From the next big thing to the new Mumford Sons and from Spanish synths to Irish eyes, leading industry showcase festival Eurosonic, in the Dutch city of Groningen, had plenty to write home about in its 25th year. JIM CARROLLsums it up in just 10 moves
FOR MANY acts, the first steps towards a festival stage are taken in Groningen in January. Every year, this charming Dutch city attracts a plethora of European festival bookers, radio programmers, journalists, record labels and dedicated music fans for the Eurosonic festival.
Now firmly established as Europe’s leading showcase festival, Eurosonic is where a lot of business gets done. This year you had 292 acts in action on 36 different stages around the city centre, all vying for the attention of nearly 500 festival bookers, 24 radio stations and 33,000 happy fans.
Here are 10 sights, sounds and spectacles from our trip to Groningen as the Dutch festival marked 25 years on the go.
VIVA ESPAÑA
Two Spanish acts featured heavily in dispatches over the weekend. With Crystal Fighters, it’s all about trying to join the dots in a flamboyant set that combines a head- spinning array of sounds from folky psychedelia to weird-beard hippie electronica. It shouldn’t work, but it does – and then some.
In the case of Delorean, the boys from the Basque country who now reside in Barcelona are all about sleek, throbbing electrorave grooves with oodles of colourful snyth edges.
WHAT THE MUSIC INDUSTRY CAN LEARN FROM RYANAIR
Aside from the gigs, there’s also a conference element to Eurosonic, whereby industry professionals attend panel discussions on the state of the business in between chin-wagging and networking. There was a full house for the panel on dynamic ticketing, where Jean-Paul de Beer from Transavia Airlines talked about how live promoters could use airline-like ticketing policies to make even more cash from punters at the box office.
THE IRISH ARE HERE
Thanks to the long-standing involvement of RTÉ 2FM in Eurosonic, there are always a couple of Irish acts on the bill, and a growing number of Irish delegates too. This year, it was Heathers, James Vincent McMorrow (who was quietly spectacular in the upstairs room at the Grand Theatre) and Sacred Animals who wore the green jersey, along with reps from the Indiependence and Castle Palooza festivals scouting talent for their summer events and 2FM’s Dan Hegarty broadcasting live from the Vera club. There’s talk of a much bigger number of Irish acts at Eurosonic 2012, so watch this space.
THE NEW MUMFORD & SONS
London folk-pop act Dry the River will probably be sick of hearing comparisons to Mumford & Sons within a few months, yet both acts are tapping into the same sources. If you want immediate, catchy, infectious pop tunes with a side order of folky, acoustic harmonies and you've had enough of The Cave, Dry the River tunes such as New Ceremonyand Pass Outwill see you right. All they need now is a shopping trip to the Boden catalogue to grab a few jaunty waistcoats and they're elected.
THE NEXT BIG THING
James Blake is not your typical next big thing. Indeed, at a festival that is often heavy on brash rock and metal (and some unmitigated shite, such as Brother), Blake’s less-is-more approach is a rare commodity. Judging by the crush of people who jammed into Simplon to see him perform, many are ready to be wowed by his deconstructed minimalism, sleepy-headed beats, slow-motion beeps and lonesome alien vocals. While the live show is still a little rough around the edges, there’s a vast pool of potential here.
FRANKIE SAYS
Friday night’s late, late highlight was supplied by Sunderland’s Frankie & The Heartstrings kicking out the jams in a packed wee room. Heart-stopping excitement and soulful pop gems that owe a tip of the beret to Orange Juice (indeed, Edwyn Collins has produced them), this was music to send you home in the rain with a smile as broad as the River Wear.
BEEPS AND BLEEPS
It was a good year for the machines. Beneath his tribal headpiece, SBTRKT’s Aaron Jerome whipped up a tidal wave of dark, bassy electronic grooves, with vocalist Sampha helping to push those tunes into gorgeous Chicago house terrain. Chirpy Manchester producer Star Slinger knocked out a smashing set of deep instrumental hip-hop for the head-nodders in the audience.
Performing with an orchestra for the first time, Germany’s Brandt Braeur Frick Ensemble successfully squared the circle between the dance floor and the concert hall.
ALL THE SINGLE LADIES
(AND THEIR BANDS)
Danish performer Agnes Obel cast a bewitching spell with songs from her Philharmonics, plus a lush cover of John Cale's Close Watch. From France, Zaz impressed with her natural, voice, breezy songs and engaging jazzy, soulful pop, while Norway's Susanne Sundfør's set was full of haunted, avant-garde, intense, dark tunes. And yes, Anna Calvi was every jot as stunning as that debut album of hers.
COMING SOON TO A FESTIVAL NEAR YOU
On Saturday morning, the various festival bookers sit down, have a cup of coffee and compare notes on what they’ve seen. Of course, they don’t let the media anywhere near that room, but our spy in the camp reports that European festival-goers will be seeing a lot of James Blake, Crystal Fighters, Zaz, Delorean, Dry the River and James Vincent McMorrow in 2011.
WHY EUROSONIC WORKS IN GRONINGEN
Eurosonic grew out of a travelling European Broadcasting Union radio festival called Eurorock. When the time came for Eurosonic to have a permanent home, Groningen took the honours, due in large part to the quantity and quality of club venues within close proximity of one another in the city centre. Our favourite of the lot remains Vera, a landmark on Oosterstraat with a room that is perfect for live music.
The only drawback to binge-gigging in Groningen? The unfeasibly tall Dutch men and women blocking your view of the stage. Next year, we’re bringing a ladder.
- eurosonic.nl
