June in Barcelona is nothing less than magical, with the streets of the ancient city awash in golden light and the sun browned Spaniards and visitors sipping sangria at outdoor cafés and dancing the night away beside the Mediterranean. Add to this setting the multitude of the best DJs, producers, and electronic slanted bands in the world who flock to the city as part of Sonar festival, and you’ve got the perfect recipe for the best week of your life. The warm energy of the city melts seeps into the festival grounds and permeates the air, spreading a glow through the masses that is impossible to deny.
The success of a festival lies not only in the strength of its line-up, but in the wealth of details surrounding and supporting that line-up, which take a musical show and turn it into a significant life experience. The minds behind Sonar clearly demonstrate a thorough understanding of this truth, and it is this that sets Sonar apart from its competitors. The organization of the events, from the reception of press to the physical layout of the grounds, conveys a depth in consideration for both attendants and staff. The set times for both Day and Night are thoughtfully arranged, with the stages well curated and both the scope of the artist’s fan base and the aesthetics of the individual stage taken into consideration. The only exception would be Sonar Hall, which seemed to be entirely too small to accommodate the many followers of, in particular, Nicolas Jaar and Apparat with his band.
Thursday
Little Dragon exploded onto the stage in a burst of sound and spunk, with frontwoman Yukimi Nagano commanding the audience’s attention from the very first note. Their performance was captivating, intriguing, and exhilarating, with the elements of electronic and live instrument and vocals melding to form a unique sound that was brilliantly surprising. At different times, their songs drew parallels to so many different genres, including techno, 1960’s rock & roll, acid, house, and pop. While this might seem schizophrenic in words, the effect was quite the opposite. In fact, Little Dragon managed to incorporate each of these sounds and more into a set that made perfect aural sense, and kept the crowd dancing until the very end.
The best part of Sonar by Day is being able to hear and dance to music outdoors, under the sun, rather than being confined to a dark and crowded nightclub. Floating Points’ set at the open-air Sonar Village could therefore not have been more perfect, as his sound, which favored house of the deeper, bass-driven variety, lent itself perfectly to a late afternoon frolic on the grass. The aural experience that he presented was at once both engaging and meditative, with weaving melodies winding through beat patterns creating an environment of joy and unity for the early stages of the festival.
Although dubstep has arguably taken a bit of a turn for the worse recently, there are certain “real” dubstep producers and DJs that remind us of why we started listening to this peculiar branch of electronic music in the first place. Eskmo is precisely one such artist, and his set at Sonar proved beyond a doubt that while the genre as a whole has slightly lost merit, his skill and vision as an artist certainly has not. His bass driven set was creative and interesting, taking the crowd on a real journey through the lower end. It was furthermore a perfect example of skillful timeslotting, as his set was the last of the day. His performance was an ideal transition from Day to Night, as it had to not only wind down the day, but also build excitement for the coming night, without going too far and thereby exhausting the audience.
Friday
As the sun made its way across the sky on Friday, it quickly became clear that the already crowded dancefloors of the previous day were only a sliver of the madness that was to come. By Four Tet’s set on Thursday evening, Sonar by Day was so packed it was nearly impossible to move, let alone attempt to locate the bathroom or bar. The high congestion did however not plug any ears, and Four Tet’s blissful electronic melodies were therefore still enjoyable, even if all that was visible was a sea of bobbing heads. These heads bobbed particularly ferociously as the first bars of “Love Cry” became audible, and it seemed that all of downtown Barcelona quivered with emotion as the sentiment heavy track pumped its way through every person’s heart.
Sonar by Night kicked off with a thundering roar as Trentemøller and his live band exploded onto the Sonar Pub before the clock struck midnight. Their set presented the usual brilliant stage design by Anders Trentermøller and his drummer Henrik Vibskov, incorporating industrial tinged elements that gave the performance visual texture, and intricately crafted lighting. The set list leaned toward newer material, especially that which takes its influence primarily from various elements of slightly gothic rock and punk, rather than the more straightforward techno of his earlier productions. This was a clever move on his part, as it managed to set his performance apart from that of other artists who were simply delivering 4-to-the-floor beats. The surf-rock inspired single “Silver Surfer, Ghostrider Go!” went off particularly well, as did “Moan”, arguably one of the most beloved tracks of his entire career.
