SONAR 2006: Program Preview. June 15th - 17th

Unofficial preview of "SONAR 2006. Advanced Music and Multimedia Art".



Ugly Duckling , Bus Feat. MC Soom-T, Eliot Lipp , Ray Rodriguez, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Kapital Band 1 ,Gustav , Jade, Birdy Nam Nam , Richard Chartier, Taylor Deupree, Nobukazu Takemura, Mondii aka Nao Sugimoto plays Spekk , DJ Krush, Tucker , Dom Sotgiu plays Blood and Fire , Tiga , The MFA , The Infadels , Marc Richter plays Dekorder, Modeselektor , Kimmo Pohjonen , Hifana , Alva Noto & Ryuichi Sakamoto. Insen, Sora , Masami Shimomura , Afra , Audion, Ryan Elliott, Body Code, Diplo + A-Trak, Nightmares on Wax , One Self, Dj Sasha, Shit & Shine, Superthriller Herbert & Dani Siciliano, Doravideo ,Optrum, Laurent Garnier & Bugge Wesseltoft featuring Philippe Nadaud , Mitchell Akiyama , aMute , Tunng , Inch Time Liars, Goldfrapp , Isolée, Disco D, MODIFIED TOY ORCHESTRA, EELAND PETE PHILLY & PERQUISITE, C-MON & KYPSKI , MIGUEL CARVALHAIS & JOAO CRUZ play CRONICA ELECTRONICA….etc etc

And regulars Richie Hawtin, Jeff Mills and Miss Kittin. (via wifiblanes)

CCCB / MACBA - C/ Montalegre 5 - June 15th to 17th - Prices
Fira Gran Via M2 - Av. Botánica, 62 (Pol. Pedrosa, l'Hospitalet del Ll.) - June 16th&17th - Tickets

New Summer Festival: Summercase. July 14th - 15th

Belle and Sebastian, Primal Scream and Sigur Rós, together with electronic music from such names as Massive Attack, Fatboy Slim and The Chemical Brothers, are the centre of the Summercase festival this year.



Other British groups in the provisional programme include Super Furry Animals, Starsailor, The Divine Comedy and Happy Mondays. There will also be a dose of Scandinavian rock with Shout Out Louds and The Concretes. Summercase also brings back up-coming groups from last year; Maxïmo Park and members from Arcade Fire, Bell Orchestre.

Promising groups from the world of independent music will also be at the festival: The Long Blondes, The Paddingtons, Mysteri Jets, The Feelings, Clor and Morning Runner. The only local group so far is Astrud.

The Olympic Ring will be the base for the Summercase festival in Barcelona, an independent music festival on simultaneously in Barcelona and Madrid. (via bcn.es)

Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc Lluís Companys - Pg Olímpic, 17 - July 14th to 15th - Price unknown

Douglas Gordon at Fundació Joan Miró. 24th March – 4th June 2006

“What you want me to say… I am already dead.”

One of the most remarkable features of present day artistic creation is the wide field of action open to artists. There are no limitations on either media or subject matter. What counts are ideas and the way in which they are expressed.

Douglas Gordon, who although relatively young has a long career behind him and has won such prestigious awards as the Turner Prize and the Hugo Boss Prize, is an example of an artist who makes use of the media of his time such as film, video, etc. But, however popular or populist these resources may be, in Gordon's hands they take on a quality that goes beyond aesthetics and places the results in a category where what matters are concepts and ideas. In this process it is the viewer who plays a fundamental role by becoming an accomplice in the work.

The images that Gordon uses, taken from films made either by himself or by others, serve to create situations that cause surprise, arouse emotions or simply make us think.

Alongside images from the cinema – considered throughout the twentieth century to be the youngest of the arts – Gordon also uses the system of communication that has its origins in the mists of time and that marks man out as a superior being: language.

His texts are unconventional: they astonish and disturb us, awaken our curiosity and, above all, make us realise that things are not always what they appear to be. On the contrary, every truth tends to conceal another truth. It is this invisible truth that interests Gordon and is the source of his predilection for contrasting concepts: fact and fiction, good and evil, truth and falsehood, life and death. (via Fundació Miró)

Fundación Joan Miró - Av. de Miramar, 1 - 24th March to 4th June 2006 - Open hours & Prices

Jewels of the Persian Empire at the CaixaForum. Until June 11th

The exhibition "L'imperi oblidat. El món de l'Antiga Pèrsia" at the CaixaForum, is the biggest ever organised on the ancient Persian Empire.



It has around five hundred objects, with jewels, archaeological remains, religious and funeral objects, from the National Museum of Iran. There are also pieces from the British Museum and the Museu del Louvre.

