I'll be in Barceloneta from the 4th to the 12th, moving up nearer the CCCB
on the 12th for the festival. I'm sure there'll be some sort of 313
meetup whether formal or informal - you can't help but run into each other
at the CCCB!
The only really good reason to bitch about Sonar is the godawful mausoleum
they moved Sonar Noche to from the Pavella de la mar Bella. The Pavella
and the beach was a big part of the appeal. Who can forget being out on
the patio when the Sun rises over the Mediterranean? (Extra special
element for Americans: having the smell of clouds of cheap Hashish waft into
your nostrils out on the patio.)
Now, as for the lineup ... Sonar tends to be this odd mish-mash of the
daytime (and night) IDM with the nighttime Big Name Bangin' DJs. I suspect
this reflects the taste of the organizers along with a desire to crowd-please -
i.e. the Spanish like their Techno hard and bangin', and nighttime Sonar
has served up the goods quite well in that dept. the 3 years I've gone.
This has led to Sonar being somewhat narrow-cast in range, as can be seen
by the fact that the intersection of Movement/DEMF and Sonar is only
Jeff and Rich. Want 313? Want Electro? Want Tech-House? Want <insert
your favorite sub-genre here>? You won't get it at Sonar. Curiously,
for the adventurousness of some of the bookings (I disagree with Ken Odeluga
here - I can't wait to see The Soft Pink Truth [half of Matmos], for
example), the organizers are playing it far too safe these days and
aren't willing to consider anything special or out of the ordinary. For
example, it's the 10th anniversary of Sonar - Rich wanted to do a 6-hour
closing set at the Sonar Village at the CCCB (4-10) playing a 10-year
retrospective. They refused and would only offer him his usual 2-hour
banging set at night. Grrrr. That would've been kickass.
- Greg
