How was the first day of Primavera Sound 2023

It’s always great to see New Order and Blur live, but in the eternal struggle between retromania and futurism, a new generation of artists is opening the music up to the world

Day 1. Kms Travelled: 24

If last year in Barcelona Primavera Sound debuted with a series of worrying controversies that animated social networks and warmed the souls of those present (from lack of water to long queues for drinks, to non-working From POS to cancellation of The Strokes’ live show), this time the main festival of the Spanish summer had little to worry about: Day 1 went smoothly as planned. Sure, there was drama during the day, but this time Primavera and its audience are the victims; Due to the strike, some airlines have canceled their flights scheduled for Sunday, the usual moment of return after the three-day festival (with dire circumstances, by agreement of the F1 Grand Prix this year), already a worried voice Creating at the departure gate. There have also been some last-minute team changes – Yung Lean, Thames and Bleachers – but, added together, still not to the displeasure of those who saw Casablanca and Company band first. Is. their eyes.

The last and only time I went to Primavera Sound was in 2009. Of course fourteen years is a long time in my memory, but practically nothing survives of that edition. The festival’s new machine – now designed for export around the world from Madrid to Porto to South America – is astonishing: it works perfectly despite managing 12 stages (the idea here is that twin stages Think about it, that is, hundreds of times and thousands and thousands (and thousands!) of stages in the Parc del Fòrum. Everything is going as it should this year, so let’s move immediately to the most interesting things: this music How did you get on at the level?

The first day was conditioned by the most classic challenge in the field of music: past versus future. Headliners aside (or Old Glory, take your pick), over 40-50-60 artists, very white, perfectly represent what we – very white Europeans – mean by music (i.e. music of the West). Youth collectives, on the other hand, new voices and narratives that include different ethnicities, backgrounds, experiences. Certainly not a struggle between good and evil, but a stark demonstration of how in the last ten years even Europe has discovered that there are incredible sounds outside our borders (or often within the borders we have colonised) Is. New Order and Blur – arguably the most anticipated act of the day – did what was asked of them (with two sincere but extraordinary performances, especially for Albarn’s band, who would have been forgiven for being too true to anything is, but song 2 And coffee and tv It sounded like they were being played by a 50-year-old cover band), but their presence under the stage gave the impression that they had come to pay respects to a bygone era rather than actually hear a concert. Retromania influences flowed into the monument, clearly materialized during the final song by New Order. love will Tear Us Apart

by Joy Division, where the writing appears on the screen (in addition to a picture of Ian Curtis)forever joy division“, in short circuit of the infinite and undeniable (self) celebration of the past. It is no coincidence that it was difficult to find children under 30 or people of other ethnic groups under their stage.

In order to find young audiences, Afro-descendants, Asians, Latinos, but also gay people (it’s good to see how such a huge festival can now bring together such a heterogeneous audience), avoid the main stage during hot hours. was enough for. It’s no coincidence that the most intriguing acts rooted in the present-future have been included at the same time as the headliners in question. In fact, during the New Order program Central C, Britain’s Prince Drill, a mixture of Irish, Guyanese, Ecuadorian and Aruchi blood, became famous for Rema, a Nigerian singer and rapper. Calm down (a song that Selena Gomez also has a version with billions of listeners), Le Perfume, an all-female Japanese J-pop trio as well as a set by Juliana, in addition to one of the most artistic and funniest performances of the day Is. Huxtable, an African-American transgender DJ, paired here with Jass. The same blurb slot instead saw an opportunity to see a surprise show by Drain Gang, a Swedish multi-ethnic cloud rap collective made up of Bladey, Ecko2K, Thaiboy Digital and WhiteArmor. There was also room for Red Velvet’s K-pop, Loyal Carne’s rap (much better than Pusha T), Isabella Lovestory’s reggaeton (one of the rawest and most entertaining shows ever punctuated by 8am), Pinkpants’ UK sound. , the eclecticism of the Sudan Archives, the ironic and fragmented electronics of Hudson Mohawke and a whole array of electronic artists and DJs that non-stop animate the first day of spring.

But in Primavera, as in the life of each of us, the past and the future are inevitable. Nostalgia is returning safely to a place we know and that we know it has already done by the fact of being alive, reactivating a memory and will do us good. Instead, future is necessary for survival, for change, for growth. The privilege of experiencing a festival – being able to surf, in a simpler way than in our private lives – between retromania and futurism guilty pleasure And account of your youth. The first day of spring perhaps drew a line between past and future, between old and young, between old and new. And clearly this future looks like it might be more fun than the memories of the good old days.