Rock Werchter Festival 2008 in Belgium - A Music Lover's Wet-Dream

Rock Werchter is an annual festival that takes place in the small Belgian town of Werchter, which gets beseiged by roughly 85000 young music fans every year, who come to camp, party, and enjoy a massive line-up of some of the best bands and dance acts the world has to offer. It may not be as famous as the UK's Glastonbury or as well-attended as Denmark's Roskilde, but not only is it the oldest major music festival in Europe, it also has arguably the best line-up of any rock fest in the world, with the possible exception of Holland's Pukkelpop.

This year's line-up was any South African rock, dance, indie and electro lovers wet-dream, giving myself and photographer Chris Saunders the opportunity to see many of the acts we love the most and wouldn't usually have a chance to catch live. These are mostly bands which would never make the trip down to the southernmost tip of Africa, so needless to say, getting the chance to see them all during four days was a phenomenal experience. This year, artists on the bill included Radiohead, Sigur Ros, Beck, Neil Young, Nick Cave's band Grinderman, The Kings of Leon, Hot Chip, Kaiser Chiefs, Justice, Digitalism, Soulwax, 2 Many DJs, The Chemical Brothers, The Hives, Gossip, Band of Horses, MGMT, Mark Ronson, Gnarles Barkley, REM, Lenny Kravitz and many more. Even massive hip-hop star Jay Z and major metal moguls Slayer, looking a bit lonely as the only acts of their kind on the bill, made the trip to the land of mussels and waffles for the festival.

Surviving four days of such extreme madness requires many things, including protection from the rain which inevitably falls during the festival's four days, tons of Euros to buy food and drink vouchers, and a commited desire to run around frantically trying to catch as many of Werchter's best bands as possible, which can be difficult, since some of these acts are playing at the exact same time. Some impossible decisions had to be made: The Hives or Band of Horses, Gossip or MGMT, 2 Many DJs or Chemical Brothers - life is tough when one is confronted by so many difficult line-up clashes. Needless to say though, we left Rock Werchter feeling extremely fragile and utterly exhausted, but exhilerated and totally satisfied after seeing so much great music packed into one unforgettable weekend. I know it's wrong to boast but I just can't help it - Rock Werchter 2008 was, simply, incredible.

Contact Chris or myself (frieddaniel@gmail.com) if you are interested in a story on the event. - Daniel Friedman

Hair

The Kings of Leon

Sigur Ros's Finale.

A Thom Yorke close up

Elza Novak

The Editors Live!

An Emotional Crowd.

I have no idea what these guys where up to?

Be prepared, bring good footware.

After waiting 7 hours to watch Radiohead live it was great having the crowd support our weight.

More images can be seen in the next issue of SL magazine.

Bob Dylan in Pamplona

Its been since Barcelona that I've put out a Blog update. Daniel and I traveled up to Pamplona after Sonar, to the city where the famous running of bulls event occurs every year. Unfortunately we where a week out for the event and wouldn't have time for it. What we did make it for though was to Bob Dylan in concert, one of the most incredible experiences of my life. We heard rumors at the gig that this was his last European tour. It was an emotional time for many and I felt privileged to watch one of the worlds most amazing singer/songwriters/poets this world has ever seen.

Below is video clip I shot at the venue on my cellphone and an image of Daniel outside the venue is above.

Chris 2008

Sonar Day/Night (Day 3) 21st June 2008

Sonar Day/Night (Day 2) 20th June 2008

After being exposed to a whole bunch of newly discovered live acts and DJs from around the globe during the first day of Sonar festival, including Swedish electro-pop act Little Dragon, Spanish downtempo DJ Galis 115 and UK post-punk band XX teens, we went off to see some great performances from Goldfrapp and Leila at Sonar by night followed still by a major serving of random partying. Unfortunately, sleep never really made it onto the agenda.

But being intrepid Sonar goers, despite a severe lack of rest, we dragged ourselves out of bed and to the Red Bull Music Academy dancefloor, an initiative that showcases respected, underground DJs from all over the globe. We could have done with an extra couple hours sleep, but we were there for a very good reason - Joburg's very own Richard the Third, one of only two South Africans playing at this year's Sonar, was kicking off the day's proceedings with a set at noon. He represented, playing a warped set of dirty hip-tronica, a sound blending hip-hop beats with glitchy electronica that has been popularised back home by artists such as Sibot and the Considerate Builder's Scheme.

