Sónar 2024 brings together pioneers of electronic music, micro scenes from around the world, experts in AI and innovators in digital and audiovisual culture.
Back is the new edition of Sónar, a festival now established worldwide that takes place in Barcelona on the weekend of June 14, this year extended in time throughout the week,
Expanding the festival throughout Barcelona. From June 12 to 16, OFFSónar at Poble Espanyol, the +RAIN Film Festival at UPF’s Poble Nou Campus, THE CUBE at Casa Batlló and the SonarMies installation at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion combine to offer a snapshot overview of electronic music and digital culture.
Air, Jessie Ware, Kaytranada, Vince Staples, Charlotte de Witte, Sevdaliza, Folamour, Paul Kalkbrenner, Soto Asa, and Judeline: just some of the highlights of a lineup that celebrates the enduring influence of dance music on pop culture, from past to present.
Sónar+D, the meeting place for digital creativity in the heart of Sónar by Day, addresses the mass-adoption of AI by the creative industries, and how this is shaping their present and future. The programme also explores how immersive entertainment and expanded reality (XR) are opening new creative frontiers. This 31st edition of the festival of Music, Innovation and Creativity presents over 200 live shows, DJ sets, talks, workshops and networking activities across Sónar by Day, Sónar by Night and Sónar+D.
The 31st edition of Sónar brings together dance music pioneers and hyperlocal microscenes, with a dose of radical aesthetics and groundbreaking staging. It’s also a celebration of the diversity of genres and subgenres that define the sound of electronic music in 2024: from ambient to drum’n’bass; from happy hardcore to post-punk; taking in black metal, deconstructed club, memecore, gabber, and hyperpop.
The lineup includes major artists like Air, Paul Kalkbrenner, Charlotte de Witte, Sevdaliza, Jessie Ware, Kaytranada, Laurent Garnier, Ben Böhmer, Vince Staples, Folamour, CASISDEAD, Adriatique, VTSS, Richie Hawtin, Olof Dreijer & Diva Cruz, Kerri Chandler, Floating Points, plus many more.
But Sónar 2024 goes beyond household names, with a diverse selection of international and Spanish acts. Live performances from Aïsha Devi, Marie Davidson, Soto Asa, Verde Prato, Judeline, Loraine James, Kabeaushé, Iceboy Violet & Nueen, pablopablo, Lee Gamble & Candela Capitán, Toya Delazy, and La Goony Chonga are joined by singular DJs like JASSS, Eliza Rose b2b Dan Shake b2b Sally C, DJ Gigola, Blck Mamba, horsegiirL, Verushka, and ¥ØU$UK€ ¥UK1MAT$U; plus radical collectives including ASIANDOPEBOYS, BLEX, Club Cringe, and TORO.
Sónar+D, the festival’s meeting of digital innovation and creativity – integrated into Sónar by Day – addresses the mass-adoption of Artificial Intelligence, examining how it’s shaping the present and future of the creative industries. Kicking off with an inaugural conference entitled ‘Generating Panic?’, the implications – dangers, opportunities, and questions – of the use of AI in the arts and creative industries will take centre stage. There’ll be further analysis throughout the weekend with a series of debates, forums, talks and performances, featuring artists Marta Verde and Nicole L’Huillier, researcher Sasha Costanza-Chock (presented by SEIDOR), legal expert Micaela Mantegna, plus representatives from creative agencies Superblue and Moment Factory, plus curators from TED, The Conference, OFFF, and A MAZE, and many others.
This year’s programme is made possible through various collaborations. Among them are AI & Music, powered by S+T+ARTS; the TIMES (The Independent Movement for the Electronic Scenes) project in collaboration with nine other European festivals; the +RAIN Film Festival dedicated to cinema made with AI, organised together with the Universitat Pompeu Fabra; THE CUBE in collaboration with Casa Batlló; a new immersive visual arts space dedicated to Catalan talent promoted by the Direcció General d’Innovació i Cultura Digital; and Project Area, the Sónar+D exhibition area supported by Fundació Banc Sabadell. Plus there’s a new collaboration at Sónar by Night, with an updated SonarLab x Printworks stage that brings the essence of the much-missed London venue to Spain for the first time.
On Thursday 13th June, get familiar with the questions and risks surrounding the use of AI with the inaugural conference ‘Generating Panic?’,and discover how AI is altering the very nature of art with Nicole L’Huillier. Sasha Costanza-Chock invites us to examine how we could make technology more inclusive in a talk presented by SEIDOR. Finally, explore the world of digital identities on stage, with a pair of performances from Myriam Bleau & Nien Tzu Weng and Team Rolfes with Lil Mariko. »
On Friday 14th June, Sónar+D opens with a debate on the growing industry for immersive experiences ‘What’s Immersive Anyway?’, before legal expert and gamer Micaela Mantegna delves into the complex world of generative AI and copyright. AI is also at the centre of talks by writers Tim Maughan and Joanne McNeil, who tackle the subject through the lens of fiction and critical thinking. Finally explore the fascinating and growing world of digital fashion, in a panel presented by Vogue Business, featuring renowned creative director Isabelita Virtual and the Institute of Digital Fashion’s Leanne Young.
