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Gothenburg club and concert tips – June 27 – 29

Where to go out in Gothenburg this weekend? Monthly Magazine has the answers (Click links for more information)

Published: 26 June 2008 13:56 CEST

If you think of Gothenburg’s party scene as a Bermuda triangle, you get a region stretching from Vasagatan – Linnegatan – Magasinsgatan. Pin down the centre point of this wicked triangle and you end up at an old boat on the canal looking like it is about to sink. But do not be mistaken! This Friday Rio Rio will be welcoming club organisers all the way from Stockholm. Run, swim, row or paddle your way there for a night of hip-house, slow jams, soca, disco, happy hardcore and ghetto tech!

Gothenburg has always been something of a hard rock city, and this weekend, fans of bands such as Monster Magnet, NOFX and Bad Religion can go wild at Frihamnen, the hub of the Gothenburg harbour. What could be a better setting for a hard rock festival? Harsh and salty winds, Götaälvsbron as a backdrop and the smell of steel and rust from the shipyards next door…

Magnetic Fields

The Magnetic Fields are a New York based indie pop band led by singer song writer/musical architect/producer/visionary Stephin Merritt. The past few albums have had a synth-pop sound, where the lyrics continue to be as important as the music. The musical arrangement is always unorthodox, experimenting with different instruments and tunes. Don’t miss these bittersweet indie pop icons!

It’s the time of the month when Dimitros K & Jor-el enter the little club scene at Storan. The music will be electric, heavy and deep techno tunes. Be prepared for great DJ skills, deep cuts and back spins. And count on audiovisual effects. This all adds up to a fantastic dance party! And as an extra bonus it will be free entry all night!

Club Scratch is always a good party. Sunday night features an extra special treat for all Scratch fans out there – straight from the city of angels – the ten-piece funk orchestra Breakestra! The band promises to bring ya some brand new funk, plus the timeless natural raw jams you might have witnessed live onstage before.

Meet the Spanish rapper bringing flamenco and bossa nova into hip-hop

Spanish rapper Anton Alvarez known as 'C. Tangana' poses in Madrid on April 29, 2021. Photo: Javier Soriano/AFP

The 30-year-old has emerged as one of the world’s biggest Spanish-language stars since his third album “El Madrileno” — the Madrilenian — came out in February. That ranks him alongside his superstar ex-girlfriend Rosalia, the Grammy-winning Catalan singer with whom he has co-written several hits.

C. Tangana, whose real name is Anton Alvarez Alfaro, has come a long way since a decade ago when he became known as a voice of disillusioned Spanish youth in the wake of the financial crisis.These days his rap is infused with everything from reggaeton and rumba to deeply traditional styles from Spain and Latin America, with a voice often digitised by autotune.

“It’s incredible that just when my music is at its most popular is exactly when I’m doing something a bit more complex, more experimental and less
trendy,” he told AFP in an interview.

And he is unashamed to be appealing to a wider audience than previously: his dream is now to make music “that a young person can enjoy in a club or someone older can enjoy at home while cooking”.

‘People are tired’

The rapper, who sports a severe semi-shaved haircut and a pencil moustache, has worked with Spanish flamenco greats including Nino De Elche, Antonio Carmona, Kiko Veneno, La Hungara and the Gipsy Kings.

In April he brought some of them together for a performance on NPR’s popular “Tiny Desk Concert” series, which has already drawn nearly six million
views on YouTube.

Shifting away from trap, one of rap’s most popular sub-genres, and venturing into a more traditional repertoire was a dangerous move — especially for someone with a young fanbase to whom rumba, bossa nova and bolero sound old-fashioned.

“I think people are tired. They’ve had enough of the predominant aesthetic values that have previously defined pop and urban music,” he said.

Parts of his latest album were recorded in Latin America with Cuban guitarist Eliades Ochoa of Buena Vista Social Club, Uruguayan
singer-songwriter Jorge Drexler, Mexican folk artist Ed Maverick and Brazil’s Toquinho, one of the bossa nova greats.

“What struck me most everywhere I went was the sense of tradition and the way people experienced the most popular music, and I don’t mean pop,” he said.

A new direction

C. Tangana started out in 2006 rapping under the name Crema. When the global economic crisis swept Spain a few years later, hard-hitting trap was
the perfect way to voice the angst of his generation. But after more than a decade of rapping, things changed.

“When I was heading for my 30s, I hit this crisis, I was a bit fed up with what I was doing… and decided to give voice to all these influences that I
never dared express as a rapper,” he said.

The shift began in 2018 with “Un veneno” (“A poison”) which came out a year after his big hit “Mala mujer” (“Bad woman”).

And there was a return to the sounds of his childhood when he used to listen to Spanish folk songs at home, raised by a mother who worked in
education and a journalist father who liked to play the guitar. The Latin American influences came later.

“It started when I was a teenager with reggaeton and with bachata which were played in the first clubs I went to, which were mostly Latin,” he said.

Studying philosophy at the time, he wrote his first raps between stints working in call centres or fast-food restaurants.

As to what comes next, he doesn’t know. But one thing he hopes to do is collaborate with Natalia Lafourcade, a Mexican singer who dabbles in folk, rock and pop — another jack of all musical trades.

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