SW on the road: Sonar Music Festival

Image: M.McCabe

Ed Note: Special contributor Mark  is on the road in Europe checking out the best the music festival season has to offer, and reporting back on all the sights, sounds and bands making waves across the continent. First stop: Barcelona.

Each June in Barcelona they hold the Sonar music festival, the International Festival of Advanced Music and Multimedia Art; and for me it’s the musical highlight of the year. I’ve been to Sonar a few times before and it’s always good.

Britain has a lot of music festivals but for me nothing comes close to Sonar.  The daytime events set in the centre of the city amongst the narrow windy streets. There are four stages in and around the Contemporary Culture Centre and Contemporary Art Museum which offer anything from some of the world’s leading musicians to emerging talent, experimental music and an opportunity for music professionals to get together.

This year in addition to music from Spain, there were also artists from; the UK, US, Japan, Canada, South Africa, France, Norway, Australia, New Zealand and a host of other countries. Thursday started off with a few DJ and live sets before Sweden’s Little Dragon, fresh from a recent collaboration and tour with Gorillaz, took to the main stage for a rousing performance to close the afternoon. British label Ninja Tune hosted the evening session showcasing new talent such as DELS and Eskmo, producing some electrifying sounds. Other highlights of the day were kidkanevil from the UK and the Open Reel Ensemble who used reel-to-reel tapes they ran though their computers to produce a show that was quite unique.

After a lazy Friday morning wandering around Barcelona I headed back in for the first of the full days.  With a night time event as well, finishing anywhere around 8.00am, I needed as much energy as possible. One of the best DJ sets of the weekend went to New York DJ Star Eyes who got one of the stages lifted to the sounds of house, techno and dubstep.

For me the highlights of the day though were Four Tet and Ghostpoet. Four Tet aka Kieran Hebden is one of the leading electronica artists in the world and played a live set so good, so perfect, that not only was the main stage full to bursting but most of the artists playing that day were also in the thick of it with the festival goers. It was some of the best live music I’ve ever seen. If anyone in L.A. wants to see him this summer head to FYF Fest or if you can’t make it take a look this video of him in London in late 2010.

Ghostpoet emerged late in 2010 delivering a take on hip hop but with profound lyrics over melancholic beats and was soon signed to Gilles Peterson’s record label and released his debut album Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jam earlier this year. Despite a few technical glitches jokingly blamed on buying a used laptop he delivered a superb set in one of the indoor venues with a darkness that supported his superb delivery yet rose to bring light when it needed.

After a couple of hours rest it was time to head out to the night time events where we had the legendary Human League delivering a classics such as Don’t You Want Me Baby alongside material from their new album. There was also M.I.A.; Dizzee Rascal, invited back following such success last year; LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy playing a DJ set; the inimitable Aphex Twin; and BBC Radio 1 showcasing British talent such as Benji B, Redlight and Toddla T all hosted by DJ Annie Mac who played an incredible set outdoor at 3.00am.

image: M.McCabeWith a couple of hours sleep and a late breakfast behind me it was time for the final day of the festival. Saturday brought the usual eclectic mix with everything from U.S. hip hop to South African electro music. I may be biased here but the two best acts of the day were the British DJs Gilles Peterson and David Rodigan. Gilles Peterson is who you listen to if you want to discover new music, he’ll play and promote anything from nu-jazz to dubstep, hip-hop to house and new Cuban music and on a sunny afternoon in Barcelona it was just perfect. David Rodigan is a leading reggae and roots DJ and even at 59 years old still tours the world and has a regular radio show in the U.K. When David Rodigan played Sonar the place erupted. He played anything from reggae to soul and dancehall to dubstep with his superb MCing skills laid over the top. If I’ve got as much energy as he has when I’m 59 I’ll be happy.

For the last night of the festival there was only one main act, Underworld, who played a set so full of energy you’d think that rather than having been together for over 25 years they were in their infancy. The sound was incredible, the performance perfect and the light show superb; sure signs of a band that not only knows what they’re doing but that they love doing it. The other outstanding live act was Buraka Som Sistema a Portuguese/Angolan collective who play heavy bass infused tribal music and a show that is one of pure adrenalin. They’ve played Sonar before and they never fail to impress. One of the disappointments of the night was Janelle Monáe who friends in New York have been praising for some time. Don’t get me wrong, she sounded as good as I’d been led to believe and her show was a true performance but it was a little too self-indulgent for me, particularly when you have a guy in top hat and tails introduce you.

With a weekend of so many highs coming home and working the next day brought me down to earth with a bump. Maybe it’s time to start thinking about booking the hotel for next year’s Sonar.