Maschinenfest was an annual three-day underground music festival in Germany, featuring industrial,

power electronics Power electronics is the application of electronics to the control and conversion of electric power. The first high-power electronic devices were made using mercury-arc valves. In modern systems, the conversion is performed with semiconduct ...

noise Noise is sound, chiefly unwanted, unintentional, or harmful sound considered unpleasant, loud, or disruptive to mental or hearing faculties. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrat ...

and other

alternative electronic Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * Alternative comics, or independent comics are an alternative to mainstream superh ...

performers. It included both independent and signed bands as well as many vendors for music and related

merchandise Merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of Product (business), products ("merch" colloquially) to a retail consumer. At a retail in-store level, merchandising refers to displaying products that are for sale in a creative w ...

. Featured

record labels "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and t ...

and noteworthy companies included Ant-Zen, Hands Productions, Pflichtkauf, Spectre Records and

Ad Noiseam Ad Noiseam is an independent record label that has from 2001 onwards published electronic music in the form of (breakcore, drum'n'bass, IDM, dubstep) as well as hip-hop and jazz based in Berlin, Germany. Ad Noiseam was founded in April of 2001 ...

History

The festival was traditionally held in October in the

bunker A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. T ...

of the Autonomes Zentrum (AZ) deep underground

Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. The venue posed some problems with heat, humidity and air circulation, as well as condensation dripping on to the gear of the performers, but the atmosphere of the bunker proved quite fitting to the genres of music played throughout the festival. For only one edition, in 2003, the festival moved to the castle ruin of Schloss Leerodt in

Geilenkirchen Geilenkirchen (, Ripuarian: ) is a town in the district Heinsberg, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated near the border with the Netherlands, on the river Wurm, approx. 15 km (9.3 mi) north-east of Heerlen and 20 k ...

. From 2004 to 2008, Maschinenfest was held at the Kulturfabrik in

Krefeld Krefeld ( , ; ), also spelled Crefeld until 1925 (though the spelling was still being used in British papers throughout the Second World War), is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, its c ...

. In 2009, the festival was held in

Essen Essen () is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, as well as ...

, and starting in 2010, the festival was held in the Turbinenhalle in

Oberhausen Oberhausen (, ) is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen ( ). The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Rout ...

Part of the pre-festival activities was the "Maschinenfaces" page where the visitors could add pictures of themselves and state where they were staying and who they were with as well as comment on each other's pictures. An April Fools' Day posting on the Side-Line website claimed that the 2008 edition, the 10th one, would also be the final one. This was not the case. In 2011 Wolfram Bange, Henning Hinck, Sebastian Vogel and Lena Neugebauer filmed a documentary about the festival. It was a tribute to the scene and can be watched on several video platforms for free.

Line-Up

1999–2003

* 1999: Imminent Starvation (now Imminent), Winterkälte, ,

Noisex Power noise (also known as rhythmic noise, rhythm 'n' noise, and occasionally as distorted beat music) is a form of industrial music and a fusion of noise music and various styles of electronic dance music. It should not be confused with "Power ...

, Ah Cama-Sotz, Hypnoskull vs. Tunnel, ZymOsiZ, Synapscape, S.alt, MS Gentur, Morgenstern, Andxesion * 2000: SINA, Klangstabil, MS Gentur, Silk Saw,

Xingu Hill John Sellekaers is a Canadian-born musician and audio mastering engineer. Born in 1973 in Montreal, Quebec he later moved to Brussels, Belgium. Beginning with his project Xingu Hill in the 1990s, he has released over 60 records under various ali ...

