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Sónar Festival Contest Winners!
We´ve got the winners of the Sónar Festival Contest 2012 Congratulations to: Mark“Metronomy!Because songs like “The Bay” are awesome!” YJoudi “To me, it´s Lana. Her voice sounds quite different in live performances, I´d like to see/hear that for myself, but of course, I want to see her dance too!” Jordi Cano I voted for John Talabot. Good electro house to party in such an amazing festival like Sónar. Although other artists like New Order, Hot Chip, Fatboy Slim or Lana del Rey or Die Antwoord make me want the Sónar to begin already The tickets will be sent directly to the winners by e-mail! Thanks everyone for taking part in the contest. *The contest was made through the random.org system. Maria Climent Remember that we´ve got apartments in Barcelona if you need accommodation for the Sonar festival....
40th Istanbul Music Festival
Travelling to Istanbul is an experience that all traveller should live. Walking around Istanbul in the summer is walking around one of the oldest cities in the west and east, under an intense sun and blue skies with fresh wind and many people going from one place to the other, both locals and tourists. Parks, narrow streets, restaurants, bars and food al fresco, bazaars and mosques can be found in a city that every year modernizes itself a little bit more. Important cultures such as the Roman, the Egyptian and the Greek have passed through Istanbul. The rich Turkish culture, as well as fantasy stories and indescribable beauty, has known how to be dynamic facing the historic, social and economic changes that Istanbul is going through. Today, the contemporary Istanbul that the traveller can see is a city of ever-changing nuances, international culture and a lot of contemporary and modern art. This way, Istanbul promotes itself in culture as a meeting point between all nations, showing that its potential as an emerging metropolis is definitive. Of an already cosmopolitan character, many say that Istanbul is the New York of the East. With a constant migration from all parts of the world, the cultural diversity of this city grows year after year and presents us with a new international crowd that seeks art, music and culture. Among the most important cultural events of the year we can find the Istanbul Music Festival, whose 40th edition takes place this year, 2012. Promoted by the Foundation for the Culture and Arts of Istanbul (ISKV), this music festival is an essential experience if you´re visiting...
Jazz Festival in Vienna
What one day was the capital of an empire, the Austrian-Hungarian, today boasts of that glorious past, showing hundreds of different daces. Impressive palaces (the Hofburg Imperial Palace, the spectacular Schönbrunn Palace, with all of its French-style gardens, the Belvedere palaces…), large gardens (such as the Prater) an so many museums that have opened in a district for themselves await the visitor with their far-away steps and close-by voices. However, Vienna offers even more. The traveller in search of beauty won´t just feed off plastic art. What can we say about Vienna´s lively music scene? Who doesn´t know about the New Year´s Concert or those that take place on certain Advent days? And who wouldn´t want to go to one of these galas? Of course, any music fan who thinks of himself as such. However, the traveller who is in Vienna in the early summer, with its colourful flower beds cut in hedges adorn the city, must not miss this event: the Vienna Jazz Festival. From the 25th of June until the 9th of July, during two intense weeks, one of the most popular and busy (due to its quality and intensity) music festivals in the world takes place in the city in different venues throughout it. Vienna moves around these rhythms that originated in Mississippi, and the whole city prepares itself for this event. The Vienna State Opera (Staatsoper), the Konzerthaus, the Town Hall and Gallery, Jazzland, Porgy & Bess venues, Miles Smiles or Wuk will be at the disposal of the music fans, offering non-stop concerts as well as documentaries, films based on blues protagonists, conferences, talks...
Megadeth concert in Istanbul
In the early eighties, four young drunk and heartless guys, fans of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, decided to form the fastest rock n roll band of all time. With basis of blues and rock n roll speeded to the limits and influenced by the “speed” of Motorhead, the Misfits’ punk and musicianship of the English Diamond Head, the four wild drunken boys became Metallica, the most emblematic band of the Bay Area scene of San Francisco. In an age where all you saw on MTV and playing on the radio was “hair metal” of the worst quality, Metallica was a kick in the ass to all those pretty boys bands dressed in leather, with makeup and long dyed hair. Dave Mustaine was one of those anomalous young rockers, probably the most innovative guitarist of that particular time in California, which also influenced by the sounds of contemporary jazz, he managed to create much faster and progressions blues patterns and invent his famous chord, the “spider chord,” a new way to play “power chords” in a much more versatile and fast way. Unfortunately, due to excessive drinking of the red haired Mustaine, the other band members ended up getting fed up with his aggressive outbursts, instability and violence, so they chose to kick him out of the group and replace him with Kirk Hamett, guitarist also thrashers Exodus. Incensed by the rejection of his previously best friends, Mustaine formed a new monster of thrash metal in 1983: Megadeth. In 1985 they realeased their first album, “Killing is my Business … and Business is Good”, which showed that...
Botes i Potes: Walking Your Dog in Barcelona
Dogs are our best friends. They accompany us through thick and thin, give us affection and warmth as well as provide us company. Many times when we talk about people’s personalities we compare them to a dog or cat. Are you cat or dog? What makes you cat or dog? Well if you’re a cat you usually like being alone, you´re dominant, you don’t accept too much affection from others, and you’re not willing to commit yourself much. You´re above the rest, your ego is stronger than you, there´s nobody better than you – well, that’s at least what goes through your head. This definition may sound like an exaggeration, so maybe it’s better to say that a person with cat character is more independent and aloof. If your character is more affectionate or dependent on the affection of loved ones, maybe your behavior is closer to that of the dog. The adjective that defines dogs is usually loyalty. Sometimes, we have the feeling that our dogs are too attached to us. They want to be there all the time to make us happy or simply wishing to keep us company, even when we don’t want it. For some people, the company of a dog can be even suffocating. However, the joyous reaction of a dog when you come home is indescribable to others. It’s also about their manner of accompanying us and giving us affection. Always ready to run or walk or simply go outside, dogs are great best friends when you’re the outdoorsy type, whether you like going to the park, down the street, to the beach,...
