Make a breaking latest news of what happened on the two dates of The Mondo Sonoro Demoscopic It is not an easy task. First, because one loses objectivity by being a party rather than involved in the matter. And second because, on many occasions, the different meetings with collaborators, friends and colleagues in the sector that occur throughout both events, distract one’s attention from what is happening on stage. However, we are going to try even if it is difficult to isolate ourselves emotionally from all the whirlwind of sensations that invade us throughout both days.
The first date took place last Wednesday, March 20, within the framework of the always charming setting of the Barcelo Theater of Madrid and nestled within the programming of the Bee Week Festival. Bee Cycle that celebrates its second edition with the intention of becoming a benchmark within the active and varied program of cultural events in the capital and which hosted, also for the second time, our demographic event. An event, the one from Madrid, that featured the young combo The Dianas to kick off, perfectly synthesizing the spirit that has always illuminated this project, sponsored for two decades by Mondo Sonoro. Give young and new groups the opportunity to play before a wide audience, in a setting to which they are not yet accustomed. Although, in the case of the Granaínas, they came from performing a few weeks ago as the opening act for Lori Meyers, at none other than the WiZink Center in Madrid. A dream that is becoming a reality and that they assume with the naturalness and self-confidence that their insulting youth grants. Audacity that they apply with energy to their intense guitar pop with chantable choruses, which materialize in songs like “Hetero”, “Leggins Rotos” or the most recent “Syndrome del Impostor”. They more than fulfilled and left the feeling of a career that still has a long way to go, but that they face aware of what they still have to grow, to be able to look face to face at leading bands like Cariño. They will do it.
The second to appear on stage was the numerous combo of Carlos Ares. If you have been paying attention to our publication this month that ends, you will know that the Galician has starred on the cover of our March issue, after the release of an album “Pilgrim” (BMG, 24) destined to be one of the great albums of 2024. And the best thing is that the musician endorses it on stage, with a show that elevates the songs on the album to a new dimension, much more vital and intense if possible. . And he does it in part because of the wonderful musicians he is accompanied by, but also thanks to an audience that supported him, chanting each of his lyrics as if it were a well-established and veteran band. In this way, songs like “Cigarra”, “Rocíos”, “Terricola”, “here still” or “Peregrino” itself acquired a dimension of pop anthems that many would like for themselves in their songbook. After finishing their show, the smile that illuminated Carlos and his family was priceless, aware of the dimension that this project is beginning to take on, which should be destined to brighten the stages of many festivals this summer. We hope that the programmers who attended the Demoscopica have taken good note of the intense communion that was established among all attendees, and that word of mouth works as it should, because it is destined for high levels.
And the time has come to announce our surprise group from Madrid. It was an honor and a true pleasure to be able to count on Ginebras to put the finishing touch that Wednesday’s Demoscopica deserved. Even more so if we take into account that the Madrid band went all out, to prove that the shortest distances are the best enjoyed. They performed their usual set, somewhat shortened due to the demands of time, but in store for us some surprises, like when Alba Reche came out to perform that song they have been working on titled “Santos Inocentes”. One of those moments that many immortalized with their cell phones and that we ourselves didn’t know was going to happen. And so, between “Cosas Moradas” and “Alex Turner” we said goodbye to Madrid with the satisfaction of having fulfilled our objective: that the people who were invited to our event had as much fun as we did.
The second of the demoscopic meetings took place last Friday, March 22 at the Sala Wolf de Barcelona. A space that welcomed us for the second time and that gave us all the facilities in the world to ensure that the success of the capital was reproduced at home. And I say at home because Poble Nou is the neighborhood where the magazine’s editorial office is located, just about 300 meters from the concert hall. Perhaps for this reason, there were many friends and collaborators who came to congratulate us on our thirtieth anniversary as a magazine and enjoy three concerts in which both guitars and electronic gadgets were going to be the protagonists. But let’s go in parts.
The day was opened by another very young combo that is destined for great feats with its indie-rock of guitars and post-punk spirit that, for now, they have materialized in a couple of EP’s and in a full-length titled “113 Steps Forward in the Ensanche” (Dungeon Studio, 23). Juan Trias, Juan Poch, Víctor Vidal and Albert Muñoz, that is The Devil of Shanghai, came out wanting to demonstrate that the magazine’s bet was a full fifteen again and that, for this reason, they were going to make the respectable audience vibrate with the intensity of their songs. Topics like the winner “Patti Smith” or the acidic litany of “Prohibido el Passa a Any Person Extraneous to the Work / Las Glorias” that distance them from what has been common in the state guitar scene and that show them as a ‘rare avis’ to take into account in the future. They also surprised us by inviting members – and family members – of another promising band, Neighborsand combining that little classic spoken word of “Mi DNI” by the Andalusians Pony Bravo with one of his songs.
Behind them there was a great desire to enjoy a concert of Anabel Lee and the public expressed it overwhelmingly. In fact, we will have to erase from our perception that the Terrasa combo is not a prophet in its land, because in the Wolf room the opposite happened. Perhaps that is why the band came out with an unusual desire to leave a mark and record of their unbridled punk-pop, jumping like never before and going all out when it came to performing post-adolescent anthems the size of “Tus putas songs”, “Drama en Sonorama” or “Natural for Vogue” chanted by every last person in the room. Intensity, attitude and good songs are the three signs of a group that is having a hard time getting off the ground, but who knows they are winners in advance and who, as soon as they play live, will begin that projection that we wish for them, because in addition the treatment With them it was exquisite and everything was easy to ensure that his time in the magazine’s Demoscopics was a real success.
And finally it was the turn of the surprise group of the Barcelona edition which was none other than the duo Door. It is quite a luxury to be able to enjoy the electro performance of the Madrid duo in such a short distance as that offered by the Wolf room, accustomed as we are to witnessing them at large festivals. Sandra and Sergio put all their effort into action and demonstrated once again that “Techno heals” and that their concerts become a whole aerobics class in which you can’t stop jumping and dancing to the rhythm set by the duo. in which Sandra’s overflowing sympathy stands out, as she knows how to act as a great master of ceremonies. There was no shortage of songs like “Droga dura” or his revisions of “Toro” and a final “Cariñito” that has become a classic in his set. We can only be eternally grateful for their involvement and participation in our parties, as well as with the rest of the bands who did everything possible to guarantee the success of both days.
Thank you very much therefore to all the participants, as well as to our sponsor Bodegas Neo and the collaborating companies: AiE, Bee Week cycle, the venues and all their workers, the recruitment and management offices of all the groups, Brat Producciones, Jordi Meya , the Passline ticket company, the Witis agency and Music Distribución for helping us carry out both parties in the year that the magazine reaches its thirtieth anniversary.