On Friday it hosted the most diverse proposals, from the apocalyptic music of Swans to the danceable techno of Four Tet and Fred Again..., going through the melodramatic pop of Christine and the Queens and the unorthodox rock of Yves Tumor.
The concert of the Los Angeles rapper Kendrick Lamar left its mark at Primavera Sound, a festival in which he had already triumphed in the 2014 edition. On this occasion, he took the opportunity to pay off the debt he had pending with his fans for ignoring our country on the famous tour from last year "The big steppers tour", which served to present his acclaimed latest album "Mr. morale
It did not come with the minimalist and praised scenery of that tour; just some painted backdrops and a corps de ballet, but he alone is enough to show why he is one of the most relevant contemporary artists. It is for its devilish and precise 'flow', for some long, elaborate and conscientious lyrics, which serve to x-ray the society in which it lives, and also for its progressive sound, built with very well selected pieces of great black music, the one that goes from soul to funk and from jazz to rock. Among the highlights it is worth mentioning the repechage of “King Kunta”, a tribute to the rebel slave Kunta Kinte and with a powerful groove coming from sampling the music of George Clinton.
He also winked at colleagues, rescuing the "Nosetalgia" he recorded with Pusha T or the "Sidewalks" he did with The Weeknd, as well as inviting Baby Keem with whom they eventually rapped a duet "Vent" -a song that begins wondering “have you ever been punched in your motherfuckin' face?” - and “Family ties” that revolves around a deconstructed jazz background. The same style serves to give entity to the combative “Alright”. In the sensual section, the chanted “” Bitch, do n't kill my vibe ”and a “ Count me out ” stood out, of which the video in which Helen Mirren plays her therapist has become very famous. Another unbeatable combination is the one he offers in “Money trees”, with a sensual background, a sharp flow and a lyrical guitar in a heavy key. Not to mention “DNA.”, which reaches psychedelic overtones, or, at the opposite extreme, a “Love” which, as its title indicates, works as a caress. The same as "Die hard", demonstrating the versatility of a fundamental artist.
The Swans group is an emblem of the festival. Directed with a master hand by the huge Michael Gira, they landed at the Fòrum Auditorium, a few days before releasing their sixteenth album "The beggar", to once again demonstrate that they are unique by producing music that is like a sonic 'maelstrom'. In the formation of a sextet and led by the acoustic guitar, voice and raised arm of this kind of demiurge that is Gira, they build cathedrals of noise with an intensity that becomes dangerous for the ear. They dazzled and terrified at the same time with a cathartic performance.
In the annals of Primavera Sound is the performance that New Yorkers The Moldy Peaches gave in 2002, when the festival was held at Poble Espanyol. The irreverence and candor of the group led by Kimya Dawson and Adam Green shined again at the festival twenty years later, although now their antifolk, their costumes and their sense of humor are more harmless than before.
Fred again is the artistic alias of British Frederick John Philip Gibson, producer, composer, multi-instrumentalist and DJ who proved why he has become famous with a mix of pop, UK Garage, house and other techno herbs included in the three volumes of “Actual life ”.
He repeated his presence at the festival and on this occasion he put a dance on one of the large stages. He arrived just after having released an ambient album, “Secret life”, together with none other than Brian Eno. It is published by the Text label of Four Tet, artistic alias of Kieran Hebden, a compatriot producer and DJ who was also at the festival on Friday, leaving aside his more experimental side to demonstrate what IDM (Intelligent dance music) means, in a session in which hedonistic house was embraced to put the esplanade in front of the Amazon stage into dance, the same one in which the French Héloïse Letissier, at the head of the group Cristine and the Queens, came to present her new project “Redcar les adorables étoiles” sinning in a certain excess of theatrical melodramatism.
Another one that premiered at the festival is Yves Tumor, aka Sean Bowie, an extravagant American artist living in Italy who mixes rock, R