, Scorn, Imminent, Ammo, Celluloid Mata, NKVD, Asche, Proyecto Mirage, Synapscape, Tunnel, Winterkälte, Mlada Fronta, Mono No Aware, Monokrom, Somatic Responses, Sona Eact. Vromb, Converter,

Panacea In Greek mythology and religion, Panacea (Greek ''Πανάκεια'', Panakeia), a goddess of universal remedy, was the daughter of Asclepius and Epione. Mythology Panacea and her four sisters each performed a facet of Apollo's art: * Panac ...

vs. Needle Sharing * 2001: Iszoloscope, Frames a Second, Typhoid, Noosa Hedz, Xabex, Monolith, P.A.L, Synapscape, Templegardens, Substanz T, Telepherique feat. Roger Rotor, Cybernetic Fuckheadz,

Savak The Bureau for Intelligence and Security of the State (), shortened to as SAVAK () or S.A.V.A.K. () was the secret police of the Imperial State of Iran. It was established in Tehran in 1957 by national security law. and continued to operate un ...

Sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects o ...

, Winterkälte, Law Rah Collective, Contagious Orgasm, Azure Skies, Axiome,

vs. Needle Sharing, Proyecto Mirage, Black Lung,

Orphx Orphx is a Canadian music duo made up of Rich Oddie and Christina Sealey who perform techno, industrial music, industrial and experimental music. They have performed worldwide and have numerous releases on CD, vinyl and cassette through indie lab ...

* 2002: Sonic Dragolgo, Synth-Etik, SINA, m2, Klangstabil feat. S.alt, Somatic Responses, Hypnoskull, Winterkälte, Config.Sys,

Tarmvred Tarmvred (Swedish for ''ileus'') is an electronic musical project from Gothenburg, Sweden that is the brainchild of Jonas Johansson. History Johansson got his start musically by making his own remixes of tracks by Skinny Puppy and posting the ...

, Roger Rotor,

Deutsch Nepal Deutsch Nepal is an industrial and dark ambient project created in 1991 by Swedish musician Peter Andersson. History Under the name Deutsch Nepal, Andersson has issued eight studio albums, a couple of singles, the originally tape-only Silen ...

, Placid,

vs. Needle Sharing,

Klinik Klinik, (sometimes called The Klinik), is an industrial music band from Belgium, originally formed around 1982 by electro-synthpop practitioner Marc Verhaeghen, who is the only constant member. History Marc Verhaeghen originally formed Klinik ...

Ars Moriendi The ("The Art of Dying") are two related Latin texts dating from about 1415 and 1450 which offer advice on the protocols and procedures of a good death, explaining how to "die well" according to Christian precepts of the late Middle Ages. It wa ...

, Die neue Sachlichkeit, This Morn' Omina, Xabec, Mimetic, Mental Destruction,

Venetian Snares Aaron Funk (born January 11, 1975), known as Venetian Snares, is a Canadian electronic musician based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He is widely known for innovating and popularising the breakcore genre, and is one of the most recognisable artists to ...

vs. Fanny vs.

Hecate Hecate ( ; ) is a goddess in ancient Greek religion and mythology, most often shown holding a pair of torches, a key, or snakes, or accompanied by dogs, and in later periods depicted as three-formed or triple-bodied. She is variously associat ...

, Imminent, Vromb * 2003: CellAutoMata, Law-Rah Collective, Iszoloscope, Asche, ULTRA s t a t a l s ! feat. Hypnoskull,

Hanin Elias Hanin Elias (born 31 May 1972) is a Syrian German industrial/techno artist. She was a member of Atari Teenage Riot and is now a solo artist. After Atari Teenage Riot's non-definitive break in 2000, and the subsequent death of Carl Crack fr ...

, 5F 55, Punch Inc., Telerotor, Pow r Pussy,

Mono No Aware , , and also translated as , or , is a Japanese idiom for the awareness of , or transience of things, and both a transient gentle sadness (or wistfulness) at their passing as well as a longer, deeper gentle sadness about this state being the re ...

, , Synapscape, Converter, Antigen Shift, Axiome,

Detritus In biology, detritus ( or ) is organic matter made up of the decomposition, decomposing remains of organisms and plants, and also of feces. Detritus usually hosts communities of microorganisms that colonize and decomposition, decompose (Reminera ...

