For two decades, it¡¯s entertained, educated and ¡ª on more than a few occasions ¡ª polarized electronic music fans. As Barcelona¡¯s Sonar festival enters its 20th year, it¡¯s still as contrary as when it first started: an event with equal space in its heart for abstract electronica and the Pet Shop Boys, and whose lofty subtitle ¡ª International Festival of Advanced Music and New Media Art ¡ª doesn¡¯t preclude it from booking Deadmau5 and Skrillex.
In its teenage years, Sonar has branched out beyond its Catalonian base, organizing sister festivals in S?o Paulo and Reykjavik, and a tour of cities in the United States and Canada last autumn. Its most regular stop-off, however, has been Japan: the first SonarSound Tokyo was held here in 2004, and since 2011 it¡¯s been an annual affair, split between a late-night Saturday session and a more leisurely daytime gig on Sunday.
While it shares some of the international acts that will appear at the mother festival in Barcelona in June ¡ª including Underworld¡¯s Karl Hyde, narcotic dance polymath Nicolas Jaar and dub/dubstep tag team Sherwood & Pinch ¡ª this weekend¡¯s SonarSound Tokyo also showcases some of Japan¡¯s more cutting-edge talents.
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