Text : Chinua D. Green // July 16th, 2010

Yes, I know, Sónar was a month ago, but a 10-day Euro trip (you try hand-writing a review when you’re in a train that passes through the most picturesque German landscape you’ve ever seen) and a Transatlantic move (if you’re in New York holler at me) seriously got in the way. Yikes, P has already written the Sundae review, which took place a whole week after Sónar… this is awkward. Annnnnyways—

My Jamaican punctuality aside, This year’s Sónar once again put Spain right up to date on the gamut of European electronic music festivals. This year, for the first time, Sónar held a smaller, simultaneous festival in another Spanish city that corresponded to the base event in Barcelona. Sónar chose earnest yet beautiful coastal A Coruña in the region of Galicia. The next time you check out a map of Europe, look for that block of Spain that sits snugly on top of Portugal – yeah, that’s Galicia.

Cool, but why A Coruña? Xacobeo, that’s why. Any year in which July 25th falls on a Sunday is called an Ano Santo Xacobeo, or ‘St. James Year,’ in recognition of the region’s patron saint. For the Galician people, this is a time to be extra proud of their regional culture, and for the rest of us (esp. Catholics) it’s a time to feel extra guilty if you don’t make the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. So, in case you were wondering, that’s what the two ghosts are doing in this year’s Sónar theme movie — an epic pilgrimage of sorts.

Whether Sónar Galicia was Catalonia’s cultural salute to Galicia, a profit-fueled perversion of one of Spain’s most significant religious rites via its official affiliation with the Xacobeo tourism campaign, or a great shindig in a petite city is for you to decide, but all-in-all, Sónar delivered. The Thursday and Friday tickets sold out days in advance, and by Friday I was told there were no tickets left. As for the event production itself, well, that’s to be discussed later, but overall there were no major flaws.

Cora Novoa

Let’s be clear- Sónar Galicia is no Barcelona party mayhem. A Coruña saw only a couple of ‘off-Sónars’, and the ‘Sónar by Day’ concept, an annual attraction in Barcelona, was not elaborate enough to be it’s own event. That being said, there were some perks. Aside from the much smaller price tag (50€/weekend, 25€/Saturday), you could also squeeze in some unique coastal sight-seeing— the greener, northern coast of Spain is quite different from the rest of the country. Just be sure not to party too hard at night.

I can’t comment on Thursday night, which I didn’t attend, but in general the atmosphere doesn’t become genuinely ‘festive’ until around midnight— six hours after the venue opened. But Sónar always was about more than the party, and SonarComplex was usually a good pre-rave option. SonarComplex, the room dedicated to experimental musicians, staged the most interesting acts of the festival. My biggest regret of the weekend was that O.M.E.G.A. was the only act I saw in SonarComplex, effectively missing U.K.’s Broadcast, Labrador + P.M.A. from Portugal, and anbb (Alva Noto + Blixa Bargeld), the latter I couldn’t experience as the room was beyond full. Nevertheless, if you arrived between 8 and 9 PM, you didn’t miss much.

Laurent Garnier – Live

20-person experimental collective O.M.E.G.A. was definitely a personal weekend favorite, though they weren’t very well attended. Laurent Garnier’s live show was also a festival highlight, especially during the brief improvisational sections the musicians were allowed between the big basslines. Local DJs Ino and Viktor Flores proved that you can still enjoy a set based solely off of mixing merit. 2ManyDJs’ live set ran on a gimmicky yet effective visual concept, which is worth seeing (even if for 5 minutes for those of you who think you are above bloghouse). And, out of the 33 musical performances, 5 mixed some concoction of dubstep and bass music, with the only non-Spanish set coming from the Portuguese duo Octa Push (‘Wegue Wegue’ remix included). It’s safe to say that dubstep has landed in the peninsula.

My main complaint would concern the unfortunate-yet-inevitable sound-clashing that occurred in an enclosed venue that hosted such a variety of events. The O.M.E.G.A performance was perforated by F**k Buttons’ grinding screeches each and every time someone opened the door, and the SonarCinema movie-watching audience was constantly treated to a muffled-yet-still-very-audible stage noise coming from the SonarVillage stage on the other side of the walls.

At the end of the day, in the midst of big festivals, the details are what make them memorable. Take for example during the screening of ‘Sónar Around the World,’ a documentary on the history of Sónar, in which the projector abruptly cut off just as Sónar’s co-director Ricard Robles was going on about the festivals high production standards. Then there was the obligatory mindless dance among a batch of improvised friends with Garnier & co as the soundtrack. On another occasion I ran into Pablo, a native Galician and one of the conductors from O.M.E.G.A, where we talked about the festival and his one year stint in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village. Before we both got distracted, I asked him whether he feels at odds about the Galician government including events like Sónar as apart of the Ano Xacobeo celebration. He shrugged and said that St. James never visited A Coruña.

WHEN
Saturday July 24th 2010 | 20:00

WHAT
On Saturday the 24th of July, Parisian crew Popcorn invades the infamous Peniche Concorde Atlantique to receive Argentina’s finest, el señor Franco Cinelli who will perform for the first time in the capital and alongside his best friend Andrés Zacco. Support comes from french rising producer Yakine.

