SonarMix 027 takes the series into new territory, with a recording of Phran’s ‘Vimana Discplay’ live set at Sónar by Day 2023.

Conceived as a tribute to his native Venezuala’s mobile soundsystems - the “Minitecas” of the 90s and the “Discplays” of the early 00s - the show saw Phran accompanied on stage by a live ‘band’ composed of Chica Acosta, Ribes and Ylia, reworking and redubbing tracks from his back catalogue. To complete the experience, he commissioned Luis Carlos Mendoza (RGB Corp) and Luis Redondo (Inkclear) to create visuals based on Miniteca graphics and artwork (he’s also working on a zine that compiles this iconic imagery, due out soon via Klasse Wrecks). 

“We wanted to perform a set that was halfway between Miniteca sets and UK bass music culture,” explains the Venezualan producer, who’s lived in Barcelona for over a decade. “Both scenes are important influences for me, and with the live set, the idea is to bring these two worlds together,” he adds. Afro-caribbean soundsystem culture was an essential, if oft-forgotten, element in the birth of UK hardcore continuum, while the sound of Venezualan pioneers like DJ Babatr (whose ‘Raptor House’ Phran has been instrumental in bringing to Western audiences) is clearly informed by European rave culture. 

Across 47 minutes of hypnotic and euphoric dance music, Phran and his band lay bare this shared heritage. From latin percussion workout ‘Serpiente del Agua’ by Dos Ritmos (his production duo with Luca Lozano) to the haunted dancehall of ‘Yes Misael’ from his latest EP ‘Fantascene’, they trace a line from the streets of Caracas to a muddy field near London, somewhere off the M25. Heard here, the hyperactive sound of tracks like ‘Powernap’ (currently unreleased) exist in both contexts simultaneously: a true soundclash. 

Tracklist:

Phran - Vimana Discplay Intro

Phran - Serpiente del Agua (Vimana Discplay RMX)

Phran - Faylan (Vimana Discplay RMX)

Phran - Syntorama (Vimana Discplay RMX)

Phran - Aprieta (Vimana Discplay RMX)

Phran - Primero (Vimana Discplay RMX)

Phran - Momentos de Amor (Vimana Discplay RMX)

Phran - Powernap (Vimana Discplay RMX)

Phran - X Dimension (Vimana Discplay RMX)

Phran - Fantascene (Vimana Discplay RMX)

Phran - Yes Misael (Vimana Discplay RMX)

Credits:

Band: Ylia (Sampler, Synths, Dubbing). Ribes (Octatrack, Mixer, Synths), Chica Acosta (MC, Samples, Percussion), Phran (MPC, Mixer, Dubbing).

Visuals: Luis Carlos Mendoza (RGB Corp) & Luis Redondo (Inkclear)

Sound Engineer: Pau Encinas

Lights: Juan Pablo Larrazabal

Management: Lapsus Agency

Cameras: José Ostos & Joaquín Phelan