5 reasons Sónar Barcelona will be one of the coolest festivals of the summerSonar Barcelona Day

5 reasons Sónar Barcelona will be one of the coolest festivals of the summer

5 reasons Sónar Barcelona will be one of the coolest festivals of the summer

This week, Dancing Astronaut heads to Spain for some international coverage of Sónar Barcelona. The festival, which was founded twenty years ago as a celebration of “Advanced Music and Multimedia Art,” brings together musicians, journalists, entrepreneurs, artists, and scientists and more for three days of cogent discourse and awe-inspiring performances. With a one of a kind lineup, sets till sunrise, and plenty of never-before-seen live shows, Sónar Barcelona looks to be one of the coolest festivals of the entire summer. Check out our reasons why.

1. One of the most diverse lineups we've seen

Nowadays, it seems like every other festival boasts the same headliners. Sónar takes the opposite approach. While many of the artists are still festival staples—Pretty Lights, Flux Pavilion, DJ Snake—the large majority are DJs, producers, and electronic live acts that you’d be hard pressed to find together at any other festival. From Richie Hawtin’s Plastikman, to James Murphy and 2manydjs’ DESPACIO, to Royksopp & Robyn’s collaboration, Sónar boasts some serious talent, and that’s just scratching surface. Throw in Four Tet, Moderat, Trentemoller, Bonobo, Gesaffelstein and you start to see what makes the lineup so damn compelling.

2. Day parties and night parties

Unlike other festivals, Sónar distinguishes between day and night. During the day, the festival takes over the grass-laden fields of Fira Montjuic, with such artists as Bonobo, James Holden, Trentemoller, Machinedrum and more playing from its various stages. At night time however (and we’re talking midnight to sunrise), the festival comes alive at an entirely new venue with four more stages to host acts like Richie Hawtin, Boyz Noise, Loco Dice and more.

3. Richie Hawtin presents Plastikman

A few days ago, Richie Hawtin gave us “EX,” the first preview of his new album recorded live at the Guggenheim in New York. The full album will be presented exclusively to Sónar for Hawtin’s only Plastikman performance of the entire year. Along with the new material, Hawtin will debut his new live show “Object,” centered around a giant, illuminated obelisk.

4. The convergence of technology and music

Apart from being a music-driven festival, much of Sónar’s emphasis is on celebrating technology and the pioneers of the digital age. In fact, there’s an entire festival within the festival (Sónar+D) devoted solely to connecting industry professionals with fellow creative spirits. While this international technology conference will serve as a breeding ground for innovation, the music lineup itself also boasts plenty of technology-centric performances, from DESPACIO to Audion to Pretty Lights.

5. Massive Attack's new live show

With arguably one of the strongest legacies in electronic music, Massive Attack needs no introduction. After a 10-year gap, the British trip hop legends return to Sónar to kick off their extensive summer tour. Taking over Sónar by night on the last day of the festival, Massive attack will debut their brand new live show: an “audiovisual exploration of political propaganda and technological influence.”

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