Sonar 2009

The only downturn going on in Barcelona from June 17th - 21st this year was a void of early risers missing out on hotel breakfasts. Perhaps that was an isolated experience for myself and my traveling companion but, what was prevalent at Sonar festival this year was that not only were the huge number of attendees, 3 day passes and Saturday Day sold out, but the curiosity and hunger of those in attendance. Over the past few years of this festival, an occasionally disjointed roster has often attracted a more laid back, diverse and interesting crowd to Sonar by Day. Sonar Night though, seemed to lure a louder, beer swilling and toxic mix that were more intent on hunting down the most repetitive, recognizable or 'banging' beats on showcase that particular evening way out In Fira 2, Hospitalet. Sonar 2009 however, was quite contrary.

A festival that many see has one of the most influential brands in electronic music today. The organizers have been steadily building strong relationships with other global electronic music channels such as the always compelling Red Bull Music Academy and, fast becoming a leader in the breaking of new underground music worldwide, club and BBC radio DJ Mary Anne Hobbs. Indeed the latter connection with BBC has even grown to include another stage during Sonar Day featuring BBC radio DJ Huw Stephens and several introduced acts. Alongside these newly established partners, stalwarts of electronic music and Sonar veterans (Hawtin, Mills, Garnier and Carl Craig), fresh beatmaking talent and many bands convened to make this one of the most fluent and well blended Sonar's I have witnessed. For such a large festival and with a global reputation, the music selection and event organization is always going to be a tight rope of opinions and critique. For really to the point up to date line-ups it would be much easier and self-satisfying for electronic music enthusiasts to check out smaller and younger festivals such as Italy's Dissonanze, Norway's NuMusic and even the only comparable North American counterpart Mutek, held in Montreal. However, what Sonar holds over these other festivals is a consistent mix between new and old, underground, uncovered and well-known acts. A healthy move toward a more band friendly festival was also a real feather in the hat for Sonar this year. Having been trumped, in many critics opinions, by fellow Barcelonian festival Primavera Sound in terms of quality and depth of the line-up and perceived 'coolness' of the crowd this year spelled out a strong comeback for a date that crosses all electronic music enthusiasts minds come mid June every year.

In terms of the actual festival, a mixture of classic acts making comebacks (Grace Jones and Orbital), genre defying experimental acts (Animal Collective, Fever Ray, Crystal Castles) and a strong showing from what we now generally call the 'Beat Generation' was solidified by a plethora of off Sonar events. Strangely these off events seemed to actually compliment the core festival as opposed to detract from it. Pick of the bunch probably being Flying Lotus's Brainfeeder night taking on local Barcelona night Plat Du Jour (ran by the former organizers of Friends and Family). Our very own DO IT! collective also had a night on that you can read about below.

Sonar highlights were witnessing a room fill to the bassy wobbles and wibbles of the ever charming Vienna based Dorian Concept and courtesy of his Korg machines, keyboards and at one stage shoe. You can watch some highlights here. Fever Ray had a very stylish yet brief set taking influence from the Gothic and Futurist fashions du jour at the moment. Glasgow's Rustie put in a very strong performance mixing wonky, r'n'b and rave inspired breaks to a rather limp crowd, showing he has a lot more than just exciting production in the armoury. But, festival highlight was undoubtedly the performance that was but never was. Crystal Castles and Alice Glass in particular normally pack a punch or two musically wherever they perform but, after numerous sound problems I don't think anyone expected Glass to layout a security guard with a fist after failing on first attempt with the biggest drum on stage. Check here for THE highlight of Sonar this year. Thanks to Delia Dumitrescu for the photos, who I met mid Dorian Concept. You can check out her latest blog entries and photos via her site here.

Photo: Muhsinah (USA) live during Sonar Day by Delia Larisa Dumitrescu.

DO IT!!! Barcaloca

A big thanks to all the good people who made it down to an intimate and perfect Sonar aperitivo DO IT! night at Marula Cafe in Barcelona. Numbers hit around the 100 mark and those in attendance managed to catch a great variety of DJ sets. From Sunday Joints Roger C's eclectism of afro bass and other various treats, some rare latin and salsa cuts from the man Timber through to some fantastic wu womping funky and fresh beats outta New Zealand via Brazil courtesy of Bobby Brazuka. A special shout of appreciation to Marula's Antonio and Nuggets Club's Mighty C-Zar who got us through the first DO IT! in Spain. We're scheduled to travel to and play in Helsinki and Bergen next on a Nordic swoop and in the company of Glasgow's Brian De Souza so look out!

Poster: by Alexander Horne (me!).

Scratch It!