The Alongside the displays at the CaixaForum there are also seminars on Ancient Persia. The exhibition was commissioned by the Department of the Ancient Middle East at the British Museum, and Nigel Tallis, co-curator of the British Museum.(via bcn.es)


CaixaFòrum - Av Marquès de Comillas, 6 - March 8th to June 11th - Free entrance (monday close)

Primavera Sound 2006. June 1st - 3rd

Primavera Sound Festival takes place in Barcelona every year as Spring comes to an end. The spirit of the festival is to showcase independent and up and coming acts, as well as experienced bands with strong influence in the music that is done nowadays. Unlike Benicassim, this festival has more of an "indie" feel with no camping.



The line-up for the 2006 edition have been announced featuring bands like Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Lou Reed, Stereolab, Violent Femmes, Dinosaur Jr., Yo la Tengo, Television Personalities, Isobel Campbell, Lambchop, Mogwai, 2 Many Dj's and many more (complete listing).

Parc del Forum - Rambla Prim 2-4 - 3-day tickets: 105€

XVII Barcelona Guitar Festival. March 22nd - June 7th

The Barcelona Guitar Festival that has gained a reputation as one of the most prestigious guitar gatherings in Europe, gets underway this spring featuring names such as Jackson Browne, flamenco songwriter-guitarist José Mercé, jazz singer Dianne Reeves and classical guitarist John Williams.



The festival, orginized by The Project, will take place mainly at the beautiful Palau Musica.

The programme and prices for the events can be found here: PROGRAM

Cine Ambigú in Apolo. March

MAT'I SYN (MOTHER AND SON)
de Aleksandr Sokurov. Rusia/Alemania, 1997. 79 min.
Cast: Gudrun Geyer, Alexei Ananischnov.
7th March. 20:30 y 22:30h

LOS QUE ME QUIEREN COGERÁN EL TREN (CEUX QUI M'AIMENT PRENDRONT LE TRAIN)
Patrice Chéreau. Francia, 1998. 123 min.
Cast: Jean-Louis Trintignant, Vincent Perez, Guillaume Canet, Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi, Pascal Greggory, Charles Berling, Bruno Todeschini, Roschdy Zem, Dominique Blanc.
César Awards: Best Director, Best Supporting Actress and Best Photography.
14th March. 20:30 y 22:30h

STATUS YO!
Till Hastreiter. Alemania, Suiza, 2004. 123 min.
Cast: Sera Finale, Yang Eq, Jamie, Pepi, Sässion, Yesim.
Berlinale 2004, Forum.
21st March. 20:00 y 22:30h

BRØDRE (HERMANOS)
Susanne Bier. Dinamarca, 2004. 110 min.
Cast: Connie Nielsen, Ulrich Thomsen, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Bent Mejding, Solbjørg Højfeldt, Laura Bro, Niels Olsen, Sarah Juel Werner, Rebecca Løgstrup Soltau.
Concha de plata Best Actor and Best Actress, San Sebastián 2004.
World Dramatic Audience Award, Sundance 2005.
28th March. 20:30 y 22:30h (via BarcelonaMonthly)

100.000 retinas - Apolo: C/ Nou de la Rambla, 113 - Every tuesday - Price: 5€

The revelations of Diane Arbus, at the CaixaForum. February 15th - May 14th

The exhibition, "Diane Arbus Revelations", on at the CaixaForum, is the first international, and most complete, retrospective look at the work of this photographer.



There are around 200 photographs including some of the most well-known by this artist, from private and public collections from around the world, with many of the pieces on display for the first time. The exhibition, which also shows her method and what influenced her work, has been on at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Folkwang Museum in Essen and at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. (via bcn.es)

CaixaFòrum - Av Marquès de Comillas, 6 - February 15th to May 14th - Free entrance (monday close)

Rommy Schneidder at Hartmann Gallery. Until April 17th

The Hartmann gallery is showing a fascinating photographic session of the legendary actress Romy Schneider.



Spanish photographer César Lucas captured Schneider during her filming of the little-known movie 10:30PM Summer. Based on the Marguerite Duras novel, the film was shot in Segovia, and Lucas took some 40 images of Schneider surrounded by her co-stars Peter Finch, Melina Mercouri, director Jules Dassin and the book's author herself. (via Expatica)

Hartmann - C/ Sta Teresa, 8 bajos - Until Arpil 17th - Free entrance

Asian Portraits by Pierre Gonnord. Until April 16th

Casa Asia opens an exhibition on Pierre Gonnord, with a selection of 27 photographies dedicated to Asian models, focused on exclusion and marginality against the mainstream.



The series of portraits starts in 2001 and finishes in 2005 with "Sebastian", an Indian migrant in Paris. The series starts in 2001 in New York, except "Bright Orange" from 1999, and reaches its peak level in Japan, during Gonnord´s stay in 2003, where the major portraits, shown in Casa Asia, were shot. This series might not be considered a closed series of photographies, because Gonnord will continue portraying Asian models, not only in Asia, but also in cities which have grown from big Diasporas, induced by migration movements from Eastern countries to Western countries.

