Kalabalik festival in Alvesta

I spent the weekend at an old amusement park in the deepest forests of Småland. It sounds like the plot of a bad zombie-splatter movie, but it was even better.

Somewhere deep in the woods, past the abandoned factories and the moose-crossing signs, you’ll find Alvesta. A sleepy town that doesn’t usually scream “electronic music galore”. But this summer, it transforms into a glorious black hole of electronic beats, fog machines and harsh EBM. Welcome to Kalabalik på Tyrolen.

You don’t come here for clean sound stages or overpriced Aperol Spritz. You come for the sweat oozing from leather-clad dancers, the bass notes piercing through your body, the sense that you’ve wandered into a parallel universe where Nitzer Ebb are Gods and the dance floor is a battlefield.

Tyrolen itself is a fever dream frozen in time. A decaying 1960s amusement park, equal parts kitsch and chaos. Carnival lights flicker like the last gasp of a dying robot. Old murals of yodeling Austrians clash magnificently with pounding EBM and strobes that could trigger an exorcism. Radio cars were littered in the area and a stray cat was carefully watching the strange visitors all dressed in black. The toilet walls were covered with old Fantomen comics. A stuffed fox appeared out of nowhere and became everyone’s favorite pet.

“Eine tasse jäger” – Ekobrottsmyndigheten on stage.

Am I forgetting something? Ah yes, there were bands as well. Ekobrottsmyndigheten probably had the best audience of all with their tongue-in-cheek EBM. German newcomers Schramm was a pleasant surprise, and so was the German-Polish one-man-band Jemek Jemowit who entered the stage in high heels and colorful wet-suit.

The Hungarian band Escalator was formed in 1988 but this was their first ever gig in Scandinavia. German aggrotech act Centhron was a bit disappointing, with over-ambitious posing and too similar songs. The other bands were Pain Machinery, Tarmvred, 64revolt and Position Paralléle.

“May we have your attention please” – Centhron on stage.

This was the first time the festival was arranged. The arrangers of sadly closed club Kalabalik in Växjö decided to gather a bunch of strange bands at an even stranger location, Tyrolen outside Alvesta, and behold! Instant success.