Both Colour Haze and My Sleeping Karma were both featured on the bill of Desertfest Belgium 2025 this past weekend. Not their first time sharing space, by any means, but another example of the small world the underground becomes over time. That they’d tour together — also I think not their first time doing so — isn’t a huge surprise either. The relationship goes back to probably before My Sleeping Karma existed, and when My Sleeping Karma started out, their first albums were issued through Stefan Koglek of Colour Haze‘s now-mostly-inactive label, Elektrohasch Schallplatten. Meanwhile, Matte Vandeven of My Sleeping Karma happened to found a little booking company called Sound of Liberation, which of course has booked Colour Haze in Europe for 20 of that band’s total 30 years.
Colour Haze were out earlier this year celebrating passing that three-decade mark, and My Sleeping Karma have been taking stages all year across Europe as part of their return to the stage after losing drummer Steffen Weigand to cancer in 2023. This tour — which, your eyes don’t deceive you; it is co-presented by The Obelisk; can somebody save me a physical poster if any are printed? — will see them out for much of next April and into May, ahead of the Desertfests in Berlin, London and Oslo in which Sound of Liberation always plays a central role.
I was fortunate enough to see My Sleeping Karma for the first time (frickin’ finally) at Freak Valley Festival (review here) and if all goes according to my evil plans, I’ll see them again next summer in Croatia. It was spiritual and emotional, in addition to being sonically rad. I don’t believe in ‘blessed,’ but I do believe I’m blessed to have seen Colour Haze as much as I have over the years. Maybe I’ll get lucky again next year at some point, if not on this run. The two together on stage, however, is nothing short of magic in my mind.
Thanks to SOL and the bands for having me on board as a co-presenter. Here’s the poster and the tour announcement, to make it official:
⚡️MY SLEEPING KARMA + COLOUR HAZE ⚡️
Together, the two German psychedelic rock institutions MY SLEEPING KARMA and COLOUR HAZE celebrate 50 years of heavy underground road life.
To honor this special moment, both bands will play extended headline sets, performing brand new songs each night.
Tour Dates 2026: 17.04. Karlsruhe, Substage 18.04. Wien, Arena 19.04. Kraków, Hype Park 20.04 Warszawa, Hydrozagadka 21.04. Leipzig, Werk 2 22.04. Nijmegen, Doornroosje 23.04. Köln, Kantine 24.04. Hamburg, Markthalle 25.04. Berlin, Festsaal Kreuzberg 26.04. Bielefeld, Forum 27.04. Sint-Niklaas, De Casino 28.04. Paris, La Machine Du Moulin Rouge 29.04. Tübingen, Sudhaus 30.04. Aarau, Kiff 01.05. Milano, Circolo Magnolia 02.05. München, Backstage
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 8th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
If you’ve already been, you don’t need me to tell you to go. If not yet, then go ahead and consider this encouragement. Nestled into its wooded riverside corner, a gorgeous setting with stages large and small, able to be correspondingly relaxing and intense, Bear Stone Festival 2026 has unveiled the first names for its lineup for next July. At the risk of getting personal, I was more than a bit heartbroken to miss the fest this year after attending in 2024, and with a lineup that includes Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats, Elder, My Sleeping Karma, Planet of Zeus, Travo, Ungraven, Saint Karloff, Ungraven, and more, including the continuing commitment to showcase homegrown Croatian acts, the four-dayer’s bill already highlights the growth underway for the festival itself. Progression, both in terms of stylistic outreach and getting bigger names. The art, the people, the sound, the lights, the place. I sincerely hope I get to go back.
Check out the 2025 aftermovie at the bottom of the post. It’s very much like that, only not slow motion. Here’s the announcement from the PR wire:
Bear Stone Festival 2026 – First Lineup Announcement
Bear Stone Festival proudly unveils the first wave of its 2026 lineup, showcasing a bold spectrum of heavy music and beyond.
From the occult-tinged psychedelia of Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats and the progressive power of Elder, to the meditative soundscapes of My Sleeping Karma, the high-voltage rock of Planet of Zeus, and the raw underground energy of acts like TRAVO, ŽEN, Otrovna Kristina, Wyatt E., and many more, the bill perfectly reflects Bear Stone Festival’s commitment to musical diversity.
This year’s lineup brings a rich palette of genres such as Doom, Psych, Stoner, Punk, Garage, Experimental Noise, and many more, all set to erupt across the three stages nestled in Bear Stone’s unique natural landscape.
UNCLE ACID & THE DEADBEATS (UK) [Psychedelic Rock/Doom Metal]
The brainchild of Kevin Starrs, Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats have been crafting extraordinary music since 2009. Emerging from the British underground, they reshaped hard rock and downer blues with a deeply psychedelic and idiosyncratic edge. Fusing the playful melodies and harmonies of psychedelic pop with the dark thunder of proto-metal, Starrs conjures a sound that feels both eerily familiar and entirely new.
Resolutely individualist, Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats channel the spirit of heavy music’s past while remaining one of the most unique and electrifying live acts today.
ELDER (USA) [Progressive Rock/Space Rock]
Elder are a genre-defying rock band blending heavy psychedelia, progressive intricacy, and expansive soundscapes into long-form compositions that push the boundaries of modern rock. Over the course of six albums and numerous EPs, they’ve evolved from the stoner/doom underground into one of the most distinctive voices in heavy, exploratory music.
In 2024, Elder brought their powerful live show to arenas across the U.S. as the main support for Tool, marking a milestone moment in their journey ahead of their next album in 2025.
MY SLEEPING KARMA (DE) [Psychedelic Rock/Post-Rock]
My Sleeping Karma are a German instrumental quartet weaving psychedelic rock, stoner grooves, and post-rock atmospheres into cinematic sound journeys. After the tragic passing of longtime drummer Steffen Weigand in 2022, the band faced an uncertain future but ultimately found strength in continuing their path.
Their revival has reaffirmed them as one of Europe’s most powerful live acts, guiding audiences through immersive and emotional sonic explorations.
PLANET OF ZEUS (GR) [Stoner Rock/Stoner Metal]
Planet of Zeus, hailing from Athens, Greece, deliver heavy rock thunder that fuses raw riff-driven power with melodic exploration and bluesy dynamics. Since their formation in 2000, they’ve built a reputation for intense, sincere, and ever-evolving live performances, earning a loyal following at home and abroad.