From 4pm there was a showcase of acts on legendary experimental electronica and underground hip-hop label Ninja Tunes. We had a great time and chatted to some top-class artists, including two of the acts on Ninja Tunes - The Heavy and Daedelus. The Heavy are a live band combining big-riff indie rock with funk and soul and have one of the most dynamic lead singers around in the form of Kevin Swaby. Daedelus is an American experimental electronic artist who blew us away with an extremely dynamic live set which was all over the place in a good way, refusing to stick to any one genre or set of rules.

We were loving the Ninja Tunes but we had to move on - we had an interview slot lined up with one of Sonar's most exciting acts - German techno and electro producer, remixer and DJ Alexander Ridha, better known as Boys Noize. We met him in his hotel room and found him approachable and friendly, we got some great shots and he filled us in on his self-titled record label and his roots on the German underground techno scene.

The interview went so well that your two heroes forgot that they had to be back at the Sonar press area by 8pm to collect photographic passes for Sonar by Night. So without the proper permission to take pics, we headed over to Sonar by Night, excited at the prospect of seeing many top class acts although disappointed that we couldn't take pics of them. Always handy with a solution, hardcore shutterbug Chris Saunders managed to get some cool shots of the acts on his lowly 5 megapixel cell phone camera, as well as some great if drunken video-clips of acts including 80s ska-punk survivors Madness, UK electro meets rock combo The Pinkertones, massive dirty French electro duo Justice (our top act of the night), Boys Noize and more. The above highlights were only a fraction of what impressed us, with dark instrumental hip-hop act Flying Lotus, dub-step don Mala and of course ex-Moloko front-woman Roisin Murphy also delivering fantastic sets. Hercules and Love Affair played a great show of disco-influenced tunes, although we were a bit disappointed by the absence of Anthony Johnson, whose vocals were integral to their album's sound. As the sun began to rise, 2 Many DJs, who weren't actually on the bill and were only there to play a set with their band Soulwax the following evening, surprised us with the genre-bending blend of electro, techno, soul and rock that has made them such hot property globally.

There is so much happening at Sonar all the time, coupled with the fact that Spanish people don't seem to sleep (even the usual afternoon siesta is abandoned during the three restless days of Sonar), that we didn't notice the daylight until everyone at the festival, roughly 50 000 of them, were asked not so politely to leave the venue. It was 8pm, and hordes of party casualties began to head to the exit. Getting back from Sonar isn't easy, particularly because taxi drivers have a strict policy of not offering transport to Sonar riff-raff, probably due to bad experiences in the past. But about an hour and a half later we managed to get back home by tube, and we tumbled into bed, hoping to get just enough rest to repeat the whole party process the following night. After all, there was still a whole other day and night of Sonar to enjoy, with acts such as Soulwax, Miss Kitten, DJ Yoda, DJ Mehdi, Sebastian and Anti-pop Consortium still to come...

Sonar gets down to soulful indie rock from The Heavy during the Ninja Tunes showcase.

This is Carlito. We met him at our hostel. Don't be alarmed by his drooling idiocy or his vacant expression. That's just Carlito's way.

The winner of the random Sonar attendee of the day award.

The runner up of the random Sonar attendee of the day award.

Daedelus blew us away with his live experimental electronic freak-out session.

In between hard partying and partying hard, the Sonar crowd somehow find time to clap.

Alexander Ridha, aka Boys Noize, doesn't like to show his face to the paparazzi.



Check out this clip of French electro duo Justice performing.

Eventually, at 9am and after a full night of pumping music, the Sonar By Night crowd are expelled from the venue and let loose onto the streets of Barcelona.

Sonar by Day/Night 19th July 2008

When their mothers told them never to mix business with pleasure, photographer Chris Saunders and writer Daniel Friedman clearly weren't listening. That's why they decided to escape Johannesburg's winter and head to hot 'n humid Barcelona for Sonar 2008. The annual music and arts fest, taking place from June 19 to 21, has earned the reputation of being the world's premiere dance music and electronica event, and celebrates its 15th anniversary this year.

Foregoing the more obvious and cheesy 'superstar DJ' names (Tiesto I'm looking at you), Sonar prefers to showcase more artistic, experimental and underground sounds. This year's line-up includes electro-pop band Goldfrapp, French electro producers Justice, elektroklash pioneer Miss Kitten, all-but forgotten 80s synth pop band Yazoo, less-forgotten 80s ska-pop band Madness, ex-Moloko electronica/dance diva Roisin Murphy, minimal techno don Richie Hawtin and even highly old-school house pioneer Frankie Knuckles. Disapointingly, electro-influenced female UK rapper MIA cancelled her entire European tour and so couldn't make her headlining Sonar gig.

