Printworks in Barcelona, Casa Batlló, expanded reality: Sónar 2024 goes far beyond music

Barcelona is getting ready for a new Sónar festival which promises to be bigger and better than ever, with an extensive Sónar Week programme extending the music festival across the city all week. 

The electronic music festival was formally presented on Tuesday morning at the Antiga Estrella Damm factory in Barcelona, as well as its technology and digital culture side-festival, Sónar+D. 

As ever, some of the biggest names in electronic music will be performing in the Catalan capital in mid-June, such as Air performing their album ‘Moon Safari’ in full, Charlotte de Witte, Floating Points, and many more. 

Jessie Ware, Vince Staples, Laurent Garnier, Sevdaliza, Folamour, Paul Kalkbrenner, Ben Böhmer, VTSS are also among the stellar lineup, as well as Kaytranada who is preparing new music to showcase at the festival. 

Sónar also prides itself on offering new emerging sounds as part of its lineup, and does so again this year with a touch of modern flamenco from Yerai Cortés. 

Experimental and boundary-pushing genres are also plentiful in the lineup on every stage. Analogue hardware is the foundation for Emptyset’s abstract, rugged sound, while Loraine James, Natural Wonder Beauty Concept, and Ela Minus craft intimate soundscapes live. Aïsha Devi’s powerful show is accompanied by the works of visionary stage designer Emanual Biard. 

Dance will also be ever-present across the weekend, and not only among the spectators. Producer Lee Gamble is working with choreographer Candela Capitán to offer a feast for the eyes as well as the ears, while choreography performances will also come from Kianí del Valle, Blackhaine, and Gabber Eleganza. 

The legendary London multipurpose culture venue Printworks will also be coming to Barcelona, designing a special 6x10 meter vertical screen and a redesigned lighting rig to offer fans a feast for the senses. 

Listen, watch, and learn at Sónar+D

Sónar+D takes place at the Sónar by day festival and will explore new frontiers in immersive entertainment and expanded reality.

Artificial intelligence is ubiquitous these days, and Sónar+D tackles the topic face-on, exploring its creative possibilities with artistic installations, as well as hosting various talks and forums on its dangers and possibilities. 

Sónar+D will start with a conference titled 'Generating Panic?' and will analyze the dangers and doubts that the use of AI is generating in the world of art and creativity.

Artists such as Marta Verde and Nicole L'Huillier, researcher Sasha Costanza-Chock, lawyer Micaela Mantegna, members of companies such as Superblue and Moment Factory, and more will participate in debate forums, talks, and performances dealing with the topic of artificial intelligence.

Sónar+D will also host a special showcase of immersive visual and digital arts by Catalan artists, organized in collaboration with the Catalan government and Landscapes, the digital art agency of the festival MIRA.

In a closed cube specially designed for this, Onionlab, Desilence, Eyesberg, Claudia Maté, Sevi Iko Dømochevsky and Jordi Massó will show their work during the three days of Sónar by Day.

Sónar Week across Barcelona

The festival is expanded even further this week, into what they’re calling Sónar Week, with various other side events, activities, and installations to explore.

The festival and Antoni Gaudí’s iconic building Casa Batlló are collaborating with a new presentation called The Cube, combining electronic music and digital art in a one-of-a-kind 360 degree space. 

Located in the basement of the emblematic building, THe Cube opens on May 24 with 'Music:Response', a new work featuring music from The Chemical Brothers and the visual imagination of their concerts created by digital designers Adam Smith and Marcus Lyall. 'Music:Response' will be open to visit until the end of July.

Additionally, an audiovisual installation will also be set up in the Mies van der Rohe pavilion designed by artists working with an oceanographer to explore the unknown depth of the ocean. 

The festival is also working with Poble Espanyol to expand the musical offering of Off Sónar, the parallel music festival going on at the same time as the main one.