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NEWS
Sábado, 20 de Marzo de 2010In 1994, post-Madrilenian Groove Madrid was in hectic full swing and shedding itself, specifically, of some of the less convenient burdens of those happy years. Bustling, noisy, cosmopolitan and, above all, fun, the capital was starting to build on one of the basic pillars of the new youth movement (the members of which seemed innocent and harmless enough, but they could sure roar up a storm): Music, pure and simple, and no pretensions. For the first time, we in Spain were discovering the latest sounds in music at the same time as the rest of the civilised world. As almost always, those sounds came from the US and the UK. Bands like Sonic Youth, Pavement, Mercury Rev and Dinosaur Jr from the other side of the Atlantic; and Ride, The Charlatans, Oasis and Blur from the British Isles, opened the doors here in our country for truly singular bands like Cancer Moon, Penelope Trip, Parkinson D.C., Patrullero Mancuso, El Inquilino Comunista, Australian Blonde and Los Planetas – all of whom, and many others, were signed to independent labels that encouraged musicians to “go their own way”. They were acclaimed in alternative-music media channels advocating change, and they played in small venues spread around the country. One in particular was Maravillas, the sanctuary of the indie-rock scene in Madrid, where an idea began to sprout – one that would prove absolutely crucial to the next fifteen years of music in Spain.
Between concerts, Luis Calvo and Joako Ezpeleta, both editors at the magazine Spiral (Calvo was also head of Elefant Records), joined up with Miguel and José Morán, who were running Maravillas, to really bring about what had until then only seemed like a pipe dream: “We would dream of creating the perfect space for an international gathering of young music lovers; a place full of unique, enriching and unforgettable experiences where people could share their interests and passion for music and life while providing an emotionally-charged base of support for cutting-edge bands to put on really amazing and one-of-a-kind shows.” And, the opportunity arrived when they found the ideal spot on the Mediterranean for truly great summer holidays – a friendly place, lots of sun, surf and sand, and beautiful weather. Françesc Colomer, who was then the mayor of the small city of Benicàssim, listened to their proposal and recognised the incredible possibilities of such a venture. He took a gamble and ultimately won. The first edition of the International Benicàssim Festival was underway.
As with all new initiatives and undertakings, great effort, intuition, confidence and lots of hard work made up for inexperience. As such, on the first weekend of August of 1995, the first edition of the Festival was born, bringing 8,000 young people together in the city’s velodrome, where two more editions of the Festival would take place. Bands like Suede, The Jesus & Mary Chain, Orbital, The Chemical Brothers and The Stone Roses, among others, left their distinctive marks on the musical history of a completely different and new kind of event in Spain. Shortly afterwards, at end of 1996, Luis Calvo and Joako Ezpeleta moved on to pursue other music-related projects, but in one way or another they have both been collaborating with the Festival all of these years.
In 1998, the Festival expanded significantly and considerably when it moved to a new venue, offering far better conditions for both the fans and the artists – Björk, Sonic Youth, PJ Harvey, Primal Scream, Spiritualized and sixty other bands performing on three stages over three days, kicking off a new stage in the Festival’s life with style. It was also in 1998 that the Festival’s Extramusical Activities were launched, such as the FIB Fashion Show and the FIB-Act theatre festival, both of which are non-profit ventures. These activities would gain in intensity over the next years to eventually include FIB’s Date with Dance, FIB Summer Courses, the FIB International Short Film Festival and FIB-Art – all of which have woven themselves into the fabric of Benicàssim society as essential elements of a cultural proposition open to one and all.
In 2001, Heineken came on board as the Festival’s main sponsor; as such, it came to be known as FIB Heineken.
The following year proved momentous in the history of the Festival: 38,000 people attended each day, surpassing the wildest of expectations. Radiohead, The Cure, DJ Shadow, Paul Weller and Belle & Sebastian, to name just a few, put on shows that established FIB Heineken as an international benchmark of music-festival excellence.
The 2003 edition abounded in variety and top quality with performances by Blur, Moby, Echo & The Bunnymen, Suicide and Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man – as just a sampling of the diverse styles and sounds on our stages.
In 2004, we celebrated the Festival’s tenth anniversary in the company of great and influential artists like Kraftwerk, Brian Wilson, Pet Shop Boys, Lou Reed, Wire and Einstürzende Neubauten, providing a spectacular overview of music history. This led to 2005 when we were blown away by the brilliant performances of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Richard Hawley and Yo La Tengo.
2006 was another record-breaking year for FIB Heineken, with tickets selling out two months in advance. On that amazing third weekend of July, 40,000 people crossed the Festival’s threshold every day to groove to and cheer for Depeche Mode, Morrissey, Pixies, Madness, Franz Ferdinand and The Strokes.
Firmly consolidating FIB Heineken’s reputation and status in both Spain and Europe, 2007 was another record-breaking banner year, with more that 150,000 people attending over four days to bask in the magic of Devo, The B-52’s, Arctic Monkeys, Iggy & The Stooges, Wilco, Amy Winehouse and Rufus Wainwright.
FIB Heineken 2008 continued to set the standard of distinction and quality thanks to artists like My Bloody Valentine, Morrissey, The Raconteurs, Siouxsie, and Morente Omega with Lagartija Nick – not to mention the tremendous and showstopping concert Leonard Cohen put on, which is no doubt indelibly etched in the memory of everyone who was there.
So, that pipe dream of days gone buy has become a reality; that perfect place where once-in-a-lifetime experiences inspired by music are the norm has grown and developed and finally become a near-Utopian parallel reality governed by the values and passions of thousands and thousands of young music lovers from all over the world. Pure hedonistic pleasure and both personal and cultural enrichment join hands in the celebration of life that is FIB Heineken.
