Rhythmism.comSonar 2011: Review
by rhythmism
Wednesday, Aug 17th 2011, 08:49 PM
Festivals and large-scale music events often assume the characteristics of the cities who host them. Detroit’s Movement Festival assumes a gritty feel, Miami’s Music Week exudes sand and silicon, and Electric Daisy just feels homeless. Barcelona’s Sonar festival has a relaxed, artistic vibe, the result of a city renowned for its Mediterranean surroundings, fresh seafood, late meals on warm nights, architecture, art, and just about everything that makes life worth living. There might not be a better place in the world for a music-based vacation: a city whose vibrant nightlife has engaged, enraptured, and ensnarled generations of locals and visitors alike.
Thus, Rhythmism journeyed to the city’s renowned Sonar Festival for 5 days of adventures. Our review will be divided into three sections. 1) Sonar By Day, 2) Sonar By Night, 3) Off-Sonar.
Sonar By Day
Housed in the CCCB, aka Centre de Cultura Contemporania, located just off La Rambla (a long street that serves as a cornerstone of the city’s tourist center, situated just west the Gothic Quarter), the daytime portion has many experiences in and of itself, ranging from a technology center, in-house art museum, a presentation area, and multiple performance stages.
The space itself is an impressive building, easily sectioned into various performance areas and spaces of varying functionality. Crowds plus sun led to occasionaly overheating, especially at the SonarVillage (main stage) and SonarDome, but the reasonably priced drinks and food, combined with top-notch personnel (especially in the press area) led to an overall experience of exceptional quality. Below are the Sonar By Day highlights.
The SonarVillage
Nicolas Jaar – Everyone is talking about him, and while his live sets still have some holes and room for improvement, his music is beyond high quality, and easily outshines 90% of the other artists you will see at a festival, or that I saw at Sonar.
Star Eyes – New York-based Star Eyes of the Trouble & Bass crew is, in my opinion, the best DJ of her team. Her set at the SonarDome was tight and on point, distinctly American bass-based, fun to listen to, got the crowd going, and at the end, saw her take to the mic with her new single. What more can you ask for?
Agoria – This DJ set caught me completely off guard. Middle of the afternoon, hot outside, and these wavy, sweepy tech-house tunes, tinged with a slight darkness and tasting of a melancholic moment, grabbed me, drew me in, and didn’t let me go until the decks were empty.
Apparat Band – Not gonna lie, I didn’t get to see this. But it is with great regret that I pass along widespread, second-hand, praise and acclaim. Apparat is a producer everyone should know, whether through his work with Ellen Allien on BPitch Control or his colloborations with Modeselektor. Apparently now, he will be rocking it live beyond his past Ableton gigs.
Sonar By Night
The Sonar By Night space is decidedly the opposite of its daytime counterpart. The place is absolutely enormous. During Underworld there must have been about 8,000 in people the SonarClub room, and there was plenty of space to spare (see video below for perspective). Each area provides a huge amount of open area to work with, and emparts an epic feel to each performance. Incredibly high quality sound and lights accompany.
While outside the city itself, transport was plentiful and easy. Dont be worried about the transit time, it is well worth the journey. Below some Sonar By Night highlights.
Aphex Twin – Richard D. James. If you don’t know who that is, or if you think I’m talking about two different people, do not pass go. A pivotal figure in electronic music's history, Richard is still on point, crafting a unique sets that easily impress. This one was no different.
Henry Saiz - The most recent author in the long line of the Balance mix series is an attuned DJ/producer with tweeker-esque qualities. He focuses on details, he obsessively tweaks EQs, and he plays a helluva good set.
Underworld – Yes, they are the most obvious choice for praise. They deserve it. Karl Hyde and Rick Smith are still making amazing beats, see their latest artist album Barking that was release a year ago. The new music is worlds away from their past work, vibrant, uplifting, and just plain happy. The contrasting tones have just made their live show better.
Paul Kalkbrenner - The man who escaped the doldrums of Eastern German during his youth to find a world of technology and music has led an incredibly prolific career, and his live performances clearly show his intuitive ability to produce masterpieces. Great album after great album, great show after great show, he pulled out his A game in Barca.
Off-Sonar
The festival brings you in, the Off-Sonar parties bring you back.
Individually sponsored and managed by a who's who of quality dance music labels, these events run day and night, as we found during our attempts to not sleep during the whole time in Barcelona. Pools, rooftops, hillsides, warehouses, beaches, you can find them everywhere. A nod to Sonar-proper's reputation for excellence, you really dont see 'pop' electronic music here, its all semi-underground, well-respected stuff. Below are some of my favorites.
