Mutek 2008: A/Visions

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  • "When's the fun going to start?" It was an apt question, delivered to me by a friend not all that into electronic music – experimental or otherwise – along for the ride in Montreal as we walked out of the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde. It was Friday and we were both breathing a sigh of relief after three straight days of the experimental side of 2008's Mutek Festival. The serious side of Mutek was over and the fun – if it were to be had – was about to begin. But while the LED-heavy electrocrunk of Modeselektor, the searing live set of Kode 9 and the Spaceape and the boozy antics of Noze were all assured crowdpleasers that came after, there was excellent chin stroking to be had at Mutek this year. In fact, as far as electronic music festivals in North America go, it may just be the premiere venue. Even as it widens its scope to more traditional electronic house and techno subgenres, Mutek – at its heart – will always aim to be an "enriching…experience" as it claims in its press notes. The problem with enriching, as my poor friend points out, is that it ain't always that fun. On the first night of the three at the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde, that much was clear as Morgan Packard and Joshue Ott took to the stage with a phalanx of skittering beats that corresponded to the abstract shapes dotting the projection screen behind the duo's laptops. About halfway through, a surprising house beat kicked in, but it was an awkward one built expressly for the skittering to continue underneath. Then, as if abandoning all that had gone before, Packard and Ott presenting a tenor sax and accordion and played a lovely coda to the proceedings, complete with a friend playing baritone sax in a second floor balcony. After a strikingly bad set by Nicolas Bernier, whose music would probably best work as the soundtrack to a student film, Murcof followed with the best work of the evening, subtly remixing older tunes with XX+YY providing some of the best visuals of a festival chock-full of Microsoft Windows screensaver clones. The only moment that struck an odd note for me was the finale, in which the laptopper built up an impressive cloud of noise, only to cut it completely, leaving a glowing blue orb on the screen. 2001, anyone? By the end of the next night, though, I would have gladly welcomed such minor faults. Nokami & Sans Soleil and Freida Abtan seemed to view music as an afterthought to their performances. While Sans Soleil had some stunning moments of ingenuity projection-wise, Abtan's light psychedelics were silly and slight. Németh & Hess were next and picked up the pace with a set that bordered on excellent at times. Hess played live drums, while Németh appeared to be sampling him in real-time. Exciting, unpredictable and (most of all) live, it was striking to see the difference between them and the groups that had come before. Unfortunately, Rechenzentrum – in what was being billed as possibly their final live performance in North America – couldn't match N&H's intensity. When they launched into a very poppy final song after an uneven set of abstract rhythms and tracks, my friend leaned over to me and asked, "If they could do that the entire time, why did they go through all of that?" I honestly didn't have a great answer. The most anticipated night of A/Visions, as the performances at Théâtre du Nouveau Monde were being dubbed, featured a trio of avant-guitarists that would make any experimental electronic music fan salivate. Ben Frost, whose Theory of Machines was one of my favorite records of 2007, was in from Iceland and showcased his build-and-release technique of guitar work over the course of a 45-minute set. Not quite as indelible as some of the work on record, Frost's patient takes nonetheless proved to be a striking contrast to Tim Hecker, who seemed to be rushing through his compositions. Just when you would begin to get into the flow of Hecker's gorgeous gaseous clouds of guitar-built drone, he'd be clicking away at his laptop, moving on to the next vista. Stunning landscapes, but I wish we'd been able to stay in each a tiny bit longer. Christian Fennesz smartly split the difference for much of his set, giving ample time for getting lost—but getting out before boredom set in. The first half of his performance was amazing – and featured the best visuals of the festival, provided by Lillevan – but at some point Fennesz lost it. A serene bed of choral music was playing, a rare clichéd sound, and Fennesz began to fiddle around with his guitar, playing one of the most horrendously "arty" guitar solos I've had the displeasure of hearing. For someone whose music thrives on the mysterious nature of how the sounds he makes are conjured, I could tell everything that was being done in that moment—and appalled by all of it. Fennesz soon regained his footing, but the sour taste didn't quite subside. That said, at performance's end, a man was so moved that he walked up to the stage and raised both arms in adulation as Fennesz walked off the stage. Well, at least someone was having fun. Read RA's other Mutek 2008 coverage here and here. Photo credit: Miguel Legault
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