Apart from the more famous names, Sonar also showcases some of the world's best underground talent, and while the night time line-up is generally reserved for the big players, Sonar by day allows festival goers an opportunity to expose themselves to a long list of lesser known players in the global electronic music scene. For a couple of innocent Joburgers like Chris and Daniel, Sonar is an overwhelming experience. Check out a taste of the festivities below.

Daniel and Chris are available to provide coverage of Sonar in the form of top-quality copy and pictures. If your publication is interested, please contact chris@imagination.co.za or frieddaniel@gmail.com. For more information on Daniel and Chris, see the short bios after the pics.

At Sonar, dogs with human heads always have right of way.

Writer Daniel Friedman, before his brain was ravaged by the first night of partying.

Sonar's daytime crowd relax while enjoying Swedish electro-pop act Little Dragon.

A good festival-going mother always protects her child's hearing.

An outside view of the Sonar by day venue.

'Sonar - Not Here' claims a large banner. It is a blatant lie.

A taste of the architectural style at Sonar' daytime venue.

Photographer Chris Saunders (right) and his friends wear their sunglasses at night.

The writer, in the front of a Barcelona taxi, looks way more handsome in silhouette.

Sweden electro-pop band Little Dragon's honey-throated vocalist.

Goldfrapp: Before.

Goldfrapp: After.

Operatic diva Alison Goldfrapp at work.

Daniel Friedman is an arts and entertainment writer who has contributed to many of South Africa's leading publications, including FHM, The Mail & Guardian, The Sunday Times, The Business Day Weekender, SL Magazine and JHBLive.com. He has spoken to and written about a diverse array of artists including Ben Harper, Hot Chip, Maximo Park, Hard Fi, Mr Scruff, Simian Mobile Disco, Marc Ronson, K-Os and The Stereophonics. He has also written features on a wide range of topics, including pieces on politics, travel, humour and sex.

Chris Saunders is an acclaimed South African photographer who has done assignments on subjects as prestigious as Nelson Mandela, Lucas Radebe and Hugh Masekela. His work has been included in a long list of publications including FHM, SL Magazine, Design Indaba, Business Day Wanted Magazine magazine, Shots Magazine (UK), Glamour and True Love Babe. His body of work is expanding rapidly - his main aim being to communicate details often overlooked by others through his work.

Sonar to Rockwerchter 2008

Hi Everyone,

from the 16t June to the 9th July I will be away in Europe attending two of the worlds biggest music and arts festivals. I will be at Sonar (www.sonar.es) in Barcelona and then off to Rockwerchter in Belgium (www.rockwerchter.be).

Also on this trip I will be in Koln (Cologne) Germany doing an article on the German porn industry and I'll be watching Bob Dylan live on his Bull Ring tour in Pampelona.

If you need to get hold of me regarding work, you can sms my cell number or email me on chris@imagination.co.za. If you need info on booking please contact Bethea at Glamour Mechanics on (011) 649 6261 or bethea@glamourmechanics.co.za

See you all soon,
Chris S

Underwater Fashion

Wanted Magazine has just published my first underwater fashion shoot. It is labeled a life aquatic (after the Wes Anderson film). The whole shoot was done on a Canon compact Powershot G7 in an underwater housing and shot in Edenvale in a heated diving pool. Weights where used to make to models sink. It was fun and I'm still recovering from the flu I got after the days events. C 2008

New Portfolio Books.

Finally my new fully bound portfolio books are ready. Each cover was designed by a different Johannesburg based designer and there is lots of new work which I have never put into a print portfolio. I really want to get them out there, so if you know of anyone who would like to see them, I would love to present them.

Chris 2008

The MTCS Project Exhibition. Exposure Gallery (Cape Town)

The MTCS Project is a collaboration between M18J92T (Fine Artist) & Chris Saunders (Photographer). The Prototype was created from +/- 50 photographs of construction equipment which we then deep-etched and comped to create the bot.

The Prototype travels from Johannesburg to Cape Town as street art and we have pasted the 3m long and 2.5 m high paste up in locations around Johannesburg including Louis Botha Ave. & 44 Stanley. The Prototype can also be seen in Kimberley, Graaf Renet & Cape Town. But the locations to those will only be shown on the evening of the 9th of may, unless you have spotted them already.

At the exhibition we have also created super imposed images of the Prototypes journey from one side of South Africa to the other. There will also be an installation in the gallery with the entire wall of the space wallpapered from floor to ceiling with the robot in Johannesburg landscape image.

Be at the Exposure Gallery 9th May 6:00 PM for the opening.



Check out the MTCS Blog for updates http://mtcs-project.blogspot.com/ we will be putting updates on it as we travel through South Africa in the next couple of days leading up to our exhibition.

Chris 2008