The
29th edition of
Sónar Barcelona brought hundreds of musicians and speakers across three days of Sónar by Day and Sónar+D and two days of Sónar by Night. In total,
over 180 activities were held for an audience of
122,000 who came from
122 countries. 43,000 people came to Sónar by Day (including the SonarExtra activities that took place across Barcelona) and 79,000 to Sónar by Night.
Sónar 2022 saw a return to the stage for some of the biggest names in contemporary electronic music, with
The Blaze,
Moderat, and
The Chemical Brothers, whose show was undoubtedly one of the most spectacular of this year’s festival.
They were joined by two of the biggest names in Hispanic popular music, with
C. Tangana’s sublimely staged show and a powerful performance from
Nathy Peluso. Plus a host of shows prepared especially for the festival authored by
Arca,
Niño de Elche + Ylia + Banda "La Valenciana",
Maria Arnal i Marcel Bagés,
Samantha Hudson,
Tarta Relena,
Rojuu,
Polo & Pan,
Nu Genea Live Band, and
'Uncompressed', presented by Patreon. They were all among the highlights of this year’s festival.
The biggest dancefloor in the world once again trembled to the sound of the heroes of club music, with names including
Charlotte de Witte,
The Blessed Madonna,
Eric Prydz,
Richie Hawtin,
Helena Hauff,
ANNA & Maotik,
Reinier Zonneveld,
Jennifer Cardini b2b Perel,
Jayda G,
Folamour,
Anfisa Letyago and
Octo Octa b2b Eris Drew.
The festival also affirmed its intergenerational nature, with the sound of the increasingly near future of Spanish and Hispanic music:
Morad,
Ms Nina,
Simona,
Juicy Bae,
Yugen Kala,
Chico Blanco,
GAZZI,
Depresión Sonora,
mori + rusowsky and
El Bobe.
A revitalised Sónar+D, integrated into Sónar by Day and open to the general public
This year,
Sónar+D was opened to all Sónar by Day ticket holders allowing new spaces the general public invited to discover new venues:
SonarMàtica by Tezos,
SonarÀgora, and
Stage+D. The latter venue hosted a spectacular series of events part way between lecture and performance, including ‘Planet City and the Return of Global Wilderness’ by
Liam Young; ‘S.A.N.D. (Somatic Acoustic Neolithic Dust)’ by
Monira Al Qadiri & Raed Yassin; 'A World of Service' by
JASSS & Ben Kreukniet; and 5uuoPRPPW%A%, a series of visual works by local artists
DOES,
gtxdlr & Laura Rigau and
¥€$Si PERSE.
The Sónar+D programme was a conversation between
over 60 speakers, centred around four main themes: the new ecosystems being created under
Web3; the creative, industrial, political and ethical challenges of
Artificial Intelligence (AI); studies and advances in
Acoustic Ecology; and the ongoing work on
Ecology and Fiction.
In addition,
SonarExtra offered a tour through the heart of Barcelona throughout the week. The public were invited to immerse themselves in '
Hyperorgan', a ‘sound experience’ created by Sónar, master organ builder Albert Blancafort, technologist Santi Vilanova from Playmodes, and Berlin composers gamut inc, at
Palau Güell. They could also visit
Sondear and
'Museo del Sonido' by Mika Vainio at the
Fundació Antoni Tàpies; and
'Transient' by Quayola, presented by ME by Meliá at the
Hotel ME Barcelona.
Sónar’s 30th anniversary is already in sight
Sónar Barcelona is already on the road to its
30th anniversary, which will take place on the
15th, 16th and 17th June 2023.
Before that, this summer Sónar will host a three-date series of events '
‘Un SónarVillage a S’horabaixa’ (A SónarVillage in S'horabaixa) in
Mallorca.
In 2023, a
2nd edition of Sónar Lisboa (
31st March, 1st and 2nd April) and the
7th edition of Sónar Istanbul have already been confirmed.
