The 20th anniversary of Sonar will be a global celebrationwhich begins in Reykjavik in February and culminates inBarcelona in June, passing through Africa, Asia and Latin America. In total, within the next six months, Sonar will be programming around 300 shows spread across 21 stages
at its 5 festivals.
In 2013, the Icelandic capital, one of the world's most musically fertile cities, joins the four destinations of 2012. Sonar celebrates 20 years as one of the most internationally renowned and solid cultural brands.
Today, the festival introduces the first artists for the celebrations atSonar Barcelona, which include Kraftwerk and Pet Shop Boys, two classic names in full force and with an transgenerational influence on the popular music of recent decades, from purist electronica, to dance music and pop.
The Sonar 2013 campaign kicks off at www.sonar.es with the first video of a series that will be revealed in the coming weeks.
SonarKids also returns to Barcelona this Christmas, on the22nd and 23rd of December, with a programme for children and parents featuring interactive sound sculptures on the big spiral ramp at CosmoCaixa.
BARCELONA
June the 13th, 14th and 15th, 2013
www.sonar.es
Line-up Preview:
Kraftwerk – 3D show (DE)
Pet Shop Boys (UK)
Two Door Cinema Club (UK)
Hot Natured (UK)
Lindstrøm & Todd Terje (NO)
Vatican Shadow (US)
Bradien + Eduard Escoffet (ES)
Fantastic Mr Fox (DE)
The 20th anniversary of Sonar Barcelona will take place on the13th, 14th and 15th June 2013.
The stand-out feature of the line-up preview is the extraordinary
new show in 3D by Kraftwerk. The prestigious German group was founded in 1970 and has been one of the most influential outfits in the music of the last 40 years, in electronica and in popular music in general. Their eight studio albums are more than classics – they are true anthems in recent music history. For their performance at Sonar 2013, Kraftwerk will be reviewing their hits with a unique and updated sound at SonarClub, the festival's main stage. Their new show adapts 3D technology to their own language and gives body and volume to the powerful imagery that has accompanied them throughout their career. The show can be enjoyed with standard 3D glasses.
Another unquestionable benchmark – in this case in the field of electronic pop – is the British duo Pet Shop Boys. After the recent release of their latest album "Elysium”, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, who began working together in the early ‘80s, will be presenting a new show featuring visuals and technological content atSonar Barcelona. The creators of countless legendary songs of our era, including “West End Girls”, “Domino Dancing”, “It's A Sin”, “Always On My Mind”, “Go West”, “Being Boring”, “Domino Dancing”, “Flamboyant” and “New York City Boy”, Pet Shop Boys have always been a step ahead of their peers, shrewdly navigating the currents of electronic pop and dance music, while maintaining an admirable and carefully balanced critical and commercial success.
The Northern Ireland trio Two Door Cinema Club is another of the great attractions in the line-up of Sonar 2013. During their live show, the band will be reviewing their two albums released to date, which have made them one of today's most powerful and vigorous producers of electropop hits, with tracks like “What you know”, “Undercover Martyn” and “Something Good Can Work”.
Within Sonar's 100% dance territory, this year's highlights include the live show from Hot Natured, the energetic collective of DJs and producers led by the already essential Jamie Jones, the new king Midas of underground house, and the special collaboration betweenLindstrom & Todd Terje, Norwegian producers who combine luminous electronica and nu-disco. Another name on the up,Fantastic Mr Fox, will be deploying his unique vision of R&B on an abstract and at the same time danceable tip.
Among the sonic explorers, the festival presents Vatican Shadow, the project who rediscovers industrial techno by the American producer Dominick Fernow.
In the Spanish artists section, we have a couple of very special guests, Bradien + Eduard Escoffet, the combination of the Barcelona-based instrumental group and the poet Eduard Escoffet presenting their new album 'Pols' live.
Reykjavik (ICELAND)
February the 15th and 16th, 2013
www.sonarreykjavik.com
Line-up Preview:
James Blake – LIVE (UK)
James Blake – DJ (UK)
Squarepusher (UK)
Modeselektor (DE)
Simian Mobile Disco – DJ (UK)
Diamond Version (Alva Noto + Byetone) (DE)
Alva Noto & Ryuichi Sakamoto (DE/JP)
GusGus (IS)
Thugfucker (US-IS)
Tale of Us (US-CA)
Retro Stefson (IS)
Ólafur Arnalds (IS)
Gluteus Maximus (IS)
The festival is travelling to Iceland for the first time for Sonar Reykjavik, which will take place on 15 and 16 February at Harpa, the city's brand new concert and conference centre, located by the sea, near the port.
For its first Nordic trip, Sonar will be adopting a small-scale and intimate format, as an example of how a renowned brand can redefine itself in smaller locations and venues. The event begins at 6pm and continues until 3am on each day. The line-up will include around 15 international artists and 30 from Iceland, who will be playing on 4 stages with capacities ranging between 200 and 1,600 spectators each.
The building that will host the first Sonar Reykjavik is the home of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and The Icelandic Opera, and was designed by Henning Larsen Architects in collaboration with the renowned artist Olafur Eliasson.
CAPE TOWN (SOUTH AFRICA)
March the 1st and the 2nd, 2013
www.sonarcapetown.com
Line-Up Preview SOON
Sonar returns to Africa in 2013. Sonar @ Design Indaba in Cape Town (South Africa) takes place on the 1st and 2nd of March at the City Hall. This second time around, the festival expands from one to two nights and presents more than 30 artists, including international figures and some of the most prominent names on the emerging South African electronic scene.
Sonar is once again working with Design Indaba, the major multidisciplinary platform that transforms the South African city into the world's capital of creativity and innovation. Every year, the event features the presence of the world's most important entrepreneurs and speakers, who present projects in the fields of architecture, design, film and music, among others.
TOKYO (JAPAN)
April the 7th and 8th, 2013
www.sonarsound.jp
Line-Up Preview SOON
The 6th SonarSound Tokyo will take place on 6 and 7 April. The Asian version of Sonar will have a highly experimental line-up that combines major international artists and the most outstanding representatives of the Japanese electronic scene. As in previous years, more than 30 shows at SonarSound Tokyo will be distributed over two days between the four stages at ageHa Studio Coast, a complex located in the restored industrial district of eastern Tokyo, in the Kōtō neighbourhood.
SÃO PAULO (BRASIL)
24th & 25th MAY
www.sonarsaopaulo.com.br
Line-up Preview by the 11th of December
The second Sonar São Paulo, the festival's Latin American experience and the largest of all the events organized by Sonar outside Barcelona, takes place on 24 and 25 May 2013, featuring a line-up of more than 30 artists, which will be announced in early 2013.
Sonar São Paulo includes all the ingredients that have made Sonar international benchmark: a broad-based musical and audiovisual programme of high quality that mixes entertainment and the cutting edge in leading urban venues.
The festival will take place in the iconic Parque Anhembi from 8pm to 6:30am. As at its Barcelona prototype, performances by new talents will dovetail with large-format shows and audiovisual productions by key names on the international electronic scene, on 3 stages with uninterrupted programming.
