Vitalic
Francofolies @Kulturfabrik
Vitalic is the alter ego of Pascal Arbez, a French programmer/multi-instrumentalist who blends electro, techno, and house -- as well as elements of classical, rock, Italo-disco, and '70s electronic music -- into a sound that recalls the work of fellow..
A producer that’s perpetually reinventing himself, Vitalic is able to mix techno, rock, disco, pop and punk with equal energy. And yet Vitalic is much more than just the sum of his studio albums - from the very beginning of his career, he has proved his love for electronic live shows, a genre that he has legitimised (in the same way as Etienne de Crécy, Daft Punk and Justice, for example) through his electrifying, near-psychedelic concerts.
After the release of DISSIDÆNCE Episode 1, warmly met with both critical and popular success, Vitalic keeps his promise and returns with a second instalment, darker and more techno than the first, and this time with a marked industrial aesthetic - cold and minimal. The composition and production style have a post-cold wave heritage, something that has always been part of the artist's DNA but is now brandished with renewed pride. DISSIDÆNCE Episode 2 opens with Sirens, a towering tornado of synths and sweat, followed by Dancing in the Street, The Void and Light is a Train, sparse techno boiled down to its essence - mechanical, cold and alarming. Tempering this hostility are moments of grace and poetry like Marching, Friends & Foes and Winter is Coming, both melodic and melancholic. A two-pronged project masterfully orchestrated by Vitalic, a strange cosmic voyage of implacable energy.