A press release from Sonar HQ (Barcelona) reached Chicago today (Aug 27). It states [with my edits]: "On September 9, 10 and 11, Sónar will be staging the first Sónar Chicago, a festival that (...) bases its artistic personality on the DNA of the [pivotal] festival in Barcelona. (...) Sónar Chicago has an ambitious and wide-ranging line-up with plenty of electronic experimentation, in its derivations and mutations and in collision with other genres. [It] will present more than 30 events, including concerts, lectures and screenings." And I must add, it is all FREE (except Smart Bar Sonar nights which are only $5 to $10 anyways...)
I saved you some time and digested Sonar's highly complex website. The festival indeed showcases the cutting-edge of electronica internationally, yet from a peculiar modernist Catalan viewpoint. This means that Sonar unfolds upon a tension, between an experimental/minimalist pole which mainstream crowds will find hard to swallow, against a more emotion-oriented pole hosting danceable, really awesome music (house, pop, dub, even techno).
PROGRAM - SONAR CHICAGO 2010:
Thursday 9th during the day @ Millennium Park provides a general overview of Sonar philosophy, starting with some trippy experimental music (Faraon, Bradien), going into a really crowd-pleasing rap rock (The Slew) followed by a deep tech-housy ending (Martyn).
Friday 10th during the day @ Chicago Cultural Center will feature veeeery experimental stuff. That's "intelligent" music, and if you are expecting to dance, you'll be disappointed with "sound sculpture" (Lesley Flanigan). Still, I highly recommend watching with your ears and eyes Nosaj Visual Show, an amazing blend of music in sync with dynamic visual projections.
"Sonar at Night" (Friday Sep 10th), as always, is unmissable, and you will be amazed with the line-up playing @ Smart Bar, which includes the likes of trippy funk Space Dimension Controller, Black Devil Disco, and the eclectic house of Cosmin.
Saturday 11th during the day will again have experimental music @ Chicago Cultural Center. This is music for head-strong artists into minimalist effects. I recommend it if you are a vanguard aficionado or music composer, to see Chicago's own Flashbulb, or delve into the depths of musical horror deconstructionism (Huan). PS: I heard through the grapevine that Sound Bar will host an ending party Saturday night...
Sonar Chicago program is listed below. (Gray marks indicate the ones I'm not missing...)
It would not be an exaggeration to suggest that Chicago music scene may not be the same after this 30 top-quality-event-line-up festival which intends to become "annual" in Chicago. Sonar has been shaping the electronica scene since the late 1990s, not only in Barcelona, but throughout the continent as well: it is "the largest multimedia festival in Europe", as I've witnessed with my eyes in various editions. Let's wait and see if Sonar will really make history in the Windy City.
Thursday 9
12:00 pm :: Jay Pritzker Pavilion :: Millennium Park :: live :: Faraón 05:00 pm :: Jay Pritzker Pavilion :: Millennium Park :: live :: Bradien 06:00 pm :: Jay Pritzker Pavilion :: Millennium Park :: live :: Jimmy Edgar
07:00 pm :: Jay Pritzker Pavilion :: Millennium Park :: live :: The Slew featuring Kid Koala 08:00 pm :: Jay Pritzker Pavilion :: Millennium Park :: dj :: MartynFriday 10
03:00 pm :: SonarHall :: Preston Bradley Hall :: Chicago Cultural Center :: live :: Faraón 04:00 pm :: SonarComplex :: Claudia Cassidy Theater :: Chicago Cultural Center :: live :: Bradien 05:00 pm :: SonarHall :: Preston Bradley Hall :: Chicago Cultural Center :: live :: Lesley Flanigan: Amplifications 06:00 pm :: SonarComplex :: Claudia Cassidy Theater :: Chicago Cultural Center :: live :: Nosaj Thing Visual Show 07:00 pm :: SonarHall :: Preston Bradley Hall :: Chicago Cultural Center :: live :: OvalSonar by Night
10:00 pm :: Sónar Club Night by Red Bull Music Academy: Smart Bar :: live :: Space Dimension Controller 11:00 pm :: Sónar Club Night by Red Bull Music Academy: Smart Bar :: dj :: Todd Osborn 12:00 am :: Sónar Club Night by Red Bull Music Academy: Smart Bar :: live :: Black Devil Disco Club 01:00 am :: Sónar Club Night by Red Bull Music Academy: Smart Bar :: dj :: Cosmin TRG 02:00 am :: Sónar Club Night by Red Bull Music Academy: Smart Bar :: dj :: AppleblimSaturday 11
03:00 pm :: SonarHall :: Preston Bradley Hall :: Chicago Cultural Center :: live :: The Flashbulb feat. the New Millennium Orchestra 04:00 pm :: SonarComplex :: Claudia Cassidy Theater :: Chicago Cultural Center :: live :: bRUNA 05:00 pm :: SonarHall :: Preston Bradley Hall :: Chicago Cultural Center :: live :: Huan 06:00 pm :: SonarComplex :: Claudia Cassidy Theater :: Chicago Cultural Center :: live :: Ben Frost 07:00 pm :: SonarHall :: Preston Bradley Hall :: Chicago Cultural Center :: live :: Nicolas Bernier + Martin Messier: La Chambre des MachinesEnding party (Saturday night) @ Smart Bar?....
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