Primavera Sound

Primavera Sound is one of the world's most incredible music festivals, unique in the way they unite (even re-unite) world-famous headliners while also digging deep to discover up-and-coming artists. Based in Barcelona, Primavera brings artists from all over the world, with an ear that is uniquely attuned to sounds from Spain's underground. 

Here's a mix featuring music by 32 of the artists who are scheduled to perform at this year's Primavera Sound festival, May thru June 3rd. 2012 will be the fourth year in a row that WFMU broadcasts live from the festival, and we're looking forward to archiving more approved Primavera Sound performances here on the Free Music Archive!

Sharon Van Etten (US) | Shellac (US) | Sictor Valdaña & The Check This Outs (ES) | Siskiyou (CA) | Sleep (US) | Sleepy Sun (US) | Sleigh Bells (US) | Spiritualized (UK) | Sr. Chinarro (ES) | Stasi (ES) | Steven Munar & The Miracle Band (ES) | Tall Firs (US) | Templeton (ES) | The Afghan Whigs (US) | The Chameleons (UK) | The Cure (UK) | The Drums (US) | The Experimental Tropic Blues Band (BE) | The Field (SE) | The Free Fall Band (ES) | The Ganjas (CL) | The Go! Team djs (UK) | The Lions Constellation (ES) | The Men (US) | The Olivia Tremor Control (US) | The Pop Group (UK) | The Rapture (US) | The Right Ons (ES) | The War On Drugs (US) | The Wedding Present plays Seamonsters (UK) | The Weeknd (CA) | The xx (UK) | Thee Oh Sees (US) | Trash Talk (US) | Unicornibot (ES) | Univers (ES) | Veronica Falls (UK) | Villarroel (ES) | Void Ov Voices (HU) | Washed Out (US) | Wavves (US) | White Denim (US) | Wilco (US) | Wild Beasts (UK) | Wolves In The Throne Room (US) | Xavier Baró (ES) | Yann Tiersen (FR) | Yo La Tengo (US)

Check out many more select recordings from past Primavera Sound festivals as we look forward to Primavera 2012!

Last week, we kicked off a collection of recordings from WFMU's two days of Primavera Sound coverage with Prince Rama, Swans, Oneohtrix Point Never, Suicide, Pissed Jeans, The Monochrome Set, Ducktails, Half Japanese.

This week, we bring you six more from Barcelona's incredible multi-day / multi-stage music festival! Check out free artist-approved mp3s by...

* Barcelona's own Aias! Gaia, Laia, and Miriam were inspired to start a band after seeing the Vivian Girls at Primavera Sound a couple years back, and they sing in Catalan (not Spanish!), which is the language of Catalonia. Captured Tracks released their record A La Piscina, and the three-piece was joined by guests on saxophone for this Primavera Sound set
  >> Aias live at Primavera Sound

* Legendary downtown NYC avant-garde composer Glenn Branca is the conductor of the Glenn Branca Ensemble (pictured). This 4guitar, + bass & drums supergroup performed The Ascension: The Sequel (2010's follow up to Branca's seminal 1981 release The Ascension) in its entirety, and the FMA hosts four selections from this performance
  >> Glenn Branca Ensemble live at Primavera Sound).

* The Fresh & Onlys from San Francisco! Led by the prolific songwriter (and former hip hop artist!) Tim Cohen on guitar/vox + all-around positive force in music Shayde Sartin (Skygreen Leopards, Kelley Stoltz, Teenage Panzercorps, the band is in top form
  >> Fresh & Onlys live at Primavera Sound

* WFMU & KEXP faves Moon Duo (Ripley Johnson of Wooden Shjips + Sanae Yamada, pictured) bring the new psychedelic sounds of San Francisco to Spain, with jams off their new Sacred Bones release Mazes
  >> Moon Duo live at Primavera Sound

