Sábado | Saturday | A walk through the clouds of last Sónar by Day experience | PARA PODCAST

A walk through the clouds of last Sónar by Day experience (hand-by-hand with Pinche's spoken-word. This is a script for a radio show to promote Sónar by Day venues. And Sónar+D ... 

Sábado | Saturday

(hand-by-hand with Pinche's spoken-word)

Holly Herndon

What to say... Tenessee born, San Francisco based... PhD in Computer Music at Standford University. Special award for songwriter 2010. Ellaborate collages, more than just compositions. Inimitable and masterfully crafted debut album, own techniques and cutting up her sounds or crafting her own voice. I won't talk no more, just listen to Holly! Herndon!

Her unique and inimitable style is masterfully displayed on her debut album, "Movement" (RVNG Intl, 2013) and via a series of singles ("Chorus", "Home", "Body Sound") released throughout 2014, drawing attention for their highly developed sound and their total immersion into the intricacies of the Internet. Herndon cites "Movement" as an exploration of her own relationship with the laptop, and her new tracks revolve around the dangers of online espionage, information overload and political control, which have earned her the title "muse of the post-Snowden era". She views visual aspects with the same importance, and her videos (directed in collaboration with Japanese designer Akihiko Taniguchi and Dutch studio Metahaven) are genuine works of art that appeal in equal measure to the senses, intellect and the heart.

Skepta & JME

Grime maestro. Adenuga brothers Jamie and Joseph aka JME and Skepta. Long way since the shared one PC to produce... Now they meet again after several years compiting to form the best grime superband. This year they are closing the Dôme.

 On this year’s SonarDôme stage, the two will be joined by BBK go-to DJ Maximum. Both Skepta and JME just released new music recently: the banger "Shutdown" and the "Integrity" album, respectively.

Evian Christ -live

Second time in Sónar, fist at Day. Now with new lights and projections by visual artist Emmanuel Biard (remember Daedelus wall of mirrors?)Smoke, visual new promises to attend here with the futuristic and uncompromising beats of Evian Christ.

In spite of his youth, Evian Christ (Joshua Leary) has developed his own unique sound that has caught everyone’s attention since his first video uploads to Youtube in late 2011. His first EP "Kings And Them" on Tri Angle was released in July 2012 and focused on futuristic beats somewhere between grime, hip hop and r&b. Later came the extremely experimental "Duga-3" (comprising of one 20 minute track), the exceptional "Waterfall" (again on Tri Angle), and of course his collaborations with Matthew Barney and Kanye West, the latter recruiting him to produce one of the tracks on album "Yeezus" and is also counting on Leary’s skills for his next album. He recently remixed Young Thug and Ben Frost and has even appeared as an actor in an advertising campaign for a famous underwear brand. The future is in his hands.

Gramatik

"freeing music by making music free" 

Jazz, soul, rock, techno, funk, blues... Much in common with other guy we met a couple of years ago, Pretty Lights, for instance... Live sampling and the onstage presence of a guitarist playing blues and funk solos alongside cutting beats and breaks by Gramatik (Denis Jasarevic).

 When performing live, synthesizers and traditional instruments are boosted in equal measure by the onstage presence of a guitarist playing blues and funk solos, alongside Gramatik’s cutting breaks. 

Haling from the Slovenian coastline but now living in New York, Jasarevic is a strong advocate for free culture. He recently launched the Lowtemp label, whose output aims to represent the sounds of young producers and musicians around the world. His motto is: "freeing music by making music free". He has also collaborated on tracks with several upcoming talents, helping to uncover the likes of Exmag, Gibbz and Branx. His latest album "The Age of Reason" –available of course as a free download– draws on all of his experience to date, adding a more raw and direct feel to his sound.

Bomba Estéreo

Last album name is "Elegancia Tropical". Todo está dicho. These Colombians are something to get close to as they promise elegance, and the talent of multi-instrumentalist Simon Mejia anc charismatic vocals by Liliana Saumet. Future dance music with classic Latin rhythms (electro-cumbia, champeta-hop). "Move Your Body" (trap with African guitars).

Bomba Estereo are probably the most influential Colombian group of recent years, and are certainly the most international. They have played almost the world over, sharing the stage and billing with a host of global pop stars. Their first album, "Vol. 1 "(2008) won over the Colombian audience and saw them tour throughout Latin America; the following year they increased their audience base with "Estalla" (also entitled "Blow Up"), an album that significantly expanded their sonic palette and showed clear examples of their great potential. “Elegancia Tropical” reiterates the group’s many virtues and will see them return to Sónar to present the new songs in their natural habitat: on stage.

Jimi Tenor and Jori Hulkkonen (play NUNTIUS)

Finns, amigos of Sónar, they come again, together with a futuristic silent road movie filmen in Finland during 2014. Is not out there in the net, only by attending to this show and seeing the live soundtrack yourself. So, prepare for new live music and a good film.

