Summer has officially begun in Barcelona. It is Sonar season and the city is buzzing with a youthful energy propelled by sunshine, infectious beats and an international crowd of music lovers. In addition to the festival day and night lineups, there are multiple OFF Sonar parties at various clubs, beaches, hotels and outdoor venues. With so much talent in town, many travel solely for the fringe events, also held day and night.

With two rooms, a capacity of around 600, a line up including artists such as Claptone, Homework and Chopstick & JohnJon and a booming Funktion-1 soundsystem, the Suol/

Exploited party last night at bloc. stood out to me as an easy decision. Both rooms were blessed with talent, but Suol’s room and tunes kept me glued there most of the night.

 

bloc. is dark and minimal, with delicate light installations and large dancing spaces. Although the event was well attended, the staffkept the capacity well regulated, making for a comfortable environment where you could always find space to groove and breathe.

Round Table Knights started my night off right at Exploited. The Swiss duo set a clean vocal tone to the evening with continual bass that got the crowd fired up and moving for the evening. Till Von Sein impressed me back in the Suol room, with a style that resembled deep, up-tempo’d house. Upbeat and cheerful, it fit the mood perfectly because, after all, this is only the beginning of an epic week in beautiful Barcelona!

A raised platform lined with a cushioned bench along the back wall of Suol’s room made for a great spot to enjoy Daniel Bortz’s dreamy set. Vocal and melodic, he mastered the dynamic bedroom-to-dancefloor sound, somehow perfect as a lullaby and to keep an eager crowd on their feet. Extra special was the dubbed out version of SBTRKT’s “Right Thing to Do” and the melting soulful synths running through the hour long journey.

A top notch event, where each artist acted with professionalism and tact: watching their gains, paying attention to flow of artist transitions and making the most of the space and its amazing sound system. Suol and Exploited teamed up for a kick-off party to do Sonar’s 20th anniversary justice.