- To celebrate their 15th anniversaries, MUTEK and Elektra (a Montreal institution on the more academic side of things) joined forces this year for one big blowout. On the surface, things didn't look all that different from past years at MUTEK, with a good mix of full-on raves, more intimate audiovisual events and a comprehensive daytime conference. Dig deeper, though, and it seemed like the festival's emphasis had shifted slightly. Where MUTEK is all about the possibilities of performing electronic music live, their collaboration with Elektra emphasised installation art and the navigation of communities and spaces. The latter idea manifested itself most obviously in a dramatic venue change: Montreal's prestigious Musée d'Art Contemporain (or MAC).
For 2014, MUTEK severed ties with the beloved SAT and chose the museum instead, a decision that drew mixed feelings from attendees but no doubt looked good on paper (a legitimizing move for an electronic music festival if there ever was one). And they did well with the venue, using its basement space creatively (most dramatically with Tim Hecker's fogged-out tour de force, where his claustrophobic wall of sound turned physical and you couldn't even see the person sitting beside you). Many of the museum's installations and exhibits were kept intact, making every walk between rooms a dizzying array of sights and sounds. The main room was a huge gallery space outfitted with a custom-built stage and soundsystem, along with a smaller lounge where you could watch the action on video projections from a selection of makeshift industrial furniture.
The large main room was home to some of EM15's best performances, including head-spinning turns from Kangding Ray and Shackleton, a blinding sensory experience from Ben Frost and, on Saturday night, a blistering jungle workout from Lee Bannon that finally got the stodgy crowd dancing. Meanwhile, Oneohtrix Point Never's performance fell flat, and Nicolas Jaar's five-hour From Scratch concept—complete with extras like an interpretive dancer—felt awkward, unfolding excruciatingly slowly with nowhere to sit down or get comfortable. As ambitious as it was, it felt like a letdown for the festival's grand conclusion. Luckily, at the same time you could catch The Mole and friends laying down an amazing live set in the basement.
For the ravier side of things the festival returned to multi-floor Metropolis club. An ENTER. party with Richie Hawtin and Marc Houle had the crowd cheering with every (admittedly cheesy) drop, but it was TM404's understated opening set that really made the night. Saturday was the moment many were waiting for the whole week, as Ricardo Villalobos took over the decks for an excellent four-hour set that became the talk of the festival. The rest of the night was interesting on its own terms, too, thanks to a standout performance from locals-to-watch Iron Galaxy, a ponderous jam session from Magic Mountain High and some ultra-refined techno from Stefan Goldmann.
The sit-down audiovisual shows typically provide some of the most memorable moments at MUTEK, and this year was no exception. Ricardo Villalobos and Max Loderbauer masterfully improvised an hour of their Re:ECM material, tearing each sound apart and stretching out samples to a confused audience that finally got it when a beat dropped. Lumière, Robert Henke's laser show, seemed to impress the pants off everyone that saw it, though I unfortunately missed it due to a bout of sickness that took me out for all of Friday. (For the same reason I missed Voices From The Lake, Audion and Archie Pelago, but it's a testament to EM15's curation that this didn't greatly impact my experience as a whole.)
In addition to an increase in the number of DJ sets (where MUTEK has traditionally focused on live performances), a series of afternoon outdoor parties on the museum's esplanade gave things a looser vibe than in past years. JTC played some stellar afternoon house, while Space Dimension Controller dished out vintage-sounding electro and disco, culminating with a killer Storm Queen drop. But the week's growing energy peaked most spectacularly with MUTEK's annual team-up with outdoor party Piknic Electronik.
With a lineup that featured Donato Dozzy, Move D and a not-so-secret surprise appearance from Villalobos, Parc Jean-Drapeau was destined to be busy—last year's edition with Talaