed technicolour.

The pair’s ambient, dub sound is a perfect fit for a horror movie soundtrack; ‘Forest Of Evil (Dawn)’ for when a victim is being watched by a scaly predator or lurker with ill intentions, with ‘Violetta’ for the build-up to a shooting cloaked in mystery. Horror movie footage is projected behind the band while they play, adding to the Addams Family effect, with the images of madness and just downright scariness transporting you into the mind of a deranged serial killer or a cowering victim. It’s all wonderfully dark; closing your eyes, it’s startlingly easy to pretend you’re far from a warm, sunny field in the heart of Poland.