The shoes. It was the shoes that stood out and captivated my attention right away. In the
queue
. Not the femme fatale high-heeled killer ones, nor the cute and stylish wedge ones. They were the funky and fashionable trainers, full of psychedelic colours, jazzy shapes and hidden mouths, yelling silently: “Dance on us!” Their owners, the young souls, were itching with impatience and excitement to finally hear to
their favourite music
as soon as possible!
As I too waited for my turn to arrive, my heart was pounding out of my chest full of excitement and disquiet: finally I would get to see and hear some of my favourite artists, all in the same place. But my excitement was tempered by a concern: Would the concert and the performance of my favourite bands and musicians live up to my expectations, grown hugely over the past year or would it all end in one big disappointment?
Once I was given an orange florescent bracelet, which meant I had full access to the festival facilities, together with my richly coloured (by my toddler) white trainers there was nothing else that separated me from the festival venue. Voilà! I was in an open-air space full of great vibes, lots of sunshine and bouncing people. I was in the
Sónar
!
Sónar is an annual music festival with a unique format, bringing together cutting edge art, happy people and advanced technology in a lively urban landscape! And if the spot happens to be under Barcelona’s baking skies it feels even edgier!
Since 2002 Sónar has organized annual music festivals in different cities of the world, from Reykjavik, London, New York, Buenos Aires, to Frankfurt, Seoul, Lisbon, Tokyo, and Osaka. But today I am dedicating my post to Sónar By Day Barcelona 2014, bringing together over hundred thousand people during its duration (3-day festival) with performances of some 155 artists.
The Festival is usually divided in two parts:
Sónar by Day
, located in Fira Montjuïc since 2013 and
Sónar by Night
, in Fira Gran Via de l’Hospital, the venue where some of the key concerts in the festival’s history have taken place. The thundering performances of artists like,
Björk (2002), Pet Shop Boys (2002), The Chemical Brothers (2005), LCD Soundsystem (2010)
have shaken this place with their music, accompanied by extensive audio-visual displays for many years now.
I was lucky to be one of the 52,000 visitors of the
Sónar by Day
Festival, attending it on Friday – the second day of the festival full of concerts and Dj performances. Starting at noon and running until 10:00 p.m. the Friday show welcomed more than 20 artists in seven different halls. Since it was physically impossible to enjoy all of them I focused on my priorities to hear
Bonobo
,
Jon Hopkins
,
Fm Belfast
,
Jessy Lanza
,
Forest Swords
, and
DESPACIO (James Murphy + 2many Djs)
.
Each and every performance during the day was unique in format and different in the emotions they awoke in me.
I was welcomed to the Festival by electronic pop sounds of a beautiful Canadian female artist Jessy Lanza. It was a smooth start. While she was performing live at the stage with her sophisticated sound system, I had a chance to get a drink and a seat on a green (yet artificial) grass, surrounded by funky people of different nationalities ready to take the world by storm.
Performing several hours afterwards was
Bonobo
with his vocalist
Szjerdene.
The audience was hypnotised and hundreds of people moved their bodies softly in harmony. It felt as if their young souls floated in the air touched by the magnificence of the sounds. Named as “a contemporary classic” by music critics,
Bonobo
and his band once again proved their excellence.
Two hours before Bonobo’s mesmerizing performance, FM Belfast – an Icelandic band of 8 members – totally shook and blasted the stage with their extremely vivid and addictive melodies, vibrant rhythms and their insane dancer interpreting the heart-pounding sounds into a real performance.
The day at Sónar for me came to an end with a hypnotic and soul-soothing music of Jon Hopkins. The beauty of the rich texture music left me craving for more.
Each and everyone of these artists is worth a longer post dedicated to their music. Stay tuned for the upcoming posts on these talented artists and their music.
The sunshine dancing on my skin, the superb music caressing my ears and my soul, enthusiastic people and a perfect spot decorating my vista, it was the best adrenalin induced, yet comforting pastime of all ages. With your soul being fed, your feet and legs exercised, and your heart having danced, every bit of the Festival is worth your time and money. However bear in mind that as the festival offers variety of music (within its own format) – from pure electronica to dance music, new disco, slow house, and more. – I recommend doing a little research in advance in previous
program
s and then decide which live concert and/or DJ performance you want to see. This way you can avoid being disappointed at repetitive techno rhythms if you do not like them, or overly tranquil tones if you prefer a rave party.
To sum up my impression about the Festival: it was astoundingly well organized; the artists were well chosen and the ambiance was a complete surreal experience.
