The Primavera Experience

Its location makes for a wholly unique and impressively vibrant festival that sweeps you into a fully Spanish experience and leaves you heady with ecstasy.

In the early ‘90s, Manuel Vazquez Montalban wrote extensively of Barcelona, or rather, the many faces of Barcelona that have come into being. His critical history of Barcelona, a book entitled Barcelonas, revealed a city that he loved but also believed was in a state of struggle post-Olympics and where modernization was wiping out the face of tradition and causing social unrest. Visiting the city today is something of a similar experience, and over 20 years later you can still relate to his writing.

Barcelona is a complicated, schizophrenic city full of life and colour. It is overlooked by mountains and located on a vast stretch of white sand. It feels immensely Catalonian, but still battles against the pains of modernization. Every now and then, the stench of the sewers hits you, the same way that it would have done 100 years ago, and as you walk down its winding, cobbled streets you still see washing hanging out of windows drying in the breeze. The heat from above and the pollution from below merge together and you always feel as though you are dirty from the dust. Yet, you still fall in love with the place and it is a city that genuinely bursts with energy and sense of the delightfully exotic. For these reasons, it is the perfect home for Primavera Sound. It is what makes the festival such an exuberant experience.

The Festival

“I don’t need to tell you how much I love Primavera. Some of the best nights of my life have been here in Barcelona... It is one of the best festivals in the world because you get a genuine experience and you get so much for your money... God bless Primavera!” Bradford Cox of Deerhunter gushed onstage midway through the band’s jaw-droppingly brilliant Saturday night slot on the main stage. A hefty statement it may well be, but there’s a reason that so many people from across the globe flock to Primavera Sound every year. As Cox threw his body across the stage in one of the highlight performances of the weekend, it left you thinking about how special this festival is and what makes the experience so fulfilling.

When Primavera Sound arrives, it completely takes over the city and the music begins very early on in the week. One of Primavera’s top qualities is its endorsement of artists from the local scene and the ability to really put the spotlight on some of Spain’s up-and-coming musicians. There is so much more to see and do and small venues across the city play host to a vibrant collection of new musicians, and as early as Tuesday night, there is even a set from LCD Soundsystem.

Nuria Graham was one of the spotlight artists and brought her unique flavour of eery-guitar led ballads and fiery cover of Britney Spears’ ‘Toxic’ to help kick-start proceedings on Wednesday. At the other end of Barcelona, Parc del Forum opened its doors early for Suede who performed an electrifying show that was completely free for anyone and everyone to attend and saw Brett Anderson rip his shirt whilst he threw himself across the stage in exaggerated bursts of energy. It is these extra touches that put other festivals to shame, as Primavera becomes a totally embracive experience for everyone and anyone to enjoy.

As the festival kicked off in earnest, the line-up dipped and dived between genres and left no stone unturned. In the early afternoon, Norwegian DJ Todd Terje brought his quirky disco to The Beach – an area which one can only liken to what Coachella must be like (think palm trees and expensive cocktails). Whilst later on, Kamasi Washington exhibited his impeccable brand of jazz to a packed-out Auditori Rockdelux with a show that was both faultless and inspiring. Washington simply smiled as he left the stage to let his two drummers “have a conversation” as they launched into a 15 minute drum-off that ended with a standing ovation from the entire audience.

Elsewhere, Floating Points and the immense animated light show that accompanied their electrifying live show perfectly lay the framework for the evening ahead. The mainstage belonged to Tame Impala, where Kevin Parker exhibited an effortless air of cool as the band worked through a set that was heavily centred around last year’s mega-album Currents, but still played old favourites such as ‘Elephant’ and ‘Feels Like We Only Go Backwards’.

Of course, it would be completely wrong to ignore the fact that the word on everyone’s lips on Friday was Radiohead, however there were many other acts proving their worth throughout the day. Shura took to the Firestone Stage early in the day, playing through her blissful pop tracks as sun beat down over the site. Alex G performed an effortless set in his signature laidback style, working through his extensive back catalogue and playing with the crowd as the sun set on the second day of the festival. Later on NAO performed a masterful set on the Pitchfork stage that proved her incredible knack to get an early evening crowd dancing as though it were 2am at a nightclub as she danced around barefoot to tracks such as ‘Bad Blood’ and the addictive new track ‘Girlfriend’.

The main stage area was completely packed to the rafters with the politest crowd you’ve ever come across as Radiohead prepared for their much-talked about headline slot. Battling against low sound levels, the performance was nothing short of mesmerising – if not a little quiet. The eeriest point came when the whole crowd was stood motionless and silent as Thom Yorke wailed and warbled over tracks from the latest album A Moon Shaped Pool, which made up the first few songs of the set. However, in a rare display of crowd-pleasing, Radiohead actually brought out ‘Karma Police’, ‘Weird Fishes/Arpeggi’ and ended on ‘Creep’. What more could you ask for?