, Morgenstern,

Architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

, Needle Sharing, Ah Cama-Sotz,

2004–2008

* 2004: Dazzling Malicious,

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a dog breed, breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Some are kept as show dogs or pets. Greyhounds are defined as a tall, muscular, smooth-c ...

, Norm, Monokrom, Geistform,

, Mimetic, Vromb, This Morn' Omina, Heimstatt Yipotash, Genetic Selection, Hecq, ¥Π¥, Config.Sys, L'ombre, Hypnoskull, Winterkälte,

Robert Görl Robert Görl (born 15 June 1955 in Munich) is a German musician, best known for his work with Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft (D.A.F.) and for his solo recordings, particularly ''Night Full Of Tension'' and "Darling Don't Leave Me" (togethe ...

, Caos, Mothboy, Polarlicht 4.1, s:cage, Catholic Boys in Heavy Leather, Larvae, Mlada Fronta, Sanctum, Monolith, Proyecto Mirage * 2005: Ah Cama-Sotz, Ambassador21,

Atrox Atrox is a Norwegian avant-garde metal band from Trondheim. The group originally formed under the name "Suffocation" but soon changed it because of numerous other bands with the same name.Biography AllMusic Formed in 1988, the band released its fi ...

, Az Rotator,

Brighter Death Now Brighter Death Now is the artist name under which Roger Karmanik (b. 1965 as Roger Karlsson), the founder of the Swedish record label Cold Meat Industry, releases death industrial, power electronics and dark ambient Dark ambient (referred ...

, Contagious Orgasm,

Contaminant Contamination is the presence of a constituent, impurity, or some other undesirable element that renders something unsuitable, unfit or harmful for the physical body, natural environment, wiktionary:Workplace, workplace, etc. Types of contamina ...

, Imminent, Klangstabil,

Kraken The kraken (, from , "the crookie") is a legendary sea monster of enormous size, per its etymology something akin to a cephalopod, said to appear in the Norwegian Sea off the coast of Norway. It is believed that the legend of the Kraken may h ...

, Mental Destruction, Morgenstern,

, Pow r Pussy, Punch Inc., Rasputin, Roger Rotor, S.K.E.T., Synapscape,

, Empusae, Edgey, Enduser, Iszoloscope, Kom Intern, Kirdec Feat. Elekore, Lapsed, Loss,

* 2006: Antigen Shift, Asche, Bong-Ra, Black Lung, Camanecroszcope, Cdatakill, Geistform, Geneviéve Pasquier, Hypnoskull, Hysteresis, In Slaughter Natives, Institution D.O.L, m2, Mimetic, Militia, Moctan, Mono No Aware, Needle Sharing, Nullvektor, P.A.L, Shorai, Snog, Suicide Inside, The (Law-Rah) Collective, This Morn' Omina, Winterkälte, Xabec * 2007: 100 Blumen, 5f-X,

Ab ovo AB, Ab, or ab may refer to: Arts and media * '' American Bandstand'', a music-performance television show * '' Analecta Bollandiana'', an academic journal * Ancienne Belgique, a concert hall in Brussels, Belgium Business Business terminology * ...

, Ah Cama-Sotz, Ahnst Anders, Ambassador21, Catholic Boys in Heavy Leather, Config.Sys, Dazzling Malicious, Detritus, Detune X,

DJ Hidden DJ Hidden is an electronic music producer and DJ from Goes, Netherlands. His solo work consists of (Experimental) Drum & Bass, IDM and Crossbreed. He is one-half of Industrial Hardcore/Crossbreed duo, The Outside Agency, alongside Eye-D. Histo ...

, Drumcorps, Eva3,

, Keef Baker, Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio, Scrap Edx, S.K.E.T., Skincage,

, Spherical Disrupted, Synapscape, This Morn' Omina, Twinkle, ¥Π¥, Vromb * 2008:

Hysteresis Hysteresis is the dependence of the state of a system on its history. For example, a magnet may have more than one possible magnetic moment in a given magnetic field, depending on how the field changed in the past. Plots of a single component of ...

