Photo Highlights from the RBMA SonarDôme at Sónar Festival 2017
We hosted three days of stunning performances at the SonarDôme stage in Barcelona, with photographers on hand to capture all of the action onstage and off
For 13 years now, Red Bull Music Academy has been collaborating with Barcelona’s Sónar Festival – in its most recent incarnation to host the SonarDôme stage. Each year, a selection of Academy alumni, lecturers, studio team members, rising local talent and Red Bull Radio hosts perform on our stage, giving it the kind of familial atmosphere that you’d be hard-pressed to find at any other festival of this size.
Check out photo highlights below, shot by our photographers Ériver Hijano, Samuel Smelty, Sebas Romero and Adrià Cañameras – and follow all the SonarDôme action live on Red Bull Radio.
Saturday – Day Three with Thundercat, Matmos, Veronica Vasicka and more
Visitors to SonarDôme once again saw a varied program unfold on the third and final day of Sónar Festival. Following local artists Ghostly Enemies and Huma, Japanese RBMA alumni Crystal / Sparrows took the stage with a head-spinning set of experimental electronics. Matmos then took the spinning to another level, bringing a washing machine on stage with them to perform tracks from their Ultimate Care II album, before Minimal Wave boss Veronica Vasicka delivered a stomping set at the intersection of techno, electro and new wave.
Spanish rap sensation C. Tangana drew a huge crowd early to catch his viral hits in living color and RBMA alumni Suicideyear then served up hazy beats to set the stage for Thundercat. The Academy studio team member and bass virtuoso played hits from his recent Drunk album and sent a birthday shoutout to his pal, Kendrick Lamar.
For the final set of SonarDôme 2017, Peak Time host Vivian Host AKA Star Eyes went back-to-back with Mixpak’s first lady, Jubilee, pulling out all the stops for a proper, grand finale.
Friday – Day Two with Floorplan, Suzanne Ciani, Marie Davidson and more
Day Two at SonarDôme was stacked with musical highlights, ranging from Suzanne Ciani’s Buchla experimentation to River Tiber’s subtle R&B stylings, Pan Daijing’s spellbinding sound manipulations and Marie Davidson’s brand new “Bullshit Threshold” project – a mix between thunderous techno, video projections and theatrical performance.
As the sun was setting in Barcelona, Underground Resistance legend Robert Hood took the stage with his daughter Lyric for their debut collaborative live performance as Floorplan. It was a special moment for the duo and everyone in the audience felt it and shared in it. As the capacity at SonarDôme reached its limits, Floorplan delivered one of the most forceful and precise techno sets we’ve heard in a while.
Our lineup on Friday was rounded out by Academy alumni Julián Mayorga, Etyen, Sofie Winterson and Lamusa.
Thursday – Day One with Father, RP Boo, Denis Sulta and more
On the first day of this year’s festival edition, we hosted RBMA alumni RayRay, MIIIN, Christian Tiger School, Daniel Brandt (with Eternal Something) and Denis Sulta, as well as Montréal lecturer RP Boo, Spanish house expert Lanoche and Father feat. Danger Incorporated of Awful Records.
