Parties directly on the beach, hosted by labels such as B-Pitch and Kompakt, and booking agency Escorteaze, were a frequent and essential part of the program. You can’t beat sitting on a beach, soaking in the rays, and sipping on cocktails or cerveza while listening to quality house and techno music amongst friends. Off the record, this almost beat the whole Sonar experience hands-down.

B-Pitch on the Beach

Barclona’s nightclubs played host to a number of label nights, including the annual Output party at Nitza Club, which was at the top of my list of things to do for Saturday night. Although the line up at the Sonar by Night had a lot going for it, including performances by artists M.I.A, De La Soul, Richie Hawtin and LCD Soundsystem, I wasn’t sure if I could bring myself to jump on the shuttle bus again and deal with the rave-style atmosphere.

As it turned out I didn’t have much choice in the matter, coming down with some nasty flu-like symptoms which seemed to take hold rather rapidly during dinner, in between main course and desert. Overcome with tiredness I excused myself and returned to the apartment to get acquainted with my bed which I hadn’t seen a whole lot of until then.

My roving reporters were sent out instead on my behalf, reporting back to command central that the hottest acts that night were hip hop legends De La Soul, with some fresh and entertaining performances by one-woman MC/rapper M.I.A and a slamming acid-house set by DJ Richie Hawtin to finish it all off.

M.I.A. on the mike

Some people say Sonar has gone too commercial, too large-scale, and that after all these years it’s lost its edge. In part, perhaps this is true. But the interesting thing is, that many of these people keep coming back. The formula still wins – being held in the centre of the beautiful city of Barcelona, including an extensive program of art, and launching up and coming artists and musicians onto the international stage.

It’s likely I’ll be back again next year, if not for the Festival, then the atmosphere that surrounds it. When it’s summer on the Mediterranean, what’s there to complain about?

Sonar 2005
Date: June 16th – 18th, 2005
Place: CCCB
Address: 5 Montalegre, 08001 Barcelona
Tel: +34 93 306 4100
https://www.sonar.es