There are no munters at Sonar. Not today anyway. The beautiful people – clad in designer gear or bohemian rags, enter in droves. Ray Bans are everywhere – stylish versions with white and black thick plastic frames make every man wearing them look like Brains from the Thunderbirds. The crowd today is a million miles from the unkempt look of the typical British festival crowd. Sonar is slick, self-consciously stylish but equally up for a riot.
Inside Sonar Dôme the crowd is fired up – in spirit and temperature. Of all the places needing to have an indoor festival Spain in June isn’t one of them. But it’s not about weather. Bath funk/soul band The Heavy have just wooed the crowd with a stunning set drenched with sexual overtones, fat riffs and soulful backing. The band’s funk/rock/dance sound – created by bass, guitar, two singers, drums and samples is dance worthy, with fat dirty riffs. Big crashing drums played with mechanical precision drive the funk/rock aesthetic – to which the entire crowd is getting down.
But the highlight – especially for the ladies – is Swaby’s vocal chords. Libido oozes from every note as his voice soars from grimy rap to soulful, Curtis Mayfield-like falsetto. “This one’s for all the beautiful ladies at Sonar – and there are sooo many this weekend,” shouts Swaby, as he introduces the flirty Girl – a lustful number for which Swaby ups his ante. He grabs the photographer in front of him and sings orgasmically into her ear. The sheer strength and sexuality of his vocals makes even Marvin Gay like a libido-less eunuch. A pair of bright pink thongs is thrown onto him and – bravely – he takes a sniff, “I’m gonna keep these,” he laughs.
After a chance encounter involving an elusive toilet and chitchat with a stranger I end up interviewing The Heavy off-the-cuff in a café (I was on a toilet hunt with a lady who revealed she was the girlfriend of somebody ‘in a band’ – within seconds I was introduced to The Heavy). The band is relaxed, sufficiently decked out with RayBans and friendly. Speaking of his Curtis Mayfield comparisons Swaby says: “It’s not annoying being compared to Curtis Mayfield– it’s when they ask you as if you’d never thought of it. It’s because it’s a falsetto. But I think I sound like Barry Gibb as well – I just need to that thing where they take all your teeth out and out bit white ones in.”
Sonar Day’s other standout act is Yo Majesty – two black singers from Tampa, Florida whose rap/sample set pays homage to Salt and Pepper (at one point the duo even merge a rap into a rendition of Push It). Like Salt and Pepper, their sound marks out feminist territory, and today the pair are giving sexual control right back to the girls – ‘get your pussy on the floor’ screams Jwl B and Shunda K. In Club Action Yo Majesty step up the anti establishment tone – ‘Throw your hands up if You wanna get rich/if you feel how I feel say ‘FUCK DAT SHIT.” The crowd is insane, sweaty and fired up. And Kryptonite Pussy fuels it further – “I wanna feel your feel your kryptonite pussy,” sings Shunda K over a Prince sample. But while Yo Majesty’s ‘get yo pussy on the floor’ aesthetic is at times comedic – their agenda is massive. The pair is out to liberate hip-hop from the shackles of men, bling and sexism. Yo Majesty dig girls, sing about spirituality and defy the glamorous image of so called ‘street’ singers such as J Lo. Time will tell whether their musical mission will be a lasting one, but for now, at least, everybody in this crowd probably will have ‘FUCK DAT SHIT’ in their heads all weekend.