UB40 concert in Barcelona
Reggae music is usually associated with the use of marijuana, that is, the image of aperson who listens to reggae is someone extremely relaxed, who does nothing with his life, who smokes marijuana all the time and usually has “dreadlocks” and does not shower. He or she usually is a squatter in some European city. Comfortable clothes, comfortable attitude, and a unpretentious stylistic intent far beyond the hippie philosophy. Reggae lovers around the world spread between marijuana smoke, happiness, love and peace. And of course, surf, beaches, cosmic sunsets and vegetarian food. A peaceful and carefree life, moving in slow motion indulging the pleasures of cannabis. This however is a very common stereotype that people often associate this style with as they do with other styles of popular music to explain the character of those who hear it. For example, it is considered that people who listen to heavy metal are violent people, embittered with the world, that hate everything and most likely will be Satanists and devil worshipers sacrificing cats in the basement of their home. Stereotypes. Prejudices are common mistakes. Usually, we create stereotypes when we have fear of the unknown, of that what we do not know how to explain. So, reggae is also loaded with prejudices but, likewise, reggae is heard by managers of large companies, doctors, police officers in the demonstrations, political activists, dancers, poets, firefighters, office workers, people who work every day in front to a computer writing articles about travel and tourism, and is more than probable that the King of Spain heard reggae when hunting killing elephants. Reggae has no boundaries...
Music Festival Wiener Festwochen
There are cities that are determined to show that they are the most cultured, educated and artistic. Without a doubt, one of these places is Vienna. The capital of Austria is not content to simply show the visitor an impressive array of architectural sites or a rich cultural heritage (primarily centered around music but also in theater and related to the visual arts) or well-tended gardens designed for leisure and enjoyment. No. That is not enough for the aristocratic and decadent Vienna. So every year from mid-May to mid-June, the Wiener Festwochen, or Vienna Festival, doesn’t run for the standard one or two weeks as is usually the case with such events, but rather for an entire month. That’s the way Vienna works when creating programs of cultural events. And they have been doing it since 1951, when the country was still trying to recover from the hardships and sorrows in the aftermath of World War II. Decades have since past and the city is buzzing with artistic people from all over the world. This year’s festival, which has already begun, will close on June 17. So if you’re in Vienna before that date, you are obliged to attend some part of the program. Here’s the link with daily information updates about events: http://www.festwochen.at/ The Island of Museums hosts a large number of the various functions that take place as part of the festival. These include temporary exhibitions, avant-garde performances, installations, classic and/or independent film series, courses, conferences, etc. The artistic and spiritual life continues in the Theater and der Wien, where actors from all over the world take...
Edward Hopper’s exhibition arrives at Thyssen Museum in Madrid
On the 12th of June 2012 the works of the American painter, will be the protagonists at Thyssen Museum in the Spanish capital. This is the first really important exhibition devoted to the artist at European level and it is also, a unique opportunity to enjoy his most famous and daring paintings. With this exhibit, visitors to the Thyssen will tour Hopper´s life since the moment he traveled for the first time to Paris in 1907, discovering and falling in love with European painting until the end of his days. 70 works by this artist in total, 40 of them created and during his older age as: “House by the Railroad ” or “Gas”, both part of the permanent collection of the MOMA Museum in New York. Edward Hopper was inspired by the film industry for many years, but after the 50’s, it was the other way around and ended up inspiring even the Hitchcock films. The painting “House by the Railroad”, for example, inspired the film “Psycho”. Also, he was able to inspire several American poets that mentioned his works in their compositions. Edward Hopper was not interested in avant-garde like Matisse or Picasso. He was inspired by artists such as Albert Marquet, Félix Valloton and Walter Sickert” as you will be able to appreciate in this exhibition. He was an almost lyrical painter. However, he didn’t sell any painting before he was 43, so the curators of the exhibition have decided to divide his work into two, and make a comparison of his beginnings to his final success. Let´s get to know the life of Hopper. He...
Museum Mile Festival in New York
The traditional Museum Mile Festival is held every year on the second week of June between 18:00 and 21:00 in New York. During 33 years this one-mile walk has become a must for New Yorkers and visitors, who gather between 82 and 105 streets to enjoy all the activities organized by the city’s cultural institutions for free, including activities for children. The Museum Mile Festival 2012 will take place on the 12th of June and will open at the steps of the National Academy Museum at 17:45 in the 88 street. For three hours you will be able to enjoy concerts and art exhibitions while having great fun with all your family. The ten museums that on Fifth Avenue, which designate the area that lies between 82nd and 105th Street, have organized a wide set of activities to bring people closer to art, the conservation and history. One of the most anticipated spring panoramas in this beautiful city, because it is an encounter with the museum beyond its obsolete solemnity and where all fit, even those who never visit any museum. During that afternoon the Fifth Avenue will remain closed for vehicles and is transformed into a pedestrian zone where you can listen to music, feel the pulse of contemporary culture, have fun with interactive activities and face painting. If you are coming with your kids, you’ll see how they’ll enjoy street art. Among the museums that you can visit for free are: the Museum of African Art, the Museo del Barrio, the Museum of the City of New York, the Jewish Museum, Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution,...
