After a virtual show in 2020 and a hybrid version in 2021 helped fill the void somewhat, Sónar's first normal edition since the pandemic began was defined by an atmosphere of excitement and relief. People skipped across the astro turf-laden grounds during Sónar by Day, catching up and travelling between acts, while at night vibrant visuals lit up the colossal stages. Valentina, a 24-year-old music tech student who's been coming to Sónar every year since she was 18, told me definitively: "It was well worth the wait."

On this 29th edition, we witnessed observations around climate change, artificial intelligence and sustainability. But one of the most interesting things about the large-scale event was the variety of people it attracted, providing an almost anthropological insight into subcultural behaviour. Big groups of goths slunked about during Sónar by Day in their fishnets, platforms and black attire. Emo-like students observed some of the more technological aspects of the program. Artists like Yung Singh united party people who threw shapes to bhangra like I'd never seen before. Musically, there was a diverse range of styles and sounds from AJ Tracey, MC Yallah, Tomm¥ €a$h, serpentwithfeet, Amnesia Scanner, Lafawndah and Sega Bodega. At SonarLab, Resident Advisor's stage Avalon Emerson, Batu and Headie One were just some of the names to appear.

Beyond the daytime festival, there was a glut of high quality and unusual official programming across the city, too. At Palau Güell,—a mansion designed by Antoni Gaudí with a grand arched entrance and ornate walls—Berlin musicians and programmers GAMUT INC, technologist Santi Vilanova (playmodes), and master organ builder Albert Blancafort presented their joint project Hyperorgan. There were also myriad satellite parties, including Octave One's performance at Detroit Love and an unexpected free party on Sunday morning. The offerings were reflective of Sónar's constant motion and the sleepless soul of Barcelona, where parties and bars spill out into the streets.

Here's our top five performances of Sónar 2022.

Arca

Emerging on the SonarPub stage like a cyborg goddess with high priestess energy, Arca's performance was indicative of her iconoclastic evolution. Performing tracks from her KiCk album series like "El Alma Que Te Trajo," she appeared larger than life, defiantly tossing her long mane of hair, dressed in a strappy black corset and sparkly thong. Her unmistakable, eerie combination of reggaeton, rap and experimental sounds felt vast and trippy, while her stage presence taught concertgoers to expect the unexpected. At one point, she turned her back to the crowd, sweeping aside her g-string to reveal what was underneath, eliciting wild screams of adoration from the crowd. Vega, a woman I spoke to in the audience, gushed that after waiting a long time for this performance, she felt Arca successfully created "a whole new world for her fans."

C. Tangana

SonarClub was packed to the rafters on Friday night as thousands waited with anticipation for the so-called "prodigal son" of the Iberian peninsula. A DJ played flamenco from a podium positioned to the left of the vast stage—but the curtains covering it remained closed. As the minutes ticked on, the mystery of what was to be unveiled intensified.

As the curtains opened, thousands of people were invited to an intimate flamenco bar and restaurant scene with some of Spain and Latin America's biggest musical legends. They sat around laughing and drinking bottles of something. Amongst them was flamenco singer Antonio Carmona Amaya and contemporary flamenco vocalist Niño de Elche and singer-songwriter Nathy Peluso. The stage production was a condensed version of C. Tangana's Sin Cantor ni Afinar Tour, which represents his signature style of flamenco pop rap, the culmination of his transition from trap to more traditional sounds. The performance paid homage to Latin Grammy award-winning singer Alejandro Sanz, Andalusian band Navajita Plateá, flamenco fusion group Ketama and New Order.

Ms Nina

Feminist reggaeton has been on the rise for several years and academics in Barcelona are even doing whole research studies around it. Perreo is the sound that represents a new take on reggaeton, and Ms Nina is one of the genre's biggest protagonists. Her catchy melodies and lyrics parody the sexism in typical reggaeton music.

On more than one occasion, she took a backseat and gave the stage to her four female dancers, who were equal stars of the performance with their dynamic, synchronised dance moves, exuding empowering levels of sensuality. It was a symbolic gesture about the power of elevating other women.

Seeing such strong women joyfully embracing their sexuality won over a lot of audience members, including Brooklyn-based Sónar punter and reggaeton DJ Ashley Blane "I'm going to now start putting my hands in my pants when I dance," she later told me. Mariana Giraldo, also a reggaeton DJ, added: "I loved the dancing. She's so hot and so empowering."

Scorpion Kings

Kabza De Small and DJ Maphorisa, who formed the South African super-duo Scorpion Kings in 2019 after spearheading the amapiano movement with their individual careers, took us on a spiralling, ever-expanding six-hour journey at the SonarCar stage on Saturday night. Their experimental compositions inspired by the jazzy house subgenre set the tone and the dance floor alive throughout. The pair delivered smooth, seamless transitions between deep low-swung tracks. Bright, bouncy sounds with vocals in Swahili, Lingala, Zulu and French had the floor moving, including tunes from their pioneering discography, like 2021 album Rumble in the Jungle.

Lyra Pramuk

The seated event space at SonarComplex on a late Friday afternoon was the right environment to experience the work of Lyra Pramuk. Representing insights from a post-human perspective, she premiered her brand new show, Echoluminescence, which featured original lighting design made for her music. Pramuk's silhouette was basked in a golden light as she moved with fluidity between the rest of the stage and the machines on which she looped her voice. "I fully started sobbing in the middle of two tracks ago," she told the audience. "I haven't quite recovered my voice [...] but that's okay, because those moments are so special."

The artist, who studied at New York's Eastman School of Music, has developed her own unique futuristic sound, which culminated with her seven-track debut album Fountain. Her operatic range makes her voice an instrument in its own right.

Emotionally charged yet grounded in her articulation, she led the audience into a meditative space, asking us to "remember what it feels like to breathe." Taking inspiration from the words of Eris Drew, she added: "Break through the barriers and find each other. We can all influence so much if we stay focused and keep that third eye open." In that moment, she invited the audience to get up and dance; so we all did.