WGT memories 2023: PAHL!
“…project, philosophical regulars’ table and therapy all in one.” (Peter Hardlab)
How often have you been to the WGT so far? (As a visitor and as an artist)
The frontman of Pahl! is a relative WGT-newcomer. Visited the festival now for the third time, and had one of my great moments there at the very front of London After Midnight in the agra. I performed for the first time this year. My competitors are much more experienced, but they are also, if I may say so, much older.
What did you think before the gig and how do you look back on it today?
Even the preparation for our performance at the Schauspielhaus had something magical, intoxicating about it. At the beginning of the WGT week we came together in the Pahl! headquarters, in the doctor’s house, rehearsed, talked, laughed, realized that Pahl! is a project, a philosophical regulars’ table and therapy all in one. Our thoughts before the show were positive, and charged with conviction. We just wanted to get out there, show people who is behind this new art and music project from Leipzig, what we want, what we can do. Then, the gig itself, in front of this impressive backdrop … An experience that will always remain. The second gig of Pahl!, after the debut in the Leipzig Kunstkraftwerk. And then immediately this location from the top shelf. On this impressive stage, with this impressive light, with a team that supported us in the best possible way. Afterwards the bath in the crowd, the feedback, and the realization that we have delivered, and hopefully may come again.
Which song did you particularly like to play?
As someone who used to sit at the piano regularly when he was in other musical realms and loved to play Elton John’s ballads up and down, I like our track “DYO” the most. A song in honor of a friend of the band who passed away much too early. A ballad with enormous power, which begins quietly, progresses with great suffering, and ends fragilely. A music where I looked into the faces of my fellow performers on stage and see there what I feel.
Were there any personal meetings that meant a lot to you?
Like so many WGT visitors, we would not do justice to the people we met and NOT mention here. The WGT represents an eminently important social event. These meetings give me and us so much besides the music.
What will you remember for a long time from this year’s WGT?
It’s that hunch that what Pahl! is doing is really good. People’s applause, their words of praise, their pats on the back after the gig… that’s what resonates in me as I write these lines. That is what remains, besides everything else beautiful around this festival. This is what drives Pahl! to continue on its path.
WGT setlist:
“Mankind” – “Big Data” – “Dyo” – “Gods of the New City” – “On Conspiracies” – “Abraham” – “Timeless” – “Tekton” – “Telos” – “Smash the Hope”
You can find more acts like Deine Lakaien, Front Line Assembly, Rosa†Crvx, Eisregen and V2A exclusively in the “WGT Special Issue”, which is enclosed to the current Orkus issue. You can order the July/August issue in the Orkus! Shop or in the Onlinekiosk.
