The third and final day of the Sónar Music Festival in Barcelona was most definitely not a winding down, as the masses gave it their all for one last push, making Saturday’s festivities just as explosive as those of the previous days. Despite a smattering of rain for a brief interlude, the crowd was out in full force with the vivacity as we had come to expect from Sonar attendees.

A highlight of Saturday’s Sonar by Day was without a doubt Colombia’s Bomba Estéreo, who rocked the SonarVillage outdoor stage with their animated trademark electro tropical grooves. The powerhouse lead vocalist grabbed the audience through the force of raw energy and didn’t let anyone’s attention wander for the duration of the entire set. Chaos nearly erupted when she invited five women to join her and the entire first half of the audience attempted to charge the stage. Another high point of Saturday’s daytime events was Jackmaster’s invigorating set in the SonarDome. Providing the perfect taste test of what was to follow as we entered the night, Jackmaster lead a spirited mass of dynamic partygoers in warming up their legs and ears for a night that promised to be full of some serious action on the dancefloor and behind the DJ booths.

After making the trek outside the city to the enormous Sonar by Night event space for night number two, we made a beeline for the mammoth SonarClub room, where Dizzy Rascal set the stage on fire with their hip-hop inspired beats and some serious attitude. Providing a brief respite from the wide assortment of techno, house and dubstep was Fuck Buttons, who’s live set at the SonarLab held audience members rapt by offering their nonlinear and experimental beats as an alternative to the traditionally dominant 4×4 sound. Glasgow based label LuckyMe’s showcase was also full of interesting talent, with Machinedrum’s and Éclair Fifi & John Computer’s sets particularly standing out as innovative yet true to the urban sounds of hip-hop and dubstep that LuckyMe is so revered for.

Probably the most highly anticipated act of the evening was The Chemical Brothers, who performed their show to thousands upon thousands of fans, completely packing the largest of the rooms. As was to be expected from the globally celebrated British duo, the show was of epic proportions, including a brilliant light show, which accompanied a selection of classic Chemical Brothers tracks as well as new material.

A total of 84,976 people attended the festival making this year the most successful Sonar yet. We look forward to see what’s in store for next year!

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As the sun rose on day two of Sonar Festival in Barcelona, the masses once again flocked to the downtown location of Sonar by Day, pouring through the gates in even larger masses than the previous day’s festivities. Spirits were once again at peak levels during the afternoon hours, with Europe’s electronic music revelers taking full advantage of the beautiful weather and vibe of the city, the company of fellow partygoers, and of course the stunning array of musical talent from all over the world.

Once again, stand out acts were difficult to determine, as each artist contributed something creative and unique to the boundary-breaking display of electronic music across the three stages. Of particular distinction was the UK’s Hyperdub group King Midas Sound, who presented a brilliantly dreamlike set pairing their bass heavy and reggae influenced rhythmic sound with a backdrop of dramatic and hypnotic lighting in the darkened SonarHall. Also taking advantage of the confined space of SonarHall was Nosaj Thing, who performed his visual show to a thoroughly enthusiastic crowd. Matching a visual display projected against the wall behind him, Nosaj Thing took the audience on an aural and visual journey through his hip-hop inspired beats, dropping favorite tracks like “Coat of Arms” and “Fog” at key moments.

After a long day of music in the sun, we headed to the first installment of Sonar by Night, which takes place Friday and Saturday night in a massive old airplane hanger just outside of Barcelona’s city limits. Three enormous stages hosted a slew of even more enormous talent, with thousands upon thousands of people going absolutely mental for the breathtaking lineup and environment. Noteworthy acts included favorites like veteran French super-duo Air, DFA Record’s LCD Soundsystem whose performance of their beloved old track “Daft Punk is Playing at My House” got the whole room singing, and German house group Booka Shade, who all lived up to their stellar reputations as forerunners in the realm of genre bending electronic music. Indie electronic staple Hot Chip also played a thrilling live set under the open air night sky to the tune of thousands of cheering fans at Sonar by Night’s second biggest stage, SonarPub.

Mary Anne Hobb’s showcase at the SonarLab stage was also a big hit, showcasing some of the finest talent currently on rotation in the overarching realm of dubstep and UK funky. First the BBC Radio DJ herself took the stage, dropping some seriously grimy dubstep tunes and making the massive bassline reverberate through the ground and up into the enthralled audience. Second was a rare appearance by the illustrious Joy Orbison, who’s set was an extraordinary treat for UK funky fans. Flying Lotus took the stage next, spinning a set that focused on samples of some heavy hip-hop beats, and of course his own production, which contrasted effectively with his more house tinged set of the night before, and lead perfectly into the showcases’ closing set from the king of UK funky, Roska.

On the techno and electro side, 2manydjs spun a rambunctiously fun mix of electro tracks both new and old, with a multitude of stellar remixes and visual graphics animating each tracks record sleeves. Techno master Plastikman (otherwise known as Richie Hawtin) and the legendary Claude Von Stroke also each tore the roof off the epic venue. The latter’s closing set at the main stage, SonarClub, provided the ultimate ending to an incredible night, dropping monumental tracks like “Who’s Afraid of Detroit?”, shifting into some wicked drum and bass just when the crowd least expected it, and slowly bringing up the lights on the dancefloor throughout his set to emulate the sunrise outside, effectively preparing the crowd to face the bright day that awaited after the last note ended.

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Experiencing Ibiza is one of those thrills that can not quite be illuminated with words. After all, it’s all about losing one’s self to the dancefloor, so if you are not familiar with this sort of daft idealism then I’m afraid this post might be a bit worthless. The island always provides this opportunity at the hands of arguably the finest DJs in the world, yet I’ve always been left sensing something was lacking from my soundtrack. This is where Ibiza Rocks’ Reclaim The Dancefloor shakes things up.

Every Tuesday for the past two months, artists like 2 Many Djs, Skream, Steve Aoki, Pendulum, &  Boys Noize redefined the perception of what a Balearic summer should sound like. Paired with rock acts MGMT and Vampire Weekend, the island’s non-stop party never looked so good. If you haven’t made it out to Ibiza yet this summer, pack your bags now as there are just three of these parties left with the closing night bringing you The Klaxons and Digitalism.

Since we have arrived at the climax of these events, we want to shed some light on Doorly, the unsung hero who holds the resident honor at every single Reclaim party. Remixing everyone from Dizzee Rascal & Calvin Harris to Kanye West & Major Lazer, this man inflicts rhythms that switch across filthy dubstep and banging electro. Before the summer began, he put together a warm-up podcast which he dubs “the 1am to 2am warm up set” and we believe it’s still pretty hot. Judge for yourself.

Doorly – Reclaim The Dancefloor Warm-Up

Hit the jump for the full tracklist, an interview with Doorly & Steve Aoki, and a bonus Doorly track.

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