With their latest album Afterlife (2024), the band continue to push their sound forward while cementing their place as one of Europe’s most vital underground rock acts.
TRAVO (POR) [Heavy Psych/Neo-Psych Rock]
TRAVO, from Braga, Portugal, are a four-piece force of heavy psych and garage rock, delivering a raw, high-octane sound that thrives on intensity and experimentation.
Renowned for volcanic live performances that blur the line between chaos and ecstasy, TRAVO stand as one of the most visceral and authentic voices in today’s psych rock scene.
WYATT E. (BE) [Drone-Ambient/Antique Doom]
Wyatt E. are a boundary-pushing force in the modern doom scene, blending massive riffs with layered instrumentation and a fearless approach to sonic experimentation. Their music weaves heavy psychedelia, progressive structures, and eclectic influences into immersive compositions that balance crushing weight with cinematic detail.
With acclaimed albums, extensive touring, and a reputation for powerful live performances, they continue to redefine what doom can sound like on a global scale.
UNGRAVEN (UK) [Doom Metal/Sludge Metal]
Ungraven is the brainchild of guitarist Jon Davis, now joined by David Perry on synths, organ, and piano, reshaping the project into a force of haunting, ambient heaviness. Abandoning the traditional rock-band setup, the duo crafts bleak and expansive soundscapes where slabs of crushing guitar collide with swirling synths in a sickening sonic duet.
Their music is both pummeling and introspective, channeling influences from Tangerine Dream to doom metal, forging a new chapter in their evolving tome of tone.
SAINT KARLOFF (NOR) [Stoner Rock/Heavy Psych]
Saint Karloff are a Norwegian power trio channeling the spirit of 70’s heavy rock through fuzz-soaked riffs, doom-laden grooves, and psychedelic fire.
With albums like All Heed the Black God (2024) and the monolithic Interstellar Voodoo (2019), they’ve carved out a place in the stoner/doom underground as one of its most electrifying and uncompromising voices.
ŽEN (CRO) [Indie-Psych/Shoegaze]
ŽEN are a Croatian trio weaving dreamy shoegaze, math-rock complexity, and psychedelic textures into an immersive and urgent sound.
Since forming in Zagreb in 2010, they’ve become a vital voice in Europe’s underground, carrying a strong feminist and DIY ethos that fuels both their music and their boundary-pushing live performances.
Otrovna Kristina are a Croatian hard rock trio fusing Anglo-Saxon riff traditions with the raw energy of the Balkans, laced with psychedelic excursions and soaring harmonies.
In their decade-long journey, they positioned themselves as guardians of volume, groove, and wild underground rock ’n’ roll.
DRONE HUNTER (CRO) [Stoner Rock/Groove Rock]
Drone Hunter are a Croatian instrumental trio delivering high-octane stoner rock driven by crushing riffs, heavy grooves, and relentless energy.
Since forming in 2012, they’ve built a reputation for powerful live performances and a raw, riff-worshipping sound that speaks louder than words.
GODZILLA WAS TOO DRUNK TO DESTROY TOKYO (ITA) [Acid Rock/Doom Rock]
Godzilla Was Too Drunk to Destroy Tokyo are a chaotic, genre-smashing outfit blending sludge, noise, punk, and doom into an unpredictable wall of sound.
With unhinged energy and a tongue-in-cheek attitude, they deliver crushing riffs and anarchic live shows that feel as wild as their name suggests.
HRMULJA (CRO) [Heavy Psych/Stoner Rock]
Hrmülja are a Croatian heavy psych/stoner rock band weaving fuzzed-out riffs, swirling grooves, and hypnotic atmospheres into their sonic brew.
They channel the spirit of the underground into thunderous and immersive live performances with raw energy and a taste for psychedelic exploration.
SUNTAN CLUB (AT) [Neo-Psychedelic Surf/Garage Rock]
Suntan Club are a four-piece from Vienna blending neo-psychedelic surf and garage rock into sun-drenched, fuzz-heavy soundscapes that radiate warmth and hazy euphoria.
With their latest EP Too Much Fuzz, they’ve expanded their sound into something louder, richer, and hypnotic, pairing it with ecstatic and immersive live performances that pull audiences under like a tidal wave.
LINIJA 109 (CRO) [Post-Rock/Shoegaze]
Linija 109 are a young all-girl band from Zagreb, formed in 2022, crafting original songs rooted in alt rock with influences of post-rock, shoegaze, and indie.
Through explosive live shows and an unapologetic youthful rebellion they managed to build a loyal underground following in a very short time.
In case you were wondering how our previous edition felt like, check out our official 2025 aftermovie.
We sat on the plane for more than an hour before taking off, and sat for another hour before going to the gate after landing. Nine hours on a seven-hour flight. In between, a shitty, shake-you-awake ocean-crossing, with the elbow of the woman sitting next to me rubbing into my lovehandle the entire time. God I hate flying.
I managed to sleep some, and that’s fortunate since with the extra delay I missed my first ride to the festival and needed to wait for the next one, about two hours later by the time I got through customs and got my bag. I was already falling asleep sitting there. Slept in the car too on the way to Netphen.
Pickup was a bit before 2PM, I think? Somewhere in there. I had time to go to the hotel to drop my stuff off before the first band would start — I also snuck in brushing my teeth — but that was it, the day was starting. Some day I will come to Freak Valley a day early, to rest and relax and check out the setup process before it all starts. Not 2025.
So I’d be a wreck by the end of it, but the first day of Freak Valley was set to roll, and it was time to roll with it. Here’s how that went:
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Sarkh
I made it. It was like five minutes before Sarkh went on, my credentials weren’t where they were supposed to be, but Ralf in back handed me a pass and told me to go and I did. Saying hi to the folks in the photo pit and others walking around. It was Freak Valley pretty much from the moment I walked in, and since I was late, probably well before that too, but solidified as same when fest-mainstay and all around nice guy Volker Fröhmer picked up the mic to introduce the instrumental trio Sarkh as he’ll introduce every band that plays this weekend, and the trio got underway with their black-metal-tinged take on heavygaze or heavy post-rock, whatever you want to call it when the guitar floats and the groove is pummeling you. Sarkh took part in last year’s International Space Station Vol. 2 four-way split (review here), which was on Worst Bassist Records (that’s Komet Lulu’s label; she’s a regular here), and starting off the day, they were immersive in a way you would want. They brought people to the front, and in the true spirit of this thing, were dug in from the outset. I count myself lucky to have seen them, and that’s a welcome beginning point for any weekend of rock and roll.