East Ender - This party was on permanent set up for a few days, is by far the largest Off-Sonar event, boasted two stages, and saw Desolat, Hideout & Moon Harbour on Thursday, SCI-TEK & Crosstown Rebels on Friday, and Cadenza's Vagabundos and Planet E on Saturday. Guti at the Desolat showcase was - as always - amazing, as was Martin Buttrich, and Damian Lazarus. Surprise was Dubfire, who really impressed me and seems to be diversifying.
Mac Arena Beach Club - This place was free, and a perfect place to watch the sunset and dance in the sand before walking to East Ender (it's right next door). By far the biggest treat was the Visionquest party, and of course, Seth Troxler decided to tear us all apart as the sun went down and blue tiki lights went up.
View from the DJ booth at Mac Arena Beach Club
Photo Credit: Nick Ensing for Resident Advisor.
Resident Advisor - There wasnt a whole lot of dancing going on, and people definitely had that fresh-off-the-plane feel, but with Cassy, Claude VonStroke, and Josh Wink on the lineup, what's not to like? Hotel Diagonal also has a beautiful, soaring, upscale rooftop that is worth a visit, if you can get in or afford a room.
WIP, Watergate, Whatpeopleplay - This party saw Heidi, Tiefschwarz, Marco Resmann, Mathias Kaden, Seth Troxler, Lee Curtis, Soul Clap, and more all play sets from a beautiful venue sitting high on a hillside overlooking the city. Plus a beautiful day and sunset, it was a true highlight of the Sonar experience.
Culprit vs. Leftroom - Held on Sunday, this was one of last big Off-Sonar parties. Matt Tolfrey and Lee Burridge played back to back for 3 hours on a high rooftop that afforded a view of the Mediterranean and the surrounding hills. Storm clouds threatened, and then broke as warm sunlight shined down upon the crowd. At that exact moment, they dropped Benoit & Sergio's epic track "Everybody." It was a true moment. The crowd was one, everybody smiled, and things, along with life in general, seemed just about perfect.
Joy as the clouds broke. Barely visible is your happy writer with sunlight on his face.
Photo Credit: Luke Christopher for Resident Advisor.
To summarize, Sonar is an experience well worth the journey, and should be considered highly recommended, if not a flat-out must for any electronic music lover. The 24 hour nature of the city, the late night meals, the clubs, the Mediterranean, architecture, people (locals and foreigners) all combine to make this one of the best festivals we have ever been to. It's not to be missed.
2011.sonar.es
www.facebook.com/SonarFestivalOfficialPage
twitter.com/sonarfestival
Thus, Rhythmism journeyed to the city’s renowned Sonar Festival for 5 days of adventures. Our review will be divided into three sections. 1) Sonar By Day, 2) Sonar By Night, 3) Off-Sonar.
Sonar By Day
Housed in the CCCB, aka Centre de Cultura Contemporania, located just off La Rambla (a long street that serves as a cornerstone of the city’s tourist center, situated just west the Gothic Quarter), the daytime portion has many experiences in and of itself, ranging from a technology center, in-house art museum, a presentation area, and multiple performance stages.
The space itself is an impressive building, easily sectioned into various performance areas and spaces of varying functionality. Crowds plus sun led to occasionaly overheating, especially at the SonarVillage (main stage) and SonarDome, but the reasonably priced drinks and food, combined with top-notch personnel (especially in the press area) led to an overall experience of exceptional quality. Below are the Sonar By Day highlights.
The SonarVillage
Nicolas Jaar – Everyone is talking about him, and while his live sets still have some holes and room for improvement, his music is beyond high quality, and easily outshines 90% of the other artists you will see at a festival, or that I saw at Sonar.
Star Eyes – New York-based Star Eyes of the Trouble & Bass crew is, in my opinion, the best DJ of her team. Her set at the SonarDome was tight and on point, distinctly American bass-based, fun to listen to, got the crowd going, and at the end, saw her take to the mic with her new single. What more can you ask for?
Agoria – This DJ set caught me completely off guard. Middle of the afternoon, hot outside, and these wavy, sweepy tech-house tunes, tinged with a slight darkness and tasting of a melancholic moment, grabbed me, drew me in, and didn’t let me go until the decks were empty.
Apparat Band – Not gonna lie, I didn’t get to see this. But it is with great regret that I pass along widespread, second-hand, praise and acclaim. Apparat is a producer everyone should know, whether through his work with Ellen Allien on BPitch Control or his colloborations with Modeselektor. Apparently now, he will be rocking it live beyond his past Ableton gigs.
