Despite the economic crisis and the forecasted drop in attendance, Sonar 2014 Barcelona gathered 109,000 people, just 10% less participants than last year event.
The festival took place in two different locations, Sonar de Dia (by day) next to very central Plaza de España and Sonar de Nit (by night) which was positioned four kilometers away from the city. Sonar de Dia made a difference hitting record high figures with over 52,000 people bouncing at the sub-bass of Richie Hawtin and its exclusive Objekt by Plastikman show.
Besides Sonar de Dia presented Despacio where James Murphy e 2manydjs mixed some disco tunes with a new sound system designed by McIntosh. Featuring 50,000 Watts and 7 stacks it surrounded the audience for truly immersive sound. We have been there. It’s all true.
Sonar made a statement and reaffirms its status as a unique festival model. With 155 artists performing over 3 days and 2 nights, the shows embraced pure electronica to the very latest generation in dance music, cumbia, new disco, bass, slow house.
A special clap goes to Nisennenmondai, a Tokyo-based instrumental trio which composes raw and repetitive punk instrumentals where the obsessive and obsessed drummer Sayaka Himeno brings the vibe to a nearly techno level.
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By expanding its vocation, exploring and proposing experimental formats, with Sonar+D features more than 120 activities aimed at the professional sector, Sónar+D reinforce the bond between creativity and technology. The meeting of 3,500 creators, technologists, researchers and experts from the creative and technology industries aims to grow in the coming years incorporating new public and private partners.
Another important development this year has been the birth of SonarPLANTA, a new challenge in the new media art world.The piece consists of a wall of light and sound of colossal proportions: 6m x 36m, with a side mirrors that give it infinite aspect.
An endless list of artists have presented more premieres this year than ever; among them Massive Attack and Royksopp & Robyn, Daito Manabe, Woodkid, Nils Frahm, Machine Variation, Audion, Tarek Atoui, Ben Frost, Moderat, Matmos and Jon Hopkins, Nile Rogers and Trentemøller.
Massive Attack
Moderat
Daito Manabe
Sonar By Night? Rave Rave Rave. The daytime part of Sonar pretends to be a typical countryside festival (acrylic fake grass); although keeping a pleasant atmosphere differs totally from Sonar by night where we were partying in a hangar-look-alike building with massive spaces and a dark feel. A way to make everybody happy we guessed.
Tiga was the artist closing the festival who performed a great dj set making the last (30k?!) people going ballistic! Since there is not respectable festival without rain (as the British say) the last hour rained cats and dogs and the scenery offered to us was epic and emotional.
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You can find more images at the official Sonar website
