Sónar Festival adds 51 artists!

AI & Music powered by S+T+ARTS: a bridge between AI and music creation

As part of Sónar+D, for the third consecutive year, the AI & Music powered by S+T+ARTS programme reaffirms the festival’s commitment to European culture, supporting artistic projects, creative proposals and scientific research focused on the links between Artificial Intelligence and musical creation. 

Within this framework, Ville Haimala (half of the duo Amnesia Scanner) will join the lineup to present his new solo album ‘Hyporeal’. Also presenting a new album will be British experimental musician and audiovisual artist patten (pseudonym of Damien Roach), as well as Madrid-based artist R-010 and vocalist Venerandi, who, in their live show ‘Phenomena’, will experiment with sound using digital neural networks and the human voice.

These newly announced artists join the highly anticipated show ‘Ama’ by Maria Arnal, who is working on a project with more than 14,000 voices that are training an AI which will be integrated into the show,, as well as in her album of the same name (co-produced, by the way, by Alizzz, also present at the festival).

Co-productions and co-curations with 10 European Festivals through TIMES

Sónar is also part of the cooperative project TIMES (The Independent Movement for the Electronic Scenes), co-founded by the European Union. This initiative brings together 10 cutting-edge European festivals to produce original new performances that combine music and visual arts, as well as to co-curate a series of shows.

In this edition, Sónar has collaborated with Insomnia (Tromsø), Terraforma (Milan), Semibreve (Braga), Atonal (Berlin), and Unsound (Kraków) to present six co-curations and two artistic residencies.

Together with Insomnia, Sónar announces Norwegian DJ Niilas, who brings a dreamy and melancholic vision to club music. He joins the previously announced ABADIR, hailed as the new sensation in Arab-origin electronic music. Alongside Terraforma, the festival will feature Catalan violinist Asia, who continues to push the boundaries beyond classical music, and the impeccable, eclectic selector Paquita Gordon. Curated alongside Semibreve, Grand River and Abul Mogard will perform their ambient-drone collaborative album In uno spazio immenso.

Additionally, as part of the project, the first two artistic residencies have been developed. The first has resulted in two unique audiovisual shows. Saint Abdullah, Eomac & Rebecca Salvadori will present A Forbidden Distance, a multidisciplinary collaboration between three electronic musicians and a filmmaker exploring the impact of migration on identity. Meanwhile, Chris Watson & Izabela Dłużyk will present Białowieża, a poignant field recording work from the last primeval forest in Europe, Puszcza Białowiesża, on the Poland-Belarus border—a site that has become a symbol of broader geopolitical tensions. Both projects have been co-created with the festivals Berlin Atonal, Semibreve, and Unsound.

The second artistic residency of the project features Heith, James K, and Günseli Yalcinkaya, who will present The Talk, an experimental project incorporating different formats such as discussion, audiovisual projection, and, of course, live performance.

Sónar Week 2025 – Agenda

Tuesday 10th June

· +RAIN Film Festival | Campus Poblenou-UPF

· RÜFÜS DU SOL x OFFSónar | Poble Espanyol | SOLD-OUT

Wednesday 11th June

· +RAIN Film Festival | Campus Poblenou-UPF

· RÜFÜS DU SOL x OFFSónar | Poble Espanyol | SOLD-OUT

Thursday 12th June

· Sónar de Día | Fira Montjuïc
· Sónar+D | Fira Montjuïc

· Frames Percussion, Espigolé & Otero Correa pres. Reich y García-Tomás | Palau de la Música Catalana

· +RAIN Film Festival | Fira Montjuïc

· ‘X’ by Adriatique x OFFSónar | Poble Espanyol

Friday 13th June 

· Sónar de Día | Fira Montjuïc

· Sónar de Noche | Fira Gran Via
· Sónar+D | Fira Montjuïc

· +RAIN Film Festival | Fira Montjuïc

· Solid Grooves x OFFSónar | Poble Espanyol | SOLD-OUT

Saturday 14th June 

· Sónar de Día | Fira Montjuïc

· Sónar de Noche | Fira Gran Via

· Sónar+D | Fira Montjuïc

· FUSE x OFFSónar | Poble Espanyol | SOLD-OUT

· &ME and Adam Port x OFFSónar | Poble Espanyol | SOLD-OUT

Sunday 15th June 

· elrow x OFFSónar | Poble Espanyol

Sónar Around the World

Once again, Sónar kicks off its international adventure in the capital of Portugal. Sónar Lisboa returns to the heart of the city on April 11, 12, and 13, with Pavilhão Carlos Lopes hosting a lineup that brings the best of the world to Lisbon—and showcases the best of Lisbon to the world. The event will feature takeovers from local labels and collectives such as Enchufada, Dengo Club, and Príncipe x TraTraTrax, alongside global stars including Underworld, Nina Kraviz, Richie Hawtin with his DEX EFX X0X show, Anetha with her new AV show ‘EXHIBIT’, Modeselektor DJ set, Marcel Dettmann with his new live show ‘My Own Shadow’, JASSS, Max Cooper with ‘Lattice 3D/AV’, and many more.

More information and tickets at sonarlisboa.pt.

Shortly after, on May 9 and 10, it will be Sónar Istanbul’s turn, celebrating its 9th consecutive edition at Zorlu PSM. Among the first 21 names announced, highlights include a special DJ set by The Chemical Brothers, along with Richie Hawtin DEX EFX X0X, Modeselektor DJ set, Aïsha Devi + Emmanuel Biard }§{, and BASHKKA.

More information and tickets at sonaristanbul.com.