The recent rock and punk revival is set to put guitar bands in the limelight again at this summer’s festivals across Europe, but the electronic music scene is fighting back with events of its own where vinyl and samplers rule.
The undisputed leader is the Sonar festival in Barcelona, Spain, which runs from June 15 to 17.
Helped by the warm weather, the seaside location and the buzz of the city, the Sonar organisers also consistently select a line-up of big-name DJs and the most exciting breakthrough acts.
Electronica, hip-hop and techno, with appearances by London-based Goldfrapp and legendary producer DJ Shadow, are expected to be major draws during the three-day event.
”There are two main focuses this year,” says Enric Palau, one of the three co-founders of the event, which began in 1994. ”One is the ‘Year of Japan’ event with 20 artists from Japan including hip-hop, breakbeat and beatboxing people. The second is ‘Black Music’.
”We wouldn’t have electronic music without disco or the first samples of rap. And reggae has been important for the minimal techno of today.”
About 80 000 to 90 000 people attended last year and the same number are expected on the Sonar site this year.
”Barcelona is the perfect environment for the festival. The work we do has helped position Barcelona on the map for cultural and music events,” says Palau.
Elsewhere in Spain, the Benicassim festival from July 20 to 23 features both guitar and electronic acts and draws big crowds for four days of dancing under the sometimes unrelenting Spanish sun.
In France, the Nuits Sonores festival in Lyon is already winning plaudits as a Gallic rival to Spain’s Sonar, despite this year’s being only the fourth edition.
Whereas Sonar is concentrated on one site, Nuits Sonores infiltrates the whole of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation-listed city of Lyon with performances in 50 different locations.
A warehouse at the confluence of the two rivers in Lyon, the Rhone and the Saone, serves as the focal point of the festival, which runs from May 24 to 28 and attracted 40 000 to 50 000 people last year.
”It’s a panorama of electronic music with all styles represented. The line-up goes from techno house to breakbeat and electroclash,” says 35-year-old Vincent Carry, one of three co-founders from the city.
Superstar French DJ Laurent Garnier is to play on Thursday, supported by United States-based sampling wizard Coldcut and rising Berlin-based DJ Luciano.
”The comparison with Sonar is made by a lot of people,” says Carry. ”Artistically, we have a lot in common with them.”
In neighbouring Belgium, the summer festival season is rich and diverse with the electronic scene led by the 10 Days Off event from July 14 to 24. 10 Days Off forms part of the giant Gentse Feesten, which takes over the picturesque town of Ghent in July.
”I think Gentse Feesten is the biggest city festival in Europe,” says Phillip de Liser, an organiser of 10 Days Off. ”About two million people came last year.”
He underlines the influence of Berlin on the electronic music scene in Europe at the moment. Berliners or international DJs based in Berlin are set to be an important draw at this year’s festival.
”The best electronic music is coming from Berlin at the moment. Berlin is really the capital for electronic music at the moment. It isn’t London anymore,” says De Liser.
Berlin hosts the Popkomm electronic festival from September 20 to 22, which hosted 1 200 artists in 20 clubs in 2005.
In the middle of the summer, the Berlin Love Parade on July 15 brings more than a million people on to the streets of the formerly divided city for a day of hedonism and ear-popping dance music.
The city of Cologne in western Germany, the other hotspot for German electronic music, livens up when the C/O Pop festival gets under way from August 23 to 27.
In Britain, the Glastonbury festival from June 22 to 24 continues to be the biggest music event of summer, with both guitar and electronic acts.
The Homelands festival, renamed HiFi this year, is a two-day event dedicated to dance music on the weekend of May 27 and 28, and attracts large crowds from London, which is a short trip from the festival’s site.
Further north, the T in the Park festival on July 8 and 9 is the Scottish answer to Glastonbury, while the Big Chill festival from August 4 to 6 has a growing reputation and expects a crowd of 29 000 people this year.
Located next to a lake in a deer park in western England, the Big Chill combines nature with cutting-edge music programming. ”It’s the ultimate in chilled, grown-up partying and attracts people every bit as gorgeous as the lakeside deer park,” says organiser Sam Pow. — AFP