Having provided a platform for collaboration between Finnish VJs the Vixen VJs and myself, DJ Uraki Riddim, for the first Transplant Session we decided to go for a similar music and visual combination for Session # 2. Instead of a typical VJ and DJ set-up however, we took influence from an era of hip-hop that produced movements of not only music but dance, art and fashion. Our second session explored the history of the 'Scratch' and intended to reinterpret it's raw essence in a new format. Scratching in a musical sense, is the expression and manipulation of records to make new sounds and rhythms. It is an aspect of turntabilsm, performance DJing, and one of hip-hop's art forms. Other hip-hop art forms include break dancing, street art and MCing. Regular jam sessions brought these four art forms together and it is in this spirit that designer, artist and my work colleague Jan Brauer and I came together to create the 'Scratch' themed night that included an exclusive showing of Doug Pray's excellent documentary film 'Scratch' and first public showcase of Jan Brauer utilizing his scratch board technique live while I spun some classic and new hip-hop, electronica and dub beats.

Hailing originally from near Leipzig and following a working period in New York, Brauer moved to Dale I Sunnfjord on the west coast of Norway to work with Ralston&Bau design studio and Trasnplant's innovation and design center. For the duration of his stay he has attentively developed a unique scratch board technique to further communicate his deep, twisted and occasionally wicked humorous illustrative style. You can check out some images of the stunning final scratch board piece from this night and some of his other work's here. Brauer is also part of a mobile, playful and provocative graphic collective named Gono Gono and you can check out some of their works here.
Photo: Jan Brauer at work during Transplant Sessions #2 by Leon Vaarheim.

FIXed

I was in Bergen a few weeks ago for The Fix party at USF Verftet, created by the people behind Ekkofest as part of Bergenfest. It was a strong line-up (featuring acts like Flying Lotus and Gang Gang Dance) for such a compact event and I was impressed enough by the party to write an article for Resident Advisor magazine.

Bergen is quite a small sized city compared to similar central European destinations but, it makes up for this with a core of cultural and nightlife activity from the heart of the city. While the venue for The Fix was a little away from the center, toward the end of the port, the walk was only about 15 minutes long from the main buss station. The actual venue, USF Verftet, is a former Sardine factory and provided an interesting array of cavernous passageways to mostly low ceiling rooms. Other places worth checking out in Bergen include Cafe Opera where you can enjoy a coffee while people watching during the day and get down to some of the cities finest djs every Friday and Saturday. I'll be back to Bergen soon, where I hope to find out a lot more about the city, it's people and it's artsy goings on. Until then I'd recommend booking a trip for September's Ekkofest which, promises to bring an exciting batch of electronic acts to a charming, cute and compact city.
Photo: Gang Gang Dance at The Fix by Asle.

The Fix - Resident Advisor article

I just got an article about The Fix party in Bergen published on Resident Advisor. You can read the review and leave any comments here. Resident Advisor have a couple of interesting parties coming up during Sonar week (June 18th - 21st) in Barcelona including acts like micro house pioneer Akufen alongside recent RA podcast contributers Thomas Brinkmann and Jus-Ed. The first part of the party is an invite only pool party but, things will heat up and open up regarding the door policy in the evening when RA takeover the newly refurbished Boulevard Culture Club, formerly Fellini. As well as some great parties it will be a great week for new music from the past year and an exciting look into the future so expect some exotic photos of long nights, short days and words about what went down pronto.

Today

"Everything is fluid. Styles change, materials change but, people don't"
Paula Scher, designer and Pentagram director

Nordic Visions

Earlier this month I had the pleasure of sharing a stage with Finland's Vixen vjs as part of a new venture in Norway by the name of Transplant Sessions. I spun records as part of the DO IT! collective, under my dj guise Uraki Riddim, and organized the event at Transplant's innovation and design center in Dale I Sunnfjord on the West coast of Norway. Transplant Sessions is a platform for electronic music and visual talent from Nordic countries to showcase themselves through live performance and documentation of their work online. Transplant Sessions' first guest, Badass Bambi from Vixen vjs, represented Finland and on the night provided a beautiful, colourful and abstract re-interpretation of the Transplant venue's idyllic surrounding landscape.

Vixen vjs are originally from Tampere, said to be Finland's equivalent to Manchester, where they have been performing with the local Plauge dj collective at their Off The Hook club night and their very own Pikku Sisko Disko parties (little Sister disco). Vixens are two female vjs, Pony Revenger and Badass Bambi aka Video-Jukka-Paula aka artist Paula Lehtonen. Their attitude and style is unique but, also representative of a significant number of smaller DIY club nights and parties sprouting up throughout the world. It was a pleasure working with the Vixens and it is certain that DO IT! and Vixen vjs will be colloborating again at some point later this year when their busy schedule allows. Before Vixens bring their visual venom to Scottish shores, or wherever else a future colaboration takes form, check out Paula Lehtonen's own personal artistic output on her website here.

....

The softened reflections that come from loss with a sensation of hollow numbness. Your good will and warm nature was infectious at every event, gathering or get together we had. The memories were golden. May you rest in the peace.