Project Area, Sónar+D’s interactive exhibition area, supported by Fundación Banco Sabadell, returns to Sónar by Day this year with over 60 exhibitors from around the world. Divided into eight distinct sections, it’s where you can test, ask about, experiment with, and discover future creative tech. At AI & Music powered by S+T+ARTS, explore Intelligent Instruments Lab’s innovative new instrument designs; get familiar with AI tools like Krea.ai at Creative AI; and discover the latest modular synthesisers and musical tools – or find out how Nina Protocol are revolutionising music distribution – at Music Tech. Over at Weird Science, engage with innovative and novel scientific research, including work by the Barcelona Computing Centre’s artists-in-residence; and meet artistic and technological institutions from around the world at Global Lab, including ArtsKorea Lab and The Generative Art Museum. At Realities+D, dive into virtual reality with a selection of experiences curated by Fabbula, or play experimental games from the likes of Team Rolfes and Rhett TSAI (with the support of Casa Asia) in the Gaming section. Finally, Digital Identities explores digital selves and avatars, including Harriet Davey and snake_case’s “queer LAN party”. These are just a sample of what’s on display
This year, Sónar+D also hosts a special showcase of immersive visual and digital art from Catalonia, organised in collaboration with the Generalitat de Catalunya and Landscapes, the digital art agency of MIRA festival. In a specially designed closed cube, Onionlab, Desilence, Eyesberg, Blit, Sevi Iko Dømochevsky, and Jordi Mass will showcase their work across the three days of Sónar by Day. The same artists will also take part in an accompanying panel at SonarÀgora on Friday 14th June.
The AI & Music powered by S+T+ARTS programme debuts at Sónar by Day this year, with a series of performances and talks that explore how AI is changing how music is made and performed. On stage, as well as Lee Gamble’s ‘Models’ with Candela Capitán and Myriam Bleau & Nien Tzu Weng’s ‘Second Self’ , experience a powerful, transversal show by alternative pop icon Sevdaliza and a live AV set by Rob Clouth. The programme also features an ‘AI Performance Playground Hacklab’, led by Peter Kirn and Cibelle Cavalli Bastos. All 12 participants have been previously selected via an open call, but there’ll be an open showcase on Saturday 15th June. The aforementioned Nicole L’Huillier is also part of the programme, as is Marta Verde’s AV conference ‘Surprise! AI Feedback and the Unexpected’. The programme is rounded off with the debate forum ‘We Are the Music Makers’ and a pair of ‘Tardes de Prompting’ sessions: one on Visual Arts hosted by Krea.ai and Boldtron and another on Music and Audio with Stability AI’s Josiah Taylor.
Sónar is part of TIMES (The Independent Movement for Electronic Scenes), a cooperative project that brings together 10 European festivals and an audiovisual partner to create and curate original shows that combine music and visual arts. In addition to the project’s shared programming of artists and original creations, TIMES aims to support, promote and enhance diversity and sustainability within the music sector. »
At Sónar 2024, TIMES presents ‘Curating the Curators’, revealing the minds who are taking conferences to the next level, featuring representatives from TED, The Conference, Katapult, OFFF, A MAZE. This year also features a series of co-curated performances. Co-curated by Berlin Atonal, Iceboy Violet & Nueen premiere their new album ‘You Said You’d Hold My Hand Through The Fire’ – forthcoming on Hyperdub – and Valentina Magaletti & Theresa Baumgartner perform ‘Lucha Libre’. Greek festival Reworks have co-curated Olof Dreijer & Diva Cruz’s hybrid set and Coco Em, while Nuits Sonores are co-curating sets by Blck Mamba and TORO Collective.
In 2024, Sónar Week will once again transform Barcelona into the global epicentre of electronic music and cultural innovation. In addition to the full programme of Sónar by Day, Sónar by Night, and Sónar+D, OFFSónar will be held at Poble Espanyol de Montjuïc, just a 5-minute walk from Fira Montjuïc. This year OFFSónar features a series of parties organised with leading labels and promoters from Thursday to Sunday: Brunch Electronik, “X” by Adriatique, Solid Grooves, Keinemusik, FUSE London, and elrow.
This year Sónar and Casa Batlló announce the debut of THE CUBE, combining electronic music and digital art, in a one-of-its-kind 360 degree space located in the iconic Gaudí building. THE CUBE launches on the 24th May with the world premiere of ‘Music:Response’ by The Chemical Brothers and Smith and Lyall. This thrilling new audiovisual experience brings together remixed classics from the UK electronic duo combined with the kaleidoscopic visuals of Smith & Lyall for this 3-dimensional artwork. ‘Music:Response’ will run until the end of July.
Sónar+D extends beyond Sónar by Day once again in 2024. This year, Sónar kicks off with the 2nd edition of +RAIN Film Festival on Tuesday 11th and Wednesday 12th June. Co-organised with the Universitat Pompeu Fabra, this international film festival for cinema made entirely using AI explores how this technology is coexisting with current cinematic narratives. This year, the festival received over 230 submissions, consolidating its position as an international showcase for cinema made with generative AI, and showing how this art form is growing exponentially.
The Sónar Week programme is completed with a new edition of SonarMies at Mies van der Rohe Pavilion. This year the oceanographer Joan Llort and the artists Entangled Others and Daphne X have created ‘Liquid Strata’, an installation presented in collaboration with TBA21 that explores the unknown depths of the ocean.
(from the press release)
Sonar Festival, Barcelona, 12 – 16 June, 2024
images: (cover 1-2) Sonar 2024, official (3) AIR – MATHIEURAINAUD, portrait (4) Sónar+D. SonarÀgora (5) Nicole L. Huillier – Leche Holografica (film still)_credit Nicole L. Huillier and Patricia Dominguez – Nicole L. Huillier (6) GENERATING-PANIC, Marta-Handenawer, Domestic-Data-Streamers (7) AMBIENTE 2023. Stage+D by MEDIAPRO. Playmodes, UPC-Telecos present Astres. Nerea Coll (8) Myriam Bleau and Nien Tzu Weng (9) TARDES DE PROMTING, Krea.ai (10) ‘Music_Response’ en Casa Batlló (11) +RAIN Film Festival (12) SonarMies 2024