Judging from multiple testimonials, there was without a doubt one performance that was indisputably the pinnacle of the Sonar experience: Aphex Twin. This is not entirely surprising, as the man is a true electronic legend, with his productions going back decades to the time when he was just a young boy crafting strange noises with machines in a small British town. It did however seem that nobody was really sure what to expect, as rumors of his eccentricity and futuristic experimentation with sound are far reaching. It did not take more than a few minutes for one thing to become clear: the thousands of curious fans at Sonar Club were completely and utterly blown away. His set was nothing short of phenomenal, as he crafted techno into an interstellar voyage through beat heaven. The accompanying light design took this experience even further, with multicolored cloud formations projected onto lazers that beamed and swayed above and through the crowd. As his set came to a close, thousands of people blinked rapidly, as if emerging from a trance, and speechless friends and strangers alike could do nothing more than hug one another with giddy smiles and stars in their eyes.
Although much of today’s electro often has a tendency to border on what might be elementarily described as commercial cheese, Boys Noize, along with the majority of talent on his BNR label, has always managed to transcend this stereotype. On the contrary, his productions are groundbreaking and exciting, with a ferocity of spirit that does not seem contrived, but rather communicates a passion for creation that cannot help but to explode forth through sound. His set at Sonar was no different, with the German artist turning Sonar Club into a banging hive of pounding feet in the early hours of Saturday morning. He included many old favorites such as “& Down” and “Lava Lava”, as well some serious 1990′s ‘ardcore rave sound woven through a broad spectrum of techno and electro, both intense and aggressive, but never without a firm grasp on musicality.
Saturday
By the third day of a festival, energy starts to run a bit low, and the novelty of being constantly surrounded by a thundering bassline starts to wear off. However, Sonar hardly allowed that to happen, as silly ideas such as “sitting this one out” or “taking a nap before tonight” were quickly expelled by the promise of yet another phenomenal set. Cosmin TRG’s performance could not have come at a better time. His musical choices were highly techno driven, with a more minimal and melodic lilt rather than big room industrial. Aching feet and grumpy dispositions perked up at lightening speed when his afternoon set at Sonar Dome kicked off, providing the burst of strength that was needed to get through the rest of the evening.
With a name like Tiger and Woods, expecting anything other than excellence would seem downright disrespectful. Sure enough, the duo dropped a set of some seriously sexy deep house, integrating elements of soul and disco at perfect moments. Once again, skillful timeslotting on the part of the folks at Sonar enhanced the experience exponentially, as their set closed out the Sonar Dome by Day, and thereby served to set the tone for the transition into night.
It is rare that the opportunity is presented to experience an artist of such caliber as Underworld. The group should need no introduction, as referring to them as legendary seems like nothing short of a gross understatement. As the hour of their appearance at Sonar Club drew near, the dancefloor seemed to take on a life of it’s own, as a never-ending stream of eager fans poured steadily into the space before the stage. The excitement in the air was palpable as fans, particularly those who had clearly been believers in Underworld from from beginning, raised their voices to the wind and their hands to the sky. The performance was explosive, incorporating a carefully crafted stage and lighting design, truly summoning the essence of the mighty electronic group that helped to shape the evolution of the genre. While there remained a certain element of early 1990′s that permeated the performance and sound, this only enhanced the sense of exhilaration in the air; and awareness of how truly special it was to experience such greatness firsthand, even if it is no longer on the cutting edge.
While variations of house and techno remained the dominant sounds throughout both Day and Night, Sonar made sure to include groups whose styles differed from more straightforward electronic dance music. One such group was Buraka Som Sistema, whose combination of traditional Portuguese beats with elements of modern electronic production creates a vibrant and intoxicating rhythm that is impossible to not shake your booty to. Sure enough, their performance at Sonar Pub inspired thousands to seriously get down, with crowd members busting out some dirty moves on the floor.
As the sun rose on Sunday morning and the pouding basslines finally began to subside, the last of the stragglers wound their way down the street, into cabs, and onto the train. Back to civilization, to jobs, to normal clothing and regular showers, to healthy eating habits, to sleep and to, well, responsibility. Until next year Sonar, thanks for reminding us all what it is to not just exist, but to live.
Stay tuned as the full photo galleries are completed HERE.