* Montreal's dual female-fronted 4-piece noise-poppers No Joy! Scott Williams was telling me that the whole set, they sounded like a shoegazin' Mary Weiss, and then they closed with "He Cried!" Check out their debut LP Ghost Blond (Mexican Summer).
  >> No Joy live at Priamvera Sound

* The Soft Moon, a project of California's Luis Vasquez, performs live with a full band. "Tiny Spiders" closes his s/t debut on Captured Tracks, and capped off a set of dark 80s-inspired angular post-pop.
  >> The Soft Moon live at Primavera Sound

:: Primavera Sound 2011 on WFMU (full mp3 collection)

// Stay tuned as we'll be adding even more sets next week!

Primavera Sound held its eleventh-annual festival in Barcelona Spain last month, and we are proud to present mp3 highlights from what is truly one of the world's most incredible music events. This year, a record-setting 120,000+ attendees were treated to several stages'-worth of performances by established artists, special reunion performances, and many up-and-coming artists who you might not expect to see on the big festival stage.

For the third year in a row, the freeform-inspired folks at Primavera invited WFMU to broadcast live [playlists here and here], and we are kicking off the Free Music Archive collection with sets from...

Prince Rama  ::  Swans  ::  Oneohtrix Point Never  ::  Suicide  ::  Pissed Jeans  ::  The Monochrome Set  ::  Ducktails  :: Half Japanese

We picked out a few highlights below, like Michael Gira (pictured L) giving WFMU a Ween-referencing "shoutout" before launching into an incredible version of "Eden Prison" off the new Swans album My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky, and Matt from Pissed Jeans speaking directly to the guys & girls in the audience during "Boring Girls," leading into the most trance-inducing drum solo of the entire festival. New Wave chart-toppers' Prince Rama (pictured R, formerly Of Ayodhya) performed backed by VJ Julian of Quiet Hooves; Oneohtrix Point Never's set was a psychedelic trip; Suicide performed their entire first LP followed by "Dream Baby Dream as an encore; Half Japanese played a rawkus set of should-be hits that recalled their performance at WFMU's 2008 SXSW festival; the fantastic reunion performance from London post-punk pioneers The Monochrome Set; and a full-band set of jams new & old from New Jersey's own Ducktails.

Check out the entire Primavera Sound 2011 FMA Collection here, and stay tuned (RSS) as we'll be adding more artist-approved songs & sets for your on-demand enjoyment!

Today, Primavera Sound announced some incredible additions to their 2011 festival lineup. They still have a few announcements in store before the 11th annual springtime festival returns to Barcelona this May, but it's hard to imagine how this lineup could get any better! Many of the artists who'll be playing this year's festival also have some related mp3s on the Free Music Archive, they are linked below and I've attached a few mp3s, too:

Primavera Sound is unique in that they pair established headliners and festival performers with up-and-coming artists. They also have a great ear towards the music scene in Spain. One of the acts playing this year's festival, Aias, are an all-female three-piece from Barcelona who sing in Catalán. They were actually inspired to form a band after seeing the Vivian Girls at Primavera Sound a couple years back! You can listen to here, and check out many more select recordings from past Primavera Sound festivals as we look forward to Primavera 2011!

I hadn't seen Sic Alps since a show a couple summers back at Brooklyn's Death By Audio, which is a DIY venue that looks a little something like this:

Death By Audio has its own sound system, but Sic Alps didn't care. They brought their own, cuz that's how they do -- running everything through a big set of black and Orange amps, mixing in a touch of tasteful delay to create that distinctive Sic sound. It's a sound you may already be familiar with from their releases on myriad awesome labels (Slumberland, Siltbreeze, Woodsist, Important, Almost Ready, Drag City, the list goes on). If you've yet to hear these fine releases, you can check out "Message From the Law" on this FMA Sampler V2, and their amazing 2007 live session on Brian Turner's show (part of which appeared on a highly sought-after tape via Mike Donovan's own Folding Cassettes imprint). I've often heard Brian Turner speak of Sic Alps as exemplary of the new crop of DIY bands (Thee Oh Sees and Naked On The Vague among them) who shape sound entirely through their own equipment instead of depending upon outside forces.

