In the course of the last decade, electronic music and club culture have ceased being a minority phenomenon and become an accepted part of Culture with a capital "C." The ascendance of the Sonar Festival of Advanced Music and Multimedia Art, one of the chief exponents of the electronic scene worldwide, is a loud and clear indication of this revolution. To commemorate its first 10 years of life, the festival presents its own photo album: a book of images that reviews the history of this singular event through the viewfinder of a camera. Founded in 1994 in Barcelona, Spain, Sonar has brought together concerts and multimedia shows, complementing them with presentations of technological innovations and the creation of spaces for debate and discussion. In its musical selection, the festival has applied eclectic criteria, offering a spectrum of styles and tendencies over the past decade, including such artists as Orbital, Atari Teenage Riot, Kruder & Dorfmeister, the Pet Shop Boys, Jimi Tenor and other avant-garde sound and noise makers. This volume celebrates Sonar's 10th anniversary with photographs and graphics made over the years, offering, not incidentally, a visual history of techno music as well as a history of the festival itself. You may not be able to remember what Kraftwerk was wearing at that concert in 1995 or what equipment they were using--but Sonar: Ten Years does.
