Fest Bests: Sónar 2012.

Hot (Maya Jane Coles) and heavy (deadmau5), as ever this year's Sónar looks to be a heady mélange of all things musical and multimedial. Hacked into what are effectively two festivals (Sónar de Día amid the grandiose surrounds of the Ciutat Vella and the post-apocalyptic stylings of Sónar de Noche out in the conference centre hub-cum-hedonistic haven of L'Hospitalet), both better most things you could even envisage frequenting throughout the coming summer months. More pertinently however, it also happens to be the latest stop on our trawl through a selection of the finer festival happenings of this imminent estival season thus without further ado, below are our Sónar 2012 Fest Bests...

Azari & III
Who: Torontonian house pop purveyors whose impeccably urbane self-titled debut may well have been heard wafting out from any which Urban Outfitters any time since release.
Why: A little like a contemporary Village People if the above JPG is anything to go by, expect a vigorous workout from these macho men in slashed shorts and jetblack shades.
When: Saturday, 2.00 am, SónarLab.


Flying Lotus
Who: Californian superproducer Steven Ellison, who dilutes the jazz that courses through his veins with a glitchy, schizoid hip hop hybridity. Head honcho of Brainfeeder besides, the discographic home to the fellow Sónar-bound likes of Thundercat & Lapalux & Kutmah, all aforesaid combine to feature alongside the founder as part of a showcase come Thursday.
Why: FlyLo has some quite memorable previous with the Barça bash, namely thieving Friday night back in 2010. Having honed them skills yet further, both sets could and should prove special.
When: Thursday, 7.30pm, SónarVillage / Friday, 5.30pm, SónarDôme.


Hot Chip
Who: Quirky popsters it's becoming increasingly implausible to overlook.
Why: Reconvened for fifth full-length In Our Heads, the south-west Londoners' Sónar showing will proffer an almost premature insight into its translation to the language of live music.
When: Saturday, 1.30am, SónarPub.


John Talabot
Who: Local chico John Talabot's ƒIN may have seeped online amid a rather bleak midwinter although its tropiphoric humidities and Amazonian intricacies ensure it has come to embody an indubitably enduring listen.
Why: Con o sin compatriot [sic] Pional, Destiny may be the subtle house-y palpitation thudding away within many a cranium come Sunday morning.
When: Friday, 8.30pm, SónarHall.

Lana Del Rey
Who: Seriously..?
Why: Whether she positively belts or hesitantly blurts the likes of Carmen, Blue Jeans, Born To Die and so on and so forth already seems to have slipped into irrelevance. This one's an absolute must-see and the thought of an unapologetically stentorian National Anthem clanging about the monumental halls and hangars of L'Hospitalet is breathtaking in essence alone.
When: Friday, 11.45pm, SónarPub.


Metronomy
Who: Pop wonkier than a maimed crowbar, Joseph Mount's Metronomy will provide apt, if equally energetic respite from the decks and drops.
Why: Finally filling out the sorts of venues Nights Out was preordained to plaster with its suave lo-fi disco, watch the Southern England outfit set Sónar de Noche alight.
When: Saturday, 11.30pm, SónarLab.


Squarepusher
Who: If V Festival may perceptibly be considered the worst thing to have ever occurred involving Chelmsford then D'n'B pioneer Tom Jenkinson may comparably be viewed as its saving grace.
Why: Loosen some limbs and free up some headspace for Ufabulum, out now.
When: Friday, 4.30am, SónarClub.


The Suicide Of Western Culture
Who: Enigmatic pairing who are to this gritty city what Fuck Buttons are to their respective West Country grot hole.
Why: When in Rome – or indeed Barcelona – best witness what it is that los barcelonés do. This duo are up to some retrospective, '90s-soused mischief that never concedes to pastiche nor cliché but rather comes across as the unremitting upset of Godspeed You! Black Emperor rewired through knackered Casiotone keys.
When: Saturday, 8.30pm, SónarHall.


This year's Sónar Barcelona takes place throughout various nooks, crannies and airplane hangars of the Cataluñan capital between June 14th-16th. More info is available here, whilst tickets may be adquiridos por aquí.