We Have Band
Arena, 2009
At some point while being employed at EMI and having listened to so much music, the London-based trio Darren, Dede and Thomas might have came up with the thought – “We could also have band”. And right they went to having (a) band. They played their first gig in April 2008 and are soon releasing their debut album. We Have Band’s infectious upbeat sound with polyphonic vocals (or shouts or breaths!) performed at energetic, tempting-to-dance live shows, tends to make the audience go crazy. Next to their let-oneself-go-vibe at their live sets –where Dede now and then puts people in the mood for body movements with an enraptured snake dance -, the We Have Band tunes are also catchy when performed in a completely reduced setting without any funktronic club elements that their concerts normally include. We Have Band’s acoustic session is an inspiring document of what can be produced with just an old guitar (“We Have Band”) and in the second song some maracas and a tambourine (“You’ve Had Band”) as instruments, but a sophisticated way of using vocals joined by clapping.
- Photography
- Simon Brugner
- Artist
- We Have Band
Arena
Arena is a cultural center and music venue in the industrialized district of Erdberg. Its beginnings hark back to 1976, when some thousand demonstrators gathered around the former St. Marx Auslandsschlachthof to save it from demolition and subsequent commercial use. While they were not able to save the huge building complex, the vast social movement did succeed in reaching the foundation of an autonomous cultural center on the smaller area of the former slaughterhouses, which represents today’s Arena. Presently Arena has integrated a wide musical spectrum to its programme for various crowds and commercial use. Yet Arena’s dictum “Love Music, Hate Fascism!” is more than a relict of old days as it is still the venue with the most punk concerts in town.