If you attended the excellent Sonar Festival in Barcelona last year, you may recall a ubiquitous T-shirt that summed up the mood. “F_K Berlin”, it read, “Barcelona’s Got A Beach.” Said shirts were the brainchild of Lars Sandberg, better known to tech-house heads as DJ and producer Funk D’Void. “I’ve done some more actually, a new collection,” he says. “I’m seen as the ambassador of Barcelona now.”
Originally from Glasgow, Sandberg has lived in the Catalan capital for nine years, and watched it grow into one of Europe’s foremost musical destinations. There are several regular festivals situated in and around the city now, with Sonar the focal point, which D’Void will be heavily involved in this year. “I’ll be doing some parties,” he says. “I use Sonar as a base to meet all my friends, it’s a lovely backdrop to hang out with all your producer mates.”
As D’Void’s cotton-based battle cry suggested, Barca is a fine alternative to Berlin for the emigrating dance music professional. It’s certainly warmer, and a bit more sensible if you’re over thirty-five.
“Berlin has amazing fucking nightlife but it’s getting to a point in my career where I don’t need to go to an after-hours on Monday at fucking eight o’clock in the morning,” he says. “I’m more into coming home to Barcelona and switching off from the music scene.”
You can acquire a T-shirt from his new collection through the Soma Records website if you aren’t heading to Catalonia.
