"I"m From Barcelona" are possibly the most misleading pop music act you"ll ever come across - firstly, they"re not actually from Barcelona, but do in fact hail from Jonkoping in Sweden, and stranger still, they sing in English, not Swedish (or Spanish!). Secondly, they are not a solo artist as the first person context of their name suggests, but in fact a twenty-eight piece ensemble of singers and musicians. So, why all the subterfuge?
Group founder and lead singer Emanuel Lundgren says he took the influence for the name from the favoured catchphrase of Manuel, the incompetent Spanish waiter (played by Andrew Sachs) in the iconic "70s British comedy TV series, Fawlty Towers.
Imagine how fitting it was then when Lundgren gathered up the "I"m From Barcelona" troops to play a show as part of the Primavera Sound Rock Festival in 2006 - located, as luck would have it, in the heart of Barcelona!
Lundgren is not the only musician to have embraced the name and spirit of Spain"s second largest city through his art, however. Barcelona was also the lyrical theme (and title) of the second solo album to be recorded by the late Queen frontman and singer, Freddie Mercury. The song of the same name went on to become one of Mercury"s biggest solo hits when it got a posthumous release to coincide with it being chosen as the theme song of the 1992 Olympic Games.
So not only is Barcelona apparently quite appealing to the musician in a literal sense, but also more and more in a physical sense, with the city playing host annually to two major music events during the summer months - the aforementioned Primavera Sound Rock Festival, and the Sonar Music Festival.
Each festival is quite distinctive in its musical tendencies, and often the two will appeal to and cater for completely different audiences. Primavera Sound tends to lean towards post-rock and more avant-garde and underground acts, and was headlined in 2007 by The White Stripes, The Fall and Sonic Youth, who played their seminal 1988 album Daydream Nation in its entirety. Other underground heroes such as Melvins, Slint, Dirty Three and Blonde Redhead were also present at the festival, along with more traditional rock acts such as Billy Bragg and The Good, The Bad & The Queen.
Alternatively, Sonar tends to focus on more electronic forms of music such as dance, drum "n bass, as well as hip-hop, and saw high profile sets this year from Beastie Boys, Chemical Brothers, Bjork and LCD Soundsystem. As opposed to many other large European festivals, Sonar is ideal for those who are prefer sleeping in a comfortable bed, rather than under canvas in the great outdoors as the event is solely city based; the
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