Sonar Announces Initial List of Events, Artists

By Jake Guidry in Arts & Entertainment on Aug 2, 2010 7:30PM

Sonar, the self-described "International Festival of Advanced Music and Multimedia Art", recently announced its initial list of events that will run in Chicago, September 9-11. Unlike the many other festivals in Chicago this summer, Sonar will not be held in a central location. Instead, concerts and film screenings will take place across numerous venues all over the city, including Millenium Park and Chicago Cultural Center. While there are still artists, film screenings and venues to be added, Sonar's current lineup truly celebrates the underground and old school in experimental music and art.

Of the confirmed musicans are Kid Koala, Oval, Ducthman Martyn, Nosaj Thing and Ben Frost. The film portion of Sonar, dubbed "SonarCinema", will present five films including "Synth Britannia" the BBC documentary telling the story of the birth of synth pop in Great Britain. According to Sonar's organizers, "the objective is to take the philosophy of the [Sonar] Barcelona festival to the North American city, with all the features that have made Sónar an international touchstone: with an ambitious and high quality line-up featuring plenty of electronic experimentation and its derivations and unusual venues of the highest calibre." Athough we think these goals are obtainable, and there are additions to be made, this initial lineup announcement has us calling their bluff. Compared to its Barcelona counterpart, the Chicago incarnation of Sonar is conisderably lacking. Perhaps we can chalk that up to a short window of time they've had to book the artists - not to mention the fact that their are several other large festivals soaking up a lot of talent that would have a place at Sonar. Nonetheless, Sonar is a promising festival with plenty of reasons to attend one or a few of its events.