Sónar lands in Tokyo for the unprecedented NU Festival 2026

Sónar integrates into the urban core of Tokyo

The organization of the Barcelona-based festival Sónar has made its return to Japan official through a strategic collaboration with the inaugural edition of the NU Festival. The event will be held from June 26 to 28, 2026, in the TAKANAWA GATEWAY CITY district, a new urban development in Tokyo co-organized by the East Japan Railway Company. Under the concept "Next × New × Unity", the event will integrate electronic music, digital art, and the city's own infrastructure into a single cultural ecosystem.

International lineup and technological avant-garde

The alliance is structured around two main axes. The "NU Live × Sónar Sound" program, located in the LINKPILLAR Hall, will present performances by key figures in electronic music. Highlights include British producer Actress, who will perform solo and alongside synthesis pioneer Suzanne Ciani under the alias Concrète Waves. The lineup includes a world premiere on piano by William Basinski, the Japan debut of Grandbrothers, and performances by DJ KRUSH, Daito Manabe, Nathan Fake, and Two Shell.

On the other hand, the "NU Art × Sónar+D" section will take over the newly inaugurated MoN Takanawa: The Museum of Narratives. Curated alongside artificial intelligence researcher Nao Tokui, this space will host exhibitions and debates on generative AI, with the participation of entities such as Sony CSL and Dentsu Lab Tokyo. In addition, the programming will extend to free-access areas such as "NU Station" and "NU Park", with sessions by local icons such as Shinichi Osawa, DJ EMMA, and KO KIMURA.

Consolidation of the institutional legacy in Asia

The foray into the Japanese capital reinforces Sónar's internationalization strategy, connecting its trajectory of more than three decades with the Japanese experimental scene. This alliance transforms a mass transit infrastructure into a laboratory for audiovisual trends.

Since 1994, Sónar has scanned the present and future of music, art, and technology from Barcelona, building a global community through more than 100 editions. NU Festival represents a new connection point for that network: a platform born in Tokyo where sound, creativity, and urban life meet in real time.

— Miquel Trullolls, Communications Director of Sónar

Sources Consulted