Roxann Yus | 07/03/23
This tour was fate for me. Hear me out: I move to Germany, specifically to a more rural city deep in the south, known as the Dreiecke between France and Switzerland. Then, of course, anyone who moves to Germany will want to take the trip to Berlin at some stage, even if it is a painful seven-and-a-half-hour train.
Somehow, the stars then align. I always thought about going to Berlin for my birthday specifically – that would give the trip meaning and purpose, right? And then I see: EDEN are playing Kesselhaus in Berlin on my birthday! Could this trip be any more perfect?
Well, possibly there are some imperfections… ‘Doors’ in Germany actually (usually) means the first act starts performing. And after a very busy day of birthday extravaganza (boozy brunch, East Side Gallery, sightseeing, and delicious vegan Vietnamese food), it seemed unlikely we would make it at doors. But we thought: “Oh, fine! There are two supports after all – we’ll make it to Eden’s full set in any case.”
We turned up at 21:20 (meanwhile doors opened at 20:00). The bouncers joked at us for being late, but we didn’t think too much about it as on time in Germany is still late. But we walked through to the Garderobe and we heard the precious ballad cries of an Irish angel. My heart dropped to the ground. We’d missed some of EDEN’s set already.
We nonetheless slid our way into the main room to find a good place to stand. After all, an EDEN gig isn’t like our usual taste here at white noise – it’s much more mellow, deep in thought, and abstract, so finding a good viewpoint was essential – no mosh pits were going to change the fate of where we were standing (unlike most concerts I go to).
Within minutes I was already mouthing “wow” at the full-budget light production. It unmistakably matched the vibe of the song each time and created a story unique to our individual experiences at the show. My favourite light sequences included the dramatic fade out to nothing but a white, glowy, angelic light haloing EDEN as the song deepened. A couple of songs later, there was this tornado effect that circled him too, with smoke machines that gave texture similar to that of the iconic wave off Kanagawa (The Great Wave).
Now, his voice. I will bravely admit he had the best live vocals I have ever heard. There was a deep, echoing effect that compliments the visuals, hues, and abstract electronic instrumentals so well. It was both the sound to sleep to but also dance to, to hug your friends to and celebrate to. It certainly felt like the soundtrack for celebrating my 21st birthday.
I'm already wishing for a star to catch EDEN again next year... this time, to catch the entire show (yes, I'm throwing shade at myself).
Edited by: Roxann Yus
Photo taken by: Roxann Yus
Photo edited by: Ben Massey