Sic Alps sounded downright at home on the big festival stage at Primavera, pumped through gargantuan outdoor speakers like it was no big deal. The former two-piece of Mike Donovan (vocals/guitar) and Matt Harman (drums) are now joined by bassist Noel Von Harmonson, which helped round out their sound on classic Alps tunes like "Brill Building," "Bells (w/ Tremolo and Distortion)" "Stories" plus new jams, "Do You Want to Give $$" being one of my faves from the set. If you like these free sounds and want to give $$, the $ icon on Sic Alps FMA profile directs to their merch page but for some reason it only contains lyrics, nothing for sale...well I'm sure you can find stuff online thru Drag City, Siltbreeze etc, or find a new track, "Maddy / Riley" available on a new Amnesty International compilation called "PEACE" that with exclusive tracks by 180+ artists -- including Bonde Do Role, Dan Deacon, Steve Wynn, Vieux Farka Toure -- available for a donation of $5 or more (link).

>> Full Set

The Almigty Defenders are a twisted-gospel/garage-punk supergroup featuring members of Black Lips, King Khan & BBQ. When I say "gospel," I mean these guys are inspired by 70s soul, 60s garage and 50s R&B, but the spiritual message is slightly warped. During their rowdy live set at Primavera Sound, they don't just encourage the crowd to "Take Jesus Christ," but to "take him by the balls...and squeeze". They had some strong words for the pope as well in this beguiling set of spirituals, and survived more than a gag (a Defender vomited onstage, which upset the security guards) to keep the party going late Saturday night at the Vice stage.

Vice released The Almighty Defenders' self-titled debut LP late last year, which is surprising turn-around considering the group had only formed in February 2009. Even more surprising is the group's origin story -- according to Wikipedia:

During the Black Lips' January 2009 tour of India, following an incident at a rowdy show during which Cole Alexander kissed fellow bandmember Ian St. Pe and exposed his private parts on-stage, the Lips fled the country while rumors of their arrests circulated the internet. The tour was canceled and the group members fled to the Berlin, Germany residence of King Khan, where Sultan so happened to be recording tracks with Khan for the King Khan and BBQ Show's upcoming "Invisible Girl". Over the course of eight days, in a typically booze-sloppy Black Lips fashion, they laid down 11 tracks with Khan and Sultan. On June 17, the full group made its live debut, performing a set in choir robes at the North by Northeast festival.

The Defenders' choir robes were in full effect at Primavera Sound, where highlights included the group's epic "The Great Defender", "The Ghost With The Most", and "Cone of Light" (full setlist after the jump). The album version of "Cone of Light" is available for download from Vice Records' FMA collection, where you can also find music from related projects Black Lips and King Khan and The Shrines and great great bands like Pierced Arrows, Growing, The Raveonettes, Acrassicauda and Lullabye Arkestra.

A Sunny Day in Glasgow's dream-pop stylings have gotten increasingly layered with ethereal subtlety since their debut in 2006, and this translated surprisingly well to the Primavera Sound festival environment. I'd recommend listening back to this live recording through extremely large speakers -- as big as you can find -- at maximum volume, outside.

Contrary to what their name might have you believe, A Sunny Day in Glasgow is actually from Philadelphia PA. Core member Ben Daniels and mult--instrumentalist Josh Meakam are also members of King Kong Ding Dong (who I've written about here). The current incarnation of ASDiG -- either 2.0 or 3.0 for those keeping score -- is rounded out by vocalists Annie Fredrickson and Jen Goma, bassist Ryan Newmyer, and drummer Adam Herndon. 

