Dear Amphi Festival Fans,
just a few weeks ago we shared the experience of celebrating the 7th Amphi Festival together at the Tanzbrunnen Cologne. 16.000 attendants from all over the world turned that incredible weekend into THE event of the dark festival summer! Unfortunately this summer turned out to be much darker than usual, with almost no festival passing along without at least one major rainstorm. And the Amphi had not been spared though. Thanks to its solid pavement, the rain sheltered main stage, the additional programme at the Theater stage and the newly introduced festival café at the Staatenhaus, it had proven capable again to offer an uncompromised festival experience, even while St. Peter opened up his flood gates!

AFTER THE AMPHI IS BEFORE THE AMPHI!
Following the Amphi Festival´s overwhelming success throughout the last years (it has been sold out for the third time by now), you can expect nothing less than a major summer extravaganza for 2012. The 8th Amphi Festival will again take place at the Tanzbrunnen Cologne on 21. & 22. July 2012 and, even in this early stage, we are very happy to offer you an impressive line-up. Keen eyes will surely have spotted the banners, placed at the festival-ground, announcing the first 10 bands. THE SISTERS OF MERCY are headlining the Amphi Festival 2012. Also we have CAMOUFLAGE, DAF, MONO INC., CORVUS CORAX, COPPELIUS, HAUJOBB, SEABOUND, TYSKE LUDDER and WHISPERS IN THE SHADOW, writing the first chapter of a multi-layered programme of gothic-, medieval- and electronic sounds.

In this respect we would also like to thank you for your enormous positive feedback and band requests, we already received by the annual visitor poll. It is our utmost pleasure to announce, that we were able to implement some of your biggest favourites into the 2012 line-up directly:

NEW BANDS AND 2nd HEADLINER CONFIRMED FOR AMPHI FESTIVAL 2012!
It gets colder again in 2012! In the fifth year after their first Amphi Festival appearance (oh dear, how time flies…) EISBRECHER have ultimately rocked themselves into the heart of the audience. The loading deck packed with new songs of their upcoming album (to be released in spring 2012), Captain Alexx and Noel Pix are about to cast the anchor at the Rhein shore, as the second headliner of the Amphi Festival 2012. In addition to that four electronic highlights have joined our humble offerings!

On Friday 12th August PROJECT PITCHFORK released their latest album “Quantum Mechanics”. In tune with their latest works the Hamburg based electro-pioneers did not hesitate to confirm their appearance at the Amphi 2012 immediately. Also we welcome Amphi festival first-timers [:SITD:] from Bochum, whose steaming beats will set the floor on fire. Same goes for Sven Friedrich, who recently released “Frontiers”, the second album of his electronic project called SOLAR FAKE,. Finally, after their impressive opening act at this years Amphi Festival, there will be another encounter with the Cologne-based [X]-RX, aiming to bring down our Staatenhaus with a full blast of Cyber-Rave action!
Alongside 34 Acts on the main stages, Open Air and at the Staatenhaus, you can look forward to an attractive line-up of reading performances, talks and special concerts at the Theater stage. Our preparations are up and running, so watch out for first announcements very soon!

LIMITED 5+1 GROUP TICKETS – ONLY FOR A SHORT TIME!
The strictly limited group tickets are back on sale! By ordering the 5+1 group tickets you´ll receive six Amphi Festival tickets for the price of five. The group tickets are available either as weekend- or day tickets for each festival day. Also they are only available for a very short time, exclusively at the official Amphi Festival Shop under www.amphi-festival.de/tickets.

