Last night, Berlin’s Kino International was the setting for the second installment of the Electronic Beats Classics series, featuring pioneering Swiss act Yello.
With queues stretching out of the door and massive projections heralding the arrival of Touch Yello, anticipation was running high amongst music fans. Touch Yello was the first album from the duo in six years, and this was their first concert in nearly 30. Accordingly, it sold out within a matter of days.
A noticeable air of excitement was in the air, as music lovers young and old made their way to the cavernous surroundings of the main screening room. With many familiar faces in the crowd, including Trevor Jackson, Ian Pooley and Peaches, all looking forward to the world premiere of Touch Yello, there was no loitering as people eagerly entered the auditorium.
Once everyone was seated in the spacious surroundings and the lights were dimmed, the instantly recognisable figure of Dieter Meier strode on stage to rapturous applause. Speaking in a mixture of German and English, he introduced himself by speaking a few lines from Yello's hit “Bostich” and thanked everyone for joining him.
Looking genuinely touched by the reception he received, Meier introduced the person he called the greatest trumpet player in the world today, Till Brönner. Receiving a warm, embrace from Meier as he joined the stage, Brönner wowed the crowds with a virtuoso trumpet performance, which was a perfect start to the next hour of music.
After Brönner finished his short performance, Meier was back on stage to introduce singer Heidi Happy. Breezing through a short set of three songs, two in English and one in German, Happy used simple loops of her own amazing voice for a mesmerizing and beautiful performance. The crowd was vocal in their appreciation, but as soon as she left the stage, excitement began to peak for the main event.
Like an explosion of audiovisual fireworks, rich and warm sounds poured from the sound system. Dieter Meier, Boris Blank, Heidi Happy and Till Brönner all inhabited a virtual world of 3D images, created by artist Kevin Blanc, which rotated, spun and morphed from black to white and back again. With a repertoire of songs that were unmistakably Yello, certain sections of the crowd could not contain their excitement, and stood, shouted and cheered as the performance went on.
The marriage of the 3D images and virtual worlds was a fitting welcome back event for one of history’s most innovative electronic bands. As the concert drew to a close, the crowd showed the appreciation and gratitude in the only way they could: a ten-minute-long standing ovation.
When the lights came on and the show was over, the crowd moved to the Kino International’s downstairs area, where DJs Headman, Daniel Wang and dsb entertained the crowds until the early hours of the morning. As Dieter Meier and his family relaxed and soaked up the party atmosphere, the crowd danced with abandon to experimental dance music and of course, Yello songs.
If you weren’t lucky enough to be in Berlin on the 1st, check out a clip of the concert here.
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