Sónar: 'a unique cultural platform'
Björk heads the line-up of a varied Sónar festival that sees the return of the CCCB as a venue and features exhibitions and talks to go alongside performances by 140 different acts
Whether 3D projections embracing the psychedelic communion between music and technology, talks or concerts, Icelandic artist Björk returns to the Sónar festival as the star name. High on the list of events involving the idiosyncratic musician is the exhibition, Björk Digital, on at at the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB) between June 14 and September 24. There will also be an exclusive Björk DJ Set on Sónar 2017’s inaugural night, on Wednesday June 14 at the Fira Montjuïc. This performance will require a separate entrance ticket as an added extra to the festival’s music programme, which this year has more than 140 acts in nine different venues, split between the festival’s two main sections, Sónar by Day and Sónar by Night.
The festival organisers say Björk’s involvement in Sónar 2017 (with a Dj Set, exhibition and talk) is an example of “the festival’s wide variety of activities and formats offered this year. To the usual venues of Fira Montjuïc and Fira Gran Via have been added emblematic cultural spaces in the city, which will now begin associating their activities with Sónar: it will be a cultural week that includes the festival, three talks and four exhibitions, turning Barcelona into a unique cultural platform.”
Kaleidoscope of colour
In the festival’s recent conference at the CCCB, the centre’s director, Vicenç Villatoro, welcomed the return of his venue into the Sónar fold after a number of years. This was later corroborated by Sónar heads, Ricard Robles and Enric Palau, who stressed the wide use of technology in the festival, in a kaleidoscopic week of colour at the different day and night time performances that will fill the Catalan capital with a huge number of eager participants.
In highlighting some of the main performances, the festival heads point to the Palau’s hosting of “a new celebration of dance music” with the likes of Justice, Masters At Work, Soulwax, Cerrone, Moderat, Seth Troxler & Tiga, Nina Kraviz, The Black Madonna, Derrick Carter and Marcel Dettmann. They also pick out “artists with a unique profile who transcend genres,” such as Nicolas Jaar, Arca & Jesse Kanda, Jon Hopkins, Matmos, Suzanne Ciani, Nosaj Thing & Daito Manabe and Nico Muhly. Meanwhile, they point to the presence of urban rhythms beyond the industry’s conventions, from performers with black music roots at the forefront of hip-hop, soul or dub to avant garde artists whose origins are to be found in the grime era.
Another festival highlight is the closing concert in the Auditori featuring contemporary composer, Nico Muhly on piano, and the German orchestral group, Stargaze, interpreting David Lang’s celebrated album, Death Speaks.
On Saturday 17 and Sunday 18, the parallel section, Sónar+D, has been expanded with the Maker Faire Barcelona, an event about maker technology that is free and open to all publics in the Italian pavilion in Fira Montjuïc. Meanwhile, festival passholders can see the work of another Sónar classic, Brian Eno, in an exhibition from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, David Bowie Is, an anthology exhibition “dedicated to one of the most influential figures of our time.”