TICKETS:
Original festival tickets can be booked in advance exclusively on the Amphi Ticketshop at www.amphi-festival.de/tickets. Festival tickets are further available online at www.protain-ticket.de & www.dark-ticket.de and at all nationwide EVENTIM box offices.
For further information please check:
www.amphi-festival.de
www.facebook.com/amphifestival
Best regards
Your Amphi Festival Team



VIII. AMPHI Festival - The ORKUS Open Air 2012 – Facts:

Date:
21. - 22. July 2012

Venue:
Köln – Tanzbrunnen
Programme:
THE SISTERS OF MERCY + EISBRECHER + PROJECT PITCHFORK
CAMOUFLAGE + DAF + MONO INC. + CORVUS CORAX + COPPELIUS
[:SITD:] + SOLAR FAKE + HAUJOBB + SEABOUND + [X]-RX
TYSKE LUDDER + WHISPERS IN THE SHADOW
+ many other artists and supporting programme!
Tickets:
-Orginaltickets, 5+1 group tickets are exclusively available at our Amphi Ticketshop under www.amphi-festival.de/tickets
-Furthermore you can buy festival tickets online at www.protain-ticket.de & www.dark-ticket.de and all nationawide EVENTIM box offices.

NEW BANDS ANNOUNCED FOR AMPHI FESTIVAL 2012:
Ladies and gentlemen, raise the curtain for another headliner: AND ONE are back! With a new line-up and a massive amount of energy, creative-source Steve Naghavi calls the shots on the dancefloor! The „COVER FOR THE MASSES SPECIAL“ promises to become the biggest Amphi party of all times, just perfect to “DeMo”-lish the Tanzbrunnen altogether!

Further we have COMBICHRIST, throwing a barrage of Industrial and modern electrobeats into the scale, while FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY prefer to teach the sound of the old school, by which they recently caused the most beautiful EBM-pogo in years at the E-tropolis Festival in Berlin. In addition to that Thomas Rainer will send out his “Girls In Uniform”, joining the Amphi Festival 2012 with NACHTMAHR. And if you ask why, he would possibly answers: „Because I can!“.
Meanwhile Felix Flaucher & Frank Schwer, best known by the name of 18 SUMMERS, joined the Amphi Festival with slightly more mellow offerings. Almost 10 years after „Virgin Mary“ (released in 2002) the Swabians celebrate their comeback with a new, highly anticipated album. Also aiming for the live-stage, they chose to play the Amphi Festival 2012. Additionally ASSEMBLAGE 23, the goth-rockers LORD OF THE LOST and SCHÖNGEIST signed up like EISENFUNK, whose YouTube video-hit „Pong“ has been watched over three million times by now and who turned out to be one of the shooting stars of our annual visitor poll!

5+1 GROUP TICKETS ALMOST SOLD OUT– SECURE NOW!
Along with the intense programme the first ticket contingents are running short on stock. Earlier than ever, the strictly limited 5+1 group tickets are almost sold out. If you want to save hard money, buying 6 tickets for the price of 5, you should secure your 5+1 group ticket immediately, as we expect them to be gone very soon.
5+1 group tickets as well as high-quality original-design Amphi Festival tickets are exclusively available at the Amphi Ticketshop under www.amphi-festival.de/tickets. Further, standard tickets can be purchased online from www.protain-ticket.de and on all nationwide EVENTIM box-offices.

Dear Amphi Festival Fans,
Once again the year comes to a close and Christmas time is upfront the door! Soon enough the busy advent season gives way to a wonderful celebration amidst your family and friends, when the world allows itself to rest for moment on Christmas Eve.

Nevertheless, with the Amphi Festival there is already reason enough to look forward to 2012. Even if the world really came down, we would just want to crank it to 11 for one last time! In order to offer you a massive celebration we succeeded in collecting four additional artists, raising the stakes on the way to next year´s most exciting summer-festival event. By no surprise the Amphi Festival already turns out to be one of the hottest gift–ideas beneath the Christmas tree! Whoever doesn´t have a ticket yet, needs one under the fir for sure!
NEW BANDS ANNOUNCED FOR AMPHI FESTIVAL 2012:
Slow but steady the lines are closing. With more than 20 acts already confirmed, such as The Sisters Of Mercy, And One, Eisbrecher and Project Pitchfork, BLUTENGEL, AESTHETIC PERFECTION as well as A LIFE DIVIDED reinforce the musical line-up today with well orchestrated vampire-pop, pounding industrial-beats and cracking electronic rock.
Also we salute our highly acclaimed forensic expert DR. MARK BENECKE who is going to take you into the bizarre but fascinating world of traces and maggots. This time he prepared a special festival topic, already leaving us curious what he is up to next!
OFFICIAL CAMPING TICKETS FOR 2012 AVAILABLE NOW:
Along with the festival at the Tanzbrunnen we offer the Amphi Camp, situated in the beautiful “Jugendpark” of Cologne. Tickets for the official Amphi Festival camping ground are exclusively available now from the Amphi Ticketshop under www.amphi-festival.de/tickets! For all information concerning the Amphi Camp please head over to www.amphi-festival.de/2012/camping.html.
SPECIAL CHRISTMAS OFFER ON AMPHI MERCHANDISE:
Now and only for Christmas time we have a special offer running in our Amphi Merchandise Shop, including special-prices for various items. Until 18.12.2011 you get 25% discount on t-shirts, girlies and tank tops from the 2011 collection, plus discount on all car-window stickers. Don´t miss this opportunity, especially when you´re still looking for a Christmas gift or great accessory to surprise your friends with. Just pick it up on: www.amphi-festival.de/merchandise!

