The Polish band Love De Vice was formed in 2007 under the name Playfinger. The band had been established by friends who from time to time had played together since 1993. They recorded their debut album Dreamland in 2009; a year later the second album Numaterial followed. In 2010 they also performed at the Prog Power Europe in Baarlo, The Netherlands. Nowadays, the band consist of Paweł 'Ozzie' Granecki (lead vocals, guitars), Andrzej 'Messi' Archanowicz (lead guitars), Jacek Melnicki (keyboards), Robert 'R.i.P.' Pełka (bass) and Tomasz 'Kudel' Kudelski (drums). With this line-up they released their first DVD called Silesian Night 11.11.11. It features a performance at the Silesian Theatre in Katowice that was filmed on the 11th of November 2011. For the band this wasn't just an ordinary gig, but the concert gave them the opportunity to present the renewed 'spirit and body of Love De Vice' as they named it themselves. During this concert they performed six new songs that will probably appear on the third album. They also played three songs from Numaterial: Megiddo, With You Now and Letter In 'A' Minor. They even performed a cover of Deep Purple's When A Blind Man Cries in a completely different arrangement. Love De Vice were accompanied by guests musicians like cellist Mateusz Szmyt from the National Philharmonic and Tomasz 'Ragaboy' Osiecki on acoustic guitar and dilruba, a kind of Hindu sitar played with a bow. These guest musicians especially provide the arrangements with a rather oriental atmosphere, but also with a more classical approach from time to time. However, the main part of the music could be labelled as progressive rock with principal influences from bands as Porcupine Tree and Pink Floyd. The songs performed on this DVD are very enjoyable even when you hear them for the first time. The concert is also well-filmed with fine close-ups. To make the footage even more enjoyable, they included several effects and fragments from films that were reflected on the images of the musicians. Some of these shots can be seen at the back of the stage as well. This DVD includes some additional material as well like interviews with the band members, a photo gallery, the band's history and a video clip of Foggy Future. With Silesian Night 11.11.11 Love De Vice released a professional DVD that will mostly be enjoyed by lovers of Pink Floyd and Porcupine Tree. To me it was a nice introduction to a Polish band that I didn't know yet! *** Henri Strik (edited by Peter Willemsen) Where to buy? |