Pierre Gonnord from his beginnings has been attracted by the strength of expression that can be detected in the faces of certain people, sometimes excluded, whose existence is kept in the look of the model used by the photographer, who helps us find ourselves when the truth of human beings is hinted at.

Asian Portraits make up a series that adds to the work the artist regularly develops turning photography into a kind of writing. Asian Portraits, the name of this collection, constitutes a compact group of images, whose individuality makes them inimitable. The generated impact comes from the immobility of the model and from the projection of the subject, which transforms it into a symbolic figure. (via asia art archive)

Casa Asia - Av. Diagonal 373 - Until April 16th - Free entrance

Una passió Suïssa. Collection M+M. Auer Eexhibition. To March 18th

The exhibition, at the Foto Colectania foundation, has 83 photographs selected from the private collection of Michel and Michelle Auer, which is one of the best collections in the world.



The exhibition is centred on all related to books, magazines and documents, and displays key pieces in the history of photography, by artists including Brassaï, Man Ray, Cartier-Bresson and Lewis W. Hine. Michel and Michelle Auer met in 1974 and their love of collecting and photography encouraged them to start a collection, which, thirty years later, is the most important in Switzerland, and one of the main collections in the world. (via bcn.es)

Fundació Privada Foto Colectania - C/ Julián Romea, 6 - End date: 18/March/2006 - Free

Malucos Flamenco. February 14th - 26th

The Versus Theatre is different, and not because I say it. Many of the companies coming in need to adjust to it and far from disappointing them they see it as an enriching experience. Malucos danza adjusts… and how! No artistic pretensions attempting to explain a complicated story.



They’re after something else. They try to convey emotion to the audience or at least cause some sort of good or bad feeling with their performance. With ‘Malucos flamenco’ these two emotions will surely be alternated, since the show goes through several phases represented by madness, egocentric, consumerist, sexist and some other –ist ending black together with innocent, childish, giggly white… As well as paying homage to Camaron and Paco Cruz’s flamenco guitar. (via le cool)

Versus Teatre - C/ Castillejos 179 - February 14th to 26th - Entrance: 16€

Jeff Mills celebrates the 10th anniversary of “The Bells”. February 16th

Legendary Detroit DJ Jeff Mills will release a commemorative DVD and be performing in several cities in Spain.



The Bells,” perhaps the most-heavily played techno track in history, has become the anthem of an entire generation. Every time it’s heard, the reaction is invariably euphoric. Even today, ten years later, it’s highlight of countless events, clubs and festivals.

To mark such a distinguished anniversary, Mills’ label, Axis Records is releasing ““The Bells 10 Year Anniversary DVD”“, distributed by Sonar’s record division in Spain, SonarMusic. (via sonar events)

The Bells Spanish Tour:

Friday, 10 February (2006): Fonica - Majorca
Saturday, 11 February (2006): Blau - Girona
Thursday, 16 February (2006): Razzmatazz - Barcelona
Friday, 17 February (2006): Danzoo @ Macumba - Madrid
Saturday, 18 February (2006): Play - San Sebastian

Note: During his stay in the city, Mills will visit a music store (approximately between 6 and 8 pm) to meet with the public and discuss the creation of “The Bells,” explaining its evolution and influence over the last ten years.

16.02.06 - Barcelona
Shop: Sci-Fi
Bonsuccés, 13 - Barcelona
tel: +34 93 412 1997

Versus Electronics @ Distrito Diagonal. SOLAR X. February 26th

spa.RK presents a new VERSUS ELECTRONICS edition with the live of SOLAR X, well known for his releases on HYMEN (incredible his 2002 maxi "Chanel n?303), ART-TEK (his own label, through it he presented russian artists such as Eu and Novel 23), or contributions to Worm Interface and Deflective. First visit to Spain: not to be missed!



Opening the nite, METROPOL from Barcelona label Lovethechaos and master of Politronic website, and ZERO (Immolate Records), one of the best Spanish djs.

SOLAR X (Art-Tek / Hymen / Rusia) live!
METROPOL (Lovethechaos / BCN) live!
Zero (Immolater/ BCN)

Distrito Diagonal - Diagonal 442 - Sunday february 26th. 21h - 6 eur

"The Hungry Box" exhibition at FAD. December 21st - January 16th

The exhibition has a series of scale models and photos of the projects undertaken by the Dutch architects group, MVRDV, who mix functionality, innovative design and complexity.



The MVRDV studio was founded in 1991 by the architects Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs and Nathalie de Vries. The group have always concentrated on the integration of avant-garde functional design in cities all over the world. (via bcn.es)

FAD - Pl Àngels, 5 - Free entrance