Held in a small, isolated desert near Zaragoza, Spain Monegros Desert Festival welcomed 50,000 people to its 31st anniversary celebration, which featured 22 hours of nonstop electronic and urban music performances.

Just as fascinating as the event schedule is the history of how the Monegros Festival began and developed. The Arnau family formed the idea after their parents attended numerous raves in England and around central Europe. During a visit to their estate in Monegro, the family came up with the idea of throwing their own party. The first gatherings for friends and family were planned back in 1992. Fast forward more than three decades and the festival celebrated its 31st birthday on July 27, 2024 with eleven stages, more than 150 DJs, eye-catching ‘ludic style’ decorations and a wide range of musical styles.

With electronic music DJs and producers representing techno, dub, and drum ‘n’ bass in addition to house, disco, and live bands like the illustrious Chase & Status or Hard Gz, Monegros is a varied festival. The entire audiovisual experience of Monegros combines dance, music, lighting, and special effects. Without a doubt, one of the most crucial components is the sound system, which must be planned with consideration.

The sound design and production of the festival’s five stages were handled by Barcelona-based Funktion-One rental partner and dealer Aphonik Audio. In addition to supplying the sound systems, the Aphonik team was involved in all aspects of sound production, providing engineers and technicians for each stage they worked on.

Aphonik Audio’s Technical Production Manager Peter Dean explained: “After so many years at Monegros and numerous set-ups, we still get surprised with something new every year. Circumstances vary; obviously the artists are new, but also the weather condition is always changing. On top of that, the festival is evolving and we are happy to witness that and support the organisers.”

For the Open Air stage, the Aphonik Audio team deployed 44 Funktion-One F121 bass enclosures and Resolution 5T speakers and 10 Resolution 4D downfils.

The Elrow Stage featured nine Funktion-One Vero speakers on each side with 30 F221 bass enclosures in front of the stage and six F132 subwoofers stacked on one side. Six Evo 7T, four Evo 6SH speakers and two Resolution 4T were used as additional infill, plus two Resolution 1 for the VIP area.

Aphonik Audio also delivered a smaller system to the El Corral scene, using four Evo 6 with F218 and F118 subs for the main system. Pajar Stage featured a Funktion-One Res 5 and F221 system and Open Spirit Stage had a Res 5T and F124 system.

Dean commented: “We were very happy with the performance of the Funktion-One systems and were pleased to see how engaged the audiences were.”