Mutek Musing Montreal
Monday, June 1st, 2009
The 10th Anniversary of Mutek kicked off Wednesday with A/Visions I, a full-on tonal ambient listening set by Gas (Wolfgang Voigt). The visual component was a bit of pastiche of the past, a contextualization of his album art and recent monographics - deep lush forests, saturated in bold darkened colors. Then we were presented with multidisciplinarian Herman Kolgen’s world premiere of IN/JECT, an HD video work for the big screen (w/multichannel audio). I could use nearly every euphemism from eye-popping to jaw-dropping to describe the way he transcribed nearly every contemporary a/v motif from the coy absurdity of Bjork and Matthew Barney to the visceral chaos of Chris Cunningham with nods to the flair of Magritte, it was a whopping melange for the senses. He retrofit and owned the room in a way rarely experienced by incorporating hydro imagery of bodies suspended in space, sharply cut-up both visually and rhythmically. At the curve of the unknown, seeping with the suspense of potential horror, stopping short to take point blank 180 degree turns to keep your eyes fastened on the screen. This alone would have made the trip of 3K+ miles worth every kilometer.
Later in the evening I donned a yellow hazmat bodysuit alongside many others who spun the wheel to participate in a show where I caught parts of sets by French acts Turzi and Zombie Zombie (a collaboration with Club Transmediale). Funky + fresh + French.
Liebezeit (left), Friedman (right)
As the fest progressed at multiple venues I missed a handful of performances, some in unlikely spots, in between socializing with friends made over the years, dining and general sight-seeing (people watching). In the process I sorely missed a branch of the fest which was nested in the back of the beautiful (and oldest French theater in North America) Monument National (where all of the A/Visions programming was held upstairs) curated by Eric Mattson which I am sure was brilliant given his hand in many of the related events over the years. It was good to see him, however. I only realized after I spoke with Nicolas of Minibloc that I had been aside the venue without knowing it - I’ll watch for reports. Thursday I caught A/Visions II with The Fun Years, Jaki Liebezeit & Burnt Friedman as well as a portion of Martin Tétreault & Michel Langevin. Tight overall, filled with abstract percussion, broken beats ala world rhythms. Tétreault dazzled with a multi-bank of turntables while Liebezeit and Friedman have honed a balanced blend between their disparate world of Krautrock meets dub/jazz.
Clinker (Gary James Joynes)
Later in the evening I spent a majority of my deep listening time dedicated to the goings-on at the Savoy (within the Metropolis complex where it was a blend of dub and dance music for party people). I managed to eavesdrop on a touch of both Moderat (a loud crowd-pleaser of techno ala rave pairing Apparat and Modeselektor) and DJ Mala whose intriguing rhythmic flow could have had the crowd on its feet ’til the wee hours. I focused on the more dense and diverse smaller room, however its proximity to the larger had caused for an aural spillover that was distracting at times when the artists performing were headed for deeper bass lows. That said, all were in top form including Anticipate’s Ezekiel Honig whose funky set had a wash of minimal, calculated harmonies layered together like a treasure map. Clinker of Alberta was the evening’s biggest risk-taker, evolving a commissioned Leonard Cohen piece with voice (digital and live), smoke machines and video. He crossed austere religious references with passionate sexuality in an emotional set that was imbued with a certain sense of longing. i8u along with video artist Chika (doing double duty w/Honig earlier) performed a pert 40-minute long set that was simply perfection. The unique culmination between the most minimal acoustics with beats that teased but never fully prompted a pop sensibility. There was something sensual yet very cryptic in this stand-out set of the showcase. Grecian artist Novi_sad’s part of the evening began off the main stage and behind the audience (”chill out” floor area) sans visuals. It was darkly experimental, full with lush drones and lost voices, sound effects and strange field recordings. His set ran longer, but I could’ve gone all night with him. Finally Montreal’s Aun took the stage, making for a continuation of the previous set, but perhaps a touch more ambient…though sleep beckoned and I left about half-way through all was well into the night.
On Friday my friend Kevin and I witnessed Robert Henke and Christopher Bauder’s North American Exclusive opening performance of ATOM. This work was presented upon the stage at Place des Arts, in which the audience also circled. 60+ mechanically synchronized and illuminated helium balloons danced into shapes to a phenomenal new composition by Henke. The kinetic piece moved up and down on wires as each balloon was lit from within, forming cascading, undulating shapes in mid air. The good thing about the hour long run-time is that it’s about as long as folk can take sitting cross legged in the 360 formation of the space. An absolute breathtaking experience.
