Sonar 2013 - twenty years, new location, new history

The Sonar festival in Barcelona is celebrating its twentieth anniversary this year and starting a new chapter in its history. The daytime program of the festival is moving to a new location – the Fira Montjuic exhibition complex on Plaça d'Espanya.

Sonar by Day will feature four venues (SonarVillage by Estrella Damm, SonarHall, SonarDôme, and SonarComplex) that will be able to accommodate several times more guests. Moreover, Sonar by Day now becomes closer to the festival's nighttime venue Sonar by Night, which will still take place in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat and also consists of four stages (SonarClub, SonarLab, SonarPub, and SonarCar). The travel time by Sonar shuttle bus from the daytime to nighttime program will now be only 10 minutes!

The music program looks truly festive, showcasing both established classic musicians and their take on new ideas and experimental spirit in modern dance music. Over 130 artists will perform at this year's festival, including well-known names such as Jamie Lidell, Major Lazer, Justice DJs, Diplo, Skrillex, Soulwax, AlunaGeorge, Derrick May, Raime, Laurent Garnier, Seth Troxler, TNGHT, Modeselektor and Francesco Tristano, Pet Shop Boys, and Kraftwerk 3D show.

If you divide the artists by days, each day looks like a full-scale festival.

Friday, June 14: The legendary Kraftwerk will present their 3D show, Derrick May and Nicolas Jaar will lead the techno front. They will be followed by many young and exciting artists balancing on the edge of techno and house - Objekt, Karenn (Blawan + Pariah), Mattias Zimmermann. The lineup also features a vibrant array of dubstep and bass music artists: Skrillex, Diplo, Major Lazer. The indie music scene is represented by energetic bands such as Two Door Cinema Club and C2C, as well as the romantics Bat For Lashes.

Saturday, June 15: Ed Banger celebrates its 10th anniversary, with a live performance by Breakboat, and DJ sets by Justice and Busy P, who promises to play his set exclusively from the label's tracks. Laurent Garnier, Paul Kalkbrenner, Luciano, Maceo Plex each present their vision of techno music. Live performances by Soulwax and Pet Shop Boys cannot be overlooked. This night also features showcases by Hot Natured and Life and Dead.

Among the daytime performances, it is worth noting Jamie Lidell - the owner of an incredibly beautiful voice, and Karl Hyde (Underworld) will present his live show. DJ sets by Modselektor and Matthew Herbert, live performances by Lindstrom & Todd Terje, Vatican Shadow, Gold Panda, Liars, Delorean, and many others.

Part of the festival dedicated to new media and aimed at professionals has evolved into the new brand Sonar+D. In close collaboration with Mobile World Capital Barcelona, this year's focus is on 'mobility', presenting several projects united by the common theme of creating a clear and understandable connection between creativity, technology, innovation, and business.

Within Sonar+D, there will be workshops and hackathons, presentations of new products and services, as well as initiatives covering creativity, technology, and music, with interactive installations. Participants from the music part of the festival will also be involved in discussions about the impact of innovations and new interactive devices on contemporary culture.

The epicenter of Sonar+D will be the Palau de Congressos, but the results of the work will be visible on all stages and spaces of the festival.

Over its twenty-year history, the festival has been visited by over 1.2 million attendees, with over 7000 artists from around the world having performed, including musicians and artists from media arts, audiovisual, and digital experiments.

Sonar around the world

This year Sonar continues its journey around the world. The first event took place in Reykjavik, Iceland (February 15 and 16), the next in Tokyo, Japan (April 6 and 7), and another significant event will take place in Sao Paulo, Brazil (May 24 and 25).

Official festival website: [Sonar](http://www.sonar.es).