Sonar in Barcelona

Sonar, one of Europe´s largest and most valuable electronic music festival, was back in Barcelona last Summer for its 17h edition. The Festival hosted more than 300 events all over the city - concerts, installations, exhibitions, and DJ sets - not only the best in Contemporary electronic music but some of the best in Modern Arts. It attracts thousands of people thanks to its consistently phenomenal line-up, a mix of new up-and-coming artists and world-class household names.

Sonar turns into clubber´s heaven after hours, featuring DJs and VJs from all over the world, mixing the best of dance music across four different stages.

According to data provided by the organization, up to 75.000 people attended the 2009's Sonar edition, making it the largest advanced music and multimedia art festival in Spain and one of the largest in the world. According to the organization, this is a big success, given unluckily economic circumstances for this year.

It is spected a total of 35,000 people that will enjoy the concerts and performances of Sonar by Day on 18, 19 and 20 of June, and a total audience to Sonar by Night (19 and 20 June) was 40,000 and the Sonar by Day tickets were sold out for 18th Friday and 19th Saturday. With these figures, the organization is very satisfied with the response from the public, if we take into account the current economic situation world wide, which has significantly affected similar initiatives, such as Primavera Sound or Summercase.

The festival has earned a 17 th edition to be the undisputed reference in electronic music events in the world. In the afternoon it was particularly interesting the French group Aufgang, and the Spanish groups Delorean and Nosaj Thing. Nosaj Thing offered an amazing concert that demonstrated how you can use the machines live organically, as if they were instruments. In an almost gymnastic exercise and constant improvisation gave a recital of how to redeem the sins and excesses of recent years electronic, who belongs to the golden generation of Los Angeles certainly has come to save the electronics. The audience was amazed by this great recital. Celery and tabasco Waiting for MR. Murphy.

During the night it was difficult to reconcile the overwhelming schedule in the parallel sessions, first with the Hot Chip from the UK on the terrace of Fira de Barcelona, they had a scene between industrial and Sci-fiction which was collapsed by the indie dancefloor for an hour.

LCD Soundsytem and Flying Lotus (the golden boy of the generation of Los Angeles) had amazing concerts. John Coltrane's nephew offered a complex show with a thousand records that ranged from jazz to dubstep via the 4x4 beat tecnho the most characteristic of the times people and just wants to dance. James Murphy, with LCD Soundsystem, was brilliant. This concert was delivered in a long and varied show in the largest room of this giant space craft in the Barcelona fair, and they offered one of the best show in Spain. A genius.

As if that was not enough, were also Plastikman (Richie's alter ego Hatwin) with tremendous visual show and a minimal rough, and Hudson Mohawk, preceded by the legendary Sugarhill Gang, Magda, 2Many dj's.

On Saturday, the legendary group Roxy Music, after nearly 30 years since they played in Barcelona, at 23.00 in Fira Barcelona. He will be joined Chemical Brothers, Matthew Herbert (who introduced his bold project One Club), Dizzee Rascal or Fuck Buttons from Bristol. The German DJ Hell closed the event and prepared the action of Roxy Music, playing it is assumed that, U can dance, the song was halfway to Bryan Ferry few months ago.

Since 2009, the festival continues throughout the day with a new proposal, SonarKids, which at present is "a success", according to the Sonar organization. The program of this new music festival for children, which was held at the Centre for Contemporary Culture (CCCB) also included 15 creative experiences, 5 sessions of Djs, and a children's playroom. Sonar has been taken into account the particular audience of children and for that reason, the sound level has been consistent with hearing of the children. 

SonarKids was well received by parents and children. A total of 5,000 people participated in the first edition of SonarKids on 2009 adn 2010, the festival of music and creative experiences for children created by Sonar, according to EFE. The same sources say that all day activities and rest areas have had a steady flow and fluid to the concerts, DJ sessions, classes and hip hop beatboxing, drawing workshops, and other activities were organized, and that all these initiatives will continue next year. 

They also pointed out that all musicians, artists and participants of this first edition enjoyed very much this experience, and participating in this event where new music and art are offered to children was an interesting and funy activity. SonarKids has started this morning in the same space as the Sonar Day, a program of live concerts in June and 35 activities in which participated a total of 43 artists. 

There has been a lot of amazing experiences during all these years in Sonar. Barcelona Guide was covering the great concert on the final day on Saturday night 2009 edition from the British duo Orbital, five years after its dissolution, with thousands of people who enjoyed the scene of SonarClub. In its nearly two-hour performance, held at the fairground hall of L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Orbital has fulfilled the expectations they have generated with electronic hits the large audience that wanted to enjoy his return to the stage of Sonar, who did in 1995 and 1999 Sonar editions. 

Precursors of audiovisual shows and pioneers in the blending of many influences to create its distinctive sound, melodic, accessible and protest, the Hartnoll brothers achieved stardom in 1989 with its theme Chime. After the concert, Orbital met the media, with the festival directors and highly appreciated the experience, and pointed out that the results of assistance are "very good" given the current economic context.