With a handful of days left until the start of the sun-soaked techno marathon on the gorgeous bleached island of Pag, also known as Sonus Festival, I wanted to guide through our most anticipated performances on the festival. As for the criteria, I chose the unseen, original and interesting sets to hear for a prominent festival goer.
Photo by Ruben Berenguer
1. Recondite (live) followed by Dixon
Now this is the sequence to dream for! The two most crowd intuitive techno and house performers out there one after another! The No.1 live act of 2014 followed by the No.1 DJ of 2015, and 2014, and as far as I remember…
The live sets of Recondite have been highly appraised in the underground music community. In its purest form, Lorenz Brunner builds his act armed only with a computer and a controller. He plays to the heartbeat of the crowd, improvising with well over 100 of his tracks. Besides, his newest EP “Osa” released on Innervisions, is an ode to an impeccable bassline game.
Meanwhile, ones that have heard Dixon’s set on Dekmantel this year, will not let me lie, it was a rare moment of overt cohesion between the DJ and the crowd. In an eerie blend of unpredictable basslines, tribal embellishments, and select vocals, track after track, that’s how Dixon creates transcendental musical experiences.
What is interesting here is that, the heavier sounding Recondite will take up the role of setting the mood for Dixon’s set. Generally, a sequence I can’t wait for!
Papaya stage | 22nd August | Monday | 01:00 – 06:00
See also: REVIEW: DEKMANTEL 2016
2. Praslesh and Rhadhoo
So first, what you’re getting on one stage, is the three of the ultimate crème-de-la-crème of the Romanian house and techno sound: Raresh, Praslea and Rhadoo. Which means seven hours of sleek deep Romanian techno. All that minimal style – long transitions, not covering behind the big peaks, but keeping the energy steady – puts the focus on the atmospheres and textures of the sound. Put all that under the starry sky and impeccable sound equipment and it’ll bring you to another space!
P.s. One can catch one of the trio – Praslea along with Sonja Moonear on the Thursday’s boat party
Papaya stage | 22nd August | Monday | 01:00 – 06:00
3. Cassy
At the moment only based in Ibiza, the ex-resident of Trouw, Panorama Bar and Rex Club is quite hard to catch on a regular in-land festival line-up. Cassy plays techno with soul, sensuality and a touch of mystery and energy, which to my view is probably the best way to kickoff the first night of the festival, situated on this amazing beach island.
Aquarius stage | 21st August | Sunday | 23:00 – 01:00
See also: Interview: Cassy – The Donna Of Techno
4. Konstantin
In-between the duo from Manheim Sedee and Tale of Us, playing his two hour set, is Konstantin. The founder of Giegling – one of our hands-down favorite labels out there. Quite often Konstantin plays on a Kettenkarussell alias (with Leafar Legov), thus it is one of those great opportunities to hear his individual set. What to expect? Well, generally, the sound of Giegling dwells somewhere between techno, house, ambient, and hip-hop, however to place the label to a certain genre would be completely missing the point. That’s exactly what I expect to hear in these two hours and more.
Aquarius stage | 24th August | Wednesday | 01:00 – 03:00
5. Joseph Capriati (All day long)
Joseph’s name on this particular line-up is bringing more than on another occasion to hear this accomplished Dj and producer set. As, in oppose to a regular few hour set, he’s conquering the stage for the whole day. It will certainly be interesting to hear how this veteran of the dancefloors’ of Ibiza and an ambassador for the Italian techno scene will extend his hard sound over the course of five hours.
Papaya stage | 22nd August | Monday | 16:00 – 21:00
21-25th August | SONUS | Tickets | Zrce Beach, island of Pag
