10 DOs & DON'Ts of Barcelona’s Sónar Festival

Barcelona's Sónar Festival kicks off tomorrow and is looking to host its most dynamic year yet.

Created in 1994, the pioneering event combines the avant-garde and experimentation with electronic music's newest trends to stand at the forefront of the current dance landscape. We're talking established artists united amongst emerging talent, interactions and hybridizations between digital creation and new media. With such a carefully balanced cultural offering, it has earned a top reputation as a leading reference for international festivals.

THUMP is proud to offer you a vital itinerary for exploring and appreciating the world's most forward-thinking gathering of its kind.

1. Roll with the right squad. More than anything else, Sónar Festival caters to listeners. Not to scenesters, fanboys, groupies, bros, kandi ravers and not to the 'Molly' enthusiasts. In clearer terms, Sónar appeals to snobs. So make sure you recruit the correct company to join you. You don't need any misfits costing you a musical odyssey of mega proportions.

2. The Sónar Festival's musical lineup itself is brilliant. Go check out acclaimed live acts such as Bonobo, Caribou and Four Tet. Or Ibiza big boys like Loco Dice and The Martinez Brothers. How about the fabled Massive Attack? And we haven't even name-dropped Boys Noize, Trentemøller, Todd Terje, DJ Harvey, Tiga, Matthew Dear or UNER yet. Hell, even Chic featuring Nile Rodgers is here. It's an advanced playbill for developed tastes, that's for sure.

3. Standing head and shoulders above that lineup is the double dose of Richie Hawtin. The techno legend—actually, he has clearly breached into 'icon' territory at this point—is the star of this year's festivities. On Thursday, he plays Sónar by Day as his alias Plastikman. The performance will feature his 'Objekt' live concept, which he debuted at the Guggenheim in New York at the end of last year. Expect new music, visuals and a special variation on the obelisk that his team created for the landmark art event. And on Friday, he rocks Sónar by Night as himself, which means one of his rebellious sets of technology-driven music and precision skill for the masses. We wouldn't miss even a second of either set.

4. Check out the Sónar+D programs, which share the common goal to make the relationship between creativity, technology, mobility, innovation and business more transparent and accessible. Expressing a concrete commitment to Sónar's professional activity—linking creative and technology companies of all kinds—2014 marks Sónar+D's sophomore year. Quite simply, it's something no other festival in the world dares to offer.

5. In the MarketLab, Sónar+D selects the most outstanding projects by creative laboratories, universities and companies to showcase new forms of creation, production and marketing. Our picks? The Glassworks collaborative musical creation space can't miss. Same goes for Soundry (think of a 3D-like sound lab) and Patchblocks (create your own programmable modular synthesizer though electronic small blocks). And obviously you need to try on the SubPac, which is wearable tech that translates low frequencies of sound into vibrations that are transmitted directly to the body. Richie is into it, need we say more?

6. AppCafé is a Sónar+D selection of the year's most outstanding creative apps. Here are a range of applications that are exceptional because of their creative innovation or experimental commitment. Experience the future in 1000 Hands, Audiosnaps, Fragment, Kuvo, Radiohead's PolyFauna, Sound Uncovered and more. After the likes of these, Songza and Shazam won't be looking so cutting-edge anymore.

7. The SónarCinema is now an area within the program that includes not only premieres of documentaries and films, but also presentations and strategies in audio-visual production. Consider seeing Off the Beaten Track, an acclaimed film following a year in the lives of Buraka Som Sistema, depicting their backstage life, flights, concerts, studio sessions and travel. Or Europe in 8 Bits, a documentary about reusing obsolete technologies with fresh ideas in today's vibrant music scene. Convinced yet that Sónar is not your average music festival?

8. If the Sónar experience hasn't already blown your mind, get a load of Off Sónar. We've already highlighted the festival's official lineup. And it was impressive, no doubt. What if we told you that everyone else was in town too? DJ and label showcases are transpiring across Barcelona day and night, 24/7 throughout the week at some of the most inventive venues the Catalan capital has to offer. tINI & The Gang are in town. As are Jamie Jones and the Paradise crew. Same goes for Diynamic, Guy Gerber's Wisdom of the Glove, Cocoon, Drumcode, SCI+TEC and No.19's Social Experiment. Oh, and Seth Troxler is throwing something called Big Tittie Surprise. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. So there you go.

9. Make time away from the music to tour Barcelona. Here is a city with its finger firmly on the pulse of breakthrough art, culture, dining, fashion—you name it.

10. Spread the word! While Sónar is a top European venture, its attendance amongst North Americans doesn't stand out. That may be viewed as a good thing to some. But as you can see, look at all that's being missed out on. Sure, we've got Ultra/WMC, BPM, Movement, Electric Daisy Carnival and Digital Dreams on our side. And we're spoiled because of it. But after making your own voyage to Barcelona for Sónar, encourage others to cross the pond and do the same. After all, sharing is caring.

You can follow Christopher on Twitter and Instagram at: @theCMprogram

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