Sónar Festival of Advanced Music and Multimedia Art
Wing your way to the seductive Spanish city of Barcelona to scratch that boogie itch and catch a glimpse of the future of creative technology.
Since its inception 21 years ago, the Sónar International Festival of Advanced Music and Multimedia Art, (12th-14th June), has morphed from a mere music festival into a multimedia spectacle. The weekend, hosted in the stunning city of Barcelona, has grown from a sprightly wee dance-fest to an open laboratory for creative industries!
Sónar is now a complete forum encompassing the fast edge of tomorrows electronica; a mini film-festival-slash-cinema convention; a digital art conference and a ‘music hack day’ (more on this later). At one end of the experience it’s an all-out boogie to the world’s fiercest DJs and producers, and at the other, it’s a platform for creative knowledge exchange.
SónarDay is held at the Fira Montjuïc area in Plaça d'Espanya. The large conference center in central Barcelona is transformed into three sun-bleached stages - SónarVillage, SónarHall and SónarDome.
Through the daylight hours, a smorgasbord of acts is offered up on some of the most precise sound-systems an audiophile could wish for. The vibe is relaxed, and exploratory, and the music is tight!
To complement the basslines, SónarDay workshops are hosted by Red Bull and seminal record labels 2020Vision (UK) and L.I.E.S. (NYC) on the SónarDome stage – these are worth checking out if you’re curious about the business that goes on behind the beats.
Come sundown and you’ll move venues to SónarNight, which is held at another conference center on the outskirts of the city, Fira Gran Via. SónarNight is a singular affair - one massive warehouse rave providing the heavy fix for connoisseurs of the clubbier sound.
Sónar’s audiovisual production quality is renowned as the best, anywhere, ever, so expect a complete sonic experience from both the day and night deliveries.
This year sees Massive Attack; DESPACIO (James Murphy & 2manydjs); Royksopp & Robyn; Bonobo; Fourtet; Todd Terje; Gesaffelstein; Future Brown; Kaytranada and The Martinez Brothers take the stage – amongst dozens and dozens of their ground breaking peers. Herein lies the key to Sónar’s reputation as the festival kingpin – everything on offer is pushing an edge, whether it be up-and-coming artists, performance techniques or creative technology.
The third arm of the Sónar festival is Sónar+D, and this is where things start to get really interesting. This ‘festival within a festival’ is an event which showcases the forerunners of creative technology and innovation from across the world. Under four main pillars of exhibition, discussion, networking and shows, Sónar invites global brands and industry professionals to join in an interactive discussion on the digital avant-garde through conferences, demos, video art projections, exhibitions and installations. It’s an open dialogue on all of the disciplines involved in music and creative business. Organizers describe the aim of Sónar+D as ‘making the relationship between creativity, technology, mobility, innovation and business more visible and accessible.’
Rather than straight up buying a ticket - as you would do for SónarDay and SónarNight - music industry professionals, developers, makers, hackers, digital and graphic designers, film-makers and all of their supporting agencies and institutions apply for accreditation to participate in Sónar+D. Of course, if you’re involved in any of these fields, this invite extends to you!
‘Music Hack Day’ is a one day Sónar+D program which invites music related app companies to hand over their app codes to hackers in a 24-hour ‘development jam’. 100 of these hackers, who have applied to participate and been pre-approved to get involved, are allowed to play, rewrite, manipulate and freestyle with existing music app codes to see what innovations can be made. Music Hack Day is just one event on the Sónar+D schedule and is a clear example of Sónar’s ability to bring the global creative community together and push things forward – in this case with the simple idea of collaboration.
Outside of the festival grounds, the city of Barcelona comes alive with side-shows. An estimated 80,000 make it to the Catalonian city for Sónar, and another 70,000 swarm the city to present or enjoy the additional events.
Maybe you’re going to hit-it-and-quit-it for the music alone, or maybe you’ll take a little while longer, soak up some of the expansive vibes of Sónar+D and explore Barcelona, but either way, prepare yourself for a mind-blown state.
Check them out online for wild inspiration and last minute persuasion:
http://Sónar.es/
https://twitter.com/SónarFestival
FLIGHTS: 3,000QR (expedia.com)
ACCOMMODATION: Do you have any Spanish friends?! Bravo, if you do, book early if you don’t!
