Fast rising Dublin artist For Those I Love aka David Balfe has announced he will be playing at one of Europe's most established experimental music festivals, Sónar Festival, running June 16th-18th.

Founded in 1994, Sónar is a unique cultural event that pays careful attention to curation and combines a playful nature with the avant-garde and experimentation in the electronic music landscape. Sónar prides itself on its ability to unite established artists with emerging talent in all areas of musical and audiovisual production, linking creativity and technology from across the globe in interesting ways.

For Those I Love will be presenting his self-titled album at the festival, described by Hot Press as a "potent portrayal of grief... he channels his pain and anger to powerful effect, making for socio-political commentary that’s expressed with uncompromising bite."

The artist will be one of two unconventional shows dealing with themes of loss and grief, joining French- Venezuelan artist La Chica on the lineup. Sónar Festival has described Balfe's set as "a potent cocktail of nostalgia and melancholy distilled into electronic form."

Balfe, who's coming off a spectacular live show at 3Olympia this November, will be performing on the final day of the festival, Saturday June 18th, two days after his birthday.

Hot Press writer Stuart Clark had an opportunity to speak with the up and coming hip hop star earlier this year about the creation of his debut album that mourns and celebrates David Balfe’s friend since childhood, Paul Curran, who was struggling with addiction when in 2018 he died by suicide.

His intense baring of grief has been met with such praise throughout Ireland, including some kind words from Dermot Kennedy. On the subject, he stated, "It takes a bit of getting used to, but people connecting with your music like that is a beautiful thing."

A new edition of Sónar is also heading to Lisbon in April 2022. Running from April 8 - 10, the event will take place in Lisbon’s conference centre. Like Sónar Barcelona, it's also set to host conferences and workshops throughout the day.

Purchase your tickets to the festival here and view For Those I Love's instagram announcement below.

 

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