FRANCO CINELLI (Esperanza / Airdrop)
ANDRES ZACCO (Greener / Airdrop) ARG
YAKINE (Eklo / Supplement Facts) FR
LUCA CASTILLO (Fancy Frogs Rec.) FR
PAULO (Airdrop / Aux-Rec) FR
DIMA DB (Fancy Frogs Rec.) FR
SILER (Fancy Frogs Rec.) FR

WHERE
Peniche Concorde Atlantique
23 Quai Anatole France
Paris – France

WHEN
Saturday July 10th 2010 | 23:00

WHAT
On the 10th of July, Fondation Gutzwiller invites the subtle flutters emanating from the heart of Andrés Zacco‘s creative power to sidle into the notorious walls of the Kaufleuten Hof.

Considered by his peers as the most fascinating up-and-coming electronic artist originating from Argentina, the Greener Records top-dog, Andrés Zacco, will be introducing his engineer technique and perfect selections in Zürich.

WHERE
Kaufleuten Hof
Pelikanstrasse 18
Zürich | CH

This time around, fellow Argentineans Andres Zacco & Lucas Mari lit the spot on fire, with the help of duo Childhood ’87 (aka Le Loup & Funkalicious James). Definitely one for the books…

Photos : Dimitri Barclais / eyeknow.blogspot.com

Click here to view all photos

For our June appearance at Berlin’s now infamous Kleine Reise, we are proud to announce the long-awaited European debut for two of Argentina’s finest, ANDRES ZACCO and LUCAS MARI!

ANDRES ZACCO will be celebrating his recent release out on Airdrop as well as announcing his new record on his own imprint – Greener Records – the Drawing Clouds EP – due June 21st… right on time for the summer!

Airdrop’s own PAULO will be slowly warming things up for what already promises to be yet another memorable night at Kreuzberg’s hottest spot!

On the occasion of Martin Eyerer‘s North-American debut, Airdrop comes up with “In My House“, a blockbuster of a track like only this one man can craft. Literally showing the rest of the world how he gets it done in his house, Martin blends house vox and chords with his signature technique and groove. Remixed by Maetrik, Crazy Larry, Punisher and Pat Fontes, we will all celebrate and announce this coming record…

Flawless & Airdrop team up once again to bring quality Airdrop artists to play on LOVE’s amazing sound system. The big Airdrop anniversary party with Soul Clap & Monoblock was such a blast, we’ve decided to go even bigger for this month’s edition with the US debut of Martin Eyerer. The Kling Klong and Session Deluxe label head is joined in the booth by Airdrop’s own Punisher, Time to Get Ill’s Crazy Larry and Pat Fontes (Boston).

When Martin Eyerer tells a story, everybody listens. Martin reports of his journeys throughout the continents, telling stories of wild escapades in a taxi across the Brazilian jungle through to the impressions of Earth’s capitals and the colourful array of citizens that inhabit them, and obviously of his many Gigs in these foreign lands. Those foreign places quickly become familiar territory when he sets up his digital DJ-system and starts to play that thumping first track because what he plays is groovy Tech House and the sound is a world language of its own that is euphorically absorbed through sweaty pores and pumping glands.

Michelle Hermann (aka Punisher) has been keeping Detroit in line for quite some time and has made a name for herself not only as a DJ/Producer, but also as the founder of Hej Records. From a headlining slot at DEMF in 2008 to playing afterhours with Ricardo Villalobos in Chile, Michelle is a petite techno veteran that packs a powerful punch and can hypnotize a crowd within seconds with her unique blend of exotic techno, sassy funk, and electric driving beats.

Crazy Larry is no stranger to NYC despite having only been here for a couple years. Within this short time, he has brought on some of the craziest after hours and illest times. No matter when or where Larry DJs, he will set the mood to a sexy grooove that no one can resist. Already having a few releases to his name on Wagon Repair, Airdrop and Fade, Crazy Larry is definitely a producer to keep a close close eye.

Pat Fontes, known as Mr Techno in Boston for his longstanding involvement and importance to the Boston techno scene, will be making a long awaited NYC return. He has been running Midweek Techno, Boston’s longest running techno night that has hosted the likes of Paco Osuna, Cassy, Dario Zenker, Nick Curly, Damián Schwartz, Audio Werner, Tiefschwarz, Abe Duque, Nicolas Jaar, Miss Fitz and many more. Needless to say that with an amazing record collection and years of experience, he is not someone you want to mess around with. He also recently released the You make me EP on Airdrop with remixes from Paul Mac and Tanner Ross (check check)

Text : Chinua Green | April 25, 2010

The Electrónica en Abril (Electronic in April) Festival is an annual electronic multimedia exhibition that assaults the Spanish metropolis of Madrid for one weekend in the first full month of spring (this year it was the 16-18 April). Electrónica en Abril takes place in La Casa Encendida (literally, ‘The Lighted House’), a bank-financed, community-oriented contemporary arts centre. Here, madrileños and visitors with an appetite for the avant-garde can run across anything from a modern art exhibit to a painting workshop for the physically disabled.

