- Nuits Sonores co-founder and Lyon native Agoria told me that every year at least one person asks him, "Why don't you just move to Paris?" He never will. In his own words, it's Lyon that keeps him "motivated and militant to create things." I knew almost nothing about France's second city before the festival, but was curious how this mid-sized inland metropolis avoided playing a Jan Brady role to the aching chic of Paris and the seaside distractions of Marseilles.
Nuits Sonores' success seems to lie in wholly integrating itself into the city of Lyon. Even if you just stuck to the free events, the expansive program took you from terraced hillside parks in the old quarter, through the ornate hallways of civic buildings, to sound systems stationed in medieval cul-de-sacs and on bourgie street corners. If you were willing to shell out, which was a new feature of some events this year, the retro-futuristic 1960s swimming pool Piscine du Rhone and the desolate Marche Gare night venue provided clever juxtapositions of mid-century design and cutting-edge light and sound installation.
The festival's opening day looked to be completely blighted by unseasonal rain, wind and average 13C temperatures, exacerbated by my hysterically inappropriate summer attire and lost luggage. Thankfully, the festival's opening event was like a warm embrace. Mini Sonores was teeth-achingly cute, with Laurent Garnier DJing for the kindergarten set in the courtyard of the grand City Hall. And how does Laurent Garnier win over the four-to-tens? In much the same way that he does adults: with melodic, anthemic techno and lots of dirty electro synths. Bundled up in scarves, children bounced up and down on the spot, clambered onto the DJ booth and danced in that flailing kid way to Art Department's "Without You." Whether it was a genuine response of the kids or initiated by their trendy parents, the biggest response was reserved for Garnier's own "The Man with the Red Face," the wailing horns of which prompted a sea of tiny hands in the air, and extra frenzied scrambles for the free trays of sweets and cookies.
Photo credit: Sophia Spring
More grown-up action went down later at Marche Gare, a bare industrial space about ten minutes out of town that houses two huge halls and two open stages. At the entrance stood a towering criss-crossed aluminium structure called The Grid, that hummed, buzzed and illuminated with endless configurations of lights, and all who passed by or through it were visibly awed by its otherworldly presence. The dreadful weather didn't deter what turned out to be the busiest night attendance of the festival, and in Scene 1, DJ Shadow was a mad scientist type, standing inside a white sphere and burning through older tracks like Bad Company's remix of "Six Days." The Sonics then worked their way through a set of '60s surf rock to an appreciative crowd at Scene 2, and those dancing in the frigid mud were kept warm by blasting tunes by Lorn at the Red Bull stage. Kyle Hall in Scene 3 was a highlight, with the pink LED batons suspended from the ceiling adding a hedonistic tone to the smog and fog of the room, while he powered through a gruff set of techno and acid.
Thursday's Circuit Electronique program was mercifully greeted by appropriate weather, and at Piscine Du Rhone, the Sound Pellegrino Thermal Term were toasty and edit-heavy, with everything from Rod Lee's "Let Me See What You Workin' With" to Stardust and Harry Belafonte getting airtime. The "circuit" part of the day felt the most rewarding, with visits to the aforementioned sound systems, a sampling of artists from the festival's 2011 sister city, Tokyo, and a showcase of bombastic electronic music and monochrome visuals from local artist Mondkopf at the Musee d'Art Contemporain.
Photo credit: Sophia Spring
Friday's warmth drew revelers out to the excellent Soul Passage street party in the slopes of the La Croix-Rousse district. Despite the squishy confines of the back alley location, the tiny entrance to the square provided an awesome aspect, as hundreds of young attractive types shimmied to bossa and afrobeat in the small courtyard and upwards on a large stone staircase. The Piscine was also in its element that afternoon, Dennis Ferrer framed by the sun and playing summery soulful house in what could have hardly been a more fitting setting.
At Marche Gare that night, the crowd swelled for the run of producer-turned-bandleaders in Scene 1. Nicolas Jaar and band mates stood in a square formation onstage, facing inwards, their intercommunication and bristling phrases of improvisation translating surprisingly well to the crowd who shrieked with recognition at the start of each track. A white-suited Matthew Dear continued his David Byrne 2.0 transformation, with snake-hipped dancing, tambourine flourishes and a commanding voice. Caribou also channeled the past, with all his band members decked out in white t-shirts and chinos, and bunched together in the centre of the stage. Add a little sand underfoot, and their heady harmonies, shimmering kaleidoscope melodies, and endearing stage presence would have resembled The Beach Boys more than electronic music's great hope.
Photo credit: Sophia Spring
A last minute reshuffle in Scene 3 revealed the hometown advantage shared by the pin-up trio of Brodinski, Busy P and DJ Mehdi, as they hyped up a rowdy crowd with cheesy hip-hop and handed shots of vodka to girls in front of the stage. They left behind an excess of energy that Ben UFO was unable to capitalise on, crippled by both the too-long intro of Blawan's "Getting Me Down" and by a mix into Roy Davis' "Watch Them Come" which sadly train wrecked itself into a floor-clearer.
Saturday roasted, and crowds gathered under trees and umbrellas, or casually swayed on the dance floor at the foot of a terraced park in the ancient Quartier Saint Georges. Marseilles duo Le Bestiaire Mineur gave a compelling performance full of sleek tech house and live operatic vocals, before a furious electrical storm put an end to proceedings. The final night of Marche Gare programming was probably the most playful, but also the most successful. A watertight run from Mount Kimbie, Shackleton, Joy Orbison segued harmoniously into the crowd pleasing tunes of M.A.N.D.Y. Tortoise's two-drummer post-rock noodling was reflected in the synchronised tub-thumping behind French electro-punk duo The Shoes. Then there was Cadenza take over of Scene 1, which saw the gargantuan space fill to its back wall with warm bodies and an even warmer carnival-esque atmosphere.
It seems like you can bank on certain things about Nuits Sonores each year, such as a special appearance by Laurent Garnier, a logjam set by Agoria (despite his protests that one year he wants to attend just as a punter), various showcases of Lyon musicians and a friendly, polite majority French-speaking crowd. But consistent with their commitment to keeping things interesting every year, 2012 will reportedly abandon Marche Gare in search of more crafty combinations of heritage and modern urban spaces. Although there was no single show-stopping act this year, a quality combination of performance and place ensures the ongoing relevance and influence of Nuits Sonores.