10 acts who will blow your mind at Sónar 2017

It's that time of year again. Sónar Barcelona is back and boasting a line-up brimming with talent. Up and comers mingle with legends of the game alike across three days and two nights of some of music's most exciting, experimental and avant-garde acts.

Without further ado, here are 10 of the artists we recommend checking out.

Since releasing his self-titled third studio album earlier this year, Arca has once again been scorching the brains of music intellectuals with his atmospheric compositions and soaring vocals. When we saw him at the Roundhouse a few weeks ago he was simply peerless, commanding his runway stage with all the elegance and drama of his stunning videos. A big part of this is thanks to his collaborator Jesse Kanda, director of his videos and taking on AV duty for the live show. The visual artist released his debut EP on Hyperdub earlier this year and has helped define Arca’s (and FKA Twigs’) visual aesthetic to a tee. Don’t miss.

Always guaranteed to give you a good time on the dancefloor, Beautiful Swimmers is the DJ duo Maximillion Dunbar and Ari Goldman from Washington DC. The pair has played together for 10 years so know each other’s tastes inside out. With a penchant for all-night sets, they never settle for one genre and play as many classic tracks as low-key heaters. Having witnessed them vibe with Pender Street Steppers for an afternoon at Dekmantel last year we can safely say a smile never left our fellow dancers’, or our, faces.

It's a rare thing to see a Björk DJ set and despite it coming at the cost of a separate ticket, the recently-announced gig is a must. Björk will lay down for four hours to open the festival and if her recent secret show at Corsica Studios in London is anything to go by then we're in for a treat. It appears the Icelandic star is favouring r'n'b and bass-inspired tracks in her sets as showcased in her masked appearance at the Hyperdub party in May. Sign us up.

Since 2008 techno legend Carl Craig has been evolving the Versus project which adapts his traditional techno compositions to symphonic language. With the help of composer Franceco Tristano the project has finally come to fruition as an album this month. To celebrate, Craig, Tristano and four other musicians perform the release on a collection of keyboards and synthesizers that will make any gear heads weak at the knees.

Hunee is one of Amsterdam’s finest selectors, a Rush Hour affiliate who goes deep into the crates in search of undiscovered gems that will get dancefloors moving. Daphni is the DJ alias of Caribou frontman Dan Snaith, an auteur who’s friends include Floating Points and Joe Goddard of Hot Chip. From 5-7am on Sunday morning, they will play together for the first time, but don’t expect this blind date to go poorly. Seriously, the musical brainpower of these two going back-to-back might constitute a Mensa meeting. Stay up for this one.

2016 was the Brixton artist’s breakthrough year. He dropped the ambitious ‘Security’ mixtape, shared a short film to go with it, announced a Warp Records deal, released the ‘Spaghetto’ EP with them and awed people at The Roundhouse with his immersive Club 88 show that featured a Ron Arad installation. Throughout all of this, Gaika has captured the pulse of London’s urban scene with aplomb, using elements of grime, dancehall and hip-hop to form his own gritty musical aesthetic. His live shows are uncompromising, distorted and strobe heavy. We can’t think of anything better.

We’re big fans of Jlin. It’s why we made her our gold artist for the month of May. Coming from a footwork background, the American artist flipped the genre on its head when she released her debut album ‘Dark Energy’. A classy, complex and definitive effort formed when she was working 96-hour weeks in an Indiana steel mill, the album made many end of year lists and built the hype for her second album ‘Black Origami’ which was released this month. To support that release she’s bringing her rhythmic workouts to the stage with her low-key but hard-hitting live set.

There’s a reason they’re called Masters At Work, so what could be better than seeing them lay it down for a mammoth six-hour set? It’s not like they’ll be short on material. Having worked together since 1990, Kenny Dope and Louie Vega have built a house music empire through their productions, remixes and side projects. They’re as important as pioneers of house as they are still frontrunners for the scene. Expect plenty of feel good vibes, soulful vocals and the best New York grooves on offer.

A double dose of Berlin's finest will see Sónar turn into a techno haven in the wee hours of Sunday morning. Marcel Dettman is of course already one of the scene's most respected names. The Berghain regular is also just about to drop his Dekmantel Selectors compilation, a heady mix of eclectic "pre-techno" tunes that showcase a different side of the DJs taste. Joining him is Dr Rubinstein who arrived in Berlin from Tel Aviv four years ago. Already in a short period of time she's earned a name in the German capital for her sets which showcase a heavy predilection for barnstorming acid tracks.

A selector, producer, radio host and record label owner, Veronica Vasicka is one of New York's finest tastemakers. She's perhaps best known as the godmother of minimal wave, a genre she single-handedly revived with her label of the same name that gave a new generation of clubbers access to artists like In Aeternam Vale, Martin Dupont and Blancmange. But it's not all just a nostalgia trip for Vasicka. Her Cititrax sublabel is firmly in the now. Her In Session for us earlier this year is a perfect example of that with belting electro and techno in equal measure to make up a masterful hour of mixing.

Louis Anderson-Rich is Mixmag's Digital Intern. Follow him on Twitter