Words: Rafe Llewellyn, Images: Sonar Press
Having just about managed to grasp the layout of the vast landscape that covers Sonar by Day we returned to Fira Montjuïc with fervorous zeal for the afternoon ahead. With the prospect of a sunrise Barry Can’t Swim set in the back of our minds, we decided that a deeper dive into the project area was the perfect way to begin the day.
As writers, we’re naturally slight Artificial Intelligence sceptics already, so we tentatively approached the Music & AI section of the festival with an open mind. The models on display were hugely impressive, if a little scary. With a job centre application in our thoughts, we were left wondering whether the tinnitus developed over night was a result of the Soundsystem at Sonar by Night or the alarm bells blaring menacingly over future career prospects.
A playground for adventurous intellectuals, we discovered eggs that create new music with each use – using code and a brand new innovative VR technology to simulate pressing play on a set of pioneers as if you were your favourite DJ. A personal favourite however was our discovery of ‘Guanyin’, described by the creators as a ‘cyborg figure with therapeutic functions.’ Inspired by the Buddhist deity for compassion, Guanyin serves as a therapist to AI models ‘on the brink of self-destruction.’ Essentially, it is a care-bot for burnt out robots which invites slightly spooky inferences on the conscience of machines.
Robot world domination looming over us, we bounced to Sonar Village, the main stage at Sonar by Day to party the evening away before all hope could possibly be lost. P-rallel is a long term personal favourite having discovered his talent for producing through a groovy collaboration with Grean Tea Peng in ‘Soulboy’. Inspired by a childhood spent crate digging at his Dad’s work in Brixton, P-rallel lives and breathes music. A decadent discography and a wealth of experience to match, he single headedly halved Catalunya’s anti-tourist sentiment in just an hour of performance with a glorious mix of UKG tunes.
Sonar is the perfect place for discovery. Seemingly infinite corners are filled with conferences, displays and performances from up and coming and innovative creators. For reference, one of the more standard talks we came across in our explorations was a commentary on surveillance capitalism that carried out a self-professed ‘neural striptease’ that exposes the activity of their brains in front of the audience. Bemused and feeling a little out of our depth we headed to the bar for a very well earned Estrella.
Despite our passion for finding the underground, one corner we cannot conquer is Barcelona beer. Finding anything other than Estrella is becoming a mission of its own. Nevertheless, cold cerveza In hand, it was Honey Dijon time.
Under the stained glass roof of the main stage Honey Dijon delivered relentless Disco thunder. The only thing sheltering us from the storm her masterclass House tracks interwoven throughout. The disk-spinning specialist was definitely one to remember. We weren’t given long to take it all in though, with Bicep already kicking off across the city at the ‘By Night’ section of the festival, we were enticed to shuffle out and huddle onto the shuttle buses awaiting.