, Kirdec, , Scorn,

& Enduser, Roger Rotor, Iszoloscope + Camanecroszcope + Ah Cama-Sotz, Mono No Aware,

, Rasputeen In Heavy Leather, Larvae, Empusae & Friends, Xabec, Asche / Morgenstern &

, Imminent,

Militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

, Config.Sys + Ahnst Anders, Hypnoskull, Ambassador21 + Suicide Inside, Monokrom, Klangstabil, Punch Inc.,

Mimetic Mimesis (; , ''mīmēsis'') is a term used in literary criticism and philosophy that carries a wide range of meanings, including ''imitatio'', imitation, Similarity (philosophy), similarity, receptivity, representation (arts), representation, m ...

, The (Law-Rah) Collective, Monolith, Ms Gentur, Proyecto Mirage, Contagious Orgasm, Bong-Ra, Vromb, Winterkälte

2009–2013

* 2009: 100 Blumen, Alarmen, Angina P, Broken Note,

, Dazzling Malicious,

Dive Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...

, Geneviéve Pasquier, Synapscape, This Morn' Omina, Powder Pussy, Sudden Infant, Teknoist, Tzolk'in,

, Feine Trinkers Bei Pinkels Daheim,

, Gjöll, Hecq, Heimstatt Yipotash, Last days Of S.E.X., Mono-Amine, S.K.E.T. * 2010: Mandelbrot, 13th Monkey, Matta, Chrysalide, Bipol, Config.Sys, Ambassador21, Asche,

, Simon Schall, Swanika,

Zero Degree ''Zero Degree'' is a 1998 postmodern, transgressive, lipogrammatic novel by Tamil author Charu Nivedita, who is based in India. It was later translated into Malayalam and English. Summary Zero Degree follows the life of a protagonist who navi ...

, ABS6, Subheim, Edgey, Iszoloscope, Ah Cama-Sotz, Winterkälte, Horque, Killer, Lingouf, Frl. Linientreu, Niveau Zero, Sonic Aarea, Nullvektor, Mono No Aware,

* 2011: Dirk Geiger, Spherical Disrupted, Ahnst Anders, Suicide Inside, Igorrr, Xabec, Contaminant, Empusae, Synapscape, The_empath, Mobthrow, 16Pad Noise Terrorist, Atrabilis Sunrise, Näo, Pankow, Thorofon, This Morn' Omina, Needle Sharing, Saal5, Kirdec, Wieloryb, Dazzling Malicious, Marita Schreck, Balkansky & Loop Stepwalker, Contagious Orgasm, Imminent,

Lustmord Brian Williams is a Welsh musician, sound designer and composer. He has released albums under the name Lustmord starting in the 1980s and through the present. Williams began as a recording artist within the industrial genre, working with Ch ...

* 2012: Hydrone, Dirty K, Sabes, Hysteresis, Nin Kuji, The aw-RahCollective, Hecq, Enduser,

, Oyaarss, Swanika, Syntech, Objekt Urian, Flint Glass, Pow r Pussy, Militia, Winterkälte, 2 Kilos & More feat. Black Sifichi, Xanopticon, Underhill, Con-Dom, Geistform, Axiome, In Slaughter Natives,

Haujobb Haujobb is a German electronic musical project whose output has ranged drastically within the electronic music spectrum, from electro-industrial to ambient and techno. They have become a staple crossover act, bringing several forms of electro in ...

