Besides feeling a bit worse for wear, the other main reason for my late arrival at today’s festival was simple. I didn’t feel that the standard of the line-up this year matched up to previous years when every day would leave you drooling. This is not to say that there were no top quality artists this year, but rather to stress that just as Primavera Sound before it, Sonar this year has failed to deliver in the same way many had anticipated. As I expected the more impressive line-up to come in the night event, I decided to pace myself.

On the plus side, less big names often means more experimenting. And this in turn usually leads to at least a couple of "discoveries". Today it was Budapest-born Swede, Kornel Kovacs. His techno set brought the Dome to its explosive best, and despite a slow start, Lukid followed up well with a bass-happy mix of electronic beats and grooves.

Bullion’s eclectic track-list of powerful beats and short, sharp melodies is another act worth mentioning. His hour-long set reached a crescendo with a compilation of disco-like tunes which shook the dance-floor in Sonar Village. The end of his set coincided with my departure from the day festival as I decided to head home for a quick shower and a bite to eat (Glastonbury eat your heart out!) before heading out to Sonar by Night.

To their credit, Sonar’s transport organization was flawless when it came to the buses going to and coming from Fira Gran Via. What I thought would be an ordeal was over within 30 minutes. On arrival,
I was left stunned by the sheer size of the Fira. There were many thousands of people there and yet there was probably space to get double that amount in. The one major complaint by many regular Sonar-heads was that this year there were just three stages at Sonar by Night, as opposed to four like in years gone by. With Budweiser no longer being the official sponsors and the crisis still evidently being felt, it seems that the money men decided to tighten the purse strings and scrapped the hugely popular Sonar Park stage. Naturally the price of a night ticket remained identical; a quite hefty €48.

At least the night itself was still packed with big names. Animal Collective – one of the most significant groups of this decade - drew the first big crowd of the night as they performed for close to two hours, belting out hits from both their older albums and this year’s success: Merriweather Post Pavilion.

Fever-Ray is the new project of one half of the Swedish electro duo The Knife. Karin Dreijer Andersson stars without the help of brother Olof, as she introduces her characteristic alternative pop while maintaining the mix of acoustic and electronic instruments. The music is made even more unmistakable by her voice and the band’s creepy Goth-like appearance.

After our recent interview with Beardyman, a lot of my festival expectations were lying on the Brit beatboxer. Not only did he live up to them, but he annihilated any doubts anyone may have had with his mind-blowing performance. Mixing beatboxing with technology and humour, his half an hour set was - for me - the highlight of the festival. It warmed up perfectly for what was to come; arguably the biggest name at Sonar 2009; British electronica brothers, Orbital. The duo may only have started touring again last year after a four year absence, but at Sonar they proved that all the old magic is still there. Although the visuals weren’t quite up to the usual staggering standards, their unequivocal sound was there for all to see – melodic, accessible and with the usual element of cutting edge electronica. Their 90 minute show reminded their audience just why they are still considered one of the true greats.

With the bumper cars and food stands keeping people occupied between acts, the night was really reaching its peak. At around 3 am, US techno legend Jeff Mills took the decks to a full house at Sonar Pub. Like Orbital, his reputation as one of the pioneers of techno music comes before him. Unfortunately at Sonar he couldn’t live up to his big billing. When his equipment failed him halfway through the set, many put it down as a technical problem. That may have been, but by the fourth time the sound dropped mid-record, frustrated crowds started pouring out of the arena. In turn a disgusted Jeff Mills walked off stage. It was an even bigger disappointment considering the promise his wonderful set had shown during Thursday's Sonar by Day.

It was a sad way to end an otherwise brilliant evening. Although to say that Sonar didn’t reach the heights of the last couple of years may be harsh, there are certainly a few adjustments that the organizers need to look at for next year’s festival. That aside, it has overall been an extremely successful festival yet again. The future looks bright for Sonar; not just as Catalunya’s leading music festival, but as a global brand.