Terraneo Festival 2012

Location: Šibenik / Croatia
Concert date: 07.08.2012
Attendance: 60,000 (across the whole festival)
Ticket price: Festival pass (four days): €58, Day ticket: €30, Camping (six days): €26

Central Dalmatia, or more precisely Šibenik, hosted a festival called Terraneo in early August (7th-10th). This second edition took a big step forward in profile, and in the breadth and quality of its lineup. Compared with similar festivals in the wider region (Exit, Sziget, Frequency…), Terraneo is a real little guy, yet somehow it lacks absolutely nothing. What’s more: its careful booking policy means there isn’t a single rotten egg in the line-up, and the program is spiced up with ecological awareness and workshops running inside the camp during the day. Business and pleasure rolled into one. Still, its biggest plus is the setting itself, which serves up seaside pleasures. You give yourself over to them by day, and in the evening and at night you listen to hand-picked musicians from the global popular scene (the alternative end of the spectrum). You can hardly believe that a festival running this smoothly and pleasantly is only in its second year. After last year’s bill with bands like The National, La Roux, The Fall, Nouvelle Vague, Mogwai, Crystal Castles, The Raveonettes, Destroyer, The Suuns, Dan Deacon… the organizers have raised the bar a few more levels this year. Milk and honey were flowing, which meant that despite the smart scheduling, there were occasional clashes between very interesting bands and artists.

The festival grounds themselves were set up on the floor of an abandoned barracks, and by festival standards they’re pretty small, but all the more cleverly used for it. Besides the three main open-air stages, lined up in a row by size (Terra stage, Aqua Stage, Aero Stage), the party baton was passed at night to the so-called hangars (Muzika HangaR, MTV Hangar…), where people danced to club rhythms every day until eight in the morning. In the camp, the Akustika stage took care of the chill-out side. Besides the concert venues, there was excellent provision for all kinds of food and drink at relatively low prices (Roast Chicken, Vege kitchen, Grill bar, pancakes, Rakija bar,…). Following the example of Novi Sad’s Exit, only ”tokens” counted as currency here too. A state within a state. The vibe was thoroughly relaxed. Besides the languages of the former common republic, you heard a lot of English, plus German and Italian. The international, friendly atmosphere made the festival even more interesting. When so many different cultural traditions and habits get together in one place, what else would you expect? Over four days (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday) around 110 acts took to the stages. The first three days were reserved for the big names, while the last, farewell day was mostly about relaxing and one last round of dancing. The organization was excellent. The program ran flawlessly, there were no major delays, and no (major) band pulled out at the last minute, as happened for example to Croatian ”brother” festival, Zagreb’s INmusic festival. The sound was satisfactory, with no dropouts or needless fluctuations. The festival is already something of a success story. It has strong support from the municipality of Šibenik itself, and the locals I talked to welcome the influx of tourists. It’s worth knowing that over four days the festival draws more than 50,000 people, which is as many as the entire population of Šibenik. The festival ticks every box to become a real hot spot of the Balkans within the next few years. The large number of visitors from Slovenia already confirms it.

After a five-hour drive (I really felt sorry for the ”poor souls” who came by train: a 12-hour proper little odyssey) I arrived in Šibenik around five on the first day. After a quick check-in and some food I couldn’t dawdle much, since Anna Calvi was already playing the Aqua Stage at eight in the evening. In general, things at the festival kicked off relatively late, around seven or eight in the evening, which is a Terraneo specialty compared to other European festivals (e.g. Austria’s Frequency starts its program at twelve or one in the afternoon, and most open their grounds at five in the afternoon at the latest). As a result, the concerts on the main stages also dragged deep into the night and wrapped up only around three or four in the morning. This ”delay” was largely down to the unbearable heat (35, 36 degrees during the day). Luckily the concert area was paved and the ground itself wasn’t sandy. The combination of heat and sand can be seriously nasty. On the first day I watched seven acts.

