Friday 19/06/09 Sonar Festival 2009, Day Two @ Barcelona, Spain

Muhsinah's set mainly consisted of the classic two turntables and a microphone hip-hop set-up. Occasionally her hands were in a flurry over the synthesizer too, for some wonkiness over the macho, thumping beat. She's got a soulful voice and diva words to match, sometimes decisive... "I've made up my mind, I'm walking away" and sometimes muddled... "trying to find out what I feel".

Dorian Concept was next, in both senses of the word. He followed Muhsinah in the Dome and had that futuristic music. The beat provided dancers with a solid foundation for their feet, some tunes hip-hop, some 2-step. For the dancers upper body, squealing scribble-synth did the trick. A colourful formula for dance floor rapture from Dorian's grey laptop.

There was an immediate wind-down for Colch-On vs Suma in Complex, with everyone sitting or lying down. They had beautifully crafted songs; clearly enunciated talk-singing, carefully plucked guitar and violins. Surely the perfect venue for this shoe-gazey post-rock- sonic cathedral in an actual cathedral, or church.

For much of Bass Clef's dubstep set, the dub overpowered the step, the bass murdered the beat. This muddy sound made the Village astroturf feel like a mire, so all dancing had to come from the shoulders. Later on the beat got more personality, making for happy feet. The woodblock percussion sounded ideal with this music, brittle sounds contrasting with the deep bass.

Bestia Ferida feature Mark Cunningham, bassist in seminal no wave band, Mars. He's also moved on to the trumpet, played with amazing clarity. The guitarist went for an uglier sound at the other end of the stage, at one point screaming in harmony with his instrument. The drummer was great for this free-jazz discord, each arm and feet seemingly acting independently of each other.

Grace Jones renamed the Comples Church the "church club". She came from the heavens on a pneumatic contraption and launched into an uber-tuff  'Nightclubbing' (what else was it gonna be?). Then she disappeared backstage, as after every song, for a costume change and witty monologue...

"I'd really like an E, or is it called X? Or Y?" she said.

Mad props included a half-disco-ball hard-hat, which summed up the kaleidoscopic nature of the show. 'Williams Blood' made complete sense in this environment, wind-machine, backing vocals and stadium guitar. She might be a star, but was still grounded enough to invite everyone on stage with her for the low-down groove of 'Pull Up To The Bumper'. Security earned their money with revellers bundling into the photo-pit too.

Sonar Festival highlights