Tag: Music

T-Cross Creativity Fest: More Than 1 Thing

Last weekend we attended T-Cross Creativity Fest, a new festival organised by Volkswagen in Madrid with the objetive of inspiring people through workshops, talks, gigs and other activities across different areas such as design, art, food, connectivity or technology. A different concept in which we were invited to discover, learn and listen.

www.tcrossfest.com

T-Cross Creativity Fest took place at Casa del Lector in Matadero, a former slaughterhouse that is now a cultural and arts centre for promoting innovation in the city. During just one day, attendees could discover the work of different Spanish artists, designers, illustrators and musicians who are shaping the current creative landscape in the country.

Artists Carlos Saéz and Abel Iglesias created installations that were designed to interact with them. The talks were led by creatives like typeface designer Alex Trochut, data company Domestic Data Streamers, 3D studio Six N.Five or iconic designer Javier Mariscal, who closed the festival looking back at everything he has created throughout his career.

There were also workshops run by illustrator Monstruo Espagueti, designers Maria Ke Fisherman or graphic designer Arnaud Pi, who shared with the attendees their knowledge and expertise in their areas. And bands and musicians like Adriana Proenza, Melenas or Carlos Sadness played live gigs.

T-Cross Creativity Fest was created to embrace the values of T-Cross, the new car by Volkswagen designed for those who are more than 1 thing and need the versatility of a vehicle that can adapt to anyone, no matter how many things they do in their daily lives.

June 10, 2019
Paraíso Festival 2019: Our Highlights

We recently talked about Paraíso Festival, an electronic music festival taking place in Madrid that has become one of the best music experiences in the city due to its carefully curated line-up, its connection to art and sustainability and its goal to serve as a platform for local DJs, producers and artists.

We attended its second edition on 14-15 June and asked illustrator Laura Flores to join us and do live drawings of some of our highlights from the festival.

Illustrations by Laura Flores and photographs by Sharon Lopez, Rodrigo Mena and Arturo de Lucas.

The atmosphere

Even though 25.000 people attended Paraíso, 40% more than last year, the festival didn’t feel crowded and it was easy to find a seat to eat or some free space at the multiple relaxation areas. The complex where the festival takes places is also pretty compact, which makes it easier to move from one stage to another if you want to make the most out of the line-up.

The diverse line-up

Paraíso is mainly an electronic music festival but this year’s line-up felt much more diverse, with a variety of genres especially at the main stage, Escenario Paraíso, with performances by the likes of Rhye, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Maribou State, Mount Kimbie or Channel Tres.

The Escenario Club was home to live sets and performances by artists like Peggy Gou, IAMDDB and Jacques Greene. Whilst Escenario ABSOLUT brought to Madrid an eclectic mix of performers from South America, Africa and Europe such as Nicola Cruz, Kampire, Young Marco and Kalabrese.

Rhye playing at Escenario Paraíso, food prepared with seasonal and local produce, Channel Tres performing, one of the many relaxation areas and Mount Kimbie on the stage

The art

Several art installations took over the festival space, creating ephemeral pieces that questioned our relationship with the environment. English artist and mathematician Paul Friedlander created a 5 metre light installation called Dancing Wave, architecture studio Terrario Arquitectura built a piece made of 180kg of inflatable beach mattresses, Argentinian artist Melisa Zulberti engaged attendees with her performance Dentro, architectural group TEXTWO created a modular structure called Urban Espora that served as a seating area and Fine Arts students from Universidad Complutense designed the Paraíso Totem.

Escenario Nido

For its second edition, Paraíso Festival has decided to give more visibility to local and emerging artists, DJs and producers. Escenario Nido (Nest Stage) served as a platform to discover electronic sounds from Madrid with sets and sessions by Dos Doggos, El Cuerpo del Disco, Estatua de la Libertad or Guacamayo Tropical.

Melisa Zulberti’s installation ‘Dentro’, the Paraíso Totem, ABSOLUT’s ice cocktails and Escenario Nido

The Food

Festival food doesn’t have to be bad or unhealthy. Following its sustainable ethos, Paraíso Festival collaborated with award-winning chef Rebeca Hernández to curate 14 food trucks offering a delicious menu based on seasonal and local produce. Burgers, tacos or pizza were just a few of the many food offerings that we could try during this 2-day festival.

June 22, 2018
Radio Cascabel

Radio Cascabel is a musical and visual project started by Argentines Estefi Panizza and Diego Jalfen. Curating the most exciting Latin American sounds, Radio Cascabel offers playlists, sound design, live DJ sets and other musical and visual services. We talked to its two founders to find out more about how this project started, their recent move to London and the Latin American bands we should be listening to right now.

www.radiocascabel.com

How did you meet and how did Radio Cascabel start?

We met on a night out when we both went to see a cool DJ play at a bar in Buenos Aires. It was love at first sight 🙂

Diego worked for a big radio station in Buenos Aires and in advertisement. I, Stefi, was working as a psychologist and was also starting to show my work as a photographer.

Spring of 2013 marks an inflection point for us. The idea and concept behind Cascabel was born when we were living in Barcelona. We were at a party and we took a microphone which was on the stage, and started dancing and singing over the music. Everyone at the party was very excited and the day after that, our musical project started.

Tell us a little bit about all the different things you do with Radio Cascabel.

Have you ever imagined a platform that curates emerging Latin-American music and visual art? A Radio that spreads local sounds with a global spirit and timeless sounds? A radio that could provide a space for experimental music? These questions inspire us to keep on developing our project.

We search for new sounds and emerging visual artists all around Latin America. We develop an archive of the new, undiscovered and the impossible. We schedule all this music and broadcast a fresh streaming where new stuff can be listened to and artworks that have no place in traditional broadcasting can be enjoyed.

Cascabel is our world – the way we live, think and feel. It is also a lab for music experimentation.

You’ve recently moved to London to open a second office. What made you expand to the UK?

We wanted to have the opportunity to show all the new Latin American music we work with and to experience living in another country. London is a really musical city and it’s giving us the chance to connect countries, people, and languages through music. We’d like to change some stereotypical ideas of the music of our region. We love to offer an unexpected selection of music where listeners can discover new sounds.

What Latin American musicians should we be listening to right now?

We recommend all the artists we broadcast in Radio Cascabel. This is just a small selection: Bahía Inútil (Chile), Lucrecia Dalt (Colombia), Little Jesus (Mexico), Candelaria Zamar (Argentina), Nicolas Melmann (Argentina), Salt Cathedral (Colombia), Sobrenadar (Argentina) and Helado Negro (Ecuador/US).

What are your plans for the upcoming months?

We’re starting a monthly show on NTS Radio with some of the best tracks from our selection. Also, some others radio stations have shown interest in having the most exciting sounds from Latin American and the Southern Cone. We are so happy to find Londoners interested in our curated music playlists.

We also expect to increase our own audience on Radiocascabel.com and visit some friends in Ibiza and Madrid for New Year’s Eve.

November 9, 2015