SONUS FESTIVAL: FIVE TO WATCH

Sonus Festival hits Zrce Beach on Pag Island, Croatia this weekend, running from Sunday 21st to Thursday 25th August.

A huge line-up sees the likes of Jamie Jones, Marco Carola, Ricardo Villalobos, Joseph Capriati, Dixon, Recondite, Loco Dice, Chris Liebing, Pan-Pot, Seth Troxler, Tale Of Us, Raresh, Rhadoo, The Martinez Brothers, Jackmaster, Maceo Plex, Rødhåd and many more on deck through the week.

Parties at the festival are being taken care of by the likes of tINI & the gang, Club Der Visionäre, Fuse, Secret Society and M20.

Ahead of the event, here’s five must see sets that take place over the weekend, which DJ Mag thinks will form highlights of Sonus Festival’s fourth edition.

Apollonia

Apollonia’s meteoritic rise to the upper echelons of electronic music has continued at a startling rate this year, as they take control of the Terrace at Marco Carola’s Music On in Ibiza three times this season, as well as being locked in for a number of headline festival slots. Taking the sound of Parisian after-parties to the masses, the trio of Dan Ghenacia, Shonky and Dyed Soundorom have managed to stick resolutely to their underground background, playing a number of shows individually at DC-10’s Circo Loco this summer, alongside their performances at one of the biggest spaces on the island.

Read an in-depth feature on the rise of Apollonia's sounds in our French Renaissance feature. 

Archie Hamilton

Archie Hamilton is one of London’s finest exports in recent years, gaining a loyal following with his Arkityp nights at Underground Ibiza, as well as launching his own Moscow Records and Moss Co. labels. On deck he spins a looping and hypnotic brand of house music that’s perfect for his late night slot at Fuse’s after-hours session on the Tuesday night at Sonus.

Nicolas Lutz

Nicholas Lutz has become something of a true DJs DJ over the last decade, through his vinyl-only sets that weave rare and collectable records into a deep and trippy exploration of underground dance music. Part of the Club der Visionaere crew, Lutz is revered for deep digging extended sets, and will serve as the perfect warm up for Perlon head Zip and Ricardo Villalobos at Kalypso on Sonus’ final night.

Alexandra

Rising to prominence as part of the second wave of Romanian minimal in recent years, Alexandra has gone on to be released on the prolific [a:rpia:r] label as well as build close ties with the Sunrise agency. She supports tINI as part of her tINI & the gang showcase at Zrce’s Kalypso at Sonus, and her deep grooves will be the perfect warm-up for the German selector.

Cabanne

Concrete resident Cabanne has been one of the bright lights of the burgeoning French house scene in Paris, responsible for a slew of releases from artists including Seuil, David Gluck and Audio Werner through his Minibar imprint. He brings the curtain down on Sonus alongside Ricardo Villalobos, Zip, Sonja Moonear and Binh, spinning at an incredible after-hours showcase on the final night of the festival.

Rob McCallum is DJ Mag’s deputy digital editor. Follow him on Twitter here.