Pépé Bradock, Theo Parrish, Moritz von Oswald Trio play Mutek 2010

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  • Mouse on Mars, Vladislav Delay, Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts and many more will play in Montreal this June.
  • Pépé Bradock, Theo Parrish, Moritz von Oswald Trio play Mutek 2010 image
  • This June, the 11th annual Mutek Festival will take place at venues across Montreal, bringing with it thousands of revelers and dozens of electronic musicians of all stripes. Big names announced so far include Dixon, DJ Koze, Theo Parrish and Shed. Eccentric Frenchman Pépé Bradock will perform as well, along with German production duo Mouse On Mars. On the more experimental front, Iceland-based producer Ben Frost will perform, as well as acclaimed sound scientist Vladislav Delay and Baltimore duo Matmos, both of whom will be returning to Mutek after playing its first and second editions respectively. A bit of dubstep is in store as well, courtesy of Ikonika and King Midas Sound, each appearing in North America for the first time. As in previous years, the events will emphasize live performance over DJing. Reached for comment at his office in Montreal, festival director Alain Mongeau says this detail is essential to Mutek's mission. "People, even today, when you talk about electronic music, the first thing they think about is DJs... we're actually focusing on the artists producing the music, on the craftsmanship that is behind the production." With few exceptions, even house and techno artists will perform live, many on laptops, others with full bands. Matias Aguayo and Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts will both premiere their new ensembles, and multi-instrumentalists Brandt Brauer Frick will provide some live minimal beats as well. Mutek also focuses on contemporary art and audio/visual performance, especially at the beginning of the week, which tends to be more experimental. Anyone who's been to Mutek knows the festival follows a distinct progression: things start out fairly avant-garde on Wednesday, then grow more beat-oriented as the weekend sets in. As a result, Mutek presents the festivalgoers with a diverse range of electronic performance, moving from sit-down shows at Monument National to afternoon parties by the River St. Laurent. "It's like high cuisine in a sense, the care that we put to everything," says Mongeau, whose favorite part of Mutek is invariably the final night. "The last night is always programmed as the landing phase. Or as I put it, it's more like the dessert after the five days. Or even the cherry on the desert." After a week of hearing so many different styles of music, the audience is, ideally, exceptionally open-minded, and ready for something a bit more challenging. This year, Mutek will conclude with a live performance by Moritz Von Oswald Trio. In general, Mutek is one of the only events around the world where punters can take in an ambient performance by someone like The Caretaker, then grab a beer and go dance to Paul Kalkbrenner (both penned in for this year's festival). Mongeau says this points to Mutek's underlying philosophy. "I remember the first edition we did, when on the last night we had Carsten Nicolai dancing to a Thomas Brinkmann set," he says. "It was really inspiring for us, because it was living proof that our hypothesis was working, because we think there could be mutual cross-influences in that way. And that's something we've been trying to create–maintaining our wide spectrum and hoping that artists and the public follow our instinct on that." Mongeau says that the lineup announced so far represents roughly one third of the final bill, with mostly Canadian artists yet to be confirmed.

    • Wed, Jun 2, 2010

      Mutek 2010

      Actress, Ben Frost, Brandt Brauer Frick, Dave Aju, Demdike Stare, Dixon, DJ Koze, Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts, Henrik Schwarz, Ikonika, King Midas Sound, Marsen Jules, Matias Aguayo, Matmos, Moritz Von Oswald Trio, Moritz von Oswald, Nicolas Jaar, Pépé Bradock, Rebolledo, Theo Parrish, Tim Hecker, Vladislav Delay, Chris Hreno, Jacek Sienkiewicz, Mossa, Nathan Fake, Nurse With Wound, Orphx, Overcast Sound, San Proper
      Montreal
      Location
      TBA - Montreal
      Person
      105
RA