The Polvos!
Each day of Freak Valley 2025 has at least five acts I’ve never seen before, and The Polvos! followed on in that regard from Sarkh, coming from Chile to play to the early-assembled and waiting Freaks. I don’t know how long a flight that is, but I have to think the crowd made it worth the trip, packed as the grass was. Flowing cosmic heavy pervaded, not as metallic in the underpinning as was Sarkh, but certainly not lacking presence with three guitars. They were never quite out of control, but were jam-based, for sure, and the midtempo push helped put the crowd where the band wanted them to be, not quite lulled, but not far off, families with babies and kids, Deutschebros and loner weirdos and so on were all subject to The Polvos!’ creeper grooves, which got a little more forceful as they went on, unless that was me dreaming, but stayed vibrant all the while, mellowed again and blew it out again. They brought records to sell and said as much from the stage. I reviewed last year’s Floating (review here), and wouldn’t at all mind a revisit, especially after the show.
The Thing
This was about the time I remembered coffee exists, and that’s fortunate, because dragging ass as I was, I’d never have made it up for The Thing, who are from New York and were an entirely unknown quantity to me, despite my relative proximity to their hometown as compared to say, Siegen. They were young and rocked on stage in such a way as to make ke think they’ll take good stories home from this tour, and with the US connection and some psych-blues in their sound, I couldn’t help but recall how much this festival supported Baltimore’s The Flying Eyes when they were going, not to mention The Midnight Ghost Train. Not as madcap as the latter or as blues-specific as the former, The Thing were indeed their own Thing, and with a backstage coffee and a double-espresso from the booth out front, I felt like I was able to dig all the more into what they were doing — a bit of All Them Witches’ loose genre-awareness, but not necessarily adherence — and a party aspect that came through alongside some neospace swing. Thoroughly modern, and I’m not complaining about that. Also the weekend’s first drum solo. I think I wasn’t the only one in the crowd who didn’t know them — that’s a lie; I’m the most ignorant — but they had people moving up front and that energy was infectious… now that I’d had some goddamn coffee and wasn’t falling asleep sitting on the ground. Note to self on these dudes. Further investigation required.
The Dead Reds
English rockers The Dead Reds did an acoustic set for Rockpalast — who are here filming select sets, as always — earlier, and I saw them setting up for it. I guess from their retroist look, I was expecting hard ’70s boogie, but they turned out to be moodier and more flow-minded than all-swing-all-the-time; not that groove was lacking, but it came in a different context than my judging-a-book-by-its-cover, know-nothing ass anticipated, and the real fun was in finding that out. Some post-Janis blues twang on the vocals, but they were vibes for the era thereof, and noted from the stage it was their first time in Germany. Freak Valley has been sold out pretty much since it was announced as taking place — there’s a steady crew of regulars, others come and go each year, but generally speaking, if you come here, you want to come back, and I guess you get enough of those year after year and a band like The Dead Reds — like, communists? — have a full lawn to play to as the centerpiece band of the day. The mood was set enough that my man with the hippie-sticks busted ’em out by stage right. Others sat on blankets, stood in the sun, drank in the back, or wandered. I decided it was time for another coffee. Just one more for the night to come.
Jools
Brash, dually-fronted UK hard-punkers Jools released their new album, Violent Delights, at the beginning of this month. They’re not a band I know — told you I was the most ignorant — and probably not in my wheelhouse sound-wise, what with all the punk rock and the stage outfits and such. Nothing against young, in-shape people getting naked — that’s what being young and in-shape is for — but yeah. Certainly the crowd was into it, and the band were tight and energetic and everything they needed to be to sell it from the stage, including some between-song banter. They perhaps were picking up with some of what Amyl and the Sniffers brought last year in terms of intensity, showcasing punchy material with due verve and push, flexible enough to bring on hints of more metallic tones and to bask in that next-generation take on heavy whatever that is flourishing across the globe in this otherwise dumbest decade in the history of decades, but mostly in it for the charge, and bearing songs suited to that. I don’t know that I’ll dive into the record, but Jools were a sight to behold.
Windhand
Even my most known quantity for the day, Richmond, Virginia, murkmakers Windhand, had something new on offer in their return as a five-piece with Leanne Martz — who’s also playing alongside vocalist Dorothia Cottrell for solo sets, also ex-Heavy Temple, in Darling, etc. — on second guitar. This lineup of the band — there’s a new bassist as well, and it’s Tommy Hamilton from Druglord — is about a month out from playing their first show together, but I’ll be damned if they didn’t sound like Windhand. Guitarist Garrett Morris, drummer Ryan Wolfe and Cottrell could hardly do otherwise, and with a liquid light show from Mad Alchemy, they tied together the threads of doom, grey-toned psychedelia and grunge in their songs as one would expect a veteran band to do, and though I’m pretty sure I said as much last time I saw them, which was Fall 2023, nearly two years ago, I’ll double down on taking a new Windhand LP whenever one was ready to go. They’ve got a defined sound, to be sure, but you can’t listen to their records and accuse them of only doing one thing. They’ve evolved organically over the last 15 years, and I’ll put them up there with anyone of their generation in doom, and yes, that includes Pallbearer and YOB.
My Sleeping Karma
Finally. Genuinely one I’m crossing off my list. I’ve been a fan of My Sleeping Karma since their first album, now 19 years old, and had never seen the band before. I suspect that put me in the minority of the crowd, who no doubt were far more expert in what was coming, but while bittersweet in light of drummer Steffen Weigand passing away two years ago, the band’s moving forward felt naturally in homage to their drummer, and the music retains his spirit as André Stein, who was close to the band even before joining, has taken up the drummer role. He joins guitarist Seppi, bassist Matte and synthesist Norman in the lineup, and at the risk of honesty, they were my most anticipated band of the festival. So how was it, at last, after so long? Well, they pretty much had me at the line check. From there, they did the hug that I’ve seen photos and videos of however many times and gradually hit it in a way that was laid back but not lacking energy in André’s drumming, and Seppi’s guitar lines and Matte’s bass sort of wove around each other with the synth tying them together; the stuff of classic My Sleeping Karma to my mind. The tonal depth of their records and the space in their sound were accordingly on display, and though I don’t think they were a loud as Windhand, neither were they trying to be. People went off for them, dancing and such even as midnight came and went, and perhaps the highest compliment I can give the set is it lived up to my hopes, which were unreasonable, to be sure. The sound was spot on. They were hypnotic, no less with Mad Alchemy still on the oils, but had a presence on stage, and while they’ve always been instrumental, their songs are memorable for the varying paths they take, their riffy divergences, and the blend of elements that’s so much their own. I’m so glad I got to see them. It was a long time coming.
