Friday started with a boom big time as walking up to it could feel the bass – that be foreign beggars on and they certainly showed how in Barcelona they’re not afraid to play at a loud volume – especially in a residential area. Contact with with d&b reworking sure did show off the kick of their system. And I think they said they have a whole album with noisia soon. That was outside – in the sun – easy to find man with backpack on which dispenses beer. Wandered in to a conference like place turned into two floors of parties. Was mightly impressed by Elektro Guzzi especially when saw they’re a live band making great techno.
Ventured to the sun again to see Jamie Liddel – he’s given up the band and gone back to looping with fx on voice etc. Is good and he has a fantastic soulful voice but I feel beardyman’s stolen his thunder, especially when Liddel has a guy onstage with him for tweeking stuff (which infact he always did have at first too). I just felt like he couldn’t make up his mind which scene he was in, soul or loopers?
After him modeselektor were djing and they showed they really know what their doing. It’s not normally mind kinda tunes but when it’s done right it is amazing. They sure do have the ability to make my mind feel like it’s putty in their hands.
Wandered back in to check out Sherwood and Pinch and yazooks do they know bass, devastating mind annihilating bass. He’s Dub, Sherwood, always has been and this was true to dub roots, so much more than dubstep offers that’s for sure. I’ve not heard frequencies like that since the mad professor soundsystem blew my eardrums in some tiny basement. And that includes tipper and bassnectar – true they are bass gods but this was another dimension of sound.
In the excitement and being too impatience to wait for a bus I made a newbee error of thinking you could walk to the night venue. And you can – is nice to walk at 10pm with a tee-shirt on but it is a bit far and when legs have already worked it some could be seen as a bit much.
The by night place is immense on a scale tricky to comprehend. They have 4 arenas, two indoors and two out but all feel the same in the heat. Apparently its Europe’s second largest exhibition space and as you can park a fleet of aircraft in this one the mind boggles at how big the largest is. For tired feet I was glad to take a seat at the back and watch Kraftwerk who I enjoyed very much (I’d not realised how many I knew / have been sampled). Again the sound system was great, I might have been at the back but could hear fine and they have hung speakers at regular intervals across the immense main hall.
Wandered off to hear Nicolas Jaar and Oneman, all good, before checking out Major Lazer who turned out to be playing a huge game of Simon says with the crowd (now take your shirt off and throw in the air etc.) Would have been nice to hear some tunes their known for rather than just a PA with him being MC but some of the crowd seemed to enjoy and lose their shirts. I did enjoy the dj before him – Baauer, did a better job with those bashment/trap beats if you ask me.
Saturday
Well Friday took it’s toll so it was a late start for Saturday and more take it easy attitude (plus had to get boat tickets from port in morning). Chilled out in the sun to some quant bands (Chromatics, Aluna George) and listened to Mary Anne Hobbs – good eclectic mix of tunes but like a radio show was more listening than dancing for me.
Ventured indoors to hear Darkstar who I remember from TripHop days of old. They were nice, on a mesmerising- swirly-hippy-tip which would have been ace at dawn in a forest but was out of sync for me just then.
And defiantly didn’t wanna make the mistake of last night with the other venue so headed out just before 10 to get metro to night venue and straight in so could grab noodles and margaritas before Jurassic 5, defiantly the one act I really wanted to see. And I think had they put them on in the day it would have been packed but second on in the night venue and most people seemed drawn to the dj’s (or pet shop boys) so unbelievably managed to get right down the front with no crush. That totally made for the best experience of the whole festival. They have such a positive uplifting energy, played all classics and with both nu-mark & cut chemist messing around too it was just great.
After calming down from that stuck around for 2manydj’s but really they were just playing a techno set and the journey had already been fantastic so left on a high knowing a long sleep would mean could make the most of exploring the rest of Barcelona for the next couple of days.
