15 years of electronic excellence
It’s become so easy to travel around Europe that it’s quite common to see an international crowd attending a good music festival. This is especially true when the city is Barcelona and the festival is Sonar. With a beautiful location in the very center of the old city (an area that includes the MACBA, Richard Meier’s Barcelona Contemporary Art Museum, the Contemporary Culture Center of Barcelona and the massive Fira Gran Via), Sonar is the essential event for anyone involved in and passionate about advanced electronic music and culture.
The more the festival has grown throughout its 15-year history, the more Sonar has also become a fashionable event to attend simply for the fact that most of the city’s creative types will be there. Although what really matters and makes the most difference is how the city itself transforms during the festival: Its architecture, restaurants, clubs, and of course the beaches, provide the perfect setting for a short break from the thumping beats that can include an array of cultural and recreation activities, not to mention the countless possibilities to meet interesting individuals. What’s happening at Sonar Festival now?
With loads of people—especially those arriving from the most culturally active cities such as London, Berlin, and Paris—who are normally enjoying a lot of music and art at home, the crowds come to Barcelona during this time-frame to attend Sonar, but then spend most of their time strolling, hanging around and partying in the most diverse locations that Barcelona and its promoters are likely to offer.
If you attend Sonar, you’ll also receive invites and flyers to loads of private parties in clubs, bars, or even boats that start on the Tuesday before the festival’s opening and go on until the Monday after the festival ends. Plus pool terraces and beach chiringuitos are also prime parties spots every day and night of the week, often hosting renowned producers and DJs such as Ellen Allien and all the B-Pitch artists, Michael Mayer and other Kompakt producers, or Busy P and his Ed Banger crew who play for small, select crowds in a private, stylish settings.
At its 15th year, Sonar is not the same as it was initially. No longer a small gathering of electronic music heads, Sonar has become the event in Barcelona for the week, showcasing some of the best and strangest electronic sounds and art to a colossal crowd of happy folks.
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