Written by Richard Cook
music scene
The Spanish Music Scene of Today
Having lived in Spain on the Costa Blanca for the past four years and having encapsulated an ever growing thirst for music, new and old, I have seen how the Spanish music scene has modified itself to suit the western world.
I
n September 2009 I became a student at Southampton Solent University, studying Popular Music Journalism and so, now, having obtained a more in depth knowledge of music, I decided to go back and see where and how the Popular Music scene in Spain has changed and where it stands in the sights of modern popular music culture today.
The Spanish popular music scene has never been one that has stood out much in the Western world.
Traditional Flamenco and acoustic folk music would usually arise to the forefront of a Brits mind when thinking of a typical Spaniards Ipod play-list. Other than Enrique Iglesias and the creation of The Macarena, Spain certainly has nothing to shout about for its contribution to Western Popular Music. This generally stems down to the Military Dictatorship that the Mediterranean country had to endure for 40 years of the 20th Century, under the rule of Francisco Franco. The country never saw the ‘rock n roll revolution’ of the 1950’s and 60’s, like America, Britain and many other Western European countries did. The government would not allow any form of revolution to poison the minds of the states people.
a popular rock and pop music festival, welcoming up to 55,000 people for the three day music event. Presenting mega acts such as R.E.M. and The Police, the summer event is one of the largest music festivals in Spain.
However it is in the capital and second largest city where the music scene really thrives.
This left Spain lagging behind in the changes that the music world had seen, such as the invention of punk of the late seventies and the dawn of hip-hop and the dance scene of the late eighties/early
nineties. However Spain is slowly catching up, due largely to a huge influx of ex-pats moving into the country, Spain is rising up as one of the hottest spots in the music world. One of the biggest factors in Spain’s transition into the popular music scene was the transformation of Ibiza from a sleepy, Mediterranean island, into the biggest stage for the biggest dance artists in the world. Every DJ who is worth mentioning in the music industry has or is currently playing the summers of Ibiza. It has created a colossal boom in the islands tourist industry and has well and truly asserted itself on the map with all music fans. Along with Ibiza, Barcelona hosts ‘Sonar,’ one of the largest dance music festivals in the world, accommodating up to 80,000 people every year.
Encompassing a huge electronica scene, ‘Sonar’ is a widely recognised music festival and it shows how Spain is hoisting itself to the forefront of the popular music world. Spain also witnesses the ‘Festival Internacíonal de Benicàssim,’ a week long music event featuring all of the latest popular music artists, featuring genres as far diverse as pop/rock to hip hop.
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enicassim, located just an hour north of Valencia, has in recent years hosted some of the largest music acts in the world, from Oasis
and Blur to this year’s headliners The Prodigy. It is fast becoming a venue in which all leading artists want to perform at. ‘Summercase’ is a 2 day music festival that has featured such popular acts as Kaiser Chiefs and Sex Pistols. It also took place in Barcelona, however, it never made an appearance last year due to the global economic crisis, it confirmed that it “could not guarantee the quality of their events” and therefore were postponing until 2010. The Bilbao Live Festival is
Madrid and Barcelona see the largest European acts all year round in many different venues across the cities. Madrid’s nightlife and young cultural awakening flourished after the death of Franco. The city is internationally renowned for its late night vibe and many Madrid based and international bands benefit from the cities party culture. Madrid possesses an alternative music scene, with the youth obtaining a passion for music, preferring the ‘indie’ scene over say mainstream pop. Barcelona has a thriving alternative music scene also, which allows groups such as The Pinker Tones to acquire international attention. However smaller cities have benefited from a number of large acts also, such as Valencia who annually host the MTV
Winter Wonderland concert, which
last year saw Franz Ferdinand grace the stage and this year witnessed The Arctic Monkeys headline the popular free event. Valencia is slowly attracting more and more
popular acts to the city, with bands such as Bloc Party and The Cure having played in popular music venues in the city. Even as close to home as Benidorm now see’s an assorted number of acts pass through the coastal holiday resort town. Bruce Springsteen, one of most well renowned live performers of the past 30 years, performed in the Estadio de Muncipal Foeites last year. The cities of Spain are catching up with other popular European cities and mega artist often look now to make sure they include at least their Barcelona and Madrid dates when planning their European tours.
So what does the future hold for Spanish music and the Spanish music
scene?
Well, it can only get better with larger venues, bigger names and more live events. As for Spanish produced music this too is becoming better known within the music industry. Spain has a large and diverse up-rising of performers in metal, hip-hop, pop, rock, dance and alternative scenes. The concluding factor remains that all be it Spain has been slower in its transformation to new popular music genres and influences, it is now changing and Spain may now see itself positioned as one of the top music spots in Western Europe.
APRIL 2010
The Orbit
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