First I caught the aforementioned Londoner. Anna Calvi is the very embodiment of the modern femme fatale. She’s a mysterious, dark and passionate woman. All of that shows in her music too, a kind of atmospheric pop accompanied by a hefty dose of guitar virtuosity. Calvi has plenty going for her. Besides an unusually deep and powerful voice and charismatic presence, it’s her unique way with the guitar that makes her special (among female artists). If you took away her instrument and the stage lights, you’d be looking at the sweet face of a young girl. It’s exactly that divine gentleness she carries inside that charms you all the more. Such a fragile creature at first glance, yet capable of giving off such heavenly sounds. No wonder Brian Eno was the first to notice her.  Her mentor Eno says she is ”the biggest thing since Patti Smith”. Her musical influences are very wide, from classical music (she’s a trained violinist, among other things),  experimentalists like Captain Beefheart, old rockers à la The Rolling Stones, musical and cultural icons Edith Piaf, Nina Simone, David Bowie, Scott Walker, all the way to virtuoso guitarists Jimi Hendrix and Django Reinhardt. She’s also inspired by other arts, above all film (David Lynch, Wong-Kar Wai, Gus Van Sant). Many compare her to PJ Harvey and Siouxsie. Even before last year’s album, which was critically acclaimed and nominated for quite a few awards, she was opening for acts like Arctic Monkeys, Johnny Flynn and Nick Cave and Grinderman. On stage Calvi is convincing. Dressed in high black trousers and a men’s red blouse, slathered in strong red lipstick, she seduces us the whole way through with her poetic, sincere and passionate performance. She doesn’t move around the stage much, and many would even accuse her of being static. But that’s part of her expression. The voice, the music and the sex appeal she radiates do that much more. A drummer and a harmonium player stand beside her. At Terraneo she played ten songs. She opened the set with the enigmatic instrumental Rider To The Sea and after that played all her hits: Desire, Suzanne and I, Love Won’t Be Leaving. Toward the end of the set she also played three covers: Surrender by Elvis Presley, Wolf Like Me by TV on the Radio and Jezebel by Edith Piaf). Despite the early hour there were lots of people, and by the end of the show the Aqua stage was nicely packed. There was no great euphoria, at least on the surface, but after the show friends and others told me it was pure balm for the soul. And I can only agree. You don’t often see, or rather hear, such a heartfelt and powerful concert confession. Maybe this ”technical” detail is interesting too: she was the only one of the performers who gave photographers just 45 seconds, for the first three songs.

Right after Anna Calvi, it was the turn of the German outfit The Notwist. Because of a certain overlap with Friendly Fires, I only watched half an hour of their set, but it was enough to blow me away. The band, which in recent years has picked up the nickname ”the German Radiohead”, really does have a lot in common with its English counterparts (a dark musical landscape, experimentation and exploration of electronic directions), but on the other hand they come from completely different backgrounds. The critically praised The Notwist emerged from the Bavarian hardcore scene in the late eighties. They’ve gone through quite a few creative phases, from the early metal-grunge period all the way to the jazz period of the late nineties. For two decades now they’ve remained one of the central pillars of Germany’s alternative music scene. In recent years they’ve gone deep into electronic territory, and their songs get remixed by all the current musical innovators and authorities of the contemporary underground electronic scene (Four Tet, Caribou, Panda Bear…). They played us all four of their biggest hits: Consequence, Pick Up The Phone, Pilot, One With Freaks. They sound excellent live. The right balance of thrilling experimental impulses and dark pop melodicism can sweep you into musical ecstasy in no time. These are multidimensional musical narratives where the pleasure doesn’t let up for a second. On top of all those qualities, the addition of electronic ”deep” minimalism gives it a club atmosphere. A downright magical band. On stage they come across as modest and calm, no pretension at all, the music speaks for itself. Listenable, enticing, satisfying.

On the neighboring main Terra stage, after The Ting Tings (whom we covered in our report from Urbani festival) it was time for Friendly Fires. I left The Notwist’s show early precisely to catch last year’s British hit of the summer. Friendly Fires have released two records so far (”Friendly Fires”, ”Pala”), and genre-wise they stand somewhere at the crossroads of post-punk and disco, constantly mixed with elements of funk. The band is a trio of young guys led by charismatic frontman Ed Macfarlane (live they also bring a whole horn section). His dance moves are often the first non-musical association people have with the band. Many are put off by this unusual spectacle right from the start. Macfarlane writhes, bounces, his hips swing left and right, he’s in constant dance mode. He’s the real engine of the crew, and he lets neither the band nor the crowd catch their breath. If you want to capture the spirit of the band, you have to follow him. If you give up on that, it quickly happens that the band fades in your eyes (and ears). The danceable, energetic compositions very quickly slip into monotonous, artful toying with dance rhythms that become an end in themselves. You have to surrender to the dance moment. Only that fully lived-in surrender can leave some memory or meaning with the viewer. The band played a nice batch of songs, including all the hits: Lovesick, Jump In The Pool, Blue Cassette, Skeleton Boy, Paris, Hawaiian Air, Kiss Of Life.