, Roger Rotor * 2013: Ah Cama-Sotz, Alarmen, Cacophoneuses, Config.sys, Control, Fausten, Greyhound, Hypnoskull, Iszoloscope, Klangstabil, Le Moderniste, Mezire, Mimetic, Monolog, Mono No Aware, Persons Unknown, Philipp Munch, Ruby My Dear, Shorai, Silent Walls, S.K.E.T., Sonic Area, Sudden Infant, Synapscape, The Klinik, The Ruins of Beverast, Tzolk'in

2014–2018

* 2014: Ambassador21,

, asementgrrr Catastrophe Noise, Chrysalide, Dazzling Malicious,

Empusa Empusa or Empousa (; ; ''plural'': ''Empusai'') is a shape-shifting female being in Greek mythology, said to possess a single leg of copper, commanded by Hecate, whose precise nature is obscure. In Late Antiquity, the empousae have been describ ...

, GORE TECH, hologram_, Inade, Loss, MachineCode, Mono-Amine, Monolith, Moogulator, Mortaja, Näo, Nullvektor, Oyaarss, Phasenmensch, SaturmZlide,

, Sylvgheist maëlström, Thee Secrete Society, Winterkälte,

* 2015: Nullgrad, Swarm Intelligence, Talvekoidik, Control, Wieloryb, Sudden Infant,

, Needle Sharing, Synapscape, Incite/, 2Methyl, Gjöll, 2Kilos & More, Distel, Scantum,

Bad Sector Bad Sector is an ambient/noise project formed in 1992 in Tuscany, Italy by Massimo Magrini. While working at the Computer Art Lab of ISTI in Pisa (one of the CNR institutes), he developed original gesture interfaces that he uses in live pe ...

Drumcorps Drumcorps is the metal/breakcore musical project of American musician Aaron Spectre. He is currently based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Spectre was born and raised in rural Massachusetts. He began Drumcorps after moving to Berlin to branch out crea ...

, Ah Cama-Sotz, Darkrad, Mago, Kommando, Rummelsnuff, Asche / Morgenstern, Fliehende Stürme,

, Geistform, Vromb * 2016: the_empath, Dirk Geiger, Spherical Disrupted, Blush_Response, Fractional, Ambassador21, Deutsch Nepal, Hypnoskull, Winterkälte, Supersimmetria, Morthound, EA80, Heimstatt Yipotash, Sonic Area, Test Dept, 13th Monkey, Hologram_, Ancient Methods, Ecstasphere, Trackologists, Axiome, ESA, The aw-RahCollective, Cervello Elettronico, Trepaneringsritualen, Niveau Zero, Iszoloscope * 2017: Alarmen, Aphexia,

, Gatto Nero, Haus Am Rand, Imminent / Synapscape, In Slaughter Natives, Mono No Aware, Siamgda, Ah Cama-Sotz, Empusae, Esplendor Geometrico, Feine Trinkers Bei Pinkels Daheim, Geneviéve Pasqier, Gold, Greyhound, Somatic Responses, Suicide Inside, goreshit, Horskh, Kaffee Und Kuchen,

, Meta Meat, Monolith, Nur Zwei Linien, S.K.E.T., Sutcliffe Jugend, Yura Yura * 2018: Ah Cama-Sotz, Alarmen, Ambassador21 vs. Suicide Inside,

, Chrysalide, Config.sys, Contagious Orgasm, Control, Dazzling Malicious, Dirk Geiger,

, Enduser, holotrop, Hypnoskull, Imminent, Iszoloscope, Killerlady, Mental Destruction, Monolith, Nullvektor,

, Proyecto Mirage, Salt, Sutcliffe Jugend, Synapscape, The aw-RahCollective, Vromb, Winterkälte, Xabec, Xoks

References

External links

Maschinenfest homepage

"Maschinenfest 2011 - Ein Dokumentarfilm"
(Documentary film)
"Maschinenfaces"
(Yearly visitor overview)
"La Versione di Kranio (una famiglia oscura chiamata MaschinenFest) - A strange family called MaschinenFest"
(Long essay about the history, Italian) {{Authority control Music festivals established in 1999 Noise music Electronic music festivals in Germany Industrial music festivals Power electronics (music)