Enric Palau: "Sónar must continue beyond its founders; we must preserve it."
Everything is (almost) ready. Overseeing the final preparations at the Plaça Espanya fairgrounds, Enric Palau, one of the founders and co-director of the Sónar festival—which takes place from Thursday to Saturday—explains that, after the controversy surrounding the acquisition of the pro-Israeli fund KKR, they have maintained 87% of the program (after deducting artist departures and adding new additions) and 100% of the music time.
Cross “90% of the music we listen to has a very high percentage of electronic music.”It's the farewell year for Sónar by Day here. Starting next year, everything in L'Hospitalet...
Yes, there will be a farewell to the Fira de Montjuïc venues. Starting next year, we're planning a new format, which we're very excited about, but we don't want to reveal yet because we're still finalizing it.
There are many new releases this year.
We've made an effort with 200 proposals, including exclusive premieres like Grasa, the new show by Nathy Peluso, who will also DJ at Club Grasa. The same is true for Maria Arnal, whom we've supported for four years of work and transformation as an artist through the use of artificial intelligence. The new material presented by Tarta Relena is also the subject of a special concert.
There are several large-format audiovisual shows...
This is the case with Max Cooper and the Japanese Daito Manabe, among others. We're taking the leap of bringing experimentation to the big stages of Sónar by Night. We also have Christian Fennesz and Alva Noto, who will pay tribute to Ryuchi Sakamoto (1952-2023). We're breaking the idea that Sónar is only electronic; we have flamenco with Niño de Elche or Yerai Cortés, the jazz of Chano Domínguez... We're opening the festival up to other textures and disciplines that use electronics as a common denominator. The list is very long.
Of the artists who have been added to the lineup at the last minute, would you highlight any?
We're thrilled to have added important names like Adrian Sherwood, a pioneer in Jamaican electronic music. Or the new wave of Portuguese artists. Or Plaid, another contemporary classic.
Read also Sónar and culture as a loudspeaker for political protest Miquel Molina
You now have regular festivals in Lisbon and Istanbul. Will there be more?
We would like to return to America. We are working on the idea of a single headquarters that can have continuity.
In this year's festival image, we have excavators. When we do work at home, we end up coming back. Is it at Montjuïc too?
The final configuration of Montjuïc Mountain or the different spaces is not up to us.
Is the line between Daytime and Nighttime Sonar blurring?
That's probably what will happen with everything happening in L'Hospitalet, but it's happening a little more right now. The emerging urban music offerings have a direct connection between the SónarPark stages, by day, and the SónarCar stage, by night. In a way, electronic music has created the new music; 90% of what we hear right now has a very high percentage of electronic music. This global club mixes different styles, sometimes in a hectic way.
With this year's controversy, have you sold fewer tickets?
No, we're seeing a similar sales volume to previous years. The truth is, Thursday might start off a little slower—we're saying that now—but it's just a possibility. We'll most likely sell out Saturday night, as has happened in other editions.
A paradox is that this could be the festival with the most messages of support for Palestine, right?
We create a space with complete freedom of expression for artists. Clearly, the Palestinian genocide, which we denounce, is one of the dramatic crises facing this world, and this sadness we all feel can be reflected in the form of protest. We have disassociated ourselves from any investment that goes against the festival's values. Our list of sponsors does not include a single company targeted by the campaigns.
In the sale of the shares to KKR we had no say in the matter.
Can you clarify the link with KKR?
It's well known. In 2018, the three founding partners—with Ventura Barba, also a partner—were already in our fifties, and we clearly saw that we wanted to shape a situation that would provide stability and continuity to the project we had created 25 years earlier. The team working with us had new voices, with much younger people, and we wanted to ensure and preserve the continuity of the project. The way to do this was to seek corporate support. We ended up reaching an agreement with Superstruct, which has 80 festivals and allowed us to ensure independence, maintain artistic direction, management, and direction of the event. This has been the case and will continue to be the case in the future.
Do you have a positive assessment?
Thanks to this alliance, we overcame COVID, which, if not for it, would have sunk us, having been practically inactive for two years, with no revenue.
But a few months ago...
There was a change in shareholders. Superstruct was owned by the investment fund Providence, which withdrew in October 2024 and sold its stake to a consortium formed by KKR and 90 other investors. This was a financial transaction in which we had no say.
Have you felt unsupported?
We are an asset to the city. Being the recipients of a Sant Jordi Cross and two City of Barcelona awards compels us to ensure the project's continuity, because we understand it must continue beyond the lives of those who founded it.
The Chemical Brothers perform at Sónar 2022
EDITORIAL / Other SourcesTalk like you're on your way out, don't scare me.
No, no. But I'd be lying if I didn't tell you that for people who have been involved in a project for 32 years that is linked to new trends and a young audience, the smartest thing would be to rely on a much younger team, many of whom weren't even born when we founded the festival. This has to go beyond a one-person festival of three or four people. It's a cultural asset of the city of Barcelona, and we have to strengthen it, we have to preserve it, together.
Perhaps you weren't amused that the mayor said he understood the protests against Sónar?
I don't have to comment on any position taken by any entity, public or private. I think the important thing is that Barcelona becomes the world capital of digital and electronic culture for one week a year. And this is everyone's home, with many synergies and collaborations. It certainly needs, like everything else, updates and adjustments, but above all, it needs to be strengthened.
Has there been any direct communication with the new shareholders regarding the controversy?
No. We do not have any direct relationship with KKR.
You've had more stress than other years, right?
Yes. And we learned a lesson. As we became stressed, we learned.
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