Memories of Miss Memory

This years Electrofringe was a special occasion for me. I attended my 6th Sound Summit and celebrated 5 years as a presenter. I was happy to see some women being involved as facilitators and presenters, but of course it is still reflective of the industry. I made a decision this year that i would not present again at Sound Summit. I would like to take some initiative and perhaps help source other women to be involved in Sound Summit. I wish to be Sound Summits self appointed affirmative action rep!!!

I was supposed to be having a girly reunion with my long time friend Kirsten, however she was unable to come at the last minute, and whilst i was disappointed, it also opened up the opportunity for me to wander as a free agent wherever i felt inclined. This was really liberating. I set my own agenda and wandered from workshop to workshop and gig to gig meeting new and strangely familiar people.

Notable inspiring moments. Meeting Tom Ellard and watching him mash up regional television, the skate park hip hop gig where i heard Inphekta play live with ms. anthrope going hard on the mic (the best music i heard all weekend by a mile!!!) the self governing Collabrador space where anything goes, Joyce Hinterding and David Haines artist talk, meeting the lovely Jodi Rose and swapping Cd’s with her, the classical noise artists talk in the Pan building. Drinking ginger beer and raving with my mates from Perth, 3am girly tech & gear talks before falling asleep.

Dan and I arrived in Barcelona at 11pm the night before Sonar began and my sister rocked up at 2am the same night! Two years is just too long to be without your sis. The next day, jetlagged and somewhat nauseated by 2 days of plane food, I geared up for my DJ set at the academy lounge. Entering the Sonar by Day compound i realised how big this event is. I had no idea. I felt pretty honoured to be playing and even though I was delirious, and nervous, it went ok.

Anyway I was extremely happy I was playing on the first day because then i had the next two days free to enjoy the rest of the festival. On the first night we went out for tapas and made a list of all the artists we wanted to see. I picked, Duritti Column, Jamie Lidell, Soft pink truth, De La Soul, To Rococo Rot, and Ellen Allien. We also picked Towa Tei, Richie Hawtin, Cut Chemist, Jeff Mills, and Laurent Garnier. There were others i would have liked to have seen, Matt Herbert, the Vegetable Orchestra and Ben Mono but I thought I would be realistic. Turned out I was being unrealistic anyway. Sonar isn’t just about going to hear music, there was the record fair, the digital art exhibitions , the bookstore, the magazine market and the art gallery.

I was told that 30 thousand people go through the Sonar festival. The festival was really well organised and having Pro tickets meant we could get through the gates with relative ease. But being in a country I had never been to before it was achingly difficult to tear myself away from exploring the city to get to Sonar. Being jetlagged didn’t help much either.

So what will follow is a fragmented review of what i saw and I will try and keep it positive. But before I go on to gush about the great things I saw I will just mention that Sonar is so much more commercial than i expected, and i have never in my life seen that many fucked up punters in one space than at this festival.

Ok lets start with Richie Hawtin’s audio exhibiton, a 15 min 5.1 surround piece played on the sweetest Dynaudio speakers/monitors - yum. The piece was lovely and I would have loved to have taken those speakers home as a memento. In his usual style the piece was minimal with an emphasis on pitched electronic percussion. Dan liked watching the speaker cones move with the various frequencies. That was pretty much it for the first day. We tried to get out to see Adult on the advice of our friend James Bond, but being a non-sonar event the queues were horrific. Thoroughly jetlagged and overwhelmed by the sights and sounds we went to sleep at 2am - very early for Barcelona.

Woke up way too early the next day for a spot of sightseeing. The gang and I went out to Guell Park, Gaudi’s home and a playpen for his ideas and designs. But having woken up so early meant that a siesta was inevitable before Sonar by night. So we slept, missed the Duritti Column and Towa Tei, but caught a fantastic meal at a modern tapas/degustation style restaurant called Santa Maria with some locals.

