I suppose the simplest way to do this would be in the form of highlights, low lights and maybe some advice. I don't see the need to pour out words all over the shop.
The one thing with Sonar is the fact that things you want to see come at once, for this see Friday night, where I witnessed some moments of greatness and some falls from greatness. The highlight of the evening for me had to be Radio 1's Dubstep offering, I missed out Oris Jay, for the most part, but Skream, Kode 9 and Mary Anne Hobbs all delivered sets that kept me on my feet all night and made any other form of dancing virtually impossible later on. For my part it was a sadly rare moment for me to feel my body rattle to dubstep, and definitely the most euphoric experience for myself at Sonar, Kode 9 and the Spaceape definitely stole the show for me. I'm starting to discover that Spaceape's lyrics are quite soothing, the repetition becomes entrapped in your mind and so helps position you in a sea of monstrous beats.
With all that going on at Sonar Lab, I had to give Modeselektor DJ-Team a miss. Justifying it with the fact that I caught them at the Tyne last summer, and well I thought along with the dubstep dons DJ Mehdi would be worth investing in, to be honest Mehdi did play a great set, Good Life will always put a smile on my face, and should have brought a t-shirt off my companion had he managed to navigate his way to Mehdi in time, from the Beastie Boys.
Yes, Dizzie Rascal was a bit disappointing, I'm not sure what it was. I could point out that the sound was a little muddy, and a lot of the productions subtleties got lost in the stampede of sound waves. The energy was there, and there were moments of glory namely Fix Up, Look Sharp, Jus' A Rascal, and I Luv U. Sirens even did the trick, despite the sound system failing to do the job needed. The last point with Dizzie Rascal is who told him to collaborate with Shy Fx, who, of all the drum and bass producers in the world...it just didn't work, and sounded older than the anthems from the Boy In Da Corner.
I then attempted to dance to Timo Maas, that officially is a blur caused by tiredness and my frustration at my inability to dance to 4/4. Which must have looked pretty similar to a fair few confused heads in Sonar Lab for Benji B and Spacek, broken beat just didn't seem to fit the mood sadly...maybe it's one for Sonar by Day.
Sonar by Day is an odd affair, it can pass by quite quickly if you're not careful, and for those still recovering from the night before I'm sure they wish it passed by just like that. This year it seemed like there was less on then back in 2005, maybe my memory deceives me. The Thursday was spent to lazing in Sonar Village, for those who have only seen the pictures its that sunbathers paradise on astroturf, also home to some great live moments. The Thursday however went by in a blur, James Holdens ambient electronica DJ set always seemed like it would pick up and kick the evening off, but just seemed to float back down just as the bass threatened to pick up feet. While Accidental records presentation went by quickly with little of interest to my ear, all three had something about them that might have worked elsewhere but on the main stage of sonar by day they seemed to struggle.
Struggling didn't seem to be a word needed for the Friday, once the crowd had settled themselves in. The vibe was made by the Barna Basstars: Fatkut and DJ Code, who played out a set of hip hop, with a soulful edge that got the crowd and myself energised. A J Dilla production and Barcelona sun seem almost perfect together and the ideal way to start the day.
A leap and bound away, down at Sonar Dome, Nettle produced a set of beauty that to be honest I'm glad they're doing, and one that makes me long for a new album. DJ /Rupture and co, are producing some of the best beat laden music around at the moment, so ok it's more home listening but it's still invigorating. A fact that the audience could certainly testify. This along with Kode 9 made my Sonar.
A whole different scenario awaited me back at the village with Nicole Willis and the Soul Investigators, where the party was in full swing. A nicely accomplished set of funk and soul, that it is almost impossible not to at least bop your heard to, let alone sway about in the sunshine too.
The Saturday was a warning, we made it down just in time for C2C, a bit fatigued from the evening before, however any weariness was soon shook out of our systems by four french turntabalists who know what they're doing. A set that combined party tunes, and tricks is rare and to be honest I've seen some great turntabalists turn out sets only half as a good as these guys, all because they just couldn't find a balance and couldn't engage an audience, C2C can and I will check them out again and again if they perform like that.
The last daytime DJ we decided to check out was Miles, from Modern Love, who produced a set of minimal beats with a Detroit edge that to be honest was far more enjoyable than I was expecting, and was up there as my unexpected gem of the festival. I often forget that I enjoy techno, and so skip that section of the line up, it could all come down to the fact that it's not what goes into my sets or shows so therefore I often forget to go and check it out.
Though we did accidentally stumble in on Aloe Blacc of Stones Throw fame letting the good vibes roll out through the Red Bull Academy Lounge. If I'm going to be honest this was one of the best party atmospheres of the festival, with a crowd really enjoying themselves and letting it all out.
Checking it out should have been the plan on Saturday night, sadly a bit of fatigue and losing track of time when food consumption was concerned led us to miss large chunks of Saturday nights line up, that and the fact that frankly I wasn't that interested to be frank. Christian Vogel I was disappointed to miss, he's always been on my list of DJ's I would go to see for sure, just out of curiosity. We did however make it for Mogwai, who I have to say weren't as lost at Sonar, as to many their inclusion sounded. Also caused the debate to be raised Sigur Ros, Mogwai or Godspeed You Black Emperor...Mogwai get my vote, oh I forgot Silver Mount Zion. So yes Mogwai, epic, splendid and just what the doctor ordered. Though curiosity nearly led this cat to run out and see Matthew Dear's Big Hands which sounded like an interesting occurrence, I'll await reviews to tell me if I made the right decision sticking with the Scots.
This was then followed by what I had tried to forget had occurred, Rhazel and DJ J S-One, who booked them, I'm sure on paper they must be a good bet, but dear lord that was a debacle and a half, there's only so many times you can partially beat box someone elses tunes, and again there is only so many times that you can hand out red roses while beat boxing utter crud for the ladies. It's simple to say that the only enjoyment we got was to laugh painfully at the clowns on stage (Just in case you're wondering, there were no clowns just Rhazel and DJ J S-One), I'm not even sure they could do a freshers week set.
It said something for Rhazel that Mala Rodriguez was ten times more enjoyable, the beats aren't the best, but they do the job and despite spending the whole set lost in the langauge gap, I have to say it was a good experience, even if it was a little odd. Legs were giving in at this stage, and with taxi at 8 in the morning, we retired to the apartment. Missing out Altern8, Radio Slave, Jeff Mills and Dave Clarke. Next year anyone?
A few tips for Sonar next year, this is not just a note to self.
1, Find your accommodation on a map, it has to be off Las Ramblas, about a mile each way should suffice, any further and you end up missing too much.
2, You should have two meals only on the Friday and Saturday, medics can tell me off for this, but you only have time for two proper meals a brunch and an evening dinner if you wish to see it all. Otherwise bring a packed lunch. Ham, cheese and baguettes are cheap. The carrefour on Las Ramblas is a good provision stop.
3, Make sure you keep yourself hydrated, water is 1.50 and beer 3 euros on the day, so stock up on fluids before you go on the site, though you can't bring it in with you. Hence me leaving two litres of San Miguel at the gates, arse biscuits.
4, Wear your flip flops in, but also don't dance in them, avoid blisters at all costs.
5, Cook your evening meals on the nights of the festival, as restaurants don't give you enough time to get ready and to the night bus on time. Also when cooking pasta on an electric hob, keep an eye on it, cleaning hobs is a waste of your time.
Just to Lukid's Onandon is a very nice slab of hip hop, ideal home listening, review typing stuff, detailed and foot tapping, head noddingly good.
The pics are on there way.
