- This September, Barcelona's Sonar festival made their way to Chicago to host a series of events throughout the city. The first showcase was held on a brisk evening downtown at the dramatic Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, a venue that rarely features electronic or dance music. Nonetheless, the 4,000-seat Frank Gehry-designed pavilion and sculptural lawn spaces are equipped with a fantastic sound system. After a few minutes of shrill droning noise, Detroit's Jimmy Edgar threw down a hip-shaking set of vocoder-injected electro funk. The Slew, which includes ex-members of Wolfmother and Kid Koala, jammed out as classic rock records were scratched and cut on six turntables.
Though the energetic performance seemed to please the crowd, it seemed out of place as the only rock act of the festival. (Kid Koala's typically impressive turntablism might have been better received as a solo act.) Martyn closed out the evening with an all-too-short DJ set, drawing the lawn crowd close to the stage with a mixture of current and classic peak-hour tracks. While some fans seemed disappointed by the absence of the dubstep-oriented sounds he's known for, Martyn played a Chicago-friendly set beginning with Debbie Deb's "Lookout Weekend" and ending with LFO's "LFO," fluidly shifting between old school house, electro breaks, dubstep and Detroit and European techno.
For its second day, Sonar Chicago moved across the Park and into the Chicago Cultural Center, splitting festival acts between the elegant Preston Bradley Hall, with its marble-covered walls and a stunning mosaic-tiled ceiling, and the intimate Claudia Cassidy Theater. Barcelona's Faraon opened the day in Preston Bradley with a majestic mixture of Renaissance-like ambient orchestrations and modern guitar samples combined with his own live drumming. In the theater, Barcelona-based trio Bradien offered a whimsical set of electronic jazz, folky numbers and groovy tropicalia, making great use of a melodica and trumpet.
Highlights of the day included a high-energy live set of hip-hop and electro-tinged disco from Nosaj Thing (complemented by the geometric visuals of Fair Enough), and the circuit-bent stylings of Lesley Flanigan, whose angelic voice and feedback looping swirled gracefully throughout the building. Oval, meanwhile, headlined a packed hall, delivering cosmic microtechno that paired abstract, sparse and glitchy rhythmic compositions with melodic ambience.
Sonar's official late-night showcase was the only event of the weekend with a cover charge (a mere $5) and took place at Chicago's finest underground music haven, Smart Bar. Space Dimension Controller kicked the night off with a groovy live set that moved from dubby house to some Detroit-influenced funk. Todd Osborne kept the energy high with an eclectic DJ set that successfully weaved together acid tracks, house, electro, and techno. Standout moments included cuts from Motor City Drum Ensemble, Black Strobe and Aphex Twin.
Bernard Fevre of Black Devil Disco Club set the room on fire with futuristic italo and disco, playing keyboards and singing live. Cosmin TRG kept things moving with a straightforward set of modern techno and house with some garage classics thrown in to keep everyone on their toes. And, finally, Appleblim's DJ set started with some mellow 2-step, and slowly built into a room-rocking set of dubstep, house and techno that kept the club crowded until the lights came on.
The third day began with the gorgeous music of The Flashbulb and The New Millennium Orchestra. They performed a serene, melodic set of downtempo, trip-hop, and elegant IDM with Benn Jordan manning laptop, electric guitar and microphone. The chamber group's fantastic ensemble and balance enhanced the compositions beautifully. In the Cassidy Theater Spain's bRUNA delivered pop ambience and synthy rock, while Huan's noise in Preston Bradley set left a lot to be desired. His demonic grunting into the microphone, jarring cacophonous clanks and screeching static came across as more self-indulgent than artistically avant-garde.
Ben Frost's highly-anticipated performance was just as challenging, but delivered flashes of brilliance. Frost can tell an entire musical story using just two chords and their glittering overtones. The barefooted producer's set was as disturbing as it was beautiful. Ominous and cinematic instrumental samples were paired with ear-shattering guitar feedback and thunderous bass drums. Frost's set of lush ambience, harsh dynamics, and sonic oddities perfectly personified the experimental side of the festival's lineup. Not to be outdone, Bernier and Messier's Les Chambres de Machines, which wowed hundreds during this year's Mutek, closed the day with a rhythmic set of musical clicks, clanks and crashes.