DGTL Barcelona is giving locals a reason to not flee away from the urban heat and positions itself as an unmissable date in the Spanish calendar
For another edition, DGTL Barcelona took place at Parc Del Fòrum, an enormous concrete park on the very limits of the catalan capital. The location could be described as intriguing rather than beautiful, but personally, I absolutely love the whole ‘industrial’ look, I think it perfectly fits the style of the artists playing. All the stages were very well connected (within seconds of walking between each other) and the concrete did not feel heavy on our feet at all. Shipping crates were placed to delineate the 4 stages and spice things up, something which showed the amount of work the organizers put into the event.
In its third edition, the stages were inspired by the design and operation of a modular synthesizer: AMP, Modular, Generator and Frequency. The biggest addition to all the projects aimed for sustainability was the ‘pee-recycling’ project, where more than 6,000 litres of people’s waste were collected and donated to farmers to be used as fertilizers in the near future.
Barcelona has an unconditional love for the steady thump of a four-to-the-floor kick. This weekend’s edition provided that in abundance, across 4 stages of house, techno and tech house, with some of the best underground talent in the planet. We wish we could have seen all the potential that the artists had to offer, but unfortunately, due to obvious time restrictions, we had to pick a few.
FRIDAY
Accompanied by some threatening clouds, we headed to Parc del Forum early to catch some of the action the festival offered during the earliest set times. Getting the wristbands was very easy and staff were really helpful, so the queues were rather short.
After grabbing a few drinks in the well spread bars, we kicked the weekend off with the impressive Modular Stage, where Jennifer Cardini definitely brought a bag of A-Game records with her. After her set, we could not miss the Swiss duo Adriatique and their blend of sharp bass melodies and cinematic techno, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Halfway through their set, we moved to the stage that’d be our home for the next hours (and 90% of the weekend): the Generator Stage.
By far, the best sound in the whole festival and probably one of the best we’ve ever seen in a spanish festival. You didn’t even have to be at the front to feel the rumbling Funktion-One stack of speakers hitting you straight in the chest. Purely breathtaking.
The atmosphere was brilliant and the lightshow, although ‘simpler’ than the other stages, was way more effective due to the setting of the stage. Surrounded by rows of containers, never have we experienced such a thing. Berghain/Panorama Bar resident Ryan Elliott showed us why he’s at the top of his game right now and played a fine selection of tracks that only he could afford, giving us one of the best sets of the weekend. Special mention to the classic Pontape (2013 Remake) by Renato Cohen which the public loved.
After him came Matrixxman, who was very good, but after Elliot’s piece of art, it felt as if something was missing. He even dared to play ‘The Bells’ (Jeff Mills was going to play in the same stage the day after), which the crowd enjoyed but was definitely not a right move in my opinion.
But a fellow American was waiting to play after him. DVS1 and his sounds from hell, together with dark red and black lights, took us on a trip through the darkest side of techno. Disturbing yet elegant. He brought the best set of day, without a doubt.
We then moved to the AMP Stage, where we had to swim through waves of people to see a bit of the always controversial Solomun. Most of the attendees in that stage weren’t even dancing so after 15 minutes we went to catch some of the action from Afterlife guys, Tale Of Us, who were tearing up the Modular Stage. It was a pity that the sound was a little bit low (you could perfectly hear what the people around you were saying) since their set was really elaborated, full of big and emotional breakdowns that ended up in the crowd responding very well to the flow of the tracks.
The day was almost over, but we didn’t want to leave the festival without seeing what the Frequency Stage and the Glasgowmen Jack Revill aka Jackmaster and Jasper James were getting up to. Even though it was the smallest stage out of the 4, a very well distributed Funktion-One system, the palm trees decorating the stage on the sides and the thin layer of smoke surrounding the DJ booth gave it a very special vibe. No wonder why these two lads are among the most in-demand DJ’s in the scene, the 45 minutes we caught from their set was pure brilliance and fun. The public at the very front was made up of British people, who cheered and applaused the artists, making them feel as if they were playing at home. Moving back and forth between a class selection of house and techno, the highlight of their b2b was Paul Johnson’s ‘Give Me Ecstasy’. The trippy vocal chops in the breakdowns left the crowd amazed and wondering when the beat was going to kick in. The kind of record that you could hear for 20 minutes straight and not get tired of it, with ups and downs in the pitch that sent the crowd into a frenzy. What a way to finish the day.
SATURDAY
We got enough rest to prepare for what was coming on Saturday. We got there a bit later than the first day so unfortunately we missed The Drifter and HD Substance. The Generator Stage was going to be our home for the rest of the day basically.
The new techno queen Amelie Lens, attracted a huge amount of people for her set and she definitely proved why there is a bright future ahead of her. With head-knocking techno beats and a certainly fast mixing, nobody could stop dancing to her bombs. The Belgian DJ was one of the hightlights of the weekend, including famous tracks like this one from Dax J below, among many others.
UK mastermind Daniel Avery took a couple of tracks to get the festival-goers moving but, in my humble opinion, he gave a perfect performance. However, 30 minutes before his set finished we headed to the unique Frequency Stage to experience young star Mall Grab, who proved why the hype around him is reasonable. A set full of energy, punchy bass lines, rave throwbacks and even with some Drake in the mix, giving it a different flare. We got some of the emotive and dark melodies of Recondite before going back to the Generator where one of the Belleville Three, Derrick May, was giving a lesson in old school techno.
Beside the Detroit maestro, Karenn (Blawan and Pariah) were setting up their enormous live set. The fiercest live show in the techno scene delivered 90 minutes of raw, chest-rattling techno, with some hints at UK Bass. It was a great anticipation for what was probably going to be the best set of this year’s DGTL.
Many people gathered eagerly to witness a closing from the one and only. The Wizard, Jeff Mills, had a tough job after Karenn’s outstanding show. But Mills knows the crowd like nobody else in the planet. His music can be from the last century, but it sounds like something we’ve never heard before. With a particularly tougher Jeff (probably due to the fact that the Funktion-One’s were asking for it) it was one of the best versions of the Detroit genius we’ve ever seen. His mastery behind the decks, the way he keeps the tension before the raw TR-909 drums and toms hit you straight in the face, how his fingers create the magic… Pure and utter madness. We have no more words for what was lived during his set.
With the oversaturation of the Spanish festival circuit (two of the biggest festivals of the year, Dreambeach and Medusa, took place over the same weekend), it’s getting harder and harder to choose from all the available options. But the Dutch techno brand surely knows how to organize events and differentiate themselves from the rest. Betting on a combination of the most forward-thinking talent, modern art installations and environmentally friendly projects for sustainability, DGTL Barcelona is here to stay and remind us why good quality events are more needed than ever. Thank you for these unreal two days and see you in 2018!
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