Set to take place from June 16th-18th, the three-day festival bills artists from all genres of electronic music to perform. Back in May of 2021, organizers announced the first phase of the lineup, which included The Chemical Brothers, Joy Orbison, and DJ Python. Local DJs that frequent Spanish clubs are set to play a mix of regular and back-to-back sets as well. Catalan-based duo Maria Arnal i Marcel Bagés are also set to perform alongside an AI user to enhance the sound of a choir.

The festival sports a more visual arts side as well, called Sónar+D. Scheduled events for the offshoot have expanded to take over the entirety of the Palau de Congressrs de Barcelona, a conference and convention center in the Montjuïc area of the Spanish capital. Organizers will use the extra space for high-definition, audiovisual presentations and hybrid conference/concert performances.

Sónar was founded in 1994 by a Spanish artist trio consisting of Richard Robles, Enric Palau, and Sergi Caballero. The festival has expanded globally to include special events in Bogota, Buenos Aires, Hong Kong, Reykjavik, and Istanbul.

Those interested in purchasing tickets can do so on the Sónar website.

Founded in 1994 in Barcelona, Sónar is an arts, design, and experimental music festival. Since 2013, the event also hosts a three-day gathering discussing creativity, technology, and business. Since its inception, the festival has grown to host events all around the world.

S+T+Arts Festival began yesterday and runs into today, October 28th, with both in-person and virtual events. Programming kicked off last night with Piano + AI, a concert that fuses jazz, classical piano, and a custom artificial intelligence. S+T+Arts is a European Commission-led initiative whose mission is exploring the intersection of art, science, and technology. A majority of the festival’s lineup revolves around the fusion of music and AI.

SónarCCCB, a collaboration between Sónar and the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona, begins immediately after S+T+Arts Festival, running from October 29th-30th. They aim to present “two days of music, debate, experimentation, and inspiration” according to the CCCB’s website. Event programming includes 40 concerts, DJ sets, lectures, debates, presentations, and workshops.

Much like the S+T+Arts Festival, SónarCCCB 2021 will explore the connection between art, science, and technology. Their hope is to strengthen bonds between artistic communities and scientific/educational institutions.

Sónar+D CCCB will unite creative organizations like TodaysArt from The Hague, Reworks from Thessaloniki, and Unsound from Krakow under one roof. Max Cooper, Arca and Laurel Halo are among the electronic music figureheads who will perform, present or both, in addition to a panel on COVID-19 and clubbing with Richie Hawtin and Holly Herndon as speakers.

Sónar+D Revisited

The brainchild of music journalist Ricard Robles and artists Enric Palau and Sergio Caballero, Sónar debuted in 1994. 2013 marked the launch of the Sonar+D, a conference that explores the intersection between art, technology and business.

Björk, Brian Eno and Ryuichi Sakamoto are among the music figureheads to participate in previous editions of the event. Joining them are key staff of companies like Spotify, Vimeo and Microsoft VR in addition to institutions like NASA, the Royal College of Art and the ALMA Astronomical Observatory.

More information on the 2020 event is available on the Sónar+D CCCB website.

In true Prydz form, both sets were loaded with IDs of songs that may not even come out officially until years later. Where his EDC 2016 set embodied the shimmering euphoria of his Pryda discography, however, brooding cuts from his techno-inclined Cirez D project characterized the one he delivered at Sónar.

The two performances were recorded a year apart, of course, but the Eric Prydz sound hasn’t undergone any dramatic metamorphosis in that interval. European and North American electronic music fans simply favor a different aesthetic and his repertoire is diverse enough to appeal to either demographic.

During the 2015 edition of EDC Las Vegas Prydz had premiered his highly acclaimed single, “Opus,” and at last year’s installment he closed out his set with a track that his fans have been affectionately calling “Nopus.” None of the IDs from his Sónar set have evoked as staggering a response as of this writing.

Source: EDMTunes