MUTEK is the pinnacle of all things electronic music and art. This was a five-day marathon with over 80 performances by international artists. With big club nights, to smaller engaging sound and video environments, to symposiums to everything from the state of electronic music in Canada to the creating music in a “post instrument” world, Mutek is arguably the most submerged one can get into all things techno.
After 5 days of back-to-back events it was hard to pick and choose what events to attend, but as I was flying into Montreal from Los Angeles I started to whittle-down the daunting list of events and managed to pack quite a bit into my trip. The following is part 1 of 3 of my time at the Mutek Festival in Montreal.
Shlohmo :: Live May 31st
Shlohmo’s live set was the first proper live set that I saw at Mutek, and it was a great way to kick off the festival. A producer of bass-heavy abstract beats (the dude’s got LA ties after all), his live set was an exercise in how a producer can mine the familiar and come up with a fresh and wholly original take on the source material. Everything from Drake to Christina Aguilera was screwed, chopped processed then rinsed out over asymmetrical bass lines and intricate compositions that were simultaneously visceral and heady. If you can imagine what hip-hop will sound like in 2050, then you’ll kind of get the picture.
Jeff Mills :: Performing The Messenger/Sleeper Wakes at Metropolis May 31st
This Detroit Techno legend help define an entire genre of music. After more than 25 years of producing and performing music, Jeff Mills still continues to push himself creatively into new territory. His performance at Mutek was equal parts DJ set and live performance. With the Science Fiction based storyline of The Messenger / Sleeper Wakes, he created a sonic and visual landscape that moved the blueprint of techno into a different realm. His set-up was 5 CDJ’s, mixer and a small effects box, with an impressive video set-up that showed a lunar landscape. His was playing on the floor, the whole set-up exposing him and equipment. The music was classic Detroit Techno. Starting off as an ambient experience then slowly building into a pulsing 4/4 throb. This was my first time to see Jeff Mills play out live, and his status as a legend is firmly cemented.
Monolake :: Live performance of Ghosts
This was the second time I’d seen Monolake perform Ghosts live. The biggest difference was venue. The first time I saw the performance at Redcat in Los Angeles, which is a more formalized theater space. Monolake’s performance at Mutek was held at Metropolis, which is much more of a traditional club/concert venue. Conceptually, “Ghosts” is an exploration of abstract ideas. In his own word, Robert Henke of Monolake says “I started taking notes about topics connected to the term, read about mythologies and collected ideas. I also often write fragmentary texts, short cinematic scenes that I come up with when my head is idling and I have time to kill.” This may seem like a lofty goal for a dance record, but to see this piece performed live, in this whole new club environment with 5.1 surround sound, using complex processing techniques with real time visuals along with real time generative video, by visual artist Tarik Barri, what the experience ended up being was a fully immersive club experience.