FESTIVAL TICKETS:
Original festival tickets can be booked in advance exclusively on the Amphi Ticketshop at www.amphi-festival.de/tickets. Festival tickets are further available online at www.protain-ticket.de and at all nationwide CTS/EVENTIM box offices.

For further information please visit:
www.amphi-festival.de
www.facebook.com/amphifestival
Best regards
Your Amphi Festival team

Dear Amphi Fans,

“Hell has to wait!” is our motto in February. While Eisbrecher, one of our main acts, are successfully defying the freezing temperatures across Europe by rocking audiences to the boiling point in sold out venues all over Germany, Austria and Switzerland, we have spectacular news to share concerning the Amphi Festival programme 2012.

First of all we would like to thank everybody who supported us on facebook with their band suggestions, to find a worthy replacement for the retired FRONT242. Obviously we took a close look at the votings of our facebook-poll and are very happy to announce one of the most wanted acts from the list.

APOPTYGMA BERZERK replacing FRONT242:

From the perspective of a related fan it seems to be an almost impossible task finding a worthy replacement. Especially when talking about a style-shaping legend like FRONT242. Nevertheless with APOPTYGMA BERZERK we are very humble to announce a fantastic substitute, who already headlined the Amphi Festival back in 2007, alongside FRONT242. Back then, mastermind Stephan Groth and his band created a big moment, ending that edition with an electrifying show, which many still remember as one of the best concerts ever in Amphi history. Together with the high number of requests this made another great reason to welcome APOPTYGMA BERZERK again at the Tanzbrunnen after a 5year hiatus.

Further band announcements:
THE CRÜXSHADOWS, SPETSNAZ, THE WARS, SPIRITUAL FRONT

Equally exciting than APOPTYGMA´s legendary appearance in 2007 are the stage qualities of THE CRÜXSHADOWS. Once it came to pass even a 20hour ride across Europe couldn´t stop the American formation from rocking a massively packed venue into the very grounds for over two hours in front of 8000 people! Known for his stunning presence in the audience, on stage and up the trusses, bandleader Rogue belongs to the most iconic characters of the dark scene. In 2012 THE CRÜXSHADOWS are not only expected to return with a new album, they also join the Amphi Festival with one of their powerful live performances!

Recently confirmed as well: SPETSNAZ! Inspired by bands of the old school, the Swedish two-piece, consisting of Stefan Nilsson und Pontus Stålberg, succeeds in transporting the classic 80´s EBM sound into a contemporary environment – powerful, intelligent and right on the spot!

With spherical guitars, minimalistic electronics, Apache Beat beneath a distorted bass guitar and pregnant baritone metaphors THE WARS inject new life into the New Wave of the early 80’s and the German Progressive Rock of the 70’s in a contemporary style. Joining in as another Amphi Festival debutant, the three musicians from Berlin are going to add another facet to the rich variety of this year´s line-up.