Right after Friendly Fires wrapped up, 65daysofstatic started on the neighboring Aqua Stage. Moving between the main stages was quick and easy, since they were connected by tunnels and laid out in a horizontal line from the entrance (from biggest to smallest). The biggest, Terra stage, took up roughly a quarter of the entire festival grounds with its footprint. It’s thanks to this smart layout alone that no time was needlessly lost on the way. 65daysofstatic put us through a truly apocalyptic (re)experience. The band expertly nurtures and continues the tradition of instrumental post- and math-rock. They’ve been on the scene for a little over ten years, and in that time they’ve released five studio albums, all of them very well received. Even though they’re a fairly unconventional band (one that currently has no right of residence in the mainstream spheres), they already have quite a few shows at festivals around the world behind them, and in 2008 they opened for The Cure on their American tour. Two years later they even recorded a song together with their idol, Robert Smith. Their show in Šibenik was ”spot on”. Few bands have such strong energy and such concentrated interaction among the members. With instrumental bands this has to be even more intense and noticeable. A vocalist can only be replaced by very successful instrumental communication. The band tries to convey everything through the music alone. 65daysofstatic pulled all of that off. They successfully avoid the clichéd musical patterns cultivated by most instrumental post- bands. By bringing in electronic elements they transform the genre into something alive, current and very powerful. A real mini ecstasy. They take you through apocalyptic landscapes, through dramatization they hang the weight of the world over your head, only to conjure the most magical, soothing harmonies the very next moment. True masters of playing with tension, who command both the baroque and the minimalist dimensions that music offers.

After 65daysofstatic finished, I got lucky again and arrived right at the start of the duo Thievery Corporation. This live incarnation put them on stage with as many as fifteen musicians. The musicians gradually came on stage over about twenty minutes: first the DJ duo, a guitarist and a drummer, then the bassist, then the singer, then the reggae MC and a vocalist, and a rapper too,…Somewhere around the seventh song of the night the lineup finally settled. Thievery Corporation are basically Rob Garza and Eric Hilton. They come from Washington D.C., where they met fifteen years ago and started making music together. The original obsession with The Clash and seventies Brazilian music has since expanded to many genres and levels. Their music mixes elements of dub, acid jazz, reggae, ambient, trip-hop, Indian and Brazilian (classical) music…All these elements blend beautifully within a ”lounge and downtempo” aesthetic. Music that has always been synonymous with bars, casinos or the soundtrack to a sunrise has plenty more to offer. Despite its mellowness, it’s not an empty and ”harmless” musical picture. Garza and Hilton constantly stress the importance of political engagement for musicians. They’re known supporters of human rights and various food programs, and fierce opponents of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The unusual mix of different world music elements was visible on stage too. At first glance the crew was made up of musicians who really don’t have much in common. But that first impression is quickly debunked by their masterful synchronization and visible joy in performing together. Their musical artistry rocked us all into slow dance steps. The groovy rhythms, built first and foremost by a striking bassist with a frightening stare, had a hypnotic effect on the crowd. The master of guitar and sitar, Rob Myers, only deepened this hypnosis. Besides English you could also hear Brazilian Portuguese. A real event of music from all over the world, expertly infiltrated into an electronic embrace. The sound is rich thanks to the mixing of different elements, but by no means overly baroque. Attention is spread across the whole crew over the course of the show, so the performance doesn’t rest on the shoulders of just one or two musicians, which only boosts the sense of collaboration rather than competition. A true creative musical laboratory that we got to see live. Alongside Anna Calvi, definitely the highlight of the night.

Toward morning I watched two more shows. I partly missed the first, Future Islands on the Aero Stage, because of the Thievery Corporation show described above, but I still arrived in time to get a good dose of dreamy rhythms. Future Islands formed in their native North Carolina in early 2006. They’ve recorded three studio albums and a heap of EPs. The band is led by stocky frontman Samuel T. Harring, who wins you over with his sincere and passionate stage presence. Harring is constantly moving around the stage, gesturing dramatically, rolling on the floor…you get the feeling you’ve walked into a gymnastics workout. The band draws inspiration from eighties music, especially post-punk rhythms and new-wave melodicism. They’re the very definition of contemporary electro pop. To close out the night I also caught the DJ set by the electronic duo from London, Groove Armada. They’ve been supplying the world with good electronic production for fifteen years, and this time they dedicated themselves mainly to creating a good party. They pulled it off, since it was ”thumping” in my ears long after their set ended. So the first day wrapped up around five in the morning and was an excellent introduction to the adventures awaiting us over the next two days.
 

Setlist

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