Playlist: Liverpool-Barcelona: In-Flight Entertainment

Ahead of this weekend’s LIV-BCN Barcelona Festival, Anthony Ellis appreciates the scorching line-up and takes a moment to remember his first trip to The City of Counts…

The first time I went to Barcelona I was inter-railing (circa 1998). It wasn’t exactly Before Sunrise. I was with my mate, Del, who had claimed that it was impossible to buy a bad bottle of red in The City of Counts. On arrival, we put this theory to the test, purchasing the cheapest available carafe in the local supermercado. After being proved decidedly wrong, we stumbled onto Las Ramblas, met some Glaswegians and proceeded to party the night away. A couple of days later, we left at dusk by train. I remember leaning out of the carriage window, drinking and smoking, as the city slided by. We woke up in Nice, after sunrise.

So, when I heard about the LIV-BCN festival, I thought someone was messi-ing (sorry) with me… what a great idea. The festival features a mixture of live music, a graphic arts exhibition and a cinema screening (see details below), tapping some sort of psychic nautical connection between the two cities. Of course, it isn’t possible to sail directly between these two port towns. Looking at Google Maps, an imagined cruise would take in the Irish Sea, the Atlantic, perhaps stopping at Bilbao and Lisbon, through the Straight of Gibraltar to the Catalan capital. Most festival revelers will travel by plane, connected by Liverpool John Lennon and Barcelona El-Prat airports. From Liverpool, you’ll fly west of Birmingham, over Basingstoke and Portsmouth, cross the Channel, over Tours, Toulouse and the Pyrenees, before the final descent into Barca.

Hence, for this playlist, I thought it would be good to keep with the travel theme: in-flight entertainment (although, in the unlikely event of Easyjet showing a certain Richard Linklater movie, feel free to can the cans and assume crash positions). The first four tracks are bands playing at the Barcelona gig this Saturday at the Apolo, and include Marnie [Ladytron], Univers, Boreals and Ocellot (I’m sure John Lennon would approve of Nage as you pass through the airport that takes his name). The next five tracks are bands playing the Liverpool gig at The Kazimier 11 July, and include Clinic, Mujeres, The Suicide of Western Culture, MinionTV and Strange Collective. Great line-ups.

Think, you might find yourself ten thousand feet high, looking out over the top of a cloud, listening to Remembering Better Times by The Suicide of Western Culture. The better times? Perhaps that Vin Rouge wasn’t quite as bad as I remember. Let the good times roll.

Anthony Ellis

LIV-BCN Festival 2015 launches this Friday 12 June in Barcelona…