As the summer season of music festivals and events rolls on, we sent our esteemed ambassador, DJ Ravine, to yet another huge date on the calendar to report back on some of the goings-on at the cutting edge of dance music culture. This time, he headed out to Sónar Festival in Barcelona (along with Ski Oakenfull, our head of curriculum, who performed one of his famous deconstructions to a live audience). He was on the lookout, in particular, for the weird and the wonderful at Sónar +D, the section of the festival where engineers, developers and artists come to show off their innovations. We can promise you now: if it’s weirdness you’re after, this is the place for you. Watch the video below for some gems of the human imagination, and don’t forget to check out our music production courses in London.
Sónar is renowned the world over for its forward-thinking line-ups, beautiful setting and extensive and varied off-series. This year there a was huge amount of stuff to do – too much to cover your own – but despite mega-headliners like Gorillaz and LCD Soundsystem, and showcases from the like of RBMA, we thought something that would be of huge interest to our viewers are some of the weirder things on offer at Sónar+D.
Among the latest musical technology, DJ Ravine got to grips with the Nuraphones by Nura, which by the look on his face we can assume didn’t excite him as much as some of those in YouTube videos. The Latent Loops installation by Google Magenta, on the other hand, looked extremely cool, with four melodies blending together, thanks to machine learning, and an interactive floor. I think it’s safe to say that weirdest stall of all was Playtronica, who had built loads of different ways to control music, including skin-on-skin touch and fruits and vegetables.
We find Sónar one of the most inspirational events in the annual calendar. If you’re anything like us, and want to take your skills to the next level, why not consider a course with us? Our flagship BA (Hons) in Music Production and Sound Engineering is entering its second year from September and you can even study online. This September also sees the launch of our new degree, the BA (Hons) in Music Production and DJ Practice. All of our degree courses are quality-assured by Middlesex University.
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