NME-Europe Live: SOS 4.8 2010 - Primer día

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Jueves, 4 de la tarde y un sol de justicia cae sobre Murcia. Empieza el SOS4.8 con el acto inaugural de ponernos la pulsera, una pulsera que será nuestro distintivo durante los próximos dos días y la que, al mirarla, establecerá ese aire de complicidad entre los "sosers" que llenamos Murcia por unas horas. Un vez iniciados en el rito, con la caña gratis incluída, ya empezamos a entablar esas conversaciones que enriquecen un festival y que, como dice la parte inglesa de este blog, hay que estar en la arena para poder disfrutar de los conciertos y de todo lo que hay alrededor, aunque algunos pierdan la perspectiva desde la zona VIP.

The Sunday Drivers. Image courtesy of SOS Festival/Equipo Helmet

El viernes llegamos temprano, demasiado si quieres aguantar hasta el final, pero disfrutamos de uno de los mejores conciertos, en cuanto a la calidad del sonido, del festival: The Sunday Drivers. Los manchegos, una de esas bandas que nunca falla, sonaron excepcionalmente bien, muy limpios, como dirían los entendidos. Canciones como 'Do it', 'On my mind' o 'My plan' hacen vibrar y saltar al público y a mí, aunque a veces su música es demasiado happy-happy. Esto empieza bien.

The Horrors. Image courtesy of SOS Festival/Equipo Helmet

A continuación, espera, hemos quedado y los móviles no funcionan, o es el mío. No, todo el mundo está igual, nos perdemos el comienzo de The Horrors, desde la distancia no aprecio bien su sonido, pero son contundentes y oscuros, muy oscuros. Me acerco y llenan el escenario, tienen presencia y mucha calidad. Las últimas canciones son una pasada, qué lástima no haber estado más tiempo.

Los Planetas. Image courtesy of SOS Festival/Equipo Helmet

Aunque en otros escenarios hay más conciertos decidimos quedarnos a ver a Los Planetas, su Ópera Egipcia es uno de los mejores discos del año (y mira que han salido buenos discos en el 2010), pero no suenan bien. A Jota se le entiende, pero hay acoples y el sonido no es el mejor. En la prensa, división de opiniones. Comienzan con la instrumental, y preciosa, Llave De Oro' y van alternando clásicos como 'Rey sombra', 'Santos Que Yo Te Pinté' o 'Pesadilla En El Parque De Atracciones' con algunos de sus mejores temas del último disco: 'Una Corona De Espinas', 'Señora De Las Alturas', 'Soy Un Pobre Granaíno' y 'Romance De Juan De Osuna'. Incluso sale La Bien Querida para compartir 'No Sé Como Te Atreves', bonita, aunque no es de lo que más me gusta. Me recuerdan a Pimpinela pero en plan indie. No serán los mejores del festival, pero se nos hace corto, nos faltan muchos temas de la banda sonora de nuesta vida.

Franz Ferdinand. Image courtesy of SOS Festival/Equipo Helmet

Y llegan los esperados Franz Ferdinand, suenan los primeros acordes de 'Aut Achse', y nos ponemos nerviosos, aparecen en el escenario, lo llenan, presencia y sonido, son la estrella del festival y se nota. A partir de aquí, bailamos, casi todo el público del SOS4.8 estaba allí y mereció la pena. Casi una hora y cuarenta minutos de pura explosión musical, con un sonido impecable y una fuerza descomunal. Me cuentan que su caché se llevó la mitad del presupuesto, pero se lo curraron. En este enlace tenéis el setlist del concierto, en el que fueron mezclando temas de sus tres discos casi sin descanso y en los que Alex Kapranos demostró que es un buen vocalista pero además un excepcional músico. Como premio, una batucada con los cuatro músicos escoceses percusionando sus baterías enérgicamente, energía que transmitieron a un público entregado.

Y después, con ganas de ver a Hot Chip, el cuerpo dijo basta, muchas horas de baile sin descanso, hacen mella en nuestras ganas de seguir y decidimos irnos a descansar que todavía queda... ¡el sábado!

JFH

Por cierto, Radio 3 grabó varios conciertos. Los puedes escuchar aquí.