The Primavera set capped off a 6 week European tour, and focused on new material. A particularly catchy unreleased song (to be titled either "broken radio" or "come away with me" or "sigh, inhibitionist") bodes very well for the future of ASDiG. Most of the other songs can be found through the Mis Ojos Discos label, on either Ashes Grammer (2009) or the Nitetime Rainbows 12'' EP (2010). The latter demonstrates how well the ASDiG layered sound lends itself to remixes with three unique takes on the title track, including one by Ezekiel Honig. You can pick up ASDiG releases through their website, along with a few more free mp3 downloads of demos, singles and remixes (including a Radiohead remix). Word is they have a new full-length in the works, so keep an ear out!

>> A Sunny Day in Glasgow live @ Primavera Sound 2010 (full set)

For the second year in a row, Primavera Sound made WFMU the official American radio station for their unparalleled 3-day festival in Barcelona, Spain. The multi-stage festival was bigger and better than ever as it celebrated its 10th anniversary with a lineup of heavy hitters and WFMU favorites like Pavement, Sic Alps, Wire, The Books, The Clean, The Slits, Thee Oh Sees, New Pornographers, Diplo, Wilco, Camarón de la Isla, and So Cow. Many of these sets are now archived streaming on WFMU's special events page, and starting today we're posting some mp3 highlights to WFMU's Blog and Free Music Archive!

Kicking things off is the one and only Superchunk! The legendary kings of indie rock are back to reclaim their crown with their first new album in nine years, Majesty Shredding, slated for a September 14th release on Merge Records. Singer/guitarist Mac McCaughan and bassist Laura Ballance founded Merge back in 1989 with the release of Superhcunk's debut, the "Slack Motherfucker" 7''. That anthemic tune was one of many classics from the 2010 Primavera set, which was broadcast in its entirely on Terre T's Cherry Blossom Clinic. Also in the mix was "Detroit Has a Skyline" (mp3 below), "Learn to Surf" (off the forthcoming album), and "Precision Auto" featuring the omnipresent Tim Harrington of Les Savy Fav on guest vocals -- also check out his stage appearance during Liquid Liquid's set on WFMU's youtube).

The live performance and new album both feature a classic Superchunk lineup -- unchanged since the early 90's -- with Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance joined by Jim Wilbur on guitar and the renaissance man Jon Wurster on drums. You can check out a video teaser for Majesty Shredding over at vimeo, or after the jump.

Elsewhere on the FMA, you can catch Mac performing a solo set as Portastatic live over the phone from Chapel Hill, as broadcast on Phoning It In where "lo-fi is the right fi".

Stay tuned to the FMA where we'll be posting mp3 highlights from Primavera Sound all week long, and in the meantime, enjoy some Prima-Video's after the jump

Christchurch, New Zealand's Bats were a perfect hour's accompaniment to a sunny afternoon Primavera Sound fest in Barcelona (where WFMU broadcast for three days from May 28-30). Since 1983, the steady lineup of Kaye Woodward, Paul Kean, Malcolm Grant and Robert Scott (who was also a founding member of the Clean) have specialized in a distinct brand of delicate and surging electric folk-pop which sometimes got them tagged as the Kiwi answer to early 80's R.E.M. However, the Bats drew from a much more varied well (influenced by everything from the Troggs to Stereolab and onward), and kept their recording and touring lives relatively simple yet steady (with breaks for having kids, solo projects, and the occassional Clean reunion).

They've been long regarded a seminal core band of the Flying Nun label universe, with critics and fans alike continually heralding them throughout their long history. We've been longtime fans and friends here at the station, the band even put out a Live at WFMU 7" single on Merge back in 1994. Their latest, the Guilty Ones, is out now on Hidden Agenda, and we're happy they've agreed to let us archive their great Primavera set for download.

20 of the Primavera sets WFMU carried are archived for streaming here, by the way, and a few of those bands have OK'd downloads, which you can check out here in the Free Music Archive Primavera Sound collection.

>> The Bats - live on WFMU at Primavera Sound, Barcelona, May 28, 2009