DESPACIO: Powered by McIntosh is a one-of-a-kind sound system created by LCD Soundsystem frontmanJames Murphy and prestigious New York sound engineer John Klett of Tech Mecca. DESPACIO: Powered by McIntosh is a statement intended to preserve, promote and celebrate the tradition of pure live music performances. The focus is on the partygoers’ experience instead of the stage spectacle that has become so commonplace in music today.
The sound system consists of a floor-standing series of seven giant, 11-foot stacks arranged in a circle – allowing the crowd to fully immerse themselves in the music. To carry out James and John's uncompromising vision, only McIntosh, a storied brand that handcrafts all of it products to the highest quality standard would suffice as a partner. While the technical specifications of Despacio are designed meticulously for optimal sound quality, the setup is quite simple considering the 50,000 watts of McIntosh power behind the system.
McIntosh’s first-rate sound and technology will be enhanced by the truly eclectic music selection of James, David & Stephen – recognized audio aficionados with an encyclopedic knowledge of the history of music over the last 60 years.
James, David & Stephen will be behind the decks, located in a dark and obscured background, for three daily six-hour sessions from 3:30pm to 9:30pm throughout the festival. Due to the capacity limitations of the space, access will be managed on a first-come, first-served basis.
With less than 3 months to go before Germany's city of iron, Ferropolis, lights up once more with the sights and sounds of Melt! Festival, the line-up is almost complete. Established acts like Tricky, James Murphy and Simian Mobile Disco and newcomers Ruen Brothers and ABBY amongst the names revealed today, joining the exceptional collection of acts set to perform at the 16th edition of Melt! Festival.
Adding more weight to this year's Melt! Festival line-up, we're thrilled to announce an appearance by Tricky. The 'godfather of trip hop' will present us with his brand-new record, False Idols, which sees its release in May. James Murphy, the mastermind behind LCD Soundsystem, will also get behind the DJ booth in Ferropolis to win over the crowd with one of his acclaimed sets.
Brooklyn's DIIV will make their Melt! Festival debut this year, in one of only a handful of European tour dates the band will play this year. Also, making their first appearance at Melt! this year is German three-piece Sizarr, performing their debut album. Next up, a twosome who are no strangers to City of Iron, Simian Mobile Disco. After their celebrated stage show in 2010, the duo will get back behind the decks this time. Siriusmo will also make a welcome return to Ferropolis this year, joining the Melt!Selektor Stage line-up.
Aérea Negrot (live), Shinedoe and Camea add to the Bpitch label special headlined by Ellen Allien. The Berlin-based band ABBY will be part of our Pre-Party on Thursday night. Also confirmed are: Hans Unstern, Feine Sahne Fischfilet,Monika Kruse, Adana Twins, Motor City Drum Ensemble, London Grammar, Anja Schneider, Benjamin Damage,Ruen Brothers, Alex.Do, Henning Baer and Discodromo.
This new wave of acts will join Atoms For Peace, The Knife, Azealia Banks, Churches, Disclosure, Jamie Jones, Flying Lotus, Alt-J, James Blake, Soulwax, Local Natives, Austra and many more, in what is set to be Melt's biggest edition to date. With today's confirmations, the 2013 line-up is almost complete. However, we still have ten more acts up our sleeve, which we will announce soon.
In case you're looking for the perfect festival accommodation that combines atmosphere yet doesn't lack luxurious amenities, our Prime Lodge is the right option for you.
Our Melt! MiXery Beds On Wheels Hotel Train has still a few seats left for you in case you want to travel to Ferropolis from Cologne or Munich. As usual, the train, your private accommodation for four nights, will stop directly in front of the festival grounds.