Puedes ver más imágenes oficiales en la página Facebook de NME-Europe y para más artículos sobre el SOS4.8, pincha aquí.

Album Review: Los Planetas

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Los Planetas: 'Una Opera Egipcia' (Sony Records)

1. La Llave De Oro
2. Una Corona De Estrellas
3. Soy Un Pobre Granaino (Colombiana)
4. Siete Faroles
5. No Sé Como Te Atreves
6. Señora De Las Alturas
7. La Veleta
8. Romance De Juan Osuna
9. Atravesando Los Montes
10. Virgen De La Soledad
11. La Pastora Divina
12. Los Poetas





If you don't live in Spain, there's a good chance you're wondering "Who?" Don't stop reading.
 
Hailing from Granada, Los Planetas have long since been considered the kings of the Spanish indie scene (on a personal level, they rank in my top 10 bands of all time) and the expectation generated by their releases parallels that of any top British or US act.
 
15 years on, lead singer J and Co. have once again managed to surpass that expectation and produce another album, their eighth, which can only serve to convince their legion of unconditional fans that they are from another dimension.

A sign of a truly great band is their ability to develop their sound each album, exploring new sounds and this is what Los Planetas are masters of. Their Manchester-sound, mixed with the Andalucian sun had always produced stunning results (try debut album Super 8 or Una Semana En El Motor De Un Autobus) but that wasn't enough, they needed to try something new.

There were clear signs of the shift on previous album La Leyenda Del Espacio (2007) when the flamenco influence - only natural for a band from Granada - started to 'invade' the characteristic sound of distorted guitars, psychodelic samples and intricate, often twisted lyrics. The more recent EP Cuatro Palos (taking its name from the four main styles of flamenco) was a clear declaration that this was not a whim and Una Opera Egipcia has developed that idea even further, signalling the culmination of the Planeta-flamenco fusion.

Any doubts (if there were any), however, that Los Planetas were going to go all 'Gypsy Kings' are dramatically dispelled on the opening track 'La Llave De Oro', a lyric-free intro to get you in the right frame of mind. 'Una Corona De Estrellas' and, in particular, 'Soy Un Pobre Granaino' complete with classic Planetesque keyboard introduction are clear signs that J and crew haven't forgotten their roots, while 'Siete Farolas' shows the first real signs of the flamenco influence.

The tempo is reduced and things get a little more introspective with 'No Sé Como Te Atreves' (aided by a more than notable collaboration from rising star La Bien Querida) followed by the exquisite 'Señora De Las Alturas', one of the highlights of the album and destined to become another crowd favourite -  a sublime 'shoegazing' moment.

"si te quedas conmigo
para que pueda contarte
lo mucho que te necesito
aunque creo que ya lo sabes
voy a volver a decirlo
que te quiero mas que nadie
que te sigo queriendo lo mismo
para que alivies mis males
señora de mis abismos"

The pseudo-poetic 'La Veleta' (again with La Bien Querida') is dwarfed by 'Romance De Juan Osuna', possibly Los Planetas' clearest example of their newly created sound. Thundering guitars, with the distorsion pedal doing overtime again and Jotas' obsession with poppies is clearly evident once more.      

Content, and with the freedom to do whatever they feel like, without really worrying what anyone thinks, Los Planetas indulge themselves in some deeper Flamenco experimentation during the run-in, with the hypnotic 'Virgen De La Soledad' and the extravagant 'La Pastora Divina' (accompanied by the 'authentic' Flamenco legend, Enrique Morente) testing the listeners' mettle, but ultimately coming up trumps. Closing track 'Los Poetas' typically brings the album to an agonising close on what, quite clearly is a masterpiece.

In flamenco circles, the term "Opera Egipcia" ("Egyptian Opera") is used to suggest that an artist has reached the pinnacle, so the question begs "will they continue?" My partner (compañera "de viaje" throughout Los Planetas' career) suggests this will be their finale and she could be right (she usually is!). I still have my doubts, but for now I'm not going to worry about it too much - I'm too busy enjoying the moment.

NC

NME-Europe rating: 9/10
Top Track: 'Señora De Las Alturas'

Watch a vid...