Night time in Barcelona. It doesnt really get dark until 10pm - which is totally confusing. Dinner was at 11pm, then off for a quick shower and out to Sonar by Night, held in a venue the size of four aircraft hangars. I missed Martin Gore Dj’ing which was sad. But I was totally buzzed by Jamie Lidell, who although he seemed to be plagued with technical troubles - put on a great show, kinda sparse and a bit strange, but just goes to show what a great performer he is. We crossed over to catch some of Jeff Mills set, which to me was consistent with the last time i saw him. With Jeff you generally know what you are going to get. It was enjoyable, but I was curious to hear The Soft Pink Truth. Having totally got our times wrong we ended up watching Le Tigre - and they were fucking incredible. Reminiscent of the cheap political chanting style of old english punk band Crass, buzzing with nasty guitars and electronic drums. By the end of their set my eyes and ears were fatigued so we went home, missing Laurent Garnier and Soft Pink Truth.

Dans birthday today! At Sonar by Day, only a few important things to see - To Rococo Rot, the Digital Art and Cinema exhibition (which caught us there for a couple of hours) and the book store. Highlights of the Cinema exhibition was definitely cinema concrete, a visual equivalent of Musique Concrete, pioneered by Pierre Schafer. The highlight of this work had to be Polish Director and filmmaker Piotr Kamler and his film Chronopolis. Dan and I wandered over to the bookstore and picked up the Cyber reader - from Phaidon, and Timeshift - the World in Twenty Five Years, a book from Ars Electronica 2004. After spending our euros on expensive and heavy books, we wandered of the the Auditorium to hear To Rococo Rot, who were definitely the highlight for me of Sonar by Day.

And all of a sudden it was the last night! We went out for another memorable tapas meal and then rushed over to hear De La Soul finish off their set. Cut Chemist rocked the house in a major way, then we went to hear Miss Kittin who was cool but i was totally expecting her to play some good music???? The crowd adored her though. And yes, this is when i started to realise that Sonar, as cool as it is, embraces the commercial aspects of Electronica as much as it does the non. Wandering around waiting for something interesting, we caught a snippet of M.I.A and Luke Vibert (who didn’t play live as advertised, playing other people’s music using Ableton does NOT constitute a live set by any stretch of the imagination! plus he needed a haircut). Dan disliked Vibert also because he kept throwing in old rave riffs, which he said reminded him of Jive Bunny medley. The crowd didnt much like him either and the largest room dwindled somewhat after Miss Kittin. Finally Richie Hawtin played in the outdoor area, and the sun came up revealing how trashed everyone was. I overheard one blagger saying that nearly all the women either “looked like hookers or crackwhores” and I immediately felt like saying that he really needed to get some better drugs.

On the way out we stopped in to listen to Ellen Allien whom i was looking forward to for the whole festival, but the room was so incredibly big that the beats she played ping-ponged off the walls making an incredibly hollow and uninviting sound. Plus I was tired, anticipating the flight we were about to get on.

All in all i was very happy to have seen so many women participating in the line up and it was really inspiring. It really made it so worthwhile. Even though I missed out on so many of the festivals acts, I consoled myself by remembering that it was virtually impossible to get to everything I wanted to see without sacrificing the chance to get a feel for the city of Barcelona, and its fine food and architecture.

Well, in the past, every year I walk away from Electrofringe feeling two strong feelings. The first is how great it is to meet up with all the brilliant and talented new media and electronic artists who have got their shit together enough to get themselves to Newcastle. The second feeling I get is how the organisers need a kick up the backside to get their shit together to make this experience an all inclusive one. Not just a “we endorse this so go here” kind of vibe. I mean, why not include some of the local gigs, what about some of the artists who want to put on gigs at the same time so as to promote themselves not only as a supporter of Electrofringe, but also of Newcastle and the industry? Maybe I am still bitter from last years crushing miscommunication that led to us not being an “endorsed” gig.

This year is not much different. However I must admit I think Sound Summit benefitted from having a fresh organiser. The masterclasses were a major major drawcard. I would also like to see some effort made to include more women in Sound Summit, even if it means reverse discrimination. I dont care. Women need all the encouragement they can get.

Having said that, the nature of this music industry is that its full of people who are there solely to network, bullshit and crap on about how great they are. As a woman, I find that boring as hell.

I really find it hard to swallow having to listen to people rave on about themselves for long periods. If anything some men would benefit from ASKING QUESTIONS, rather than ranting about how great they are. Its quite possible they also might learn something. And truly, when I meet someone in person, I don’t want to listen to what they have done for a good half an hour, i would rather have a conversation about life, the universe and everything, then if they tickle my fancy as a good person. I will go check out their stuff by using the internet, or going to their gig, or ASKING THEM QUESTIONS.