Duran Duran Joining Sonar 2015 Headliners Skrillex, FKA Twigs, Flying Lotus, Hot Chip & More
Duran Duran will headline Sonar 2015, joining an extensive lineup at the Barcelona electronic music festival that includes Skrillex, FKA Twigs, Flying Lotus, Arka and Jesse Kanda, Jamie XX, Hot Chip, Die Antwoord and Roisin Murphy.
Organizers of the festival, which takes place from June 18-20, announced 38 new acts on Wednesday (Jan. 28). Sonar will present a total of over 150 performances.
Duran Duran will play “an incredible live set, comprising material throughout their career.” The ’80s pop phenomenon is expected to release a new album in the coming months, with Nile Rodgers and Mark Ronson as producers.
Sonar organizers previously announced that the Chemical Brothers will debut music from their upcoming album at the festival. “We hope to amaze ourselves,” the duo’s Tom Rowlands said, promising “an intense ride” in an announcement listing the first artists for next year’s edition of the iconic festival, now in its 22nd year.
Autechre, Lee Gamble, Evian Christ, Kiasmos, Kindness, Kate Tempest, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Tourist, Daniel Avery, Ten Walls, Sophie, PXXR VNG, Holly Herndon, Vessel, Nino, Mans O and Helena Hauff are also confirmed for Sonar 2015’s characteristically eclectic electronic-based lineup.
"Sónar 2015 will present core trends from the history of dance music and experimental electronica in their classical guises but, above all, in their interpretations and contemporary explorations," Sonar organizers said after the first artists were announced on Monday (Dec. 1), via a video featuring sets of twins and ventriloquist dummies.
Sónar will also include the third annual Sónar +D, a “congress of digital culture and creative technologies.” Topics are to include presentations about the “Internet of Things,” the new generation of wearable technology, and the emergence of “makers” in the field of education.
The Barcelona-based festival has been ambitiously expanding the Sónar franchise. Upcoming events are set for Johannesburg (Dec. 12), Cape Town (Dec. 15-16), Reykjavik (Feb. 12-14), Stockholm (Feb. 13-14), and Copenhagen (March 13-14). Sónar also hits South America with editions in Santiago, Chile and Bogota, Colombia in Dec. 2015.