Sonar By Night
The Sonar By Night space is decidedly the opposite of its daytime counterpart. The place is absolutely enormous. During Underworld there must have been about 8,000 in people the SonarClub room, and there was plenty of space to spare (see video below for perspective). Each area provides a huge amount of open area to work with, and emparts an epic feel to each performance. Incredibly high quality sound and lights accompany.
While outside the city itself, transport was plentiful and easy. Dont be worried about the transit time, it is well worth the journey. Below some Sonar By Night highlights.
Aphex Twin – Richard D. James. If you don’t know who that is, or if you think I’m talking about two different people, do not pass go. A pivotal figure in electronic music's history, Richard is still on point, crafting a unique sets that easily impress. This one was no different.
Henry Saiz - The most recent author in the long line of the Balance mix series is an attuned DJ/producer with tweeker-esque qualities. He focuses on details, he obsessively tweaks EQs, and he plays a helluva good set.
Underworld – Yes, they are the most obvious choice for praise. They deserve it. Karl Hyde and Rick Smith are still making amazing beats, see their latest artist album Barking that was release a year ago. The new music is worlds away from their past work, vibrant, uplifting, and just plain happy. The contrasting tones have just made their live show better.
Paul Kalkbrenner - The man who escaped the doldrums of Eastern German during his youth to find a world of technology and music has led an incredibly prolific career, and his live performances clearly show his intuitive ability to produce masterpieces. Great album after great album, great show after great show, he pulled out his A game in Barca.
Off-Sonar
The festival brings you in, the Off-Sonar parties bring you back.
Individually sponsored and managed by a who's who of quality dance music labels, these events run day and night, as we found during our attempts to not sleep during the whole time in Barcelona. Pools, rooftops, hillsides, warehouses, beaches, you can find them everywhere. A nod to Sonar-proper's reputation for excellence, you really dont see 'pop' electronic music here, its all semi-underground, well-respected stuff. Below are some of my favorites.
East Ender - This party was on permanent set up for a few days, is by far the largest Off-Sonar event, boasted two stages, and saw Desolat, Hideout & Moon Harbour on Thursday, SCI-TEK & Crosstown Rebels on Friday, and Cadenza's Vagabundos and Planet E on Saturday. Guti at the Desolat showcase was - as always - amazing, as was Martin Buttrich, and Damian Lazarus. Surprise was Dubfire, who really impressed me and seems to be diversifying.
Mac Arena Beach Club - This place was free, and a perfect place to watch the sunset and dance in the sand before walking to East Ender (it's right next door). By far the biggest treat was the Visionquest party, and of course, Seth Troxler decided to tear us all apart as the sun went down and blue tiki lights went up.
View from the DJ booth at Mac Arena Beach Club
Photo Credit: Nick Ensing for Resident Advisor.
Resident Advisor - There wasnt a whole lot of dancing going on, and people definitely had that fresh-off-the-plane feel, but with Cassy, Claude VonStroke, and Josh Wink on the lineup, what's not to like? Hotel Diagonal also has a beautiful, soaring, upscale rooftop that is worth a visit, if you can get in or afford a room.
WIP, Watergate, Whatpeopleplay - This party saw Heidi, Tiefschwarz, Marco Resmann, Mathias Kaden, Seth Troxler, Lee Curtis, Soul Clap, and more all play sets from a beautiful venue sitting high on a hillside overlooking the city. Plus a beautiful day and sunset, it was a true highlight of the Sonar experience.
Culprit vs. Leftroom - Held on Sunday, this was one of last big Off-Sonar parties. Matt Tolfrey and Lee Burridge played back to back for 3 hours on a high rooftop that afforded a view of the Mediterranean and the surrounding hills. Storm clouds threatened, and then broke as warm sunlight shined down upon the crowd. At that exact moment, they dropped Benoit & Sergio's epic track "Everybody." It was a true moment. The crowd was one, everybody smiled, and things, along with life in general, seemed just about perfect.
Joy as the clouds broke. Barely visible is your happy writer with sunlight on his face.
Photo Credit: Luke Christopher for Resident Advisor.
To summarize, Sonar is an experience well worth the journey, and should be considered highly recommended, if not a flat-out must for any electronic music lover. The 24 hour nature of the city, the late night meals, the clubs, the Mediterranean, architecture, people (locals and foreigners) all combine to make this one of the best festivals we have ever been to. It's not to be missed.
2011.sonar.es
www.facebook.com/SonarFestivalOfficialPage
twitter.com/sonarfestival