Photos – Sónar archive © Nereacoll
The diversity and freshness of dance music from across the globe are represented by both established and emerging names, with Jennifer Cardini b2b Perel, Anfisa Letyago and Paranoid London joined by Angola via Portugal’s Pongo, South Africa’s Scorpion Kings, Australia’s Partiboi69, New Zealand’s Lady Shaka and a British-Asian b2b from Yung Singh and SUCHI.
From the fringes, additions include percussionist Eli Keszler; Quayola/Seta’s audiovisual collaboration ‘Transient’ presented by ME by Meliá; and a percussive set from Italian selector Ehua.
Niño de Elche presents his new project ‘Concert de músika festera’ with Ylia and 40-piece band “La Valenciana”; Catalan duo Maria Arnal i Marcel Bagés will expand the sound of a choir using Artificial Intelligence, and Spanish queer phenomenon Samantha Hudson debuts a new ‘variety show’. Plus a host of local DJs, with AWWZ, Albal b2b Rocio and Umami b2b CRKS290 and others showcasing the vibrancy of the current Spanish club scene.
Sónar+D moves to new spaces, taking over the entire Palau de Congressos, and introducing new formats on the new SónarÁgora and +D stage. This new venue will be dedicated to presentations with a high audiovisual component and hybrid performances that are both conference and concert.
PARANOID LONDON
PARTIBOI69
Sónar+D leaps forward with new venues and event formats as part of Sónar by Day
One of the biggest pieces of news for this year is that Sónar+D, Sónar’s creative technologies programme, will be organically integrated into the Sónar by Day programme.
The new Sónar+D will feature innovative formats, offering an exciting journey through its spaces and activities that will encourage interaction, discovery and physical encounters between artists, researchers, scientists, thinkers and creative professionals.
The three overarching themes for the programme have now been announced. Firstly, there’ll be a wide look at Web3, from digital economies and decentralisation through to crypto-art, creative markets and new ways of organising the internet. Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be the second theme, building on the AI and Music Festival held in October 2021 and exploring the implications of these new technologies across art and society. Finally, the third part of the programme will be organised under Acoustic Ecology, examining the role of sound within the relationships between Earth, nature and humanity, and how it shapes research and development.
PONGO. Photo – Axel Joseph ©
Quayola
SCORPION KINGS – Dj Maphorisa.
SCORPION KINGS – Kabza De Small
The +D stage and SonarÁgora, new venues for Sónar+D
Additionally, this year will introduce a new +D stage, designed specifically for unconventional performances of a multidisciplinary or collaborative nature, blurring the lines between research, thinking and performance. It will feature lectures with a particular focus on audiovisual aspects, and hybrid performances that are both conferences and concerts. A stage where the scenography of a concert merges with more informative and research-oriented proposals by professionals from different disciplines such as artists, designers and scientists. Another new space introduced this year is SonarÁgora, which will host debates, either as masterclasses or as unconferences – horizontal discussions and conferences in which the public interacts and actively participates.
Photo – Lluís Tudela © MARIA ARNAL, MARCEL BAGÉS
Photo – Angela Martin Retortillo © NIÑO DE ELCHE
Photo – Tommaso Napolitano © ANFISA LETYAGO
SonarComplex integrated into Sónar+D with increased audiovisual content
The SonarComplex auditorium will this year be the home of the most daring and sophisticated musical offerings at Sónar by Day. This stage will feature performances with a high level of technological or scenographic components, which experiment with audiovisual elements.
Over three days, SonarComplex will present a multitude of projects that fulfill these criteria. One of the highlights will be Quayola/Seta: ‘Transient Performance’, presented by ME by Meliá, an immersive duo show in which machines are used to perform on two grand pianos and manipulate a large audiovisual canvas. A performance that will immerse the spectator in painting and sound: from classical to avant-garde, from experimental to techno.
JENNIFER CARDINI
Photo – Nora Heinisch © PEREL
YUNG SINGH
UNIIQU3
‘Uncompressed’ presented by Patreon by artists and youtubers Hainbach, Look Mum No Computer, and Cuckoo will be a mix of performance and live demo, showcasing their creative processes and experiments with synthesisers.
The lineup for the SonarComplex also includes the new announcement of experimental percussionist Eli Keszler, the vocal experiments of Tarta Relena and Lafwandah, an AV collaboration between IHHH & Desilence, and Lyra Pramuk’s ‘Echoluminescence’.
And of course, Sónar+D 2022 won’t lack an exhibition area designed to display content produced by different digital and creative artists, from virtual reality and the metaverse to NFTs, online culture and post-internet art.
Finally, the +D lounge will be exclusively accessible to Accreditation holders, a place where the Sónar+D community can meet again and connect after nearly three years apart. It will also be the venue for Q&A sessions with some of the most prominent participants of the program, and where tbec will be scheduled bringing together local and international creative communities.
Photo – Gonza Gallego © SAMANTHA HUDSON
VVV
Photo – Ed Smith © SUCHI
Sónar kicks off its 2022 international tour
The 6th edition of Sónar Istanbul will take place next week, (18th and 19th March) and the 1st edition of Sónar Lisboa next month (8th, 9th and 10th April). Since being founded in 1994, Sónar has organised more than 100 festivals, with 76 editions taking place in 35 cities in over 20 countries, adapting the philosophy of the Barcelona festival to unique spaces and environments, showcasing international talent and the most important elements of the local scene in each case.