Saturday may have spelled the final day for the festival, but there was still plenty to do and there was no opportunity for the pace to slow down. Brian Wilson brought the classic Pet Sounds to the mainstage sun and left the crowd heady with joy. Jenny Hval brought an eclectic display of performance art to her show whilst elsewhere Richard Hawley brought some Northern charm to the Ray Ban stage that overlooks the ocean.

After an electrifying show from Deerhunter, PJ Harvey took to the stage as the final big name of the weekend. With a kind of Pagan sensibility, she brought a set that was based heavily around Let England Shake and The Hope Six Demolition Project. Dark, eery and totally mesmerising, she commanded the stage in every way and perfectly brought together a weekend of incredible music.

Parquet Courts played a chaotic set that went into the early hours of the morning that induced some final mosh pits - and possibly a few injuries - and the party continued into the early morning light when the gates were finally closed on Parc del Forum for another year.

What else is there to do in Barcelona?

Simply to get lost. If you walk and adventure, you will come across all kinds of new places. The Gothic Quarter is particularly beautiful and whilst you’re there, a trip to the Picasso Museum is very much recommended.

Equally, if you fancy doing the tourist stuff, a trip to La Sagrada Família provides an absolutely must – just be prepared to see a heart-breaking amount of people walking around with selfie-sticks who choose to film themselves rather than take in the beauty of the architecture. If you have a bit of cash to spare, it’s worth forking out the extra ten euros to go up the Towers and see the incredible views of Barcelona.

Barceloneta beach is beautiful, lively and often very packed. Be prepared to have men approach you every 5 minutes or so asking if you want a ‘fresh mojito’ though (note: the mojitos don’t look very fresh).

It’s not hard to find good bars, but it’s worth venturing away from La Rambla – the main strip that runs through the centre of Barcelona. If you walk around to MACBA, about 10 minutes from La Rambla, there is a whole host of quirky bars and restaurants to get excited about.

Who goes to Primavera Sound?

We spoke to some of Primavera’s finest attendees - and Shura - to find out what their top tips were.

Shura

Can we talk about your new video - who came up with the idea?

Well there’s this production company called Canada who are Spanish and a new director they have called Chloe Wallace had this idea to do some John Hughes-y. And so she came back with this script about a boy and girl and me singing in the background… And I was like “look, I love the idea of it being a High School movie, but I should be in it!” I have so many videos where I’m like trying to be sexy in the corner. Let me just be a dork! I can just be silly. And lets base it on a true story.

Explain…?

So there was one girl I really fancied that my brother snogged that I ended up dating and the first boy I ever snogged ended up going out with my brother. So we took that and made it like a John Hughes.

And it was shot in Barcelona?

Yeah, about an hour from here. If we’d have shot it in the UK, it would have been too much like St.Trinians!

Have you been here a few times?

I’ve been to Barcelona three times, and we used to come to Spain a lot when I was younger. But I feel like I spent so much time in South America that I feel Spain is really comfortable for me, even though the Spanish is different and much faster and I can’t always understand it.

Lior and Iftach

Where are you from?

Both: Israel!

Have you come over specifically for Primavera?

Iftach: Yes, we’re here for 3 days, only for the festival!

What’s been the best thing you’ve seen this weekend?

Iftach: I think Radiohead was the most powerful experience because the production was great.

Lior: The set was such a show and we were very close to the stage and so it made it very emotional for us. It was also terrible, because we came home with loads of bruises! But it was worth it.

What would you recommend people check out whilst they’re in Barcelona?

Iftach: Just go around the Gothic Quarter, it is so beautiful.

Lior: Yes, and Gràcia is lovely too.

Este

Where are you from?

I’m from Barcelona.

Do you come here every year?

Yeah, I’ve been coming here with my friends for 8 years now.

What’s your favourite bar in Barcelona?

Bar Babia, because the music is always great and it’s just a great place to visit.

Davie

Where are you from?

Atlanta, Georgia USA

Is this your first Primavera?

Yeah. We were travelling anyway, and we saw Primavera was on at the right time and we were like we have to come here.

What’s been the best thing you’ve done since being in Barcelona?

Probably seeing Tame Impala last night…

Who are you most excited about seeing this weekend?

Radiohead.

Fred and Frances

Where are you from?

Fred: I’m from Hull and she’s from Reading. We study in Edinburgh.

What’s been the best thing you’ve done in Barcelona so far?

Fred: Just wandering around. Walking about the city is the best way to see what’s going on.

Frances: You’ll be in a cafe and some musicians will just turn up and you’ll be like “oh wow!!”

Who are you most excited to see?

Fred: Brian Wilson!

The Newlyweds

Where are you from?

Cape Town, South Africa.

Have you come over specifically for Primavera?

We’re actually on our honeymoon! It worked out perfectly, as we were going around Europe for our honeymoon and we just bought tickets for Primavera without knowing the line-up.

What is your top Barcelona recommendation?

We landed at 8 O’Clock today… But just getting a bike and seeing the sites is the best thing you can do!

Who are you most excited about seeing?

Radiohead! But very sad to be missing Dinosaur Jr.