TICKETS: 195€ for a weekend pass to both SónarDay and SónarNight
ACCREDITATION: Check the website for details if you want to get deep in Sónar+D!
Since its inception 21 years ago, the Sónar International Festival of Advanced Music and Multimedia Art, (12th-14th June), has morphed from a mere music festival into a multimedia spectacle. The weekend, hosted in the stunning city of Barcelona, has grown from a sprightly wee dance-fest to an open laboratory for creative industries!
Sónar is now a complete forum encompassing the fast edge of tomorrows electronica; a mini film-festival-slash-cinema convention; a digital art conference and a ‘music hack day’ (more on this later). At one end of the experience it’s an all-out boogie to the world’s fiercest DJs and producers, and at the other, it’s a platform for creative knowledge exchange.
SónarDay is held at the Fira Montjuïc area in Plaça d'Espanya. The large conference center in central Barcelona is transformed into three sun-bleached stages - SónarVillage, SónarHall and SónarDome.
Through the daylight hours, a smorgasbord of acts is offered up on some of the most precise sound-systems an audiophile could wish for. The vibe is relaxed, and exploratory, and the music is tight!
To complement the basslines, SónarDay workshops are hosted by Red Bull and seminal record labels 2020Vision (UK) and L.I.E.S. (NYC) on the SónarDome stage – these are worth checking out if you’re curious about the business that goes on behind the beats.
Come sundown and you’ll move venues to SónarNight, which is held at another conference center on the outskirts of the city, Fira Gran Via. SónarNight is a singular affair - one massive warehouse rave providing the heavy fix for connoisseurs of the clubbier sound.
Sónar’s audiovisual production quality is renowned as the best, anywhere, ever, so expect a complete sonic experience from both the day and night deliveries.
This year sees Massive Attack; DESPACIO (James Murphy & 2manydjs); Royksopp & Robyn; Bonobo; Fourtet; Todd Terje; Gesaffelstein; Future Brown; Kaytranada and The Martinez Brothers take the stage – amongst dozens and dozens of their ground breaking peers. Herein lies the key to Sónar’s reputation as the festival kingpin – everything on offer is pushing an edge, whether it be up-and-coming artists, performance techniques or creative technology.
The third arm of the Sónar festival is Sónar+D, and this is where things start to get really interesting. This ‘festival within a festival’ is an event which showcases the forerunners of creative technology and innovation from across the world. Under four main pillars of exhibition, discussion, networking and shows, Sónar invites global brands and industry professionals to join in an interactive discussion on the digital avant-garde through conferences, demos, video art projections, exhibitions and installations. It’s an open dialogue on all of the disciplines involved in music and creative business. Organizers describe the aim of Sónar+D as ‘making the relationship between creativity, technology, mobility, innovation and business more visible and accessible.’
Rather than straight up buying a ticket - as you would do for SónarDay and SónarNight - music industry professionals, developers, makers, hackers, digital and graphic designers, film-makers and all of their supporting agencies and institutions apply for accreditation to participate in Sónar+D. Of course, if you’re involved in any of these fields, this invite extends to you!
‘Music Hack Day’ is a one day Sónar+D program which invites music related app companies to hand over their app codes to hackers in a 24-hour ‘development jam’. 100 of these hackers, who have applied to participate and been pre-approved to get involved, are allowed to play, rewrite, manipulate and freestyle with existing music app codes to see what innovations can be made. Music Hack Day is just one event on the Sónar+D schedule and is a clear example of Sónar’s ability to bring the global creative community together and push things forward – in this case with the simple idea of collaboration.
Outside of the festival grounds, the city of Barcelona comes alive with side-shows. An estimated 80,000 make it to the Catalonian city for Sónar, and another 70,000 swarm the city to present or enjoy the additional events.
Maybe you’re going to hit-it-and-quit-it for the music alone, or maybe you’ll take a little while longer, soak up some of the expansive vibes of Sónar+D and explore Barcelona, but either way, prepare yourself for a mind-blown state.
Check them out online for wild inspiration and last minute persuasion:
http://Sónar.es/
https://twitter.com/SónarFestival
FLIGHTS: 3,000QR (expedia.com)
ACCOMMODATION: Do you have any Spanish friends?! Bravo, if you do, book early if you don’t!
TICKETS: 195€ for a weekend pass to both SónarDay and SónarNight
ACCREDITATION: Check the website for details if you want to get deep in Sónar+D!