Entirely contrary to commercial cinema and inspired by works like "Un Chien Andalou", "Nosferatu", "Solaris" and "Metropolis". A unique and unpredictable iconic musician and character, Jimi Tenor has always chosen less travelled roads, turning his back on the industry while receiving wide spread admiration and achieving a largely unplanned success. He has released lounge electronic music, afrobeat, exotic jazz and dislocated funk, and has also developed his creative talents in fields such as photography, instruments invention, designing clothes and cinema. Born in the small town of Kemi in the north of Finland, Jori Hulkkonen is often considered as the "most underrated producer in the world". Over the years his music has developed in the field of dance music, although his albums (more than forty in a career spanning 20-years, most of them released on F Communications and Turbo) have always included an adolescent passion for artists like The Smiths and Depeche Mode.

Swindle

Jazz fusions with Grime. Combination of genres: jazz, swing, grime and bass music. Original and exhilaratingly fresh. Learned piano at eight. Grew with Stevie Wonder, Miles Davis, George Benson. When he was 16 he was composing in his bedroom.  

The young British producer has released his explosive compositions on labels such as Planet Mu, Butterz and Deep Mehdi, as well as on his own platform, Swindle Productions. His latest EP "Walter's Call", is a good example of the sound that defines him: saxophones and trumpets harking back to jazz bands of the 1950s, his own broken beat treatments –even footwork– and exquisite digital production. Given the stylistic variety he incorporates, his set at Sónar by Day is sure to underline his versatility, originality and an unconventional dance music stance. 

He soon discovered grime scene and collaborated with MCs, reflected by  "The 140 Mixtape" in 2007, which served as springboard towards his future career. In recent times, Swindle has remixed Joker and Zara McFarlane, collaborated with the legendary Roll Deep Crew and released his first official LP, "Long Live The Jazz" on Mala’s label Deep Mehdi.

Pedro Vian

A renowned producer in Barcelona, he followed me on Soundcloud once and comment on my tracks. Now Pedro is a really sought-after dj to collaborate or reshape electronica in the city. Textures, atmospheres, now he is the boss of Modern Obscure Music. Searching for like-minded artists (Oh, so I was close to his ears, is something to brag about).

 So far the label has released tracks and remixes of artists including Madteo, Ital, Desert, Sunny Graves and himself, among others, and his Sónar set will impart similar offerings as the label does: unyielding electronica with vintage flavours and futuristic leanings. 

The Bug
"Admired by Aphex Twin, Grace Jones and Thom Yorke" 

Jungle time. UK, all day. Exploration of dubstep, grime, industrial, ragga and hip-hop. I need to hear him for the first time, but I think is a UK most wanted concert to attend... Feels like the best of London new underground beats are coming this year. His list of collaborations are the best card to get to know this man (I admit I never heard about The Bug)
The Bug is Brit Kevin Martin’s strongest project to date. He is an indispensable electronic underground figure in the UK with an urban connection. His latest LP "Angels & Devils" once again captures the beating drum of the city (in this case London) like no other. He exhaustively explores genres like dubstep, grime, industrial, ragga and hip-hop with album guests including the likes of Liz Harris (Grouper), Gonjasufi, Inga Copeland, Warrior Queen and Death Grips. 
Quality and consistency are the career hallmarks of Kevin Martin, also author to projects like Techno Animal, King Midas Sound, Ice or God (with Justin Broadrick), and architect of the mythical compilation ‘Macro Dub Infection’ in the 90’s. He is an open-minded musician with multiple collaborations to date (John Zorn, Anti Pop Consortium, El-P, Kevin Shields) and is admired by Aphex Twin, Grace Jones and Thom Yorke. With his The Bug alias he has shaped some of recent electronica’s key works ("Lonzon Zoo" or his own "Angels & Devils") and his live shows are genuine sonic assaults unfitting for the weak-kneed.

Henrik Schwarz

This is embarrassing. This guy is closing The Village stage on the last performance of Sónar by Day, an honour bestowed just to the best. Last year was DJ Harvey. This year is a German producer, a veteran (Pinche is one year old, and is my fifth Sónar in a row as a journalist)of the deep-house realm. Part of Innervisions label. Known for exquisity, best taste among them all, cultivated in the depths of house, jazz and funk.

Close friend of Dixon and key figure of the SonarKollektiv label in the early 2000s. Schwarz recently released "Instruments", a new album in which he adapts seven of his tracks into chamber music language, with the help of arranger Johannes Brecht. 

Recently he once again demonstrated his indubitable quality with "Masse Remixes III", a series of classical music remix compositions to dance to, performed at the popular Berlin club Berghain and released on the affiliated label Ostgun Ton. Also part of his CV is the mythical 12-inch "Where We At" together with Dixon, Ame and Derrick L. Carter, and his excellent mix for the DJ Kicks series.

(Also DJ Raff and BADBADNOTGOOD are displayed in the podcast)