Gothenburg-based audiovisual artist and woodworker Love Hultén creates whimsical wooden synthesisers that are soaked in nostalgia, deeply graphical retrofuturist artworks that look like vintage toys or props from a Wes Anderson film. His craft, he says, is about “taking steps in different directions simultaneously by using fragments from both the past and today,” which kind of sums up a weekend spent under the influence of Sónar.

Three of Hultén’s creations are on display in the Sónar+D ‘Project Area’ alongside modular synths, drum machines, effects units and more from niche producers around the world. Attendees are free to dive in and attempt to eek out sounds from whatever music tech is on show, whilst exhibitions of futurist gaming, artificial intelligence and technology-led visual arts go on around. Electronic music in its most primitive expression surrounded by the most progressive of technologies.

Sónar+D Project Area. Photo, Nerea Coll.

The Sónar+D programming is a perfect example of what sets this festival apart from so many others; hands-on experiences truly connecting the public to the art, and a demonstration of the event’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved today and tomorrow. In stark contrast to artificial intelligence and virtual reality, one of the weekend’s highlights is a b2b set from two female DJs with a combined age of 125: Stacey Hotwaxx Hale, the first female DJ to play house music on Detroit radio in the 1980s, and former Haçienda resident, DJ Paulette, effortlessly blasting through dance music history, blending deep cuts and bona fide classics with style, grace and oodles of soul.

Friday’s big name on the same stage is another with ties to The Haçienda, Laurent Garnier perhaps the biggest of big names, and his three hour evening set plays out in front of a packed SonarVillage; the dance music veteran one of those truly worthy of legend status. The French DJ is followed by upcoming Australian producer and DJ, moktar, who reaches deep into his Egyptian heritage for a set of Arabic-inflected club music that solidifies this festival’s commitment to “using fragments from both the past and today.”

Laurent Garnier. Photo, Dani Cantó.

One DJ encompasses both past and present in himself. Born in 1979, yet not taking up DJing until 2008, ¥ØU$UK€ ¥UK1MAT$U’s big break came just ten years ago when DJ Nobu invited him to be a part of his Future Terror event; today the 45 year-old is taking contemporary club music to new limits, his CDJ mastery allowing him to switch styles, tempos and moods at will. The Japanese DJ performed a masterful set on Thursday afternoon on the ever-reliable SonarPark stage, wowing ravers with an intense selection that takes us from hard techno to soundtrack music and chucks in everything but the kitchen sink in between.

Over the course of three days and two nights, Sónar Barcelona never fails to live up to its stellar reputation of putting on a diverse collection of entertainers who span everything from the very inception of club music to the wily kids deconstructing it and starting all over again. Gabber Eleganza puts the hard into hardcore during an evening set that embraces visual arts, dance and shitloads of fun; Mexican DJ and producer Dj Fucci picks up on the influence of rave and filters it through a Latin American lens; electroclash icon Kittin is joined by Rotterdam veteran David Vunk for a packed SonarVillage session that is one of the weekend’s highlights; young French duo UTO are an interesting discovery, and fuse everything from trip hop and shoegaze to nu metal and synth pop; whilst Eliza Rose, Dan Shake and Sally C deliver an exceedingly fun and very British two hours of eclectic electronica on the excellent SonarLab x Printworks stage on Friday night. Which is, of course, simply a handful of the brilliant sets and performances we catch over the course of the weekend.

Kittin b2b David Vunk. Photo, Ariel Martini.

As ever, Sónar is not just about who or what you see, it is about the essence of the experience. It’s the noodling with modular synths, it’s the daytime drinking with friends, it’s the chance to see legends or experimental art projects you’ve never heard of, the opportunity to dance for hours and hours and hours, it’s the consistently brilliant crowd who are diverse, inclusive and impeccably behaved, it’s about forgetting whose great set you caught yesterday. Once again, over three days in mid-June, Sónar brought the party to Barcelona. More than 154,000 attendees; over 250 offerings of sets, performances, talks, installations and more; an audience from over 90 countries across five continents; icons to micro-scenes.

“Taking steps in different directions simultaneously by using fragments from both the past and today,” Sónar 2024 took more different directions than ever before. And long may it continue.

@sonarfestival

Sónar+D Project Area. Photo, Cecilia Díaz Betz.