The one who is considered one of the godfathers of modern electronic music, the eccentric and mysterious Aphex Twin, alias of the Irish-British Richard D. James, opened the night edition of Sónar in style with a spectacular session in which he demonstrated why they qualify him as a provost of the IDM (Intelligent Dance Music). His return to the festival, after 12 years of absence, was highly anticipated since it is the only visit to our country in a mini summer European tour of 9 performances. If we also take into account that since “Syro” (2014) he has not published any new album, the expectation to see him in action was great. That is why it is not surprising that at ten o’clock at night, first thing in the morning, the SonarClub, the main dance floor of Sónar nocturne, presented the appearance of great occasions. An avant-garde artist who does not make concessions while attracting a huge number of audiences is something that can only happen at Sónar and that contributes to making it great.
The Aphex Twin session was a high-flying experimental trip, reaching completely dissonant peaks, using noise and phantasmagoria as fundamental weapons; something to which must be added the impressive visuals, many of them conceived from its famous logo. He dominates the situation so much that he allows himself moments of total abstraction, without any rhythm; oscillating from ambient landscapes to a psychedelic techno of revamped drum’n’bass rhythms. Music that sounded martial one moment and deconstructed the next and most of the time unsuitable for dancing. And no trite highs, all pure goldsmithing, in something that is like an electronic symphony, with a profusion of sounds and rhythms that go in and out of the mix to form an audiovisual spectacle that literally absorbs you. There were moments of electronic noise reminiscent of punk, in a runaway continuum that did not neglect good groove either, in a momentary concession to the futuristic dance of a show that will go down in the annals of the festival.
After the final barrage by Aphex Twin, Fever Ray’s cabaret on the SonarPub stage came to nothing. The group led by the Swedish Karin Dreijer came to present the electropop of their acclaimed third album “Radical romantics”, released last March and which counts among its producers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross from Nine Inch Nails, to accentuate its industrial side, although deep down what he seeks is to recreate himself in all aspects of love. He does so singing under a theatrical pop streetlight, with costumes and cabaret airs, which came to Sónar on the tour called “There’s no place I’d rather be” in which, in addition to the new songs, they rescue material from “Plunge”. (2017) and especially his debut “Fever Ray” (2009). The concert, which went from less to more, very well supported by two singers, keyboardist and electronic drummer, finished off with classics like “I’m not done” or “If I had a heart”, cultivating the most rhythmic and danceable part. of his repertoire.
On the third night stage in contention, SonarLab, performed the multidisciplinary British artist Shygirl, who became famous in the London club scene before making her debut last year with “Nymph”, an album of which an extended version has just been released , “Nymph_o”, which includes new remixes and collaborations by Björk and Arca. The rapper, singer and producer presented it, accompanied by a DJ, mixing manners and attitude of a soul diva and at the same time a fluid and unorthodox ‘flow’. And she knows how to combine both qualities masterfully in the same song. She is also capable of making sweet ‘bedroom pop’ caramels, like the catchy “Coochie (a bedtime story)”, and of getting sensual in the explicit “Shlut”, in a performance that showed that she has mastered several registers to perfection; of the silky R
The duo of producers and djs BICEP -originally from Belfast and based in London-, made up of Matt McBriar and Andy Ferguson, have two albums to their credit -released by the legendary Ninja Tune label- with which they have achieved growing international popularity practicing an electronic music in which synthesizers and the canonical highs of techno play a fundamental role. Unlike the chance of Aphex Twin, that of BICEP is a constant flow along more patterned paths. Also abounding in some climaxes that put the large audience gathered on the main dance floor of the SonarClub into dance.
Hip hop can never be missing at the festival. And it was quite a discovery for Cakes da Killa, alias of Rashard Bradshaw, an American rapper who mixes hip hop, house and electronica to spread a message of ‘queer’ tolerance. With two albums to his credit, the first of which with the significant title “Hedonist”, he came to Sónar to present his most recent, a “Svengali” whose title, based on a character from a novel by the writer and cartoonist George du Maurier, It refers to people who seduce others to manipulate them. Under this premise, he offered a ‘show’ whose recipe, as someone said, is used to dance during hangovers of love. And also to put the SonarPub in dance, with the help of a dj-percussionist, two dancers and an unquestionable salad of rhymes and grooves that connect with Great Black Music. Good doses of funk and house in the mix and a loose and uninhibited verb, with explicit lyrics and a phenomenal ‘flow’ that fit perfectly with the swing of the dancers on the screens, in an impeccable audiovisual experience. His way of being is defined by “Luvs me not”, a song in which he lewdly repeats, “sake your body, work your body”, as if he were a Rick James.
