Sonar Stockholm
If the name makes you think about the Swedish peninsula, the navy, and their fruitless efforts to bring unknown submerged intruders to justice, then that’s perfectly understandable. It is, after all, often in these circumstances that we hear the word “sonar”. Unless it is about electronic music of course, which in this case it is.
February 26th-27th the Swedish incarnation of the Sonar festival hits Stockholm and Nobelberget. We took the liberty of listing our five highlights appearing at this electronic lovefest.
Squarepusher
From the big beats of the 90s to the drum & bass of the following decade and the current penchant for music for robots, Squarepusher has been there, done it, infused it with some jazzy vibes, and sold the t-shirt.
In 2015 Tom Jenkinson celebrates 20 years with his alias with the release of his album *Damogen Furies*, which has been described as “less funky but more structured” than his previous work (in fairness it has also as been described as being “from loud to extremely loud”). The fact that all of the recordings on the album was made in one take might have something to do with that.
Annie Mac
If someone other than Annie Mac got an award at a Dance Music Radio Host Award we’d probably see Kanye West storm the stage. He’d take the mic and say: “Yo, generic dance music radio host, I’m really happy for you, I’ma let you finish, but Annie Mac is one of the greatest Dance Music Radio Hosts of all time. One of the best of all time!” and then he’d stroll off pretty content with himself.
Oh, and she’s a highly regarded DJ as well, as you will find out at the festival.
Ida Engberg
Disco Volante. What a monster of a debut track that was back in 2007, so good it still holds up today. It meant a well-deserved breakthrough for Ida Engberg and since then she’s released tracks on both Pickadoll and Get Physical before joining Drumcode in 2011. She has played both the main floor and the Panorama Bar at Berghain, as well as Ushuaia and Pacha in Ibiza, and is (obviously) a versatile DJ. Check out her Soundcloud for some great mixes, among them the one for Mixmag in the summer of 2015, together with her partner, Drumcode boss Adam Beyer.
Yung Lean
Hate him or love him, it’s still an obsession. There is rarely any middle ground where Yung Lean is concerned. He broke through in 2013 with a hazy flow and a selection of fantastic beats, and of course cloud hits like Ginseng Strip 2002 (6.7 million views on Youtube) and Hurt (5.6 million views). Then he followed up with Kyoto (11.5 million views) and, well, check Youtube. Expect him to bring his Sad Boys crew with him, including the very talented producer/DJ Yung Gud.
Toxe
This summer she hung out with 59 other young talents at the Red Bull Music Academy in Paris. A few months later the debut EP Muscle Memory (out now on Staycore) by Gothenburger Tove Agelii – aka Toxe – is gathering rave reviews in Sweden and throughout the blogosphere.
Described by some as a “drum onslaught”, it’s as good a description as any. In fact, it’s pretty great. Tove started producing at the age of 15 and has just turned 18, which makes us feel quite old and past it. But that’s life, I guess. Just roll with it.