All confirmed acts so far
ABBY | Adana Twins | Aérea Negrot | Alex.Do | Alt-J | Anja Schneider | Atoms For Peace | Archive | Austra | Azealia Banks | Bambounou | Julio Bashmore | Barnt | Ben UFO | Benjamin Damage | Bicep | James Blake | Camea | Chvrches | Dan Deacon | Daughter | Marcel Dettmann | Diamond Version | Disclosure | Discodromo | Django Django | DJ Koze | DIIV | Eats Everything | Everything Everything | Ellen Allien | Fantastic Mr Fox | Feine Sahne Fischfilet | Flying Lotus | Friends | Function | Get Physical Special feat. Andhim, Catz 'N Dogz, M.A.N.D.Y., Smash TV (live), Wankelmut | Hans Unstern | Henning Baer | Henrik Schwarz & Band | iamamiwhoami | James Holden | James Murphy | Joy Orbison | Karenn | Kettcar | King Krule | Ben Klock | Laing | Local Natives | London Grammar | Christian Löffler | Mark Ronson vs. Riton | Metro Area (live) | Modeselektor & Apparat (DJ-Set) | Motor City Drum Ensemble | Mount Kimbie | MS MR | Miss Kittin (live) | Monika Kruse | Mykki Blanco | The Knife | Oliver Koletzki | Markus Kavka | Owen Pallett | Purity Ring | Rebel Rave @ Big Wheel feat. Art Department, Jamie Jones, Damian Lazarus u.a. | Rhye | Roosevelt | Rudimental | Ruen Brothers | Ry/Frank Wiedemann | SBTRKT (DJ-Set) | Schwarzmann (live) | Scuba | Shields | Shinedoe | Simian Mobile Disco | Sinkane | Siriusmo | Solomun | Soulwax | Suol special feat. Daniel Bortz, Chopstick & JohnJon, Till Von Sein and Trickski | Swim Deep | The 1975 | Todd Terje & Lindstrøm live | Trentemøller | Tricky | Trümmer | Two Fingers | Otto Von Schirach | Woodkid | Zebra Katz and many more to be announced…
New Order, one of the most influential British bands in the history of music, will be headlining Sónar by Night on Saturday 16 June. New Order is undoubtedly one of the key names in the history of music and one of the most influential bands of recent decades. The Manchester outfit pioneered the use and assimilation of the language of electronic dance music in a pop context after the end of Joy Division, and succeeded in creating a style all their own. Innovative and highly respected by the critics, as well as being massively successful, New Order have been responsible for an extensive catalogue of hits as timeless as "Blue Monday", "Bizarre Love Triangle", "True Faith", "The Perfect Kiss," "Regret" and "Fine Time," among many others.
South Africa's Die Antwoord has been also added to Sonar 2012, returning to the festival after their triumphant concert last year to present the excellent new "Ten$ion". Other additions include the wisdom of James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem) on the decks on Friday the 15th at Sonar by Night; danceable electronica with a pop sensitivity from Britain's Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs; The 2 Bears, the new house project by Joe Goddard (Hot Chip) and Raf Lundell; the highly respected dj Untold, a mainstay of British bass music; the session by Daniel Miller, the founder of Mute and a living legend of new wave; the up and coming Barcelona kraut-pop duo Pegasvs; and the colourful show of mirrors by the American beatmaker Daedelus.
Besides those mentioned above, the festival will also feature Cornelius presenting the band salyu x salyu, the Brazilian experimentalist Ricardo Donoso, the Canadian remixers Keys N Krates, unusual musical-scientific ideas from Japan's Masaki Batoh, the mysterious 5-piece band performing under the Mostly Robot monicker (in a show conceived by Native Instruments), and some of the most interesting outfits currently working in Spain, such as Lenticular Clouds, Lolo & Sosaku, D.Forma and Esperit!, among many others.
Red Bull Music Academy comes back to the SonarDôme stage with another stellar selection of Academy affiliates, introducing fresh new sounds from around the globe. Performers on the programme include the legend that is Dj Harvey, Chicago footwork pioneers Dj Spinn and Dj Rashad, as well as recent Academy graduates Nguzunguzu, Canblaster, Barcelona's own Nehuen, future R&B crooner Jesse Boykins III and Doc Daneeka, among many others. More artists will be announced soon.
The other inclusions in the line-up are music star Dizzee Rascal, the rising crooner Ghostpoet, North American MC YelaWolf, backed by Eminem, Tiga (in charge of closing SonarLab on Friday night), oOoOO (the third cornerstone of the Brooklyn label Tri Angle showcase) and the showcase by the Italian label Stroboscopic Artefacts, among others.
Sónar continues to seek out the most interesting artists working in Spain right now and this year has selected 10 more names for inclusion in the Barcelona festival line-up.
Sónar Galicia adds 5 top level shows to the line-up: James Murphy, Four Tet, the techno-dubstep producer Martyn, the tech-house maestro Radio Slave and the French house duo DJ Mehdi Vs. Brodinski.
In anticipation of further confirmations, Sónar, the 18th International Festival of Advanced Music and Multimedia Art – which will be held in Barcelona days 16, 17 and 18 June – now features a total of 125 shows with these 22 new additions.
New international additions to Sónar Barcelona 2011
James Murphy, one of the most important characters in music so far this century, comes to Sónar after his tremendous recent farewell concert for his band LCD Soundsystem, to give us two sets of exquisite disco-funk-house: one at Sónar Barcelona and the other at Sónar Galicia.