While the billing on the big stages has reached a state of near completion, with only one band missing, it´s a good moment to put some focus on our Theater Stage. With SPIRITUAL FRONT we are glad to announce another highlight. The Romans, who self-describe their music as nihilistic suicide pop, achieved a special position in the past years, equally inspiring fans of folk-noir and mixed audiences well beyond the dark music scene. Inside the seating-equipped “Theater am Tanzbrunnen” you will experience a concert that invites you to sit back and enjoy the show, while setting your mind afloat! Who else is going to appear on the Theater Stage along with DR. MARK BENECKE and SPIRITUAL FRONT is soon to be revealed!

FESTIVAL TICKETS
Original festival tickets can be booked in advance exclusively on the Amphi Ticketshop at www.amphi-festival.de/tickets. Festival tickets are further available online at www.protain-ticket.de and at all nationwide CTS/EVENTIM box offices.

For further information please visit:
www.amphi-festival.de
www.facebook.com/amphifestival
Best regards
Your Amphi Festival team!

Dear Amphi Fans,
Ravishing riff salvos, pounding electro beats, synth-pop, folk-noir and mediaeval sounds – 2012´s edition promises to become the most spectacular Amphi Festival of all times. Including The Sisters Of Mercy, And One, Eisbrecher, Blutengel, Project Pitchfork, Apoptygma Berzerk, Camouflage, Combichrist and many more, a monster load of international top-acts and legendary cult-bands are doing themselves the honours to gather at the Tanzbrunnen Cologne on 21. & 22.07.2012. In terms of musical variety the Amphi Festival stands out a mile. Hence we may announce three more additions, who again underline the diversity of the line-up.

New announcements for Amphi Festival 2012:

First we are happy to see the Austrian electronic sound-wizards MIND.IN.A.BOX completing the ranks. Their latest release, „Revelations“, not only rushed straight to number one of the German Alternative Charts. Among the fans of electronic music it already advanced among the hottest candidates for the album of the year. With MIND.IN.A.BOX being confirmed, the line-up for our big stages at the “Staatenhaus” and “Open Air” has finally reached completion.
„Revelations“ of a slightly different kind, are to be expected from our special offerings at the seated Theater Am Tanzbrunnen. Following Spiritual Front and Dr. Mark Benecke, we´re adding some epochal darkwave and a sexy load of female power to the bill:

Introduced as the first of two headlining acts (one still hiding in the shadows), we are proud to announce a truly exceptional concert by LOVE IS COLDER THAN DEATH. Formed in 1989 by the name of „Six Bones“, the band from Leipzig Germany is well-known for their colorful foray though the epochs, wandering a line between history-inspired world music and avant-garde darkwave elements. Anticipation of this special highlight is accompanied by announcement of the upcoming release of LOVE IS COLDER THAN DEATH´s first studio album since 2003.

EKLIPSE is the name of the seductive quartet, which loves to clothe contemporary pop music and soundtrack elements into a fascinating dress of compelling classic string sounds on our Theater-stage. Without vocals, yet even more emotional and spiced up with an extra portion of sex-appeal, the four ladies interpret songs by Coldplay, Lady Gaga, Hurts, Depeche Mode and many more, cunningly flavored with a magic note of dark-lascivious romanticism, wit and dreamy melancholy.

Amphi warm-up parties 2012

While the year progresses it is about time to announce the annual Amphi Festival warm-up parties, which give you the ideal opportunity to get yourself in the right mood for the festival. The following dates have been confirmed so far:

07.04.2012 F - Paris, Le Divan Du Monde
08.04.2012 NL - Amstelveen, P60
14.04.2012 UK - Brighton, "Synergy" @ Belushi´s
28.04.2012 D - Stuttgart, Zollamt
28.04.2012 GR - Thessaloniki, Eightball Club
28.04.2012 B - Antwerpen, Vampireparty
28.04.2012 D - Karlsruhe, Nachtwerk
04.05.2012 UK - Manchester, Analoguetrash
05.05.2012 UK - Northampton, "M.2.M.2" @ The Racehorse
09.05.2012 D - Wuppertal, Pavillon
12.05.2012 D - Nürnberg, Club Koma
12.05.2012 UK - London, Slimelight
16.05.2012 D - Heidelberg, Schwimmbad Club
19.05.2012 D - Krefeld, Kulturfabrik
19.05.2012 CH - Zürich, Dynamo
19.05.2012 A - Wien, "Schwarzer Reigen" @ Schloss "Neugebäude"
24.05.2012 D - Duisburg, Pulp
25.05.2012 D - Bonn, Backstage
25.05.2012 D - Bielefeld, Ringlokschuppen
01.06.2012 I - Turin, Audiodrome
02.06.2012 D - Frankfurt, Club Jerome
02.06.2012 D - Essen, "G.I.P." @ Zeche Carl
02.06.2012 D - Augsburg, Kantine
03.06.2012 D - Dresden, Bunker / Straße E
09.06.2012 D - Bonn, Der Goldene Engel
09.06.2012 D - Bremen, Aladin
16.06.2012 D - Siegen, Vortex
21.06.2012 D - Oberhausen, Eisenlager (Zentrum Altenberg)
22.06.2012 GR - Athen, Seven Sins Club
29.06.2012 UK - London, Club Antichrist
30.06.2012 D - Ingolstadt, Nachtwerk (Paradox)
20.07.2012 D - Köln, Alter Wartesaal

FESTIVAL TICKETS
Original festival tickets can be booked in advance exclusively on the Amphi Ticketshop at www.amphi-festival.de/tickets. Festival tickets are further available online at www.protain-ticket.de and at all nationwide CTS/EVENTIM box offices.

For further information please visit:
www.amphi-festival.de
www.facebook.com/amphifestival

Best regards
Your Amphi Festival team!

Dear Amphi Fans,
We are happy to announce the second headliner for our theater stage:

READING PERFORMANCE & CONCERT “HENKE – PLAYS GOETHES ERBEN”

On Saturday, 21st July, Oswald Henke takes aim for the “Theater am Tanzbrunnen”. First hitting the stage with his current reading performance “DIE ZEIT FORMT” (“time shapes”) he will make a second appearance later that day, playing one of the most definite concert highlights of the Amphi Festival 2012.

Oswald Henke and his band HENKE will take you away on a musical journey through time, debauching in the morbid-romanticism of GOETHES ERBEN. Alongside many treasured tunes, which heavily influenced the darkwave- and gothic scene from the early 1990s a selection of recent tracks from the band HENKE will also be part of this exclusive vintage-set. With his dynamic and dramatic presence, Oswald Henke makes one hell of a master on stage, always ready to surprise you with something weird when you expect it the least. Don´t miss this rare opportunity to witness the unique spirit of GOETHES ERBEN, one of the most intelligent and lyrical projects in the history of darkwave!

Further we have good and a bad news from Canada for you:

FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY CANCELLING ALL SHOWS THIS SUMMER!

Unfortunately the band FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY cancelled all their shows for summer 2012 with this original statement:

“After much thought and considering we regret to inform our fans that we will be unable to perform at any summer shows we are currently booked for.
After an extensive tranche of shows supporting our last record we have to decided to spend next year focusing on writing and delivering new albums; an instrumental of tracks that will be featured in the videogame AirMech from Carbon Games, a new full length LP, and possibly a new Noise Unit record. Our apologies to any promoters/fans this may affect in a negative manner, we look forward to releasing new material and playing shows further down the road.
All the best,
FLA“

To substitute FLA we managed to bring up something very special:

CONJURE ONE (RHYS FULBER) PERFORMING SPECIAL LIVE SET @ AMPHI 2012

RHYS FULBER, known as a long-term member and producer of many classic FLA-tunes decided to storm into the breach with his project CONJURE ONE. Paying respect to the given situation of FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY having cancelled their show, RHYS FULBER announced to play a unique set, that includes Songs from CONJURE ONE, as well as some DELERIUM tracks and a selection of FLA-classics that haven’t been spotted in a live-set for several years.

FESTIVAL TICKETS

Original festival tickets can be booked in advance exclusively on the Amphi Ticketshop at www.amphi-festival.de/tickets. Festival tickets are further available online at www.protain-ticket.de and at all nationwide CTS/EVENTIM box offices.

For further information please visit:
www.amphi-festival.de
www.facebook.com/amphifestival
Best regards
Your Amphi Festival team!