SONICA 2025: -STREAM

“Turn off your mind, relax, and float downstream,” sang John Lennon on the acid-fueled, mind-expanding psych classic Tomorrow Never Knows. Fast-forward 59 years, and the mantra that feels more appropriate for our AI-boosted dystopia-in-the-making might be: “Turn on your mind, be active, and float upstream.” This is especially true for those trying to make sense of reality in an era where everything seems to have stopped making sense.

Torn between livestreams, music streams, Netflix streams, mainstream and alternative music, mainstream and anti-politics, mainstream and fringe media—not to mention countless cultural counterstreams—humanity has, for years now, been fixated on a single quest: how to streamline every aspect of existence.

We have relentlessly pursued efficiency, seeking ways to make our workflows and routines smoother and less time-consuming. But in the process, we have lost sight of other things. Art has inadvertently become content, and life-defining musical experiences have been reduced to mere statistics in the monthly reports of streaming platforms. Almost every aspect of our cultural lives has been quantified, fundamentally altering both the way we consume art and the very fabric of modern culture and artists’ existence.

Navigating an environment where streaming has become central to our experience of culture is no easy task. It is also becoming increasingly difficult to find meaning in contemporary culture or share truly meaningful artistic experiences with others. While most of us silently resent this reality, there has been little resistance to the existing model—except from more vocal and active corners of the music scene, notably Liz Pelly’s era-defining book The Ghosts in the Machine (2025).

On the other hand, festivals—celebratory gatherings that form momentary communities in physical spaces—remain one of the most powerful arenas for meaningful cultural experiences. They offer a space for musical discovery and human connection, where old and new faces meet to engage in discussions in real life rather than online. This is where SONICA stands: as an active group of people passionate about sharing exciting sounds and spaces, seeking profound collective listening and social experiences. We see the festival as a fleeting moment in time when we can fully immerse ourselves in these singular experiences—the joyful creation of noise and aesthetic disruptions that help us make sense of our time and space on a much deeper and more transformative level.

With this year’s theme, -STREAM, SONICA is shedding light on one of the most pressing issues in contemporary music culture. Will we be able to keep our heads above water and navigate the many streams that constantly pull us in different directions? Could the antidote to streaming culture be a renewed appreciation for live music? How can we reintroduce context as a key element in the production, distribution, and consumption of culture? Is there a definitive answer to how we should experience music, cinema, and art in a way that serves both artists and audiences?

Music is all about context, and each of this year’s artists emerges from and belongs to a specific musical context, aesthetic lineage, and creative network. With its 17th edition, SONICA celebrates the beauty of artists and audiences physically gathering in clubs, squats, and cultural spaces—collectively creating intangible moments that can last forever.