Sónar 2019 took place last weekend, from Thursday 18th to Saturday 20th July. The programme featured artists that exist on the bleeding edge of electronic music. House and techno, through to grime, electro, trap, hip-hop, IDM, ambient, and drum & bass, were all represented. Big hitters like Skepta, Underworld, Four Tet, Amelie Lens, Arca, Octavian, Peggy Gou, Lotic, Daphni, and HAAi all performed, whilst Stormzy also stepped in at the last minute to cover for the incarcerated A$AP Rocky.
Sónar also flies to flag for experimental electronic music, with the bill highlighting the impact that syncopated club sounds are having on soundsystems across the world. In this sphere, sets from Lao and Wasted Fates (of Mexico imprint N.A.A.F.I.), Slikback, 700Bliss, Catnapp, and Hibotep all garnered a big response on the dancefloor.
Elsewhere, DJ Lag called on the crowd to “support the gqom sound” after playing to a packed out SónarDome on the festival’s opening day. Gqom, a genre that DJ Mag dubbed “one of the most exciting electronic music movements to surface this decade” earlier this year, saw its presence at the event continued by Sho Madjozi and Faka.
The festival has always also looked close to home, too. Spanish artists made up almost a quarter of this year’s line-up, with a particular focus on the Catalan electronic music scene. Sounds like digital dancehall, trap, and Spanish hip-hop were all seen to be in rude health, and seem set to make a global impact.
You can read about five key performances from Spain’s burgeoning electronic music scene at Sónar 2019 below.