2018.05.12 – Mallorca Live Festival, Calvià, Spain

Date: 12th May 2018
Event: Mallorca Live Festival
Venue: Antiguo Aquapark
City: Calvià
Country: Spain
Support: see timetable

Tracklist:
1. Omen
2. Resonate
3. Nasty
4. Wild Frontier
5. Everybody In The Place
6. Firestarter
7. The Day Is My Enemy
8. The Day Is My Enemy (Bad Company UK Remix)
9. Roadblox
10. Voodoo People
11. Get Your Fight On
12. Need Some1
13. Breathe
14. Run With The Wolves
15. Invaders Must Die
16. Smack My Bitch Up
Encore:
17. No Good (Start The Dance)
18. Their Law
19. Take Me To The Hospital

Extra info:
Sol House Stage timetable:
18:55 Monxos
19:40 Oso Leone
20:55 Kase.O
22:44 El Columpio Asesino
00:20 The Prodigy
02:20 !!! (chk chk chk)
03:30 DJ Coco

Review by Dave Beech, www.http://drownedinsound.com:
Most people are familiar with UK festivals, their etiquette (or lack thereof) and the general goings on within them. And while line-ups may differ massively in scope and style, the protocol remains much the same: wake up, drink, try and sneak beers in to an overly priced arena the moment it opens (to varying degrees of success), drink some more, rinse, repeat. It’s a well-trodden and often muddy rite of passage that starts to wear a little thin after you hit 25.
Europe on the other hand, is an entirely different story. And Mallorca Live Festival is arguably the perfect first experience of a European Festival.
Fifteen minutes’ walk outside Magaluf isn’t the first place you’d think of to find a festival, nor is a disused waterpark the first setting one would think to house it, yet all of that serves only to add to the festival’s allure, something which is built on further thanks the its position in the shadows of Serra De Tramuntana mountain range.
Even from the moment the line-up was announced, it was clear that Mallorca Live isn’t just another festival interested in bringing identikit international talent in order to sell tickets. It’s a festival that feels more like a celebration of Spanish music, irrespective of genre, while harbouring an inherent need to get said music out to Spanish audiences.
And it’s a need that’s more than warranted. While often bands from European countries such as Germany or whole regions, such as Scandinavia, find their music in regular rotation on UK radio, the same can’t be said for the same number of Spanish bands.
From the genre bending stylings of La Raiz, and the irresistible indie-pop of Jump to the Moon on Friday night, to the ferocious, socially conscious hip-hop of Kase O on Saturday, Mallorca Live Festival felt like a showcase of both contemporary, and more nostalgia-hinged Spanish indie; the latter coming from the aforementioned La Raiz who manage to fill the Estrella tent to capacity for a massively well-received set.
Of course, international acts aren’t ignored at all, with arena rockers Primal Scream and gods of electronica Prodigy headlining Friday and Saturday respectively. And while each act certainly goes down well, it’s the Spanish bands that help make Mallorca live one of the most original festivals around.
While it was Prodigy we were arguably most excited to see over the weekend, the aforementioned Kase O was easily the biggest surprise and strongest act over the entire weekend. Despite understanding little of his lyrics and social commentary thanks to my rudimentary Spanish, the messages he was delivering, and the fervour with which the crowd devoured them, was contagious and by the time his set wraps up all too soon, it was clear how much his lyrics meant to so many.
A far cry from the hedonistic debauchery of Leeds Festival or Parklife, Mallorca Live simmered with a fiesta-like atmosphere, while never teetering over in to the chaos and carnage of its UK counterparts. Small in comparison, certainly, but more refined and arguably more fun also? Definitely.

Poster: