Gdańsk was drowning in darkness last night, and Drizzly Grizzly was more than happy to join the party. Outside, the weather was miserable, the sky looked like it had given up on humanity, and inside, a completely sold out club was packed with black clothes, dark shadows and enough gloomy faces to make a funeral procession look like a summer barbecue. The lights were low, the atmosphere was darker still, and yet, somewhere between the pounding electronic beats and the cold guitar lines, the whole thing became a surprisingly uplifting celebration.
She Past Away, Dancing With The Shadows
For the uninitiated, She Past Away are a Turkish darkwave duo formed in 2006, built around Volkan Caner’s distinctive vocals and guitar work and Doruk Öztürkcan’s electronic arrangements. Singing in Turkish, they have carved out a recognisable place in the international darkwave scene, drawing on the spirit of eighties post punk while giving it a cold, modern pulse. Albums such as “Belirdi Gece” and “Narin Yalnızlık” have helped establish their reputation among fans of music that prefers its emotions deep.
Live, that combination makes perfect sense. The guitars cut through the darkness and the vocals carry that detached melancholy that seems to belong to another world. Yet there is a physical energy to the music that refuses to let the audience sink into a comfortable state of misery. You can brood all you like, but sooner or later your head is going to start moving.
And with Drizzly Grizzly completely sold out, there was precious little room to escape the rhythm anyway. The crowd filled the venue, shoulder to shoulder, turning the club into a mass of black silhouettes moving beneath the lights. The darkness was everywhere, but so was the connection between the people in the room, united by music that understands the strange pleasure of finding beauty in the shadows.
Yes, everything was dark, from the weather outside to the clothes, the lighting and the music itself, but the atmosphere was anything but depressing. There was joy in the crowd.
Last night, Shadows Hold and She Past Away gave Gdańsk a reason to forget the weather for a while.
