Primavera Sound 09'

This weekend was spent in the awesome sun of Barcelona, where i was buggin' out at the Primavera Sound festival. Having gone for the full three day ticket I saw a variety of acts i 'should' have heard, but havent, which made it all the better.

The festival itself was hosted around a sea-side location of Barca, which is usually used for similar events; art installations, gigs and various other functions, and the heavily concreted area added a really 'urban' feel to the festival. The main stages included Rockdelux; a stage which was set in an amphitheatre, the larger Estrella sponsored main stage, a more confined 'ATP' stage and various smaller unplugged tents. These stages gave a good mix of atmosphere and sound for varying acts, from bigger dance acts through to smaller Spanish bands and singer/songwriters.

Some highlights from the festival had to be (in no particular order):

Feadz - The Ed Banger boy who played on the Pitchfork stage on Friday. The set was upbeat, jittery electro, which raised my spirits. He also shared the set with a Scandinavian looking guy called Jackson. Enlighten me to who he is anyone??..... I'm sure im being stupid..

However, the set, which was a light relief to a long days worth of bands, got people moving.

Feadz - B Run That / alt

Bloc Party - Played an earlier set on the Friday over at the Estrella stage and played a pretty strong set of mainly Silent Alarm tracks, with a few newies in there to mix things up.

Although the set was somewhat on the safe side (ie: everyone recognised all the songs), the crowd seemed to relish the energetic indie numbers. Kele seemed comfortable on the big stage and picked up the pace of listeners with his jumpy guitar riffs.

Bloc Party - Ares (Villains Remix) /alt

Aphex Twin - Although the king of 'IDM' looked a little lonely at the center of the Rockdelux stage, he filled the amphitheatre's space with deep, weird and bleepy sounds, mixing technoey stuff with pulsing bass and other indescribable sounds. The backdrop to his set was colourful and mesmerising visuals which looped and juddered around his DJing station and across the stage.

Probably a bit off the wall for a casual listener, but without a doubt he played a curiousity inducing, varied and atmospheric electronic set.

Aphex Twin - Windowlicker / alt


A-Trak - Probably my favourite DJ set of the festival and getting the Pitchfork stage slot just before his hombre DJ Mehdi, A-trak worked us up with wobbly, grimey tracks and juggled beats from the likes of Herve, Laidback Luke, Daft Punk and Boys Noize.

The canadian turntablist mixed a electro heavy, distorted set in his usual calm and collected way, with classics like the classic 'Robot Rock' beat-juggled to maximum effect. He also threw in a few bass heavy numbers like Jack Beats 'Drop the Pressure' remix, which was unexpected, but awesome none-the-less. Ravers got a little bit confused through some of the beat juggling bits, but he quickly got people back onto his side with some slick mix outs and big crowd friendly drops.

A-Trak & Laidback Luke - Shake it Down / alt


Gang Gang Dance - An entirely new discovery for me, who i liked from the off. The singer, who had a hint of Bjork about her played drums, alongside a healthy layer of electronic keyboard and guitar jabs to compliment her floaty, echoey vocals.

Was slightly concerned at the mystery guy who sat on the stage pretty much in front of the guitar player throughout the performance through - it was pretty distracting. Other than that, a really great set.

Gang Gang Dance - First Communion (TV on the Radio Remix) / alt

To some up the Primavera Sound festival, it would be - awesome weather, a good variety of music, muchos cervezas and oh yeah... getting to see Neil Young's mullet. Happy days.