MUSIC PREMIERES
We’re back, back, back! Day Two of Mad Cool 2024 saw triumphant sets (and frozen margaritas) aplenty, as a wealth of brilliant musicians kept the good vibes flowing at Madrid’s premier music festival.
Basking in the glow of a golden hour, Michael Kiwanuka delivered a stunning main stage set, followed by riotous moments from Kneecap and Nia Archives, among others. Check out Team NME‘s highlights below.
Words: Liberty Dunworth, Hollie Geraghty, Laura Molloy, Sophie Williams
There’s an air of mystery surrounding Merina Gris. The trio, hailing from the Basque Country of Spain, have managed to conceal their surnames and faces since their formation in 2020, in hopes that, by doing so, audiences will be able to approach their music without preconceived prejudice.
At Mad Cool, they made no exception, taking to the Mahou Cinco Estrellas stage in their bejeweled masks to deliver an intoxicating set, crafting moments of intensity that unexpectedly and suddenly collapsed into smooth, soft melodies. And, judging by the explosive reception from the Madrid audience, their anonymity hasn’t hindered any dedication from fans – perhaps encouraging greater dedication instead. (LM)
Summer nights in Madrid were made for moments like Michael Kiwanuka’s sultry evening warm-up. Fresh from releasing new single ‘Floating Parade’ – his first new music in nearly three years, which the crowd were treated to a dreamy live rendition of – the Mercury Prize-winner was on top form as he breezed through one hour on the main stage.
The north London singer commanded a sense of cool, soulful calm before he whipped up a funky frenzy with the help of skittering maracas and his velvety backing singers. Real highlights arrived in the stirring ‘Rule The World’ and bluesy ‘Rolling’, which featured a shredding guitar solo that sliced through the festival site just as the evening sun was descending low in the sky. (HG)
“It’s been 20 years, and we’re always still surprised to see that we have fans outside of the UK,’ Keane frontman Tom Chaplin quipped, looking out at an audience that stretched into the horizon. It may have been two decades since the band first broke onto the scene with ‘Hopes And Fears’, but last night, the energy and conviction with which they delivered their was just as powerful as when they first started.
Classic tracks like ‘Everybody’s Changing’, ‘Somewhere Only We Know’ and ‘Bedshaped’ came in thick and fast, and as each word was sung back to them during Madrid’s golden hour. This moment meant so much to band members and fans alike. (LD)
West Belfast’s rowdiest sons caused near-instant pandemonium on the Mad Cool site – even before they hit the stage. An hour before they took to the Mahou Cinco Estrellas tent – which has a strict capacity of 800 festival-goers – hundreds of fans were already waiting to be let inside, bedecked in tri-colour balaclavas and vintage Ireland jerseys.
Their patience was rewarded. Kneecap are pushing the Irish language into a space that it has never previously occupied, on a scale that even they could surely never have imagined. ‘Sick In The Head’ was an electrifying frenzy of pure energy, while anthemic calling card ‘H.O.O.D’ inspired moshpits galore, though not without Mo Chara running through some etiquette pointers first.
Though the audience for Nia Archives’ Mad Cool performance was sparse when she first stepped up to the decks, it only took moments of her infectious energy to conjure punters from across the field, with many sprinting towards the stage before immediately bursting into dance as the sun set. Spreading the gospel of jungle, Nia played homage to the genre’s history with videos of old ravers flashing on the screens beside her.
MUSIC PREMIERES
Lykke Li didn’t hold back when speaking about the making of her sixth studio album, ‘The Afterparty’, during a listening session in Los Angeles earlier this year. “Let’s talk about the album. It was a motherfucker to make,” she admitted to the crowd. While balancing motherhood, the chaos of modern culture shaped by Trump and AI, and her own desire to create something more “extroverted, impulsive and chaotic” than ‘EYEYE’, as she previously shared with NME, the Swedish alt pop star arrived at a headspace that “feels like it’s 4am and the sun is going to rise”. The record captures that blurry final moment before regret, exhaustion and reality settle in, which makes it even more emotional considering she has hinted this could potentially be her final album.
There is something fitting about how brief the project feels. With only nine tracks running across 24 minutes, it never overstays its welcome. Lykke immediately drops listeners into the atmosphere with opener ‘Not Gon Cry’, painting a picture of those lonely early morning hours with the line, “No angels here tonight, no dancing queens.” Alongside the shadowy pulse of ‘Happy Now’ and the twisted disco energy of ‘Lucky Now’, she revisits the emotional yet dance driven spirit of her earlier material while blending in the sharper, more confident attitude heard on ‘So Sad, So Sexy’ and the shimmering influence of her 2019 Mark Ronson collaboration ‘Late Night Feelings’.
The emotional fallout begins to settle in quickly. ‘Famous Last Words’ carries a lush orchestral sadness as Lykke reflects on lessons that only came after years of chaos and late nights, confessing, “I had to crash and burn to tell the tale.” Then comes ‘Future Fear’, a delicate acoustic track with robotic textures that stares directly into anxiety and uncertainty with the chilling question, “I’m going to a dark place, do you need anything?” Meanwhile, ‘So Happy I Could Die’ glows like sunrise after a sleepless night, holding onto fleeting moments as she sings about “slipping through the hourglass”.
Throughout the album, Lykke Li vividly captures the beauty and wreckage of reckless nights with the vulnerability that has always defined her music. On ‘Sick Of Love’, she channels heartbreak into revenge, wanting to “make you beg for it” after rejection in a way that feels spiritually connected to Robyn’s ‘Dancing On My Own’. One of the strongest moments arrives with ‘Knife In The Heart’, a track that fully embraces her desire to become the “rock god” and “fuck boy” she spoke about, firing back at anyone who tries to tear her down with the words “you can spit, you can walk on me” while delivering one of the catchiest songs she has created in years.
Closing track ‘Euphoria’ leaves behind the same bittersweet feeling that runs through the rest of the album. With sweeping strings, pulsing beats and emotional intensity, Lykke Li reminds listeners that nothing lasts forever as she sings, “Player play your song, waste the night away”. Like the fading energy of the perfect night out, ‘The Afterparty’ ends in a haze of beauty and uncertainty. If this truly is her farewell, she leaves with one final intoxicating statement, though it still feels like there could be another chapter waiting.