SND kicked off A/Visions III with broken abstraction that oscillated into a whir of tranquil circuitry putting me into a state of slumber, and not at all from a case of boredom. Their sound was pure power, with only one or two dramatic turns, mostly encompassing a thick bass pulse that was relentless, yet tonally somewhat a pure aural massage. Afterwards I only caught a small portion of NSI with Jimmy Lakatos‘ accompaniment on mirror shards and sparse lighting techniques. What I heard and saw was a fusion of old school synths, electro-acoustics and some minimal techno thrown into the mix, however I had to leave early to let loose for an hour or two in the midst of Montreal nightlife in Le Village, where I met my good friend Francis at Woof. They had blocked off the streets making for a more festive street atmosphere than normal. Though the weather was on and off rainy, the attitude about was very warm indeed.
Chika (left), i8u (right)
Saturday was the marathon day so I started with France (i8u) for a lovely brunch at Lola Rosa Cafe. There we indulged in wonderful conversation, catching up a bit and incredible cuisine from a chef team out of Marseilles. I had this pain dore with a banana puree to die for, but I am glad I lived to tell. We parted with her kindly offering me a copy of her latest collaborative release with Tomas Phillips on Atak which Kevin and I listened to the entire trip from Montreal to the US border on our way out of town by the way. Absolutely stunning, and an exclusive at Mutek, released later in the month out of Japan.
Then it was back to the hotel to freshen up for the Piknikelectronik which is always a good time on Jean-Drapeau Park under Calder’s Man, Three Disks. This year unlike in years past, the air was a bit crisper on the water, and though the sun broke many had light windbreakers and such, but the dancing kept everything communally warm. I caught a portion of Brendon Moeller’s set which was delightful and made way for Thomas Fehlmann’s immersive combo of dance rhythms atop what you would expect, the unexpected. I could have danced til dawn, but it was broad daylight, making the beautiful and diverse people flailing around even more beautiful in the broken rays of light. It was also nice to see many a familiar face from my five visits to this important festival in the crowd. Leaving shortly after the vibe from Trus’Me’s set was a great departure track that echoed all the way back to the Metro. Surely something I could have gotten my groove on to, but knowing the night would be lengthy I opted to return to the hotel for a wonderful Asian veggie dinner with Kevin on Sherbrooke.
Byetone
It was then to SAT for the Raster-Noton showcase for which I knew I would be immersed for at least four hours of incredible minimalism and entrancing visuals, and the evening did not disappoint starting with Cyclo. This merge of minds between Ryoji Ikeda and Carsten Nicolai fused darker white noise and sonics with slow-built cacaphonic, riveting beats. Next up was Atom™ whose set broke into vignettes between early digital mechanics, some video with programmed voice and a fusion of latin flair encrusted with truncated techno. Alva Noto (Carsten Nicolai) took to the stage owning it like the multidisciplinary pro he’s become over these many years in the scene. What makes his work so incredible is the pure mix of hard mathematics and precise a/v rhythms, synched to perfection. His visuals were a macro unto themselves, panning in and out of a masterplan of video architecture live on screen. Though nothing would have prepared me, or most of the crowd, for what became most definitely the highlight of the entire festival, Byetone. Olaf Bender, as one of the founders of Raster-Noton has been more of a behind-the-scenes guy, much more deliberate and the lesser prolific of this roster. However, his work is probably the most accessible for a dancefloor, while maintaining a sensibility falling just micro-millimeters from something that might be considered pop. Though if there were such a thing within the construct of minimalism, this is it. As he worked his bank of computers and mixers with verve there was a unstoppable crescendo that required an encore amidst the meeting of dead-on electronics, the mesmerized dancing throngs coming to the fest from the world over, and overlapping video calisthenics.
Dandy Jack (left), Mathew Jonson (right)
Though my senses were already on overload I dared step out into the evening to complete my entire monumental anniversaire in Montreal at the Metropolis. Upstairs at Savoy there was a packed SRO showcase dedicated to Seattle’s Decibel Festival (w/Lusine and others). Downstairs I lost myself with the crowd (and friends) on the dancefloor to a partial set by dOP (the singer was funny), but the highlight here was Dandy Jack + Mathew Jonson with whom I was embraced for nearly an additional hour and a half. Individually these players are dynamic, but together they complete a story, with several chapters composed in tandem. They keep techno alive and well and into the present. The vivid multipanel lightshow drew from eras post-dated back to the 70’s and well into the future projecting pyramids, body parts and flashy lipstick shades all over the room. My feet held out until nearly 2:30am, however this party was going all night and I left on an already high note.
All in all this was by far the best Mutek I’ve attended since 2002. It combined the experimental with the popular and catered to audiences of all cultural mishigas. Though as you might figure me to be more the ‘deep listening’ type I can still dance past dawn with the best of them, yet I was more conservative this time out, and still left fully satisfied. Being a distinctive anniversary for the founders I felt it was necessary to be part of the event though due to all the economic digits served in this time I may not be able to get back for years to come. I can say I been there and done that (w/pride)!
PS: For a spot of video see Soma and for more photos check out Brooklyn Vegan. Serial Consign seemed to be right with me (its really like two festivals in one). And for another point of view try Rhizome. Surely not leastly, A.V. Club also weighed in with comments and even a few clips.
