- Sonar by Night: Friday, June 16th
If the difficulty of collecting tickets was the gauge of the greatness of a festival, Sonar was destined for immortality: we were handballed from FNAC stores to Barcelona information posts to FNAC stores again, ad infinitum. Despite the disorganised chaos that is Catalonia, we finally got to the ‘correct’ prepaid ticket collection point alongside the sweaty and confused masses. The Museum of Contemporary Art that stands on Carrer dels Angels has an inscription translated into four languages: “Many coloured objects placed side by side to form a row of many coloured objects.” After our two-hour wild goose chase, the nonsensical statement actually made some sense.
And so the party began. Sonar certainly talks the talk: the lineup of names spoke for itself. But were the names in lights really going to be enough? Was it going to be like a Spanish tapas, a tray of tantalising treats that merely whetted the appetite for a feast that never eventuates? My initial reaction to the lineup was that it was too good to be true, and when the timetable was released, my suspicions were confirmed: it was a case of too much quality, too much quantity and too little time. Having to choose between Laurent Garnier, Oneself and Tiga, or between DJ Krush and Nightmares on Wax is a decision that no music lover should ever have to make. Es la Vida.
We arrived at the bus stop to Sonar only to be greeted by a queue that could be seen from the moon. Hailing a taxi on the runway-sized street the Catalans like to call the Colon was a death-defying task – those of you who’ve been to Barcelona will understand – but finally after much negotiation and a hefty Sonar-premium on the cab fare, we arrived. Enter Sonar. Four aeroplane hangars housing speakers of equal size to the vehicles it once accommodated. The operation was epic and a promising forum for two pulsating nights of pleasure from the bass.
Gilles Peterson kicked off with Paul Desmond and some bouncing reggae before leading into some classic Latin jazz including a great flutey remix of the David Essex tune ‘Rock On.’ Unfortunately for MC Earl Zinger, the tunes were best served neat without his live vocals, but nonetheless, Gilles was funky and flawless, the only weakness being no fault of his own: his early time slot gave his warm beats a cold echo as they bounced off the walls of the huge hangar that was SonarPark. Thumbs up for Gilles though, he held up well given that his style is best heard in cosier environs.
DJ Krush had to contend with Nightmares on Wax playing the room next door, doing a live set no less. The crowd was unable to pass up the opportunity and Krush did not receive the crowd that his skills deserved. Nightmares on Wax played a great set, hits from their LP ‘In a Space Outta Sound’ receiving a great response. The jumping female vocals of Chyna B and Sara Garvey from the Iration Steppas Sound System lent a real reggae feel to the predominantly soul outfit. When George Evelyn took the mic, the town went crazy, having such fun that they were left heaving to catch their breath when the short yet vibrant set came to an end.
Unfortunately, the night went downhill from there. Expecting jazzy, techno sounds from technical genius Laurent Garnier, the restless crowd was greeted with the experimental craziness: intense, endless build-ups to the classics and painfully glitchy looped drum’n’bass. Bugge Wesseltoft’s eerie keyboards complimented the electro insanity of LG’s computer, but this music was better suited to a lounge room (or laboratory) and not being what the tech-head crowd wanted, the bubbly atmosphere turned into disappointment. Did Garnier’s experimental bent get the better of him? It was neither the time nor the place for arrogance but to his credit he did play the track everyone was there for, and played it well – ‘The Man with the Red Face’ was LG’s only saving grace of the evening, and accompanied by live sax and keyboard it put a smile on the dial and a kick in the step of punters.
If we thought the night had gotten bad, it worsened, especially for those who were brave enough to remain sober. Tiga played a set for the substances rather than the bodies that contained them, spinning uneventful cheesy build-ups that even gems like his own ‘Pleasure from the Bass’ could not overcome.
