With bellies full, we were ready as ever to take on the crowds again for Friday’s line up which promised a mixture of obscure yet interesting sounding acts, together with a handful of better known artists. The Sonar Dome was filled with people seated on the astro turf, slowly moving their heads to the soothing sounds of Germany’s FS Blumm from the Autopilot Records Showcase. The shy German sat on stage with his acoustic guitar, strumming melodies with crunchy electronic samples laid over the top.

Blumm doing funny things with his guitar

Heading inside the dark, cavernous space of the Sonar Complex and the interestingly (and somehow typically Japanese) titled World’s End Girlfriend had started their performance. The two member group from Japan began by playing a spooky, lulling beat, building slowly over time to epic, thunderous explosions of drums, electric guitar, and samples. Disjointed strings and vocals layered over the top created a mesmerising aural assault – more of a sound landscape – and I closed my eyes and easily imagined an apocalypse that perhaps one of their girlfriends had caused.

World’s End Girlfriend

At approximately 18.40 hours, I was taking a break in the sun next to the Sonar Village, and noticed a sea of people twisting their way in the same direction toward the Sonar Dome. Something was up. A quick glance at the program and I realised Berlin electro-superstar Miss Kittin was scheduled to play at 18.50 hours – just ten minutes away. I started to join them and got most of the way there, but got caught in a bottleneck on the side of the stage, and was almost crushed as I tried to retreat – shame she wasn’t billed to play in the larger outdoor area of the Sonar Village. In any case, reports back later weren’t too positive, with a few people commenting on the repetitiveness of the track selection, but at least there was a bit of spontaneity with her singing vocals over the top.

Electro-diva Miss Kittin

My crowd phobia kicked in after my earlier attempt to catch a glimpse of Miss Kittin in action, so I went upstairs in the CCCB to see what this year’s Sonar Record Fair had to offer. I was sidetracked by a small room adjacent to the entrance, which had been set up with couches and coffee tables and a DJ spinning tunes at the front – a relief to escape temporarily from the sun and heat outside.

The light was slowly disappearing from the sky and it was time to reflect on the day’s entertainment over beer and tapas in one of the many street side restaurants near the venue, which were clearly doing roaring trades with the addition of another ten or so thousand festival goers.

Not long after we jumped on the shuttle bus with some cheap cerveza in hand and headed toward the outer industrial zones of the Sonar by Night complex. Acts highlighted on my crumpled Sonar program – The Chemical Brothers, DJ James Murphy, Jamie Lidell, Le Tigre and The Soft Pink Truth.