It’s 1.30pm and thousands are flocking to Sonar Club. Within seconds the seemingly infinite space is filled as Sonar take the stage on their Part of the Weekend Never Dies tour. In massive letters, the slogan is plastered across the back of the stage – an apt reminder that the fun doesn’t end here – even if it is Sonar’s final night.
Breaking instantly into their trademark fuzz-electro rock Soulwax have the crowd moving manically. Live drums, keys/synths and added percussion make the set beat-driven electro frenzy. The title track, Part of the Weekend Never Dies track is dark, rough-edged with gentle percussion – soon to become more rampant as the song progresses.
It’s the drums that clinch Soulwax’s set – played with electro-crisp precision, it’s unbelievable a human being is capable creating such huge, clean beats. Set up sideways to the crowd, the sweat-drenched drummer seldom stops.
Next up’s Radioactive Man with his spacious, spacey dub. Weird bleeps and haunting samples are fused to create a dark, eerie aesthetic. Quick beats are played alongside industrial drudging synth sounds with computer game-like spaceship noises. A cool, sophisticated atmosphere looms, somehow summing up Sonar this weekend – cutting edge, aesthetically aware and daringly experimental.
