Primavera Sound. 10 years of the best indie scene

Barcelona has been enjoying the very best on the indie scene for ten years now, with wide-ranging genres including rock, pop and even electronica. In fact, Primavera Sound has gained a reputation for avoiding labels and for hosting all and sundry artists, from the very new to the most established.

Primavera Sound. Barcelona 2010

The 10th Primavera Sound festival will be held on 27, 28 and 29 May at the Parc del Fòrum but throughout the week there will be fringe concerts at the city’s clubs and other places like the metro and the parks.

With over a hundred groups playing at the festival, there will be a huge range of acts. One of this year’s main themes will be 1990s pop, with groups like The Charlatans, Bis, Pavement and Pixies.

The Athens group is one of those returning to Primavera, along with Wire, The Fall, Low, Shellac and Wilco. The latter, along with the Pet Shop Boys and Orbital, will be topping the bill at a festival where small print is very important.

For example, you need to bear in mind groups like The XX, Beach House, Wild Beasts and No Age, who are coming with some of the year’s most interesting ideas.

All that, not to mention cult figures like Gary Numan, the pioneer of electronica, Marc Almond, a real pop icon, and Hope Sandoval, who will be accompanied by The Warm Inventions.

Lo-Fi is another feature of Primavera with The Bundles, a new group made up by Kimya Dawson, a former member of The Moldy Peaches, and the singer-songwriter and comic artist Jeffrey Lewis.

More inf@: Primavera Sound website

Primavera Sound Festival celebrates 10 years at Montjuïc Castle

The line-up for the next Primavera Sound Festival, 10th edition, was dissected in the Anatomical Amphitheatre at the Royal Academy of Medicine of Catalonia, where the names were announced of over 40 artists who are appearing on 27, 28 and 29 May at Forum Park, in addition to the 60 or so already announced.

Pet Shop Boys

In all, approximately 170 artists will be taking part in a Primavera Sound celebrating its tenth birthday. The birthday party, about which hardly anything is known, will be held on 26 May at Montjuïc Castle.

So, this time it will be possible to see the Pet Shop Boys, who are appearing on Saturday 29 May in what will be the first performance of the year by the English electronic pop duo. Another historic band coming to the festival are The Charlatans performing their first album, Some Friendly.

Black Lips

In addition, Primavera will also have DJ, producer and composer Diplo, a genuine cult figure responsible for the sound of M.I.A., Santogold and Bonde do Role, as well as remixing Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake. Also coming to the festival are Marc Almond, master of cabaret pop; Broken Social Scene, back after five years of being involved in other projects; CocoRosie, the freak folk of the Cassidy sisters, and The Wave Pictures, heirs of Hefner.

Along with the Pixies, Pavement, Wilco and Low, already confirmed, the presence of Junip, the band with José González, has now been confirmed, as well as Gary Numan, synth-pop pioneer; The Slits, a historic post-punk outfit, and some of the successful bands from the last Primavera Club, like Beach House and Scout Niblett.

Local names include Nueva Vulcano, Biscuit, Emilio José, Half Foot Outside, Cohete, Delorean and Mujeres.

www.primaverasound.com