Mutek festival celebrates 25 years of electronic music and digital art

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As Montreal comes down from the dance music rave-up that was ÎleSoniq, our city’s more cerebral electronic music festival prepares to celebrate a quarter century. Mutek marks 25 years of digital creativity and electronic music with a panoply of live performances by cutting-edge DJs, producers and audiovisual artists, Aug. 20-25.

Those looking for a way into the challenging programming should drop by the Esplanade Tranquille, the cosy free outdoor stage tucked at the corner of Clark St. and Ste-Catherine St. W., where Mutek has lined up stellar talent that would usually be playing big indoor ticketed shows, each evening from 5 to 11 p.m. as part of its Expérience series.

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“For years we had outdoor stages here and there,” said Mutek founder Alain Mongeau. “We had no fixed address. But the Esplanade Tranquille was a perfect place to land. As soon as we got there, the magic began to happen. It’s as if the heart of the festival found its home. The rest of Mutek radiates from there.”

Starting at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday’s opening night lineup features a set by west-coast Canadian jazz-house guru Mathew Jonson, who will also be performing indoors with his live band Cobblestone Jazz, Friday at the SAT as part of the Nocturne 4 program.

“He could have done MTelus during prime time,” Mongeau said. “But we decided to put him there as a gift to people.”

Montreal electronic music star Marie Davidson performs for free on the Esplanade Tranquille on Thursday. “We programmed the whole stage as the equivalent of an indoor experience,” Mongeau said. “Last year was a revelation. On the Saturday night at 9 p.m. we had 3,000 people partying like they were at MTelus. It was exciting. That stage is a window to the rest of the festival. It’s a place for Mutek to have a dialogue with Montreal, to take risks and allow people to enjoy the live experience of the festival without spending a dime.”

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The avant-garde, underground and otherwise under-the-radar aspect of Mutek’s programming provides its biggest challenge. Rather than dumbing down the party with a hit-list of globe-trotting DJs, the festival pulls attendees out of their comfort zone, introducing them to sounds and experiences on at the forefront of electronic artistry.

“It’s a curse,” Mongeau joked, of putting together a music festival without mainstream headliners.

“It’s also our main advantage,” added Marie-Laure Saidani, who makes up Mutek’s programming team with Mongeau and Vincent Lemieux. “We’re different from all other electronic music festivals in North America. Nobody knows the names of the acts who play, but they come anyway. That’s our challenge.”

Many artists who have played Mutek over the years have gone on to major careers, including Modeselektor, Nicoas Jaar and Overmono (who just played Osheaga). And though Mutek can no longer afford to book many of these acts, Mongeau and Saidani take it in stride.

“When you look at the last 25 years, it’s amazing all the artists we have presented, often in Canadian or North American premières,” Mongeau said. “Our festival is about artistry — like the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma or Festival TransAmériques.”

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Highlights of Mutek this year include Film Scores For No One: A Patrick Watson Project, Wednesday from 8-11 p.m. at New City Gas with contemporary music composer Kara-Lis Coverdale and circular-breathing sax behemoth Colin Stetson. Mongeau says Watson fans should know they will not hear any of the singer-songwriter’s ethereal indie-pop compositions.

“This will be more about improvisation. He approached us a few years ago. He had discovered modular synths and was tripping out.”

Another big name is L.A. native Nosaj Thing, who has collaborated with Kendrick Lamar, Flying Lotus and Phillip Glass. He contributes his refined electronic grooves to a live collaboration with Montreal house producer Jacques Greene as part of the Nocturne 1 program, Tuesday at 10 p.m. at the SAT.

Mongeau is excited to have China’s .WAV Studio as part of the A/Visions 1 series. The duo of artist and coder Cao Yuxi and composer and sound artist Lau Hiu Kong, who contributed to the soundtrack of the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022, present a reflection on time with their Palindrome Complex performance, Friday from 7 to 10 p.m. at Théâtre Maisonneuve.

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“We’ve been trying to bring them for the past five years,” Mongeau said, noting that that duo “perfectly represents the artistic mission of the A/Visions programming, providing “an immersive performance on stage integrating sound and image.”

Mutek takes over MTelus on Friday and Saturday nights with Rhythmic Delights, two programs devoted to an eclectic selection of experimental sounds geared for the dance floor. Saidani highlights the performances of Berlin-based Finnish duo Amnesia Scanner and York-based French digital artist Freeka Tet, who present their audacious auditory and visual exploration STROBE.RIP, on Friday’s program, which runs from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m.

The party really takes off on Saturday from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. as Factory Floor, the veteran London techno duo previously signed to DFA records, performs along with German tech-house producer Roman Flügel (who plays for free Friday at the Esplanade Tranquille) and Swedish dub-house producer Axel Boman.

Also of note is Gary Hustwit’s innovative documentary Eno, a unique profile of Roxy music cofounder and legendary producer Brian Eno, with scenes presented live by the director, followed by a Q-and-A, Thursday at 9 p.m. at Théâtre Maisonneuve.

And ongoing through Aug. 29 is Village Numérique, a series of 22 digital art installations by 19 different Montreal artists and entities as part of a 10-minute walk through Quartier des Spectacles.

AT A GLANCE: Mutek takes place Tuesday to Saturday, Aug. 20-25. For tickets and information, visit montreal.mutek.org.

tdunlevy@postmedia.com

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