Did anyone here go to Sonar this year

I thought it pretty poor this year. I've been 5 times in the last 6 years and this was the only time i've not enjoyed it really.

I also thought the Bomb Squad dude was terrible. Boring as hell dubstep and uneccesary, badly timed reloads.

Dorian Concept was pretty good.

Highlights for me were - Raster Noton showcase, Omar Souleyman, The Wizard and Martyn. Enjoyed Animal Collective, and then my night went downhill after taking too much acid. Managed to snap out of it at some point for about 20 minutes and danced to Shed in that time. He sounded incredible (maybe just me?)

I went for the first time - at risk or sounding like a total granny i found it totally exhausting! Checking out music in the day in the sun drinking beers and then going out till 6 in the morning two days running... Fun though but I doubt I'd go again. The night venue is amazing though, reminded me of Dawn of the Dead.

Enjoyed

Omar Souleyman
Carl Craig
The Wizard
some other stuff..

jackmaster said:

I also thought the Bomb Squad dude was terrible. Boring as hell dubstep and uneccesary, badly timed reloads.

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whats up with bombsquad championing completely derivative wobble sound? they were so innovative in hiphop why can't they bring some new flavors to dubstep?

i enjoyed it. went last year and saw better music, but the vibes were great this year- just the people i was with like. only sets i saw that i really enjoyed were sinden's at sonar and jackmaster's at mondo (didnt go to any of the day stuff so i didnt see byetone or atom or omar souleyman), but i caught 15 mins of shed and he sounded great. oh yeah, joker was good, but i left that stage when gaslamp came on and didnt look back.

Yep, this year was my second trip to Sonar.

Highlights of Sonar by Day:
Dorian Concept
The Wizard
Raster Noton (Byetone and Alva Noto were probably my two favourite performances of the festival)
Konono No1

By Night:
Shed + Marcel Dettmann
Fever Ray
Richie Hawtin
Carl Craig
Jeff Mills (minus the sound fuck-ups)

and of course SonarMatica

For me its the ideal festival. No camping, well organised, diverse line-up and sunshine. The location is great too, with a fine array of cheap eating and drinking within stumbling distance.

My only criticism is that Sonar by Night felt a little emptier than last year. Ricardo Villalobos and Contakt in the main outdoor area drew immense crowds last year. The headliners didn't seem to attract the same level of attention this time around.

no, not this year.

When i have gone i've spent much more time at the off-sonar events.

I don't like the airhanger that much either. Its a bit cold or something.

The air/pollution at the Sonar night venue was so bad I had to leave early on the last night. I thought I was going to die.

i haven't been for a couple of years but my friend said that this year they'd cut back most of the crazy daytime stuff and it was basically just motu and native instrument workshops. bit of a shame that.

grave said:

The air/pollution at the Sonar night venue was so bad I had to leave early on the last night. I thought I was going to die.

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?? Don't remember this bit.

I enjoyed myself this year although the night events definitely weren't as good as previous years I've been. Highlights were The Wizard, Dorian Concept & Martyn, Martyn's set was easily one of the best I've seen all year, and kind of caught me off guard when he started playing Model 500 & Roska etc, I didn't enjoy his set much at all when he played Glasgow at the start of the year.

If I go next year I'll definitely be giving off Sonar events a go, Sonar Night is too chaotic and not worth the money if you haven't got a well orchestrated plan of attack for who you want to see etc.