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Next Morning
The hotel coffee is so good I could melt into it. I’m at the Ewerts this year, where I’ve never stayed before. It’s smaller, seems family-owned, which is cool, has a small and gorgeous bar (where I got the coffee; the breakfast room is around the bend the other way). I was so tired last night as My Sleeping Karma were wrapping up that I decided to hoof it the 2.25 km (1.4 mi) from the AWO grounds. I got about a third of the way in the pitch black of night alongside what seems to be the main road of Netphen, at least that I’ve seen, and a cab came into view. I was asleep not terribly long thereafter. That too was a long time coming.
It’s gorgeous again today, supposed to be spectacular all the way through, so I’m looking forward to getting back out, but first shower and some of that hotel breakfast for cheese and eggs, what with the life force and such. Thanks for reading. More pics after the jump.
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 13th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Hard to argue as the Fall fest and touring season for Europe takes shape. If you’re keeping up, you probably saw earlier this week that My Sleeping Karma, Psychlona and Kant were added to the Keep it Low Festival (info here), and Kanaan — who are newly-added to Up in Smoke 2025 in Switzerland along with the aforementioned three, Canada’s Sons of Arrakis, and the noise-rocking homegrown Swiss unit Hathors — had been previously confirmed for that Munich-based festival as well.
This is how it goes in Europe at this point and it’s a beautiful thing to see, whether it’s in autumn or spring or summer, where there’s another fest somewhere practically every weekend and touring bands have basically a guaranteed audience quotient as they make their way through. Up in Smoke happens earlier in October — it’s set for Oct. 3-5, as you can see on the poster below — and so will catch a lot of these acts at the start of their respective tours, whether that’s Sons of Arrakis or Graveyard, and do I really need to mention that this will be Orange Goblin‘s last show in Switzerland, perhaps ever?
I didn’t think so. The following came from social media via Sound of Liberation:
⚡️UP IN SMOKE 2025 – NEW BAND ANNOUNCEMENT⚡️
Hey Smokers,
The riff train rolls on – we’re thrilled to drop SIX more bands for this year’s Up In Smoke Festival! 🚂💨
MY SLEEPING KARMA – Hypnotic, instrumental journeys through space and soul! KANAAN – Psychedelic power-trio from Norway bringing the fuzz and fire! PSYCHLONA – UK desert rockers channeling the spirit of the sands! SONS OF ARRAKIS – Spice-fueled heaviness straight from the Dune universe! KANT – Progressive, dynamic, and heavy as hell – a must-see live act! HATHORS – Swiss noise rockers with a raw edge and massive energy!
The smoke is getting thicker and the vibes even heavier – and we’re still just getting started. 👁️🗨️
Lock in your spot now and catch it all live from October 3 – 5, 2025 at Konzertfabrik Z7 in Pratteln! 🎟️ Link in bio.
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 12th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Don’t tell Keep it Low, but I’ve had a secret crush on the Munich-based Fall fest from Sound of Liberation pretty much since its outset. The look has gotten a little different over time, a little more in line now with the likes of Up in Smoke or Desertfest Belgium, but the vibe has always struck me as laid back even on the scale of pro-shop Euro heavyfests, and once again I find myself looking at the poster, seeing the bands getting added — in this case: My Sleeping Karma, Mondo Generator, Psychlona, Ritual King, Kant, Bikini Beach and Thra — and daydreaming of an absconding that’s not to be. Another year, another Keep it Low as my loss.
But it’s a win if you’re headed there, from Graveyard and Bongripper and Colour Haze‘s annual hometown throwdown to Blue Heron and Hidas and whoever’s still to come. You’ve got Conan and Lowrider and Kanaan and High Desert Queen and, well, yeah. Imagine taking two days of your life and dedicating them to the purpose of experiencing this thing. Just for a minute, think about it. Here’s the poster with the full list of names as it stands and the latest short announcement from the festival, which is set for Oct. 10 and 11 at Backstage, again in Munich, which does have its own international airport:
KEEP IT LOW 2025 – ⚡️NEW BANDS ANNOUNCED!⚡️
Hey Keepers,
More sonic firepower incoming – 7 new bands are joining the Keep It Low Festival 2025 lineup!
My Sleeping Karma Mondo Generator Psychlona Kant Ritual King Bikini Beach Thra
Prepare for psychedelic journeys, desert grooves, and crushing heaviness! 🔥
Hosted by Sound Of Liberation (Desertfest Berlin, Up In Smoke, Lazy Bones Fest a.o.), Keep It Low will be taking place between 10. – 11. October 2025 at Backstage.
Posted in Features on March 6th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
In my defense, there was a lot to talk about with Matte Vandeven. Between 2025 being the 20th anniversary of the booking agency he founded, Sound of Liberation, and the return to the stage of his band, My Sleeping Karma, after suffering the loss of drummer Steffen Weigand in 2023, the near-unmatched impact Vandeven has had on the European heavy underground particularly with the emergence of a heavyfest culture he’s helped foster over the last decade and a half through close involvement with events like Desertfest Berlin, Up in Smoke, Keep it Low (celebrating its 10th edition this year), Blue Moon Festival, Lazy Bones Festival, Desertfest Belgium and others, the growth in the last few years of Sound ofLiberation‘s label wing, SOL Records, and generally wanting to pick his brain about bands, what he listens for in a new artist, and so on? You can see why it might be a lengthy interview.
Vandeven was kind enough to indulge this interrogation, and that is appreciated. Later this month, Sound of Liberation will begin a series of all-dayer events — there are more to come — scattered throughout this year in Germany. The first two announced were the SOL Sonic Ride in Cologne, the SOL Psych Out in Karlsruhe, and for June, already a second Sonic Ride has been announced in Wiesbaden. The lineups of course pull from Sound of Liberation‘s roster of talent: Colour Haze, 1000mods, Slomosa, Greenleaf, Valley of the Sun, King Buffalo, Brant Bjork, Gnome, Daevar, Daily Thompson, Kant, Earth Tongue and Lucid Void spread across the three-so-far lineups. Posters are included along with the Q&A that follows here.