Expecting great things from DJ Shadow, I was extremely disappointed. He took the stage with Keak de Sneak, Turf Talk and Nump, aka the Hyphy Movement, or the Iffy Movement as I like to call them. I am all for experimentation but not when it is shit, and especially not when it consists of overused West Coast gangsta rap. Splitting the crowd up and getting them to scream “fuck you, I am hip-hop!” is just not cool. It was only when the MC left the stage that DJ Shadow flourished, his awesome mix of ‘Organ Donor’ made me recall why he is the master, however, in a moment it was back to the Hyphy Movement, a movement that all Shadow lovers, I suggest, should never see.
The night ended with a scramble back to the buses, a mass of the wired and the tired scurrying onto a handful of public automobiles under the morning sun. After a long wait and a lot of confusion, we were back on the Barcelona beach to catch some rays and some siesta before doing it all again that evening.
Sonar by Night: Saturday, June 17th
Relative to Friday, Saturday night could only get better, and it did. The majority of the evening consisted of live acts, all of whom I saw played to perfection. Goldfrapp were dynamic, sassy diva Alison Goldfrapp rocking the crowd with classics from ‘Supernature’. She exited the stage with a bang, with a crucifixion pose that said ‘Fuck You, I am God’, which, judging from the set, was fair play.
Next to take my fancy was Isolée in SonarPub, a crazy German who mesmerised the crowd. My jazzy-house predispositions of what to expect were thrown out the window as he pumped out some of the heaviest techno – electro sounds I could never have imagined – armed only with a laptop and other circuitry. Isolée was a complete assault on the senses.
Sticking with the Deutsche theme was live act Modeselektor, a duo I admit to not having heard much of before. Yet they were for me, by far, the highlight of the festival, whipping out electro dubstep and crunky beats that made the crowds’ ears work for their keep. The sheer ferocity of the bass and dark grime breakbeats bounced the crowd and resonated bowels like I had not seen nor felt before – these guys are solid testament to the quality of label B-Pitch Control. Recommended to anyone who likes it dark and dirty with a twist of dub.
Kudos must also be given to Digable Planets who came with their nickel bag of funk in the form of a live band: the bass, guitar and keyboard solos in ‘Rebirth of the Slick’ were perfection, whilst Lady Bug (aka Mary Ann Vieira, aka she who makes rapping sexy) was, as expected, absolutely tops. The following act Ugly Duckling also gave a fantastic performance. Consecutive tracks ‘Little Samba’, ‘Did it Like This’ and the infamous ‘Turn it Up!’ made for a great set, crowd-pleasing in a way that we have grown to expect and love.
Richie Hawtin vs. Ricardo Villalobos were perfect choices to end the festival: their set was fantastic, not a flaw. Having seen Hawtin DJ before I was intrigued to see what he would do teamed up with Ricardo: the result was hard and heavy but ever so classy. Ricardo’s speed and grace on the computer and mixer were inspirational – listening to what is arguably the best techno on offer whilst the Spanish sun rises is an experience that punters are not likely to forget.
To top off what was an amazing night and on the whole, an amazing festival, we exited the complex to be hounded by the camping hawkers selling overpriced chorizo hotdogs and underpriced hard liquor. As we walked towards the bus in the blistering morning sun, we heard the end of Richie and Ricardo’s set, the glitch and the electronic bongo beats echoing off the giant walls of the neighbouring BP station. Bouncing sounds. Sonar talked the talk, and it almost walked the walk, however I suggest next time they follow the “less is more” approach. There is simply too much on offer. Tapas dishes are delicious but sometimes you want to eat a single meal.
MORE SONAR 2006 COVERAGE
-Whew. Two weeks later we’re fully recovered. RA takes a look back at the madness that was Sonar festival in Barcelona...MORE ››
- Cheapskate Jeremy Armitage coughs up for Sonar by Night on Saturday where he ponders video screens, live electronics and flamenco while simultaneously trying to boogie... MORE ››
- Man of steel Josh Meggitt braves the whole festival, save for an afternoon or two in bed, and wolfs down a musical smorgasbord of balmy sunshine, techno zombies and perhaps one too many Spanish beers... MORE ››