One of the highlights of Sónar 2019 will be the return of Arca, one of the festival’s favourite artists. The relentlessly inventive musician and performer will reign again over Sónar by Day with a new show comprising previously unreleased material. Early reports suggest this to be exhilarating, overwhelming and extreme, adjectives that perfectly define everything he does.

Vince Staples, one of the most respected MCs in American hip hop to emerge in recent years, will debut at the festival with a concert at Sónar by Night, featuring songs from his excellent “Big Fish Theory” and “FM!”, albums loaded with imaginative and precise beats, with collaborations by Jay Rock, Ty Dolla $ign or Earl Sweatshirt and in which Staples’ unique voice stands out to explain the reality of our time.

Masters of rhythm at Sónar by Night.
The great Four Tet will offer his only Spanish festival appearance of summer 2019, DJ Koze, whose “Knock Knock” was one of the albums of 2018, will helm a closing set at SonarPub, where the renowned British dj Daniel Avery will also play. Also at Sónar by Night, house and techno sets from two of the most revered up and coming producers on the circuit; DJ Seinfeld and Mall Grab, and a unique back to back set from Peggy Gou, and Palms Trax, the perfect pairing to bring up the sun at SonarLab, the stage co-curated with Resident Advisor.

Classics.
Underworld will offer an impressive audiovisual show at SonarClub. The legendary British duo will present the themes of their recent “Drift”, and will recover immortal hits from their long career, such as “Born Slippy”, “Rez”, “Cowgirl” or “Dark & Long”.

A special mention is reserved for the Body & Soul collective, icons of New York house, who will take the reins of SonarCar. The three djs who will offer a vibrant session of 6 hours between 6 hands are François Kevorkian, Joe Claussell and Danny Krivit.

In addition, Sónar adds Fennesz, one of the most important musicians in the European experimental scene over the last two decades, to its daytime programme, presenting his new work, “Agora”, his first LP in 5 years which will be accompanied by visuals from Lillevan.

Funk around the clock.
Kaytranada (presenting his long-awaited new album) and the veteran artist Waajeed, an illustrious figure on the Detroit scene, will bring high doses of groove and modern funk to the great pleasure of Sónar’s night-time crowd. Meanwhile, working in a more futuristic and advanced terrain, the brilliant Jlin will offer new avenues in techno and footwork with a passionate live at SonarLab.

In addition, Sónar 2019 will feature shows by three artists that project current hip hop into a new dimension: Irish MC Rejjie Snow, multi-instrumentalist trap-jazz Masego and sensational Parisian rapper Lomepal.

African renewal and global dance. 
Africa’s influence once again stands out in Sónar with performances by South Africa’s Sho Madjozi and queer duo Faka; Nigeria’s magnetic soulman Obongjayar; the broken rhythms of Palestinian beatmaker Muqata’a; and the always excellent Red Axes, presenting their Trip project documenting their sonic exploration in Ethiopia and Ivory Coast.

Global beats and tribal percussions will also be very present through the performances of the Peruvian duo Dengue Dengue Dengue and the very young and extraordinary Lyzza (taking their Brazilian origins to new sound dimensions), as well as the set of Branko, founder of Buraka Som Sistema, tracing new sounds collected from his travels.

Research, experimentation and emotion.
Sónar by Day adds to its programming the great innovator of unique discourse between humans and machines, Holly Herndon, taking a further step in her research into the link between sound art and technology with a new ensemble in which vocalists and musicians coexist with Artificial Intelligence software.

The presence of Kelly Moran, a new Warp signing, also stands out, presenting the compositions of “Ultraviolet” with a spectacular format that she calls Grand Piano Live AV Show and the experimental AV Live of the Italian modular synthetist Caterina Barbieri.

Latin Influence.
Sónar by Day will also host three artists who’s leit motiv is fire rhythms and the latinx sound: the sensual Guatemalan r&b vocalist Jesse Baez, the emerging Colombian trap MC ha$lopablito and the reggaeton dj La Diabla, who arrives with the mission of putting the whole of SonarVillage on fuego.

Live shows and sets for all tastes.
Rounding out the announcement are a number of high-profile artists performing at Sónar by Day: Daphni, with a 2 hour closing set on the first day of the event; the great Erol Alkan celebrating the end of the festival on Saturday at SonarVillage; the excellent Desert, dropping perfectly crafted synth pop gems at SonarHall; and the A/V show from Max Cooper who will also be performing with Bruce Brubaker as Glassforms at SonarComplex. Leon Vynehall, one of the most brilliant and versatile creators in the UK today, will also be playing a set of house and open and emotional electronics at SonarVillage.

Sónar by Night adds the sets by artists of experience and contrasted quality, such as the always infallible DJ Tennis, the queen of bass and UKG Flava D, the very new and very promising HAAi -recent winner of the Essential Mix of the year- and international techno star Joseph Capriati, closing Friday night at SonarClub.

Sónar around the world.
Sonar continues its international journey in 2019 with the 3rd editions of Sónar Istanbul (8 and 9 March), Sónar Hong Kong (13 April), as well as the 7th edition of Sónar Reykjavík (25, 26 and 27 April).

The dates of the 1st edition of Sónar Mexico as well as those of Sónar Buenos Aires and Sónar Bogota will be announced soon.

Info Tickets.
The VIP Pass and Pass, the 2-Night and 2 Night VIP Pass, and the Sónar+D Delegate Pass are now available at www.sonar.es.

H/T Sónar festival.