Last 5 NME-Europe reviews:
Cybiont: 'Angels And Demons'
Two Door Cinema Club: 'Tourist History'
The Soft Pack: 'The Soft Pack'
Los Punsetes: 'LP2'
The Courteeners: 'Falcon'



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Weekly Round Up (30 Mar 2009)

Welcome to the latest batch of interesting (?) new stories from the music world.

Top Stories
Revolutionaries Manic Street Preachers have stopped the British National Party from using their 1998 Number 1 'If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next', after the far-right political party used the track as the backing for a video titled 'The Cesspit Called London' on their website and on a YouTube account without seeking permission to do so. The material was removed after SonyBMG, the band's label, issued a cease and desist order.

Ironically, the lyrics to that song concern the International Brigade – the group of volunteers who went to Spain to fight Franco's fascist ranks in the Spanish Civil War. Another example of the BNP's ignorance.

Back in the "cesspit", organisers of a campaign aiming to ensure that a suitable replacement is built for the London Astoria, which was forced to close in the name of urban development in January, held a rally outside the venue last Saturday.

Campaigners were asked to take their iPods with them in order to have a silent disco directly outside the venue, due for imminent demolition.

A campaign petition has now been signed by over 1,000 people, while the campaigners' official Facebook page has over 3,000 members.

Back in the 'Pool, Some of the city's best known musicians have teamed up with Liverpool players to honour the Hillsborough disaster, which "celebrates" its 20th anniversary in April.

Musicians including John Power (The La's, Cast), Peter Hooton (The Farm), Nick Kilroe (Echo And The Bunnymen) and Rob Taylor (The Troubadours) have recorded an updated version of Irish folk song and fans' favourite 'Fields Of Athernry'.

The song, which has been renamed 'Fields Of Anfield Road', also features vocals from the 'Kop Choir', made up of past players including Kenny Dalglish, Phil Thompson, John Aldridge, and Bruce Grobbelaar.

Speaking of the single, Hooton said he wants the track to be seen as a tribute.

"A lot of people have volunteered to get involved," he said. "It is a reworking of a Kop classic and I hope it raises awareness of the Hillsborough disaster and is a fitting tribute to the 96 and the survivors."

Starsailor frontman James Walsh, a big Liverpool fan, also appears on the track.

As a member of the "Blue half", I wish the project the very best. I was unfortunate to be around at the time and hope this serves as a deserved tribute to all those who were affected.

Nil Satis Nisi Optimum.

Myspace Magic
Plenty happening on Myspace this week, in fact too much to summarise here. With no disrespect to the rest, the picks of the week are Loveday Fools, a band who will appear on this page in the next week or so and who have uploaded another new track to their page this week. 'The Year I Started Smoking' confirms their ability to bang out a quality melody. (And thanks for sending me a sneak preview, gents!).

Fellow friends, Alexis Blue, also uploaded some new sounds. Their debut album is available on a free download from their page. I seriously recommend a visit and listen.

Following the latest Myspace Magic interview with midlanders The Scholars, the lads have informed me that their demo album 'Turbulence', mentioned in the article, is available for full streaming on LastFM at the following link:

http://www.last.fm/music/the+scholars/turbulence

You can read the full interview here (shame on you if you haven't already!)

And finally, congratulations to Londoners We Have Band, who have won the Emerging Bands competition organised by the Glastonbury festival. The lucky gits will be on one of the main stages during the festival.

Reviews
No particularly important releases this week. Still pending is a write-up of 'Klang' by The Rakes, and a summary of this months top albums will appear soon.

Festival Fever
In the light of Los Planetas' cancellation ahead of this year's SOS 4.8 festival, the organisers have been quick to confirm Maximo Park as replacement and have also rescheduled the programme a little. Spiritualized have now moved from the Friday (May 1) to the Saturday, while the aforementioned Maximo Park will play the main stage on the opening night. You can check out the complete listings here.


Up the road, Benicassim's classic FIB festival announced more confirmed acts to accompany headline acts Oasis, Franz Ferdinand, Kings Of Leon and The Killers. The latest additions are Lily Allen (oh well!), Glasvegas and Mystery Jets. Other confirmed acts included TV On The Radio, Fight Like Apes and Late Of The Pier. Again, more information is available on the official webpage.