That being said, it comes as no surprise that the minds behind EeA are building a reputation for cherry-picking international artists who try to push the electronic envelope, so to speak. The festival, having just completed its eighth year, has in past editions invited the likes of Kode9 and the Spaceape, Non Standard Institute (Max Loderbauer & Tobias Freund), Ghislain Poirier, Shakleton, The Field, and The Bug.

Now before you get too excited, I will be upfront and mention that this year’s festival was one of the many victims of Eyjafjöll’s threatening volcanic ash clouds. Approximately half of the original line-up was unable to make it to Spain. I never intended on attending Friday’s show in any event, but Saturday night suffered. Berlin’s improv-meister Guido Möbius and the micro-rhythmic Aoki Takamasa (based in Paris) weren’t even able to snag a train down south in time for their performances. Lyricist Sensational was not present to accompany his partner, Spectre, onstage, which left the DJ/producer to improvise with no MC to liven up a confused-enough audience. Someone, be it the A/V crew or Spectre himself, was witty enough to unearth some footage of ice-capped volcanic peaks spewing huge clouds to project onto the oversize backdrop during Spectre’s half-show— a silver screen-sized white flag.

Spectre

However, replacements Debilorithmicos had a stellar one-hour set. The Barcelonan duo dexterously drifted through gritty hip-hop, 80’s reggae cuts, dancehall a cappellas and good helpings of dubstep wobble as if they had been booked for the show weeks in advance instead of what was surely hours. I was pleasantly surprised by their selection as well as by LCE’s ability to partially make up for the gaping Dubstep / Hip-Hop / Urban void that was ripped open by the Icelandic glacial volcano, as I feel it would have been far easier for them to conjure up a 4×4 DJ.

Nevertheless, I must point out the sound system chronically malfunctioned throughout the entire weekend, particularly the microphones. I also believe that the event organizers could have been clearer about informing the public of the schedule changes, as they announced Sunday’s changes on Saturday night at the venue but didn’t act accordingly on their Twitter account or website.

Christian Vogel

On Sunday night I caught techno veteran Cristian Vogel’s 10 o’clock set, a clear highlight in a topsy-turvy festival. Like Debilorithmicos, Vogel was schlepped in at the last moment from Barcelona. The Chilean-born DJ oozed lush, organic, looming sounds from his time-coded vinyl setup. To the disappointment of some, the 4×4 kick drum sections of his set were few, fleeting, and ended abruptly. About one-fifth of the crowd had left at least fifteen minutes early. An Austrian art major with whom I was chatting stormed out of the room, muttering that she can DJ better than Vogel. They were expecting a party, but Vogel was not even entertaining the idea. Instead, eyes trained on his computer and turntables, he tried to create an hour of tension, with sounds that swelled and dissipated like the prohibited clouds of smoke in the performance room. I won’t be as naïve as to say that Vogel was a master of his own abstractions at all times, but perhaps a keener audience would have made his moments of clarity more apparent. In this case, it seems, Madrid’s avant-garde crowd seemed more complacent with last-minute schedule changes than with an experimental performance.

Friday 23rd April | 23:00 ’til late

23:00 – 01:30 | Paulo (Airdrop / Aux-Rec)
01:30 – 04:00 | Till Von Sein (Suol / Morris Audio)
04:00 – 06:00 | Mojoe (Objektivity / White)

KLEINE REISE
Spreewaldplatz 8
(near Görlitzer Bhf)
Berlin
www.kr-club.com

We want to thank you for all your great support that makes each new project always feel more special: from the DJs and music-nuts playing and collecting our vinyl records, to all the floor-stompers who swing the night away to our Airdropping grooves…

Thank you and long live VINYL!

—

SATURDAY APRIL 10th | 10PM ’til 6AM
GET YOUR PRE-SALE TICKETS HERE

For our 3 Year Anniversary we have prepared a very special line-up tracing a little bit of our adventurous history up until now.

All the way from Uruguay via Berlin we will welcome MONOBLOCK and celebrate also their record release together! Their signature live set is a rare appearance, always in heavy demand and ever pushing the boundaries of melodic minimal house music.

This definitely wouldn’t be an Airdrop party if SOUL CLAP wasn’t game. The Boston duo continues its trendsetting mission around the globe, releasing edits on our own Aux-Rec as well as Wolf+Lamb, in pursuit of the E-Funk…

TANNER ROSS & SERGIO SANTOS debuted their production collaboration on Airdrop with the hallucinogenic ‘Space Cakes EP’. With fresh releases coming on Mothership and Trapez to name a couple, needless to finger point who will smash the club into pieces…

The final ingredient to make this party iller than ill is none other than our main man CRAZY LARRY! Mr. Loco Pirate needs no presentation. With his projects out on Wagon Repair or Fade, a bomb remix for MARTIN EYERER coming on Airdrop in May, and a release soon on DJ THREE‘s Hallucination Ltd, Larry is pure analog talent, like none other.