Radiohead, Tame Impala, Arcade Fire and Suede are just some of the big names confirmed. Read more here: Primavera Sound 2014
barcelona
El problema de la música i València
Sempre he sigut conscient que no havia nascut a un lloc on els artistes internacionals venien. En vaig ser conscient per primera volta quan era ben menuda, i les Spice Girls van fer un tour que anà a Madrid, però no a València, i a partir d’aleshores ha sigut decepció rere decepció. (Els Backstreet Boys sí que vingueren a València, però jo sempre he sigut de les Spice). València és una ciutat anèmica quant a cultura musical, cosa estranya per a una ciutat amb un festival de bandes i una tradició popular molt forta de cercaviles i agrupacions musicals als barris. Però sembla que hi haja una … [Read more...]
Sonar
22º Festival Internacional de Música Avanzada y New Media Art de Barcelona - oh yah! Last year: Massive Attack, Caribou, Rudimental and a whole host of people you have never heard of before. Plus art. And hipsters.
Fuck being your playground
A couple of weeks ago, a short news item caught my attention. A Benidorm-bound British stag do was expelled from a Ryanair flight Manchester-Alacant after the stag do members, British nationals of course, made one of the flight attendants cry. The stag do’s version: "We had a bite to eat and a beer and got on the plane. No one was drunk, we weren’t wearing stag t-shirts or being loud or offensive. We took our seats and were talking in groups as you do". Translation: "We were drunk as fuck at 5pm on a Thursday afternoon, got on a flight, bellowed across the aisles and threw around some … [Read more...]
El azúcar de destrucción masiva
Si hace unos días nos hacíamos eco del delirante caso de la joven estadounidense que se enfrenta a una pena de prisión por grabar un vídeo erótico, hoy os traemos otra historia similar aunque más demencial si cabe; también más preocupante porque nos toca mucho más de cerca. La Fiscalía de Barcelona pide cuatro años y medio de cárcel para Toni y Eric, dos jóvenes que en abril de 2013 fueron sorprendidos por los Mossos d'Esquadra llevando un botecito que contenía 2,56 gramos de una mezcla formada por dos partes de azúcar y una de clorato de sodio. Están acusados de posesión de ''material … [Read more...]
The bizarre world of Spanish squats
It's 5am and you're sat on a wooden box painted to look like a coffin in the middle of a muddy garden drinking a can of Carrefour beer. To your left there's a group of people clapping and singing flamenco; to your right, a gaggle of punks huddled around a threadbare sofa. This was the scenario we found ourselves in last weekend after we unwittingly stumbled upon L'Eskombrera - a CSO (Centro social ocupado, or squat house) in the vegetable fields around Benimaclet, Valencia. The huge building, which was probably once used as an alquería or farm house, lies at the end of a dark, narrow road … [Read more...]
El dret a Gaudí(r)
Park Güell, Gaudí's fairytale playground, pays as much homage to modernist art and architecture as it does to Catalan identity. But nowadays it all comes at a price... Built between 1900 and 1914 and inaugurated as a public park in 1926, the quirky wonderland has, for nearly a century now, been lending itself to those searching for a bit of peace and quiet amidst Barcelona's intense mix of city centre high rises and traffic jams. What was once a tranquil haven set aside from the hustle and bustle of the Catalonian capital, Park Güell is now surrounded by fences, guards, workers and … [Read more...]
Primavera Sound 2014: a memoir
I've always been vaguely aware of Primavera Sound's pretentious reputation, a bit -dare I say it- hipster? Come on. Stereotype with me. You've got Download: metal heads in a field, FIB Benicàssim: guiris camping on the surface of the sun, T in the Park: Scots on mandy jibbing at other Scots on coke, Primavera Sound: a big ball of bohemian yah. So I can't really complain... I knew what I getting myself into. But when a group of Glaswegians invited me on a lairy weekend in, possibly, one of my favourite cities on the planet, how could I refuse? I hastily packed all the denim I could … [Read more...]
Primavera Sound 2014 line-up announcement
Last night the kids over at Primavera Sound revealed the line-up to their coveted indie music festival via the ambiguously-named video, Line-Up. The short, which screened simultaneously in various hipster-packed cinemas last night across Spain, managed to reveal the whole line-up of the Barcelona-based fest in a space of 26 minutes. Check it out for yourself below. Despite being initially saturated by Moaning Man and Nasally Voiced Man's exchange in the record shop, the bands and artists are discreetly revealed not only by backing tracks, but also focus shifts and over the shoulder shots. … [Read more...]
