“El Llobregat Sona” is the motto that the artist from Cornellà Adrián Martín, known as Joven Greko, has been singing in concert halls for years. Over time, this expression has also become the name of a project that was born last year and aims to strengthen the musical scene of Baix Llobregat.
Behind Llobregat Sona is a group of eight young people and friends from Cornellà who dream of an alternative scene beyond Barcelona. All of them work in the music, production, or audiovisual sector, so each one contributes their grain of sand to the project. Adrián Martín is the director; Gerard Aragón handles communication and photography; Adrià Fernández makes videos; Alberto Hidalgo is the graphic designer; Victor Redondo is in charge of production; Edi Classe is the creative director; Alex Martín handles production and Ibai Olmedo also works as a photographer. Last, but not least, is Celestino Martín, Adrián's father, who helps them with production and logistics.
We speak with the project director days before they hold the second edition of the project's highlight, the Llobregat Sona festival which, after the success of last year's party at Can Mercader Park in Cornellà (they gathered 4,500 people), this Saturday, July 4, they celebrate, with the support of the Cornellà City Council, the second edition in the same place. The event will last until 1:30 a.m.
“As young people from the Barcelona periphery, we see that everything happens in the center of Barcelona and we are tired of that. We have young people at Razz and Apolo who are from Sant Boi and Sant Feliu and our project wants to build community in Baix Llobregat,” Martín begins. However, aware that they still have a long way to go, they have also programmed nationally recognized artists as an attraction for the public. “We bring famous people for those who cannot afford a 150-euro ticket, however, we do not announce the programming schedules so that people come to everything, since the important thing is to create culture and community,” details the Cornellà native.
Thus, on Saturday, recognized artists from the State such as Lorna, from Murcia, Glorysixvain, from Santa Coloma, Guxo, from Madrid, Joven Greko himself and Stereo Madness, also from Madrid, will take the stage at Can Mercader Park. The lineup is completed by Lowy T.K and Cler, two emerging talents from the territory, and local DJs Carmela, Eric Zafra and Sudor Locals, who will fill the square with rhythm between performances.
How do they choose the artists?
According to them, the key piece of the group is Victor Redondo who, besides being Martín's manager, is in charge of the urban music parties Sudor that circulate through various venues in Barcelona. "He makes the connection with the world of artists," says the director of Llobregat Sona.
Thus, Redondo proposes artists from the periphery to the eight members and together they decide who could perform at one of their festivals or has a more indie profile and, therefore, fits with the second branch of the project, which are the La Tienda sessions, a kind of tiny desk, that is, acoustic musical sessions that are recorded and shared on Youtube and social networks. They record the performances in a record store in Cornellà called Chollomanía. Every month they do a recording there. Finally, the other way to access the artist catalog is to fill out this form.
Although they do not want to "close themselves off" to any musical genre, right now they recognize that what they program most are urban music artists.
"Necessary in Baix Llobregat and the periphery"
For the young people of Llobregat Sona, Saturday's party is not just a party, it's an opportunity, as they say, to make contacts. That's why, between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m., there will be a networking session. "We want people from culture to connect with each other, because there is a lack of meeting spaces," they share. Whoever wants to can approach the venue and ask for one of the three bracelets they will distribute, depending on what interests them. There will be one to talk about the music industry, another for topics related to photography and fashion, and the last one to talk about music production. "People will also be able to fill out a form and we will create a database of contacts that will then be public," Martín specifies.
Finally, the Cornellà native is very satisfied with the project they have in hand, which he anticipates they are working on to soon extend to other towns beyond Cornellà. "We haven't had an opportunity like this and we've always seen the same names at big festivals. We are doing something necessary in Baix Llobregat and the periphery," he concludes.
