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Sonar readings >>
A report from Barcelona’s
With about 80 live acts and an equal amount of DJ sets spread out over three days, the annual electronic music festival Sonar made a beehive out of sun-soaked Barcelona, Spain, taking place in two different parts of town. “Sonar by Day” saw six different venues where DJs, live acts, film snippets, a record fair and a showcase of avant-garde art ran from noon till 10 at night. Off in a more industrial sector were the “Sonar by Night” shows, at three large venues blasting techno, house and a fusion of rock, hip hop and experimental electronics. Day
1 saw the Ninja Tune showcase, at which the Cinematic Orchestra delivered
a total jazzy set with horns, upright bass and a vocalist. Day 2 was about the Tigerbeat6 showcase, Yo La Tengo, Luomo and a DJ set from Ladytron’s Reuben & Mira. Spinning a nostalgic set of ’80s new wave tracks and current synth-pop, they had the late-afternoon crowd dancing under a blazing sun. An obvious revival of the still-unbecoming mullet was also present. Later that evening, ex-Torontonian Peaches had her usual slutty raunchiness tamed by Pan Sonic’s distorted electronics. No strip-down-to-the-underwear shenanigans this time around, just a peak at her pink panties. For the encore, they were sporting paper face-masks and playing a little football (sorry, soccer) on stage. Lamb took the stage at 3 a.m., with singer Louise Rhodes looking like some kind of fairy minus the wand, belting out lovelorn tunes from each of their three albums. The crowd was in a frenzy when their hit “Gorecki” played. On the last day, a performance by U.K.’s Coloma was perfect for lounging out on the fake grass and listening to abstract noises combined with melancholic electronics. Singer Rob Taylor’s vocals were a hybrid mix of Depeche Mode’s Dave Gahan and Jay-Jay Johansson. Goem had a sound focused on heavy droning basslines with wonky, alien electronic distortions, as though preparing for some kind of spaceship to land. No such luck, it was a regular airplane that brought us home. : |
Meanwhile,
a flashback from the ’80s was American outfit Tuxedomoon, with
their blend of futurism and romanticism, electronic and acoustic. No
doubt a disappointment to those who yelled out “electro, merde,”
expecting to hear the same tracks that were featured on International
Deejay Gigolos compilations. That night, Japanese hip-hopper DJ Krush
delivered a set of mellow, hypnotic grooves, with quirky visuals ranging
from a smiling Buddha to a guy lying out on a pool deck with his morning
wood. With gear set up all the way at the back of the stage, the 5,000-plus-capacity
venue lacked intimacy.