Parc del Fòrum, Barcelona
"Barcelona junta!"
After storming back into the festival spotlight last summer, Primavera Sound returned to the Catalonian epicentre with a poised resoluteness - leaving a charged cry of togetherness in its wake.
Upon first glance, most music aficionados would likely have been swayed by this year’s headliners alone: a rare reunion of 90's indie group Blur; heavyweight rap icon Kendrick Lamar; the Catalonian homecoming queen of experimental pop, Rosalía. Yet the esoteric undercard could not be forgotten, too, with an unmatched breadth of genres and avant-garde experimentalism ripe throughout, forcing many down emotionally perturbed ‘indie-rock’ paths or glitzier aisles of blemishing electronic and pop realms.
For many, the festival commenced with the former, welcomed by the consoling sounds of recent British indie iterations Black Country, New Road and Yard Act. Such solemn yet illustrious facades transcended to Japanese Breakfast’s mystically upbeat aura before ultimately ushering the monolithic stature within this diverse lane of appreciated sounds.
Whilst New Order’s historic legacy played out, along with Depeche Mode’s timeless synth-pop repertoire and the excitably rare reunification of 90’s indie stalwarts Blur, the enigmatic and quirkier artistry of dance-punk’s Le Tigre and art-rock’s St. Vincent forged their more recent repertoires with a garish indelibility. As if these gargantuan offerings weren’t enough to quench the thirst of the attentive music hoarders, the newly-curated Santander Auditori hosted the legendary experimental legacies of Michael Gira’s Swans and John Cale’s latest entourage - casting an undulating reverberation which rattled the building’s infrastructure to its core.
As the four walls of the Auditori creaked, the exuberant lighting rig overhanging Skrillex’s set suddenly caught fire, temporarily pausing the show as the on-hand firefighters extinguished the flames and the gathering nerves of those in attendance. The influential likes of this dubstep producer, as well as Nicolas Jaar’s resounding collective Darkside, eventually progressed into the headier spheres of Fred Again and Nia Archives’ recently-conjured worlds - the latter notably alighting a jungle-infused explosion of entranced euphoria, citing one of the most impressive across the festival’s three days.
With inter-generational offerings on such genres tied together through Primavera’s billing, one such voice stood out within their respected lane of artistry: hip-hop’s Kendrick Lamar. Performing as a singular artist, Lamar undeniably represented the multi-generational struggle of the African-American experience anchored to Compton, fist-pumping a cry for solidarity as the adorned rapper rattled through an era of timelessly thought-provoking tracks. As Pusha T, Channel Tres and Jpegmafia invariably gave their own impressive inflections on the wider genre and its emphatic canon, one couldn’t deny the singular brilliance of the headliner, resonating with the presence of a once-in-a-lifetime performer.
Beyond the realm of hip-hop, however, Primavera may have also incited another figure in its wake by virtue of the international pop sphere. Traversing through the insatiably-sexualised charismas of Tokischa and Isabella Lovestory, as well as the banger-churning machinery within PinkPantheress, it was Barcelona’s own pride and joy, Rosalía, which decreed a rightful homecoming for the Catalonian reina. In spite of the technical mishaps begrudging the former half of this closing set, her performance struck with a choreographed intensity, cinematic artistry, and emotionally-charged message for those attending: “Barcelona junta!”.
For this togetherness seemed ubiquitous amongst this year’s edition of Primavera Sound Barcelona, a far cry from the fractures of last year’s post-Pandemic edition - the festival’s brand has not only settled but is now infiltrating with global awareness. Beyond the scope of Primavera’s Madrid and Porto iterations, the festival will continue to spearhead its esoteric musical splendours within South America later this year, offering a fully-fledged pilgrimage for those seeking to come together not only physically but, perhaps more importantly, for the shared love of music’s eclectic diversity and inclusive togetherness.
Tickets for Primavera Sound Festival 2024 will go on general sale from 11th July and can be found here.
All photographs are courtesy of photographers from Primavera Sound Festival whose work can be found here.