More next week.


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Weekly Round Up (23 Mar 2009)

Hi and welcome to another week of musical wonder.

Top Stories

With U2 keeping their gobs shut this week, I've had to look elsewhere for some newsworthy items, but there's always something to write home about. George Harrison's son, Dhani, says The Beatles estate is considering bypassing iTunes and setting up a standalone download site offering the band's music. Not content with the 'Rock Band' deal set to hit the market in September or Steve Job's paultry 99 cents a download, Dhani is clearly intent on making the most of his father's talent - has he not got any of his own, we ask ourselves?

"We're losing money every day," Harrison told Blender.

"So what do you do? You have to have your own delivery system, or you have to do a good deal with Steve Jobs. But he says that a download is worth 99 cents, and we disagree."

Maybe Dhani should start doing covers of his father's work. Read on....

Will Page, Chief Economist at music royalties agency PRS, says revenue from ticket sales, performance royalties and VAT has now overtaken that from recorded music. He calculated that across all facets, the live industry was worth £904m in 2008. This overtakes recorded industry's trade value of £896m, as published in the BPI's January newsletter with the gap expected to widen in the future.

At the same conference, promoter Stuart Galbraith of Killimanjiro Live pointed out that Michael Jackson has sold 800,000 concert tickets, all major festivals have sold out and Take That are looking at seven-figure ticket sales on their current campaign.

To me, this seems a logical development in today's download society.

One band who definitely won't be adding to this trend, are The Stone Roses. Amid tabloid rumours the band were going to reunite and play a 21 gig tour this summer, Ian Brown's publicist denied any truth in the matter, telling the Daily Mail that he is instead concentrating on his next solo album at the moment.

"We know nothing about a reunion," the publicist said. "Ian is working on his new studio album which is due out later this year."

John Squire also said they same later on in the week, so best not get too excited by that whole idea.


Myspace Magic
Pittsburgh's finest, Meeting Of Important People are counting the days to the release of their self-titled debut album. They'll be one of the featured bands on nme-europe this week.

Elsewhere, there are plenty of bands uploading new tracks this week. In no particular order of preference, then:

Liverpool quartet Sky Lounge offer '7Teen', a hard-hitting track which, as they self-proclaim "...mostly draws upon catchy pop chorus and prominent dance rhythms."

Fellow Scousers, Buzz Radio, win the week's prolific prize with no less than FOUR new tracks appearing on their page. 'So Sad About Us', 'Judgement Day', 'Don't Make A Fool Out Of Me' and 'One Too Many' are easy on the ear for all pop/rockers.

Just up the M62, Mutineers most recent track, 'Hyde Road' is a real grower and well worth a listen.

Last, but not least, Loveday Fools, who hail from Scarborough also have new tracks on their page, with a demo version of 'In The Backyard' the latest to arrive. If you like well thought out melodies, you're gonna like these gents - my particular favourite is 'The Morning', although I won't tell you who I think they sound like...

Check 'em all out. It won't do you any harm!

Finally, not content with a bandbacker battle, Page 44 are also set on the Road To V. Couldn't resist giving them my vote. You should do too.

Reviews

With reviews of Starsailor and The Rakes on the horizon, this week's pick of the new stuff must surely be The Decemberists' fifth album, 'Hazards Of Love'. Following the commercial success of 'The Crane Wife' it'll be interesting to see which direction they take now.

Festival Fever
Without going into too much detail on the UK festivals, the main announcement Spain-wide this week comes from the SOS 4.8 festival. Spanish indie legends (and I don't use that term lightly), Los Planetas, won't be able to make it in the end as they're concentrating on recording their new album. However, the organisers have, so-to-speak, pulled a rabbit out of the hat by confirming Newcastle boys Maximo Park as a replacement. While Los Planetas is an unfortunate loss, Maximo Park is certainly an exciting prospect and increases the quality of the line-up. There's still a bit of uncertainty as to when they'll appear with one local paper indicating it's a straight swap while another stated they'll be on the main stage on the Friday (which balances things up a little).


That's about it then. Have a good week.


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