Living

Fast-forward to 2009. The Nitsa club night has moved into Sala Apolo and become one of the pillars of the musical establishment in Barcelona. Sónar has evolved into one of the world’s biggest festivals, shedding some of its edge along the way. Many of the former participants in the Barcelona scene have left the city in search of greener pastures. And with the death of Sideral, the movement lost not only its idol but also, it seems, its soul.

The lack of a viable underground music scene has been bemoaned and decried for years. There was a consensus that Barcelona hadn’t been able to produce artists or styles like London, New York or Berlin. But lately, something has been stirring under the surface. Where trend scouts would cringe at the mention of a Barcelona band, they will now ask for a demo tape. Local representatives at the big music festivals are not just electronic DJs anymore. We haven’t yet seen the birth of our own musical genre—but the buzz is definitely spreading. “Barcelona isn’t particularly ahead of its time, but it doesn’t lag behind other cities either,” said Joan Luna, editor of music magazine Mondo Sonoro. “There are many outstanding bands, from pop to experimental and hardcore music, but they don’t spearhead a particular movement.”

His counterpart at Go! magazine, Manu González, agreed. “The different bands, as well as the DJs, exercise a healthy ‘anything goes’ approach, with music ranging from the happiest pop to shoegazing [a subgenre of alternative rock] and hyper-accelerated electropop,” said González. “The good thing about the current generation of musicians and audience is that they don’t let themselves be limited by labels.”

Indeed, pop music, so vilified until a few years ago, has emerged as a major force in Barcelona. Local, more mainstream proponents like Sidonie, The Pinker Tones, Love of Lesbian, La Casa Azul and Dorian have excelled on the national and international stage. But Joan Luna contended that contrary to popular belief, Barcelona bands don’t need international recognition to make it at home. Moreover, he said that the best music in Barcelona comes from just those bands and musicians not signed by big international labels: the independent underground, ignored by big record labels because of their inability to generate mass record sales. Yet they draw enough support to produce albums on their own or with underground labels, and names like Joe Crepúsculo or The Requesters even attract large crowds at Sónar.