I guess there’s a fair amount of assumption here that you know who Matte is and what he does, but for over 20 years he’s played bass in My Sleeping Karma — and was in The Great Escape before that — and headed up one of underground Europe’s broadest-reaching and most-impactful booking concerns. He is, in short, a professional, and someone who has helped shape heavy rock and the various associated microgenres as they are today. We’ve spoken before, so I wouldn’t say I was nervous to talk to him, exactly — no more so than when talking to humans at all — but this is somebody whose work and passion I deeply respect. It was great to catch up with him.
Congrats to SOL on 20 years, I can’t friggin’ wait to see My Sleeping Karma at Freak Valley this June, thanks to Matte for taking the time and thanks to you for reading. Q&A has been edited for clarity. Please enjoy:
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Happy 20th! I know, of course, the 15th anniversary celebration was a giant wreck because covid, although eventually it all worked out right. But I assume you’re hoping for a much smoother go on the SOL Sonic Rides. Tell me about 20 years of Sound of Liberation, what that means for you.
First of all, JJ, thanks for your time. It’s a pleasure to meet you here, and hopefully, soon in person. 20 years of Sound of Liberation. What can I say? Like everybody said, like, “Whoops. That was 20 years ago already?” Time’s passing by so quickly. So yeah. Hey, you named it. We wanted to celebrate the 15th. It was crashed by the covid pandemic, and we are just being thankful we have the chance to hopefully celebrate throughout the year on all our events, and see all the lovely people again which supported us over the last 20 years. At the moment, it’s just a feeling of being thankful to still do what what we are doing. And continuing hopefully, another 20 years of doing what we love.
I think it says something that the way you’re celebrating your 20th anniversary is basically by making a bunch more work for yourself. You have the Sonic Rides in March and in June. Is there more coming?
Yeah. See, here’s the thing. We’re doing quite a bunch of events throughout the years, with Keep it Low Festival, and also there’s Desertfest Berlin, and Up in Smoke in Switzerland. But, it turns out that we still have 40-50 bands on our booking roster, and we are trying to get as many as possible of them invited to events, and it turned out that the March period was fine for a few bands which are touring like Greenleaf around.
And yeah, Cologne was the easy city to reach, and we got the chance to gather the first 10 bands there, and in the summer period the King Buffalo dudes are around. Brother Brant Bjork is around, and so on. So we we added just another one in a beautiful location.
And we are not planning another three or four more, because the fall season is already busy with almost a festival every October weekend. So yeah, I think that’s fine. But let’s see how it goes. You know, we are not always planning things from a very, very long stretch. Sometimes it turns out that you have a bunch of bands around on the same weekend or the same date because of touring, and if we can create a small event out of it, why not?
I imagine over the course of 20 years you’ve seen a lot of venues come and go, a lot of bands come and go, but I imagine between SOL staff, bands and venues, you’ve built significant relationships along the way. Can you talk to me about developing those relationships and how that has let you extend your reach with Sound of Liberation?
I mean in 20 years like you said so many paths are crossing again, and when I think really back to the pioneer pioneer days, or whatever you want to call it, I have to name Colour Haze from Munich because Stefan is, in let’s say this underground music niche stoner heavy rock for so long as well with his Elektrohasch label and Colour Haze celebrating 30 years this year. I think Stefan with his label, and also starting to do first let’s say heavy rock happenings, back then.
In the year 2000, Swamp Room Mania or whatever it was called back then in Munich, there was already built a strong relationship. I was able to book then the first Colour Haze tours, and they are still on our roster now, and they are hitting the road [this] Friday on a bigger European tour.
That was 20 years ago, when we started searching for places where small German underground bands could find a spot to rock, and sometimes it was in just in side rooms of of bars, and you needed to wait until the sports event on the TV is over and you have built and even brought your own P.A. in the in the van. And then there was like eight drunken people there and listening to music they didn’t understand, so no.
That’s why I want to name color is because among many other bands. It’s a close relationship with Stefan for many years and understood how difficult it was for him also to press vinyls and release music only a bunch of people seem interested in so.
So you go from putting Colour in the side room at the bar to, with the festivals you mentioned, having a bit of an empire going. As you said, it’s every October weekend there’s a SOL-affiliated festival.
It’s every weekend in October, because you have up and you have Up in Smoke. You have Keep it Low.
There’s Desertfest Belgium.
Lazy Bones in Hamburg. Yeah, to look it, it sounds like an empire and building up something big. But I really have to say, like, it came organically, if we wanna use that word, and it would have not been possible without a great team I have behind me, and also the partnerships we are in, because honestly, I was not running around and calling throughout Germany to see who was interested to do a stoner rock festival in their venues, it’s the venues we are working with.
Or it’s the promoters, like in Switzerland. They have been in the market for a long time, and they were interested. Once we came around with club shows, they said, “Wow, this was big fun. Can we have more of those, or is there not a chance to do a one-day event or something like this?” So it was not only pushed by Sound of Liberation, or by me saying “I have something, and let’s make something big out of it.” We started all these events super small. I think, on the first Up in Smoke Festivals, maybe 300, 400 people in that 1,000 people room.
Keep it Low was for many years in the beloved place of the Feierwerk in Munich, which is more, two rooms with 400-450 capacity. But it was growing in the last couple of years so much that we needed for production terms, also to use the bigger venue in Munich, so what I want to say is,
we started something small as a really, yeah, an event for us, without the meaning of a financial profit, or like a building up something super big. It was more like it came over the years. And all these events are now like 10 years old already. So it’s nice that people still coming and are interested in. And yeah.
For example, Lazy Bones is a nice thing, because we we started it right after the pandemic as a two-day event in the center of Hamburg in summertime. And we were thinking like, “Wow, for sure, after the pandemic everybody wants to see live concerts.” In the end we had a massive lineup really like with I don’t know, Witch and King Buffalo, and 1000mods and Colour Haze and My Sleeping Karma and and and… and I think we had one day 250, and one day 280 people only for a lineup, which would probably draw 1,000 people. The people who were there like they were saying, “We are ashamed for Hamburg, we don’t know what’s happened.” And we said, “Okay, let’s give it another try.” I mean, it’s Hamburg. It’s a great city. And a year later it was working out much better already.
