Here at Loverboy, we are not the most religious folk, it’s true. But after bitching about the lack of artists performing in our chosen home of Barcelona throughout 2018, it seems the brujas may have just heard our chants, because hombre this year we have been blessed! Yes, we have been visited by the elusive chanteuse herself, our eternal reina, Mariah Carey; our new favourite queer singer/songwriter, LP, with whom we had the privilege of speaking and she may have already been around the world, but in December, 90s icon, Lisa Stansfield is stopping off in Barcelona no less. But these three are just a little pica pica, compared to the highlights of the summer, Primavera Sound and Sonar Barcelona.
It’s hard to discuss festivals in Barcelona and not compare Primavera Sound and Sonar, but we’re just going to say this – Primavera Sound was the foreplay. Sonar was the sex. Primavera brought us Solange, Erykah, Rosalia, Robyn….artists we knew we loved. But there were few surprises. Whiles Sonar kept us on our toes, taught us some new tricks and left us gagging for more.
Day One, I arrived to pick up my ticket at 9am and was allowed a sneak preview of Sonar by Day and when I say this, I do not just mean the incredible location of Fira de Barcelona but also getting the opportunity to watch some of the artists in soundcheck too. I got to see Lotic, Faka and Catnapp all take to the stage with a very select audience…me and the sound technician. To be real, I had not heard of any of them, but seeing Lotic werk her long-ass electric blue weave, in front of a huge wind machine, while wailing over some ethereal production was all I needed. Sold! Then I saw Faka, a South African LGBT duo, address queer rights through tracks from their Bottoms Revenge EP. Then Catnapp jumped onstage (and into the imaginary audience) to perform her own queer anthem, ‘Fight For A Fight.’ These kids were giving me my own private gay pride and I was loving every second.
Unable to stick around, I returned Friday for the full Sonar by Day experience. I walked in and Cascales was playing some major Mariah/TLC bootleg mash up as I crossed over to hear Ylia experience a technical outage, only to return and bring it hard with electro break beats. From there I checked out Swedish RnB star Cherrie whose super chill Aaliyah vibes worked as a total contrast to…Holly Herndon. Benito, if you are reading this then I apologise because I was 100% ready for Bad Bunny to own the festival, but Holly Herndon was my #1 highlight. Coming on like a mezcla of Deep Forest, Enya, Fever Ray and Kate Bush. Her choir were rocking The Wicker Man-style ensembles while all wailing into the microphones like they were tripping their balls off on LSD. The whole sound was distorted through autotune and then played over techno/rave/electro beats. The notes they reached, the visuals they produced, their harmonies, their moves onstage…it was divine.
From here I sat in the Sonar/Complex’s theatre auditorium and witnessed KARYYN who too brought the spiritual vibes, with a stage filled with plastic props, lasers and various flashing lights. I kind of wished I hadn’t sat down because immediately I realised I needed my siesta but as soon as I left the show and stumbled into Masego’s party, I was energised. He sang, he played the sax, he rapped, he got the crowd involved. He gave me D’Angelo vibes and I was here for it.
Then on Saturday I headed over to Sonar by Night to see my #1 artist right now, Bad Bunny. He brought the party, the energy, the hits and a bee protection mask. In the huge air hanger, with streamers flying through the air and a Generation Z audience, it was like the high school prom we never experienced….and never knew we needed. He performed hits from his debut album X100PRE, his new EP with J Balvin, Oasis and even threw in tracks he was just featured on like Cardi B’s ‘I Like It Like That.’
As for Sonar itself, the location is ideal, by which we mean which better city to visit specifically for a music event, but also the two locations for Sonar by Day & Sonar By Night were perfect with so many stages indoors during the day and feeling like you were partying at the end of the world at night. Hombre, the whole event was brutal and we’ll see you there next year, okkkrrrr….?
