Joan Pons and Matías Loizaga, from Primavera Sound, explain how the perfect music festival is

He Primavera Sound It is a festival that put music as a priority. Behind this bet, which could sound demagogic and generic, there is a real sound ethic: year after year, in this celebration of the aesthetic alternative that emerged in Barcelona in 2001, lies a perspective that puts the musical criteria before the metric and that positioned the festival as one of the most important international events for music lovers. Profile spoken with Joan Pons, communication director of Primavera Sound; and scam matias loizagaentertainment director of Pop Art Music, who was one of those responsible for the artistic of the 2023 edition, which will be next November.

–Joan, how would you define Primavera Sound?

–It is the festival for music lovers. Me ask: But aren’t all festivals? I do not think so. There are festivals that want to sell an experience, fashion, leisure, fun… We have all that but what sets us apart from the rest of the festivals is that ours was set up by four friends to attract groups that otherwise would not have sold to play. a Barcelonan. And artists and the public notice it. We are passionate about our work and music; we are curious about new genres and our grid (line up) works quite well against the algorithm.

–How difficult is it to reconcile what is popular with personal tastes?

Juan Pons: If you make the poster for a festival like Primavera Sound without looking at the number of followers on social networks or the number of listeners on Spotify, but rather includes what you like, it doesn’t matter if it’s very popular or not. we do not discriminatewe think about what we like, there is no fine print.

Matias Loizaga: It’s very challenging, I love doing it. It’s about giving people the opportunity to see legends like Robert Smith or Damon Albarn, who are living geniuses who, with their bands and projects, are unique. AND the idea is that this coexists with lesser-known artists. We try to fight for this alternative culture, if you will, where the mainstream matters less, and although we attend to popular taste, the priority is musical excellence and that makes a difference.

–What would the line-up of a perfect festival be like?

-Once We started to imagine that and it would be like that: you have to see an artist that you have wanted to see for a long time; then he discovers your new favorite group, and it opens the door to those artists you don’t know; then watch something that challenges you. Finally, something that simply generates you enjoy; That’s where the most danceable part would come in, let’s say. With these four categories, you go home happy; live a festival

–Mathias; What sensations do you get when looking at the grid they put together for this Primavera Sound?

–I am super happy with the grid in general. It’s a good photo for fans of music, tunes, songs and epic live concerts, left in history. I’m not one for genre tagging but having The Cure and Blur mixed with Slowdive and Domi and JD Beck is truly an unlikely luxury.

What is the 2023 Primavera Sound line up like?

–Joan, what is happening with Argentine artists in Spain is interesting. What impact does that have on the possibility of getting the festival out of Europe?

–It is part of the original idea of ​​doing Primavera in Latin America. as long as possiblethe idea is to make a road in two directions. If we see local artists that we like and whose live performances convince us, we usually invite them. Getting these festivals out of Europe in a way that is not unilateral is one of our dreams and goals.

IE