Eric Prydz, one of the most respected figures in global electronic music, recently found himself at the center of an online storm following his set at Sónar Festival 2025 in Barcelona. The controversy? The Swedish producer played a fully prerecorded set — and now, he’s come forward to explain why.
What happened at Sónar?
On a night when 15,000 fans packed the venue for one of the festival’s most anticipated performances, things didn’t go according to plan. Prydz himself revealed that technical failures struck just minutes before showtime:
“The ‘set’ at Sónar was a fully prerecorded one made in Logic. Not sure how many of you were there that night, but the long delay and all the people running around on stage silently were due to a major equipment malfunction. Nothing worked.”
Despite attempts to replace both CDJs and mixers, nothing functioned correctly — except for one CDJ with a USB stick inserted.
A last-minute call
Facing the possibility of canceling the entire performance, Prydz made a critical decision. His tour manager had with him a test set used in the programming phase of Holosphere 2 — the high-tech visual show Prydz has been developing with his team.
“I decided that it would be better to play something on that working CDJ rather than not perform at all and shut the arena down.”
Innovation, improvisation, and professionalism
In a festival where audio-visual immersion plays a massive role, Prydz chose to give the audience an experience rather than silence. And while it wasn’t a live set in the traditional sense, many in attendance were still blown away by the production and flow of the show.
Prydz and the cutting edge of music technology
Eric Prydz has long been synonymous with technological innovation in electronic music. From his epic HOLO shows to the boundary-pushing Holosphere, Prydz blends 3D visuals, spatial sound, and conceptual storytelling into something closer to digital performance art than standard DJing.
A fully prerecorded set? It’s not typical. But it fits within Prydz’s broader vision: immersive, high-concept, flawlessly executed shows.
Sónar: Still the global benchmark
Sónar Festival, founded in Barcelona in 1994, has built a legacy by blending underground music, digital art, and forward-thinking tech. The 2025 edition stayed true to that spirit — even when the unexpected occurred.
What happened with Prydz is a reminder that live performance today is as much about systems and machines as it is about artists. And even the best can face unpredictable setbacks.
Final thoughts
Eric Prydz didn’t fake a performance — he salvaged a night that could’ve ended in silence. In doing so, he upheld his reputation not just as a producer, but as a performer who cares deeply about the experience he delivers.
In a digital era where the line between “live” and “virtual” continues to blur, this incident might just mark another step toward redefining what performance means.
