The 38th edition of ESNS (Eurosonic Northern Strike)which takes place in the charming city of Groningen, in the north of the Netherlands, concluded last Saturday with a resounding success in attendance and an endless explosion of musical talent from dozens of countries.
More than 40,000 attendees, including professionals and the public, packed the city’s varied venues, where 280 artists from the continent, including the United Kingdom, performed. Spanish participation, promoted through The Spanish Wavewas outstanding, and the artist Ralphie Choo was recognized with an award.
Must see: Eurosonic It is the only place in the world where a Swiss psychedelic post-rock band or an Icelandic acoustic trio perform in a 17th-century Protestant church to an audience of enthusiastic people of all ages. Nowhere else on the planet can you see a British R&B quartet in a nineteenth-century opera house in which the boxes and stalls have become the stage (it’s hard to explain if you don’t see it)… Or a Norwegian group of post-rock with a string septet filling a huge tent in the very center of the city to bursting.
It is also unlikely anywhere else to see a local girl playing the Appalachian folk banjo in a record store, and to find her the next day selling organic vegetables at the market in the square… You have to let yourself be carried away by the surprises and the insatiable passion for music, this city that, with barely 203,000 inhabitants, is home to thirty concert halls – among them, the legendary Vera, where the best bands in the world have performed -, and a record store (Plato) envy of major European capitals, and where, as if that were not enough, concerts are held with impeccable sound. Anyway, it is no coincidence that Eurosonic is held in this bucolic town in northern Europe.
It has been four frenetic days – the last one is exclusively dedicated to the local industry – in which the temperature of the continent’s music in all its dimensions has been taken. On the artistic side, of course, with dozens of concerts and showcases by some of the artists that will fill halls and festivals in the coming years, but also on the professional side, with numerous conferences and round tables where hot topics related to the music: the perspectives of programming and booking, sustainability, the future of management, the European Union’s support for music or festival marketing. Poland, the protagonist country in this edition, has shown the vitality of its scene, with artists such as Of course, the diva of electronic music Artificialice o Zamilska.
Zaho de Sagazan
Eurosonic It provides a unique opportunity for European and British professionals to contact and close agreements of all kinds, for tours or festivals. And their awards increase the visibility of musicians. In the recently concluded edition the French artist Zaho de Sagazanwith its intense electronic proposal, took the grand prize from the Jury of the Music Moves Awardsin which he had been nominated Ralphie Choo. The Spaniard won an award for “his unique style and excellent production and beats of his music.”
The young French artist could end up being a global star: ESNS is an invaluable springboard for artists who are emerging beyond their countries of origin. In addition to the concerts that take place in the different venues of the city – including theaters, record or clothing stores and a large tent located in the heart of the city, next to its famous bell tower -, different countries organized showcases to show what your selected artists are capable of.
This was the case of Wales, Scotland, and Spain, with The Spanish Wave. The basement of the downtown News Café hosted performances by four female artists: Julia Sabaté, Ona Mafalda, Sila Lua y Lala Hayden They added character and intensity with their musicians to convey to attendees what is being done in Spain. The good attendance at the event demonstrated the interest and curiosity that our music arouses beyond our borders.
Ralphie Choo
A united Mediterranean
That same day in the morning, The Spanish Wave had organized a conference on the musical possibilities opening up to the Mediterranean region. Professionals from Turkey, Greece, Croatia, France, Italy, and the Spanish Rubén Gutiérrez del Castillo, General Director of the SGAE Foundation, participated. They all gave a panoramic view of the specific realities of each country and bet on the possibilities of integrating the region into the music business, something in which there is still a long way to go, as the head of The Spanish Wave Caesar Andion. He was in charge of moderating with good hand Diego Pablos of About Music.
As for the music that was displayed during the days of the event, we enjoyed in situ an astonishing variety of artists and proposals, just a small part of the avalanche that flooded every corner of the Dutch city: of somber electronic music (the German turkish origin Güner Künier) or luminous (the fabulous Portuguese Ana Lua Caianowith its imaginative loops), to acoustic textures (the Icelanders Lunchwhich thrilled with their raw honesty), dark post-punk (the Scots Humour), elegance rooted in tradition (the Portuguese Lina)the vocal harmonies of the British No Guidnce -candidates for youth idols of the R&B scene- or the most abrasive and wild rock: for example, the British Universitywhose mind-blowing level of intensity displayed in the Vera room evokes a cross between Black Midi and Black Sabbath.
Some more examples: the energy of the French percussionist and singer Lucie Antunesor the sympathetic psychedelia of Yellow Mill, also Welsh heirs to the playful rock of Superfurry Animals. Local artists such as Tramhaus They also displayed their virtues, reaffirming the country’s great musical tradition.
At the end of the event, Robert Meijerinkresponsible for programming, stated that “the quality of artists from all over Europe is outstanding”and highlighted names like Bulgarian Catreader (Bulgaria), freekind (Slovenia), yunè pinku (Ireland) and the aforementioned French Zaho de Sagazan. Some of these names will appear at European festivals in the coming months.
And if there is something that stands out Eurosonic It is because it is the ideal place to get away from the Anglocentrism that has dominated pop music in all its dimensions for a long time (although less and less), and understand that there is life beyond the British circuit. And although the gastronomy of the Netherlands is still quite debatable and it is cold – not much more than this year in Madrid; Furthermore, it barely snowed a little – the sincere hospitable warmth of the Dutch and their genuine passion for artistic creation and music in all its dimensions cannot but leave the visitor with the best impression.
We are already waiting for a new edition in 2025, which will take place from January 15 to 18, with the focus on Italy.