Four Tet is one of the essential names in contemporary music working today. A top drawer producer, a maestro of meticulous electronica and a dj with unquestionable taste, this English artist will be presenting tracks from his most recent album, “There Is Love In You”, and his recent collaborations with Burial, Thom Yorke and Caribou both at Sónar Galicia and Sónar Barcelona.
Dizzee Rascal, probably the best MC to come out of the United Kingdom in the last decade and one of the cornerstones of the British urban sound, returns to Sónar by popular demand after his excellent show last year.
As well as Dizzee Rascal, the festival also presents his fellow British artist Ghostpoet whose debut “Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jam” – a treatise of modern hip-hop, tending towards blues and the dark side of trio hop – is one of the most pleasant surprises of this year.
As is the music by the enigmatic oOoOO, one of the cornerstones of Tri Angle who joins the showcase by the Brooklyn label to provide a set for horizontal listening halfway between a live show and a dj session.
Sónar also presents the showcase by the Italian label Stroboscopic Artefacts (dark and penetrating IDM with the brand new names of Lucy and Dadub); the renowned Canadian dj Tiga, who will be responsible for bringing Friday to a close on the SonarLab stage; and one of today’s most interesting MCs, America’s YelaWolf, an Eminem protegé with a powerful personality able to rap at truly devilish speeds. The international additions are rounded off by the Canadian Marc Messier’s unusual Sewing Machine Orchestra, whose name says it all: it is an orchestra consisting of amplified computer-controlled sewing machines.
New Spanish additions to Sónar Barcelona 2011
In its global tracking of the most stimulating talent working today, Sónar looks particularly carefully within Spain’s borders to select the best of the country’s electronica and advanced music.
There are ten new additions to the Sónar Barcelona line-up, all of which are outstanding in terms of their contemporary sensitivity and their commitment to quality: the Barcelona darkwave duo Stendhal Syndrome (with visuals by Alba G. Corral); the disco-house-pop magic of Pffff; the amalgam of styles of Shelby Grey (the new project by Barcelona’s Vicknoise); Aster, the outstanding new duo of djs on the Hivern label; the fascinating world of the electronic luthiers of the Barcelona Laptops Orchestra; the tender and intimate IDM of Ragul; the Aragonese dj Chelis, one of the most creative djs in Spain; the mixture of jazzy grooves and beatboxing of Beat’A’Boom; and selectors from Spain’s two leading music publications: Half Nelson and Vidal Romero (Go-Mag djs) and Joan S. Luna (MondoSonoro), as well as the showcase by Natura Sonoris, one of the country’s leading techno labels, with its main man Henry Saiz and the dark and profound Sistema.
Latest international additions to Sónar Galicia 2011
With these 5 new additions, Sónar Galicia 2011, the 2nd Festival of Advanced Music which will be held in A Coruña on 17 and 18 June now has a total of 27 confirmed shows.
As well as the star turns by James Murphy and Four Tet, Sónar Galicia includes four of the most consolidated and renowned names in modern European electronica in its line-up.
Holland’s Martyn, a key figure in the new school where dubstep and electronica converge, will be presenting tracks from his forthcoming album on Brainfeeder – Flying Lotus’ label – with his new live show.
Matt Edwards, the man behind Radio Slave, has been giving us remixes and his own tunes in the best European tech-house tradition for more than decade, while always keeping the quality threshold high.
Finally, the French duo consisting of DJ Mehdi + Brodinski (sharpshooters of carefully woven house and techno on a party tip on Ed Banger and Turbo respectively) promises to provide some of the highlights on the SonarHall stage at Sónar Galicia.
List of new confirmed additions
Sónar Barcelona 2011
James Murphy (DFA/US) Four Tet (Text/UK) Dizzee Rascal (Dirtee Stank/UK) Ghostpoet (Brownswood Recordings/UK) Tiga (Turbo/CA) Yelawolf (Shady Records/US) oOoOO (Tri Angle/US) Sewing Machine Orchestra (CA) Chelis (Lo-Fi Funk/ES) Stendhal Syndrome (ES) PFFFF (New York Club/ES) Shelby Grey (Holographic People/ES) Barcelona Laptop Orchestra (Esmuc/ES) Ragul (Discontinu/ES) Beat’A’Boom (Col·lectiu Cazique/ES) Aster (Hivern/ES) Half Nelson + Vidal Romero (Go Mag/ES) Joan S. Luna (ES) Showcase Stroboscopic Artefacts :: Lucy + Dadub (IT) Showcase Natura Sonoris :: Henry Saiz + Sistema (ES)
Sónar Galicia 2011
James Murphy (DFA/US) Four Tet (Text/UK) Martyn (3024/NL) Radio Slave (Rekids/UK) DJ Mehdi vs Brodinski (Ed Banger-Turbo/FR)