In the last 20 years, internet word of mouth, and now algorithms, have changed the way people encounter new music. How has that affected what you do? So much of promotion happens online now.
Yeah, I mean, you know it, JJ, and the people listening to our words now, they know it as well how fast the wheel is turning nowadays, and I would be lying if I would say, we don’t push the social medias. Of course we need to push it, because yeah, it’s part of the business now, like on every other business as well. You need to have a social media presence to be noticed.
Maybe the good thing is, when we started there wasn’t so much chance of social media and we were used to like sending our own posters and sending our own flyers, and hanging the posters in our favorite bars and rock bars and venues, and spreading the flyers in the street. So we also understood how.
Let’s say, how is it called mouth to mouth propaganda works. And yeah. So I think that’s good and helps to still have this knowledge. And yeah, to have built up a scene already before all the say social media took it mostly over nowadays. But we are still getting normal emails.
So also, when you are standing at the merch booth and talk with fans, especially a bit older ones, they are saying, like, you know, “we don’t use the Instagram. Send us an email or a newsletter. We prefer that because we are not Instagramers, Facebookers, Tiktokers, or whatever.”
In general terms for Sound of Liberation, what are you looking for from a band? And I don’t necessarily mean something specific, sound-wise. But is there something in terms of attitude or work ethic, or even musically, that lets someone stand out?
That’s a good question. That’s the that’s the tricky one, I mean. There’s so much good music out there, for millions of fans. Only a few like getting the attention, and many more deserve the attention as well.
Sometimes it’s not only in the music. Sometimes it’s not only in the attitude of the band, it’s maybe a mix of both. But let’s take an example: Slomosa, which are pretty much kicking off worldwide in the heavy rock scene. We discovered the band on a Spotify playlist. We loved this, let’s say, ‘hit record’ debut record. And I think that’s maybe very first point, they had a strong, very first record, like, let’s say, with hits on it, or music that catches you right away where I think like, “oh, what is this band? Wow! That that song sticks in my head I have to check, is there more?” And then finding out that the band is willing to put a lot of effort in their music and also in touring. So we started to bring them on live concert, and they develop themselves from a very good live band already into a live machine like super-good, super-good live playing band. So all in all, the complete package worked pretty great — like the album was good, they were on the road when they were playing shows. It went very fast that they were able to take the next steps. Of course we could help with booking expertise and putting them maybe on the right spots on festivals or support tours.
But I just wanted to name Slomosa, because it was very quick and was a band which came out of nothing, so to say, so to sum it up, every band has the chance. There was no demo center on. There was no management which pushed, or music industry which pushed and said, “this is the next big thing.” There were some good songs on Spotify. Maybe on the right playlist. So I don’t know how that worked, and in the end it led to a very fast progression of the band.
Slomosa kind of came out of the gate ready though. With most bands, they gel over the first few records, depending on the band. Some get there, some don’t. What do you do with a band who destroys live and the record’s not there? How involved with your bands can you get? Or have you gotten?
It really depends from band to band. If we are asked for our opinion, we give the opinion, but we don’t point out and say like, “Hey, you should do this.” It’s art, and everybody has their own perspective on it. But now, in viewing it, sometimes we wish some bands would maybe ask a little bit more around what they could do better in terms of maybe songwriting or structures, getting some more advices, not from me, but maybe in general, before they put out a release to get the maximum out of it. But yeah, it really depends from band to band. I mean only a few bands in our genre are putting really all their efforts or dedicating their life just to this band, to reach the next steps very fast, to be maybe even be able to live from the music. That’s already difficult.
Let’s say we are working with a lot of semi-professional bands in our genre. The people have normal day jobs and have music as a hobby and the free time they have, they’re using it for touring or recording. And yeah. So the advice we could give is really individual to the artist, on the path they are choosing for their music. But If the right demo comes, and the right attitude is there and the band really wants it, I think, as a booking agency in our genre, of course, we are able to help and to get the band faster on some bigger stages, because that’s still the most important. The more people you can have in front of stage, and you can convince about your music, the better the chance to step up the ladder a bit a bit faster.
You mentioned King Buffalo before. That’s an established band you’re bringing in. Obviously, that’s a different process from plucking a new band starting out. What are some of the considerations there?
King Buffalo is also a good example. They are a super-hardworking band. It’s work like it’s really a machine, like so much output they had during the pandemic and after and all with great quality. And that’s what I meant before, like these are guys who, like dedicated their lives to their band and they love touring. And all the time you see the list of touring in the States over here in in Europe, you think like so wow! Are they having a home, or are they just on the road?
King Buffalo has reached let’s say, a certain level, where it’s easier for us to book, because they have proved they are super live band, and they have the great albums, and they have a good following. So they are getting the chance to go bigger and bigger in the in the venues. Now they can play some bigger club shows already in in bigger venues, which is very, very good for the time the band is around, because they are still a still a young band, and they have a lot more to come for them if they continue like that. I have no doubt on that.
Is it harder now for a US Band to go to Europe, or for a European band to go to the US?
I think it’s still more difficult for a European band to go to the US. With all the visas you need and a bit harder conditions than we have over here in Europe. I think it’s still easy to plan your European tour, and of course you need some paperwork, but not that much. And, as you know, JJ, we have a there’s a good infrastructure also out here with van rentals and backlines and the driving distances are shorter, maybe. The hospitality is a bit better. No offense.
I get it. You might get a meal or a place to stay in Europe. You probably don’t get a meal in the US. Yes.
It’s still easier for the bands from the US touring in Europe than vice versa.
No, my country totally hates culture. It’s an ironic part of our culture. To shift gears entirely, My Sleeping Karma in December came back to the stage for your first shows since Steffen passed, and I cannot imagine how emotional this was for you. This first gig in particular. Can you talk a little bit about bringing the band back and what that’s been like? You have a busy year coming up at this point, and I keep seeing more added.
My Sleeping Karma is also 20 years old, so it’s big part of our lives. Seppi, Norman, and me, who are still around and able to now continue again with My Sleeping Karma, which was a very tough and very emotional and very sensitive decision. We have been the same lineup for more than 20 years. The band is years 20 old, but we had other projects before we were playing together. And we were really questioning and doubting if if we can continue with Sleeping Karma or bring this back again with a with a live show.
