This year, Kongkretebass was honored to take part in the media coverage for Sónar Barcelona 20th anniversary, and we can truly say, they celebrated in STYLE!  The amazing diverse range of music from the Sonar by Day, into the Sonar by night was really something each music lover has to experience once in their life time!

From the Pet Shop Boys, to Bat For Lashes to Sherwood and Pinch, to one of our new favorite Trap DJs РMel̩, the diversity in the few days were something that most festival have hit and missed, yet Sonar brought together music lovers from around to word and showcased the past heavy hitters, to the recent up-and-coming names.

Our Sonar experience started on the Thursday, where we ventured mostly into the Sonar+D, Market Lab and the Hands on Area, where people are encouraged to interact with multimedia designers,  new and exciting products.

Coupe of stand outs for us was the Glassworks: Cubpix , which is an interactive cube where multiple users can  interact with these cubes which can react to users in  usage.

We were not sure how we could use it in a every day bases, but needless to say, we had a lot of fun playing with it at the display stand.

Another one of our favorite at the Market Lab was the L8 Smartlight.  This small light box is capable of linking to your mobile device, where it can display any email received, messages from Facebook, Twitter etc.

The L8 Smarlight is also capable of auto dimming if the surrounding light to bright than it, Noise Sensor, Motion Sensor etc.

Having being told that they have already sold over 3500 units, expect to see this little L8 to hit stores soon, with plenty of users from young to old be fascinated by it’s incredible functionality.

Now… On to the Parties.

Sonar by Day which runs from early afternoon until 10pm, act by names like Mykki Blanco, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Rob da Bank, James Lidell, but the two that really impressed us on the Friday was Sherwood and Pinch. To our surprise, the crowd was a bit thin to start with, as they were the last set of the Sonar by day in the Sonar Hall. But musically, it was nothing we have heard in a long time, the true boundary breaking dub vibes with the signature Sherwood and Pinch’s individual vibes rolled into one hour of Live set.
We were right down the front of stage, and to our left, there was none other than Ms. Mary Ann Hobbs head nodding and bouncing along side the crowd.

Sonar by night has to be the highlight for a lot of people,  as most of the big acts perform in the new venue of Fira Gran Via L’Hospitalet.
The venue is y far one of the biggest indoor venues we’ve been to. From the main stage Sonar Club, where Bauuer and Kraftwerk 3D was, going into Sonar Lab, to Sonar Car, and lastly, into Sonar Pub, where I personally think, was where the action was!
Bat For Lashes wasa very welcomed surprised. Her performance was inspiring and very up lifting, a true class act. But my personal highlight of Sonar has to be Jurassic 5‘s come back show!

From the get go, they started with a bang. Playing all of their classics from Concrete Schoolyard, What’s Golden, to Quality Control, all the best of the best, and the crowd was NOT disappointed! Was really an hour of power, and was really was great seeing the band get back together after so many years away.

All in all, Sonar 20th Anniversary left us wanting more! And what a location to host  it! The beautiful city of Barcelona, over the 4 days, played a true host to the 120,000+ Sonar parties goers (as well as their regular tourist of course). We could not say how delighted we were to be partying in such a beautiful city.

Thank you Sonar, you have left a mark, we will be back! And for all those who are thinking about travelling to Barcelona in the near future, make sure you put Sonar on the “must-do” list!