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May 15, 2024 By Irina Shtreis Photography by Richie Yates Web Exclusive

They strike a balance impeccably. Dressed in white and sitting on a chair on the far right of the stage, Jason Pierce looks like a star in exile, still very conscious of everything happening on the stage. Though his sunglasses hide his look, the occasional gestures at the sound man to change levels here and there indicate absolute creative control and vision. Still, this doesn’t inhibit the dynamics on stage. Guitarist Doggen Foster, dressed in black and standing on the left side, seems to counterbalance the energy from the opposite side. So do Martin Lynch (also on guitar), and bassist James Stelfox with drummer Kevin Bales in the centre taking a neutral position. Close to Pierce, three backing vocalists clad in white imbue the songs with gospel sensibility.

The yin-yang dynamics are manifested further through the music, best captured on “Always Together With You” from the 2022 album Everything Was Beautiful. Starting with flanger-powered chords and Pierce’s close-to-devotional singing (“If you want a radio, I would be a radio for you / If you want an airplane, I would be an airplane for you”), the song blooms into a towering wall-of-sound flower.

Headliners of the festival’s 2024 edition, Spiritualized are playing in the bigger room of De Eftenaar, the iconic venue that previously hosted shows by Red Hot Chili Peppers (February 1988), The Sex Pistols (December 1977) and Joy Division (January 1980). The psychogeography of this once squatted three-storey former factory building attracts devoted music fans and enthusiasts from all over Europe. Fragments of English, Dutch, French and Norwegian are heard in the room. Some of the attendees are wearing relevant T-shirts (Spacemen 3, Hawkwind and Motorpsycho).

Shortly before Spiritualized, the main stage is taken over by Austinites DAIISTAR. With his shades and J Spaceman-esque haircut, frontman Alex Capistran channels the inspiration from the late 80s British indie scene. While, overall, their sound conjures up the Bummed-era Happy Mondays, there is an undeniable presence of Spacemen 3. It doesn’t come as a surprise that DAIISTAR’s latest single “Clear’’ was remixed by Peter Kember aka Sonic Boom, who started Spacemen 3 together with Pierce.

Hailing from the native town of The Jesus And Mary Chain, East Kilbride, Helicon creates a sonic dimension of similar intensity. Live, they are an eight-person operation, featuring sitar, Gretsch, Fender Jazzmaster, modular synthesiser and more. While the Indian instrument conveys a psychedelic message, it is overpowered by the eclectic guitar sound. The whole effect is akin to a postmodern collage where instrumental parts merge unleashing a blast of ringing noise.

Helicon is one of the signings of Fuzz Club, the London-based label whose team is the driving force behind the festival in Eindhoven. Hence, the line-up, presenting guitar bands with psychedelic and post-punk pedigree. The retro futuristic setting of the Dutch city seems to be in tune with the concept. Formerly the headquarters of the Philips electronic corporation, Eindhoven maintains the presence of the brand. The architecture is informed by the future-oriented solutions of the company. One of the most emblematic buildings is a UFO-shaped Evoluon, constructed by Philips in 1966. Initially hosting a science museum, Evoluon was repurposed as a conference centre and then reopened as an exhibition space. The current RetroFuture display tells how people’s dreams, such as those of eternal life and flying, push forward technological change.

This idea is translated through the music of the bands playing at Fuzz Club Eindhoven. The two-day programme reveals collectives reaching out to different temporal realms. While sonically French noiseniks The Psychotic Monks seem to be along the lines of electro punk collective Métal Urbain and Sonic Youth, their look and eccentric performance hint at current topics such as gender equality and freedom of creative expression. The same goes for Radar Men From The Moon, Eindhoven’s very own experimental rockers whose genre-bending strategy places them beyond any time or genre-related category. This is ultimately a raison d’etre of the Fuzz Club Eindhoven where timelessness is the key.