Is Sonar still Sonar? That is the question we’re asking ourselves, since the most beautiful European electronic music festival decided to substitute, last year, the beach of the catalan capital for Montjuic 2, a gigantic cement complex in the middle of the industrial zone.

It is true that during the day Sonar still is the best of what you can find in terms of conventions linked to avant-gardist musics. Yes, the “tek” of the future is there, organized on 6 stages (escenario hall, sonarvillage, sonardome, sonarlab, sonarcomplex and sonarama). If you add to that a projection room, an expo that plunges you into the works and inventions of crazy contemporary artists (this year was the turn of  Helsinki representatives), and of course a quantity of stands of labels, medias, party organizations and other professionals, there was enough to satisfy a very wide public.
Yes, “Sonar-by-day” is an efficient business, and  attendance records skyrocketed over the three days. But there is one thing left, a nagging little detail: Sonar-by- night.

Spread out on three oversized halls (sonarpark, sonarclub and sonarpub), the night-time celebration has lost all it’s old charm.

Explanations and a few numbers…

Sonar’s first edition brought together some 6 000 people. At the time, dancing still took place on the beach. This year, around 10’000 people were counted between the Macba, situated not far from the Ramblas, and Montjuic 2, reaching a new attendance  record. The highest increase was recorded between the 2000 edition and last year’s, when the numbers jumped from 53’000 people to 80’000. And the consequence was a move from the beach to Montjuic 2.

In the end, quality has a price. By wanting to let a maximum amount of people enjoy the fabulous line-up offered each year, we wonder if the organizers didn’t have to compromise on  location. They had to make a choice, but it was perhaps not the best. Of course, the event should grow, but it must also retain a human dimension, and that, obviously, is not easy to achieve. When you go a city like Barcelona to party, you like to imagine yourself looking up at the  sky, gently rocked by the sound of the wind and the waves (ok, I’m exaggerating here, the boom booms cover all the other sounds), but nevertheless, you expect something other than a cement hall in a sad-looking zone.
 
What about the music in all this?

After having burst the bubble, it’s time to comment on the incredible program that makes the reputation of The unquestionable event of the end of spring in Europe. Yes, we love Sonar, no matter what hair-raising location they may choose. Hey, maybe we’re just getting old! When we saw the 12’000 people hopping around in the sonarclub, on Saturday night, to sir Jeff Mills’ wild rythmics , we were overwhelmed with admiration. We too were twenty, once,  and how we loved these oversized raves…

But what we love most about Sonar, is discovering, year after year, the surprises they’ve prepared for us. And when the line-up is finally revealed, it’s a pleasure for the eyes, and later on, for the ears:

Arthur Baker, Crossover, Vitalic, Ellen Allien, Krush, Radio Boy aka Matthew Herbert (!!!), the label Ninja Tunes represented this year by Bonobo, Dk, cinematic Orchestra, as well as Soul Designer, Lamb, Yo La Tengo, Pet Shop Boys, Roger Sanchez, Funk D’void, Luomo, the great Janek Schaffer, sitting in the middle of the complex and there to present his three armed record-player (a  lot of fun!), the colossuses Jeff Mills, Carl Cox and Richie Hawtin, and even S.I. Futures, Mark Shade, Mr Scruff. And let’s not  forget an equally attractive Swiss delegation, with the Zurich label Straight Ahead, there to close the festival Sunday morning at 05.45(!), as well as Mental Groove from Geneva that delivered a great live thanks to Luciano and Oliver, at the end of Saturday afternoon. The list is still long, very long. And the discoveries numerous…

For our part, we decided to let ourselves float through the different scenes, privileging the artists of the day and the many foreign discoveries. Because that is also a big part of the festival’s charm: between Japan, Finland, Venezuela, Argentina, Iceland, Mexico, Poland, Holland, Germany, Belgium, England, the United States, Canada, Spain of course and even Russia, the choice was more than varied, and our excitement at its peak.

In the end, some great moments, with Babel Agatha, a Spanish quartet that inaugurated the Escenario Hall , Thursday afternoon, with a divine musical poem, overlapping heavy basses and spasmodic rhythmic, organic sounds to ghostly voices, playing outrageously with a theremin, and having no hesitation in using guitars, turntables, modulators and other futuristic drums. A true pleasure, reminding us occasionally of good memories, as it could be compared to the likes of 242, Nitzer Ebb, Young Gods, Krafwerk and even Einstürzende Neubauten, all mixed in a blender.
There was Wyz, a Venezuelan artist that took over the Village, distilling, live, a deep drum&bass, with long enchanting and spasmodic take-offs, under a heavy sun. But music and sunshine make the soul brighter, and there was much dancing on that lovely Thursday afternoon.
Un caddie renversé dans l’herbe, (A shopping cart upturned in the grass) an interesting name indeed, took on the Lab, delivering electronic crickets and pulsating bubbles emerging from a post-industrial neurosis, a real electronic lullaby for hyperactive technophiles.
The Argentinian Audio Peru, with not much innovation, was nevertheless able to spark a growing interest with a series of well set up mixes, a kind of Daft Punk substitute, with a melodious pop-house and an insidious deep-tek in a welcoming dome.
And then there was Alek Stark & the Replicant, from Madrid, working with joy to ensure that the force be with them…Title of the hit? Star Whores. The result? A Lab explosing with spatial sounds and crazy rhythms, moving our fleshly envelopes and sensory pulsions with genius. A real sound-orgasm.

Cinematic Orchestra, from the Ninja Tunes company (!), offered us a rare moment of indisputable serenity, in front of a brimming Village. True magic.

The list is quite long and mentioning everyone would come to writing a book. But we will definitely remember dj Krush, the Japonese, that opened the way to Radio Boy, at the sonarpark, with a fun down-tempo hip hop set, creating an absolute fusion between the music and our state of mind, as the sonar guide likes to remind us: the most “zen” dj around. We second that! Radio Boy, Matthew Herbert’s live project, impressed us much with his joyful set, and we’re very much looking forward to his appearance at the Montreux Jazz Festival on July 12th, but for another project, this time a big band. The Germans of Modeselektor as well as the resident of Ibiza, Paco Osuna, had us dancing till the wee hours of the morning to an exciting tekhouse pop.

So yes, the partying was good, great even, at times surprisingly so, bringing together a cosmopolitan public, growing each day, reaching its peak (obviously) on Saturday, when every corner was packed with people, to the joy of the satisfied artists.
We can still remember Luciano’s big smiles, apparently happy to be playing in front of such a public. And the “petite” Icelander, Kira Kira, hopping about behind her turntables, jumping at every little sound coming from them, like a little child, incarnating true innocence. And we greatly regret not having been able to witness Lamb and Yo La Tengo’s live on Friday evening, which were, according to those who were lucky enough to see them, unforgettable.

So is Sonar still Sonar?

The answer is undisputable: yes, it sure is…