Q: What do you get if you mix black metal with hardcore? A: ‘The most extreme live act at Sónar 2024’, VMO a.k.a. Violent Magic Orchestra.The Japanese five-piece are famed for their punishing live shows that combine the raw energy of high-bpm dance music and the intensity of metal and noise. Expect stage diving, corpse paint, walls of amplifiers, and a visual and lighting setup that’s designed to overwhelm the senses entirely when they come to Sónar by Day. Today we’re premiering their new video, created by Raf B from theconstruct.xyz. Taken from their latest album Death Rave, 「The Destroyer」is a slice of blackened hard trance; euphoric melodies matched with earsplitting screams. The clip is similarly epic, taking cues from the vivid visual style of animé (echoes of Akira) and the hyperreal style of role-playing video games.
Just what you need to get ready for VMO at SonarHall on Friday 14th June.
As one half of The Knife, Olof Dreijer made music that sounded like nothing else. His solo releases, first under the incognito alias Oni Aynhun, and now under his own name on esteemed labels like AD93 and Hessle Audio, have continued to redefine club music, full of inimitable colours and textures. Now he’s stepping out of the shadows as a DJ, and SonarMix 042 once again finds him pushing the envelope, packed with polyrhythms, homemade mashups, and his own productions.“I tried to capture the creative and playful energy of my DJ sets” is how he introduces the set. It starts with Olof’s inimitable steel pans and bright synths blended into Portuguese batida rhythms. It’s a mashup of his own ‘Camelia’ and DJ Lilocox’s ‘Ritmos’, the first of many throughout the mix, with Olof deconstructing and reconstructing tracks and rhythms from gqom and amapiano to samba and baile funk. You’ll also find an unreleased track with Colombian-Swedish percussionist Diva Cruz - who’ll appear with him at Sónar by Day - and handfuls of vocal acapellas (“a lot of fun to make”) ranging from salsa queen Celia Cruz to queer rapper Cakes da Killa.It comes to a furious crescendo 10 minutes out - the vocal from D-Train’s soul-disco classic ‘You’re the One for Me’ over a full samba school band, anyone? - before Björk & Rosalia’s voices intertwine with the liquid groove and sparkling melody of his own track ‘Rosa Rugosa’. It’s the kind of mix that only Olof could create: colourful, creative, playful, and percussive in equal parts. Get ready for more of the same on Thursday 13th June. TracklistDJ Lilocox - RitmosOlof Dreijer - CameliaOmagoqa - Back To Ebombeni Laya - Too Up (Acapella)Marlon D - Jesus Creates SoundKenny Dope - WakkiYaya Bey - me and all my n****s (Acapella)Olof Dreijer & Diva Cruz - AcuyuyeNKC - HD AnthemCelia Cruz - Azúcar NegraTSVI - Aziza (feat. Dj JM)KG & Scratchclart - Strings Of DeathMC Carol - Ki Suco E Xereca (Acapella)Scratcha DVA - Ammo (feat. Citizen Boy)Gloria Groove - Radar (Acapella)DJ Lilocox - RitmosMC Kevin O Chris & MC Caja - Papinth4ys, Yuri Redicopa & DJ Caio Santos - Cypher Da Bolha (feat. Bia Soul, Cunha & Hidvn)DJ Lycox - Rapaz SinistroDJ João Marconex - Matagal do CasarãoMC ZL, MC Dkennedy & DJ Dh - Funk Do Toninho Tornado (feat. CLUB DA DZ7)Olof Dreijer - IrisF38 - Te AviseiCakes da Killa - Cakewalk (Acapella)MC Livinho & Dj R7 - Vai CavalaJohnny Bravo - PISAD-train - You're the One for MeEscola De Samba Mocidade Independente De Padre Miguel - Esquentando O CouroOlof Dreijer - Rosa RugosaBjörk & Rosalia - Oral (Olof Dreijer remix)