It took a while, and at one point our light engineer, who was traveling with us for years, Andre came up and asked Seppi and me if it’s possible just to jam just for like the sake of a jam. And maybe he had the feeling these guys need to have guitars in the hand again, and need to just be together again, to be able to even think about continuing, because we had not met up for a year. Nobody wanted to go in in the rehearsal room. Nobody wanted to, I don’t know, even talk about the band and so we did this jam and it felt good. Maybe it just felt good to hear the sound again of our band, or feel the vibe of the of the band members like just doing their thing what we have started long time ago.
And so we left on these meetings a bit with an open end and said, “Hey, okay, if the time fits like we jam another time and a few months later there was the time again to meet up and to jam. And Andre came prepared like with five songs really he worked on. He didn’t really say anything about it and we played Sleeping Karma songs, and it sounded alright.
Over the next couple of weeks and months, it developed more and more the idea of like, “Hey! What do you think? Should we do it again? How is it feeling for you like a lot of forward and backward until we…” and I, I really have to say, the fans and friends, and also the families, were a big, big part of this, encouraging us saying, like, “Hey guys, please, life needs to go on. And you guys are there and don’t stop making music. Please go on with that band. It means a lot to us.” And we got so many messages and so much feedback and we decided to continue with Sleeping Karma.
And we really did not know until that first concert in Munich on Colour Haze’s 30th birthday, two days before our hometown show in Aschaffenburg, if it would work, how it would feel the first time on stage in front of people. And then also with bands we’ve known for a long time, it all felt super alright, I think. Very emotional concerts, but also with some magic in which I cannot describe.
Everybody who plays in bands and knows I’m not talking about the groove or the flow like it was more This grown energy, which was there again, and not just created by the moment but created from us the band members over years, and so half of our life and everything was somehow in, and it was somehow clear: We are doing the right thing. It was clear not because people gave a lot of applause or wanted encores. But it was there the full moment, the full thing, why we started the band. And yeah, I hope we have Steffen’s blessing for that to continue.
I would imagine so. I have never seen My Sleeping Karma, and I don’t know if you know this, but I’ve been a fan of your band since your first record. So 20 years.
Yeah, we never made it to the US.
No, no, it’s not on you. It’s on me. But I this year is the year I’m lined up to see the band. Freak Valley’s on the calendar. I have been looking forward to it since that announcement.
We’re looking forward to that show as well at Freak Valley Festival. It’s always also like a homecoming. Good people there and it will hopefully be a great night, another emotional one.
There will be more concerts before this. I don’t know the number, but it’s not really a lot. We are not able to go on bigger tours now, or we didn’t want them. It’s like more still, finding our place again.
One more topic jump. The label. You gotta tell me about SOL Records. I feel like, okay, SOL Records happens a few years ago. I get the email about it. My response was like, “Well, yeah, duh.”
In 2005 we started Sound of Liberation and a few months later I had also founded that record label but never had the time to take care of it. At that time I was the one man army and had too much going on with the booking agency.
But yeah SOL Records also grew organically. My beloved word, organically growing, haha. But it is really like that. And so pretty much what happened, the pandemic came — no more live music. Everything crashed down, no more touring. We were sitting on a bunch of merch like already produced for festivals, already produced for touring bands. A lot of leftover back then from years of music business. So we said, “Okay, only chance. We can still go on doing things we love. Let’s build up a webshop.” With the help of our former employee “Stef” we launched the shop and afterwards we were thinking , “Why are we not releasing at least music we like without a small without, like, you know, searching for the biggest bands right away, and starting just with people we know, and friends and underground music. Our employee, Jakob (26 years old) is taking care of the label now.
He was working in a record store, and he came to our team and he said, “Hey, I really I really love this all. I love the bands. I love the sound. If I would have the chance to work a few hours on the mail order, and maybe on the label at one day.” And so we said like, “Hey, so why not? If we have somebody who’s like really focused and dedicated on this. Who wants to do it.” More or less, it’s in Jakob’s hands.
So then one thing came to another, we had the chance to re-release Trails & Passes from Greenleaf. You know the rights were free, and they gave us the chance, and also Monkey3’s 39 Laps record. And then we did our own releases. And all of a sudden I don’t know what one and a half years we had six or seven releases. We didn’t understand how fast that goes. We were a bit lucky also with pressing plants, because, as you remember, in the pandemic it was a wreck. Six to nine months until you were able to get a pressing plant or the finished product. And we had good luck. We were able to get four releases or something right after the pandemic.
And now same here with the label. We are not pushing it hard heart and signing bands, and, you know, like releases releases releases. It’s more like, Hey, what do we have the capacity for? Which music fits us right? And yeah, then. So no big business plans behind. No, not the not going for the giant corporate. Just needed to be done.
My favorite thing about it is it’s young bands. You mentioned the reissues and stuff, too, but you’re signing new bands.
Like guys from Ruff Majik. You have heard their music, or maybe you’re familiar with the band from South Africa, loving totally what they are. Yeah, and those guys have so much energy and put so much effort in and reached out more or less for help. And we booked the tour. So we made a plan and said, like, “Hey, why aren’t we are not doing things the right way? Let’s have a release ready next time when you are touring.”
Because do you remember how often that goes like, hey, we go into album-release tour, and then all of a sudden, sorry, album is delayed for two or three months, so we are trying to avoid that a little bit with not a business plan, but with a better structure and long-term planning. And I think that also helps a lot.
I think that’s also super important for young bands to have a bit of a timeline. I know it’s super difficult to think “Oh, we are now in February, what are we doing [next] winter? But every bigger or known band already knows what they are doing [next] winter, either recording or touring. So that’s also a big part of the growing process of a band, having a good plan structure and a good timeline for themselves to understand, “these are our goals we want to reach,” and also transporting these ideas to their partners or business partners, like record labels and booking agencies in order to get the maximum out of it.
Because, how often has the promo for the record come after once the tour was done, band was back at home? “So, hey, I just discovered this band. Let’s see when they are coming on tour. Oh, shit! They were here two months ago.”
If we can help with that with our expertise, that also helps. But back to the point. Still, we love what we are doing, and we are still infected by sound. And the music is the most important. And if a demo hits us or a band hits us, and then we yeah, then it’s not easy to say, no, we want to help because we love the album so much, or like the band, so much. So. Yeah.
So we released the Ruff Majik record, and what I like about it is it was not no more the typical, let’s say, Black Sabbath stoner rock, like there was so much different kind of rock music in, and so much freshness in that record that we decided like, “Hey, we wanna we want to release that one.” Not only we want to help Johni [Holiday] because they were in the EU touring, and nobody gets rich selling vinyls or CDs.
And I guess the touring helps them a lot, you know, being around a lot seeing other bands sharing the stages. Playing a lot live is the most important. I know it’s a difficult thing, “How do we get on the stage?” It’s always the same thing. Do you have a good demo? But you have no chance to play live. Difficult. It stays difficult, but there’s a big chance out now with the social media and the web like to gain new fans, friends, clients, however, you want to call it like it was never, maybe never so hard, but also never so easy to be recognized like this.
My Sleeping Karma, “Ephedra” live at Colour Haze’s 30th Anniversary, Dec. 28, 2024
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 5th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Likewise unexpected and bittersweet comes this two songer from the remote collaborative project Sleeping in Samsara, issued by guitarist/vocalist Christian Peters — Fuzz Sagrado, ex-Samsara Blues Experiment; he’s the ‘Samsara’ — and Steffen Weigand, the drummer of My Sleeping Karma, who passed away in June 2023. To hear Peters tell it, the project was Weigand‘s to start with, as were the foundations of the songs, which were eventually fleshed out with vocals, bass and lead guitar over Weigand‘s drums, synth and rhythm guitar.
“Downtime” is mellower and driftier than “Twilight Again,” and has some classic ’70s soul later on. The lead cut is longer and more active, though, with a janga-janga riff obscured in a not-too-busy mix, really pulling from both sides. They could’ve gotten a record’s worth of material out of this approach, no problem, so it’s something of a “what could’ve been” kind of release, but as a listener it’s fortunate these two songs are out there at all — let alone as a free download, which it is, by the way.
I’ll leave it to Peters to tell the rest. This is a thing that just happened today:
New and special release …
At the beginning of April 2023, Steffen Weigand contacted me via email, quite unexpectedly. We had known each other for about twenty years, but were not very close until then. Our previous bands The Great Escape and Terraplane played a few concerts together, and later we often shared stages with My Sleeping Karma and SBE. The Great Escape left quite an impression on us back then, as we were about ten years younger and much less experienced musicians, and I always respected the great rhythm work of Steffen and Matte Vandeven on bass.
When Steffen contacted me, we talked about everything really, and it was like really getting to know each other after such a long time. His illness was also a topic, and I remember how I tried to give him strength with anecdotes from my life, or experiences from the past. I lost my mother at a very young age and had seen a lot of what cancer can do. At some point Steffen mentioned working on a solo project, but he also wanted to involve other musicians. He offered me two of his songs to participate where he had already worked out quite a lot. Besides his drumming there were already melodies, song-structures, etc. What was missing, however, was perhaps a bit more character (especially lyrics) and that’s where I came in.
He was a bit shy and didn’t seem completely convinced with these tracks yet, but I immediately recognized the potential and delivered lyrics and guitar solos in no time. In about a week I had both ready, written and recorded, much to Steffen’s amazement. We were both euphoric!! In my naivety I thought that this collaboration would be so positive that it could help to heal him. Then it was time to mix, and I asked Steffen if it was okay if I published my own mixes. He allowed me to do that in one of his last emails, and then I waited about three weeks for further news from him. On the morning of June 13, 2023, however, I had to read the terrible news and was paralyzed for weeks. I couldn’t believe it.
What I also have to say is that this short collaboration was the first time I had seriously worked with another musician since the end of SBE in 2020. For this reason alone, these songs are very important to me, as difficult as it was to finish them for a long time. I also have a lot of personal connections to both. It’s a real collaboration between Steffen’s music and my lyrics and guitar solos, which I’m particularly proud of, especially in the first track. Interestingly, these were the very first rough takes, but I never captured that spirit again, so I left it at these relatively raw recordings.
So I will release the songs as they are now… as a gift to the fans of both our bands. Unfortunately, that’s all that will remain from this project.
I would like to dedicate these two tracks to Steffen and also to my mother-in-law (“mama dois”) Imaculada Silva Castro, who also died of cancer last year. She listened to “Downtime” during one of her previous visits to our house and she liked it very much. I will never forget that.
Music by Steffen Weigand. Lyrics by Christian Peters. Steffen’s parts recorded in Aschaffenburg. Chris parts recorded in Brasil, May 2023. Mix and master by Chris Peters, Brasil February 2025.
Sleeping in Samsara: Steffen Weigand – drums, keyboards and synthesizers, rhythm guitar in track 1 Christian Peters – vocals, lead guitar, bass guitar in track 2
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 29th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
True, the first SOL Sonic Ride (info here) hasn’t happened yet, as European heavy booking company Sound of Liberation mark their 20th anniversary with a growing series of all-dayers, but this June in Wiesbaden, Germany, SOL Sonic Ride Part II will bring a fine sampling of touring acts to the proceedings, including King Buffalo, Brant Bjork Trio, the resurgent My Sleeping Karma, Valley of the Sun, Daily Thompson, The Machine and Einseinseins. Wait, that’s everybody. Well I guess it’s a pretty solid bill then.
Note that if you’re dividing the year into quarters — which is something I do around here every now and again; every couple months — this still only covers half of 2025. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if there’s more to come before the year’s out. 20 years, especially 20 years booking heavy music in a time that’s seen the rise of the internet, a global pandemic, and unprecedented instability generally, is a triumph. They should have a party every weekend if that’s what they want. If it ends up being four throughout the rest of the year, well fucking earned.
From socials:
⚡️20 YEARS OF SOUND OF LIBERATION – SOL SONIC RIDE PART ll⚡️
Hey friends,
The celebration continues! 🪩
Join us for SOL SONIC RIDE PART II on June 28, 2025, as we mark two decades of heavy riffs with another epic festival day!
Expect mind-blowing performances from a killer lineup, including:
KING BUFFALO • BRANT BJORK TRIO MY SLEEPING KARMA • VALLEY OF THE SUN DAILY THOMPSON • THE MACHINE • EINSEINSEINS & more to be announced soon!
This time, we’re taking over Schlachthof Wiesbaden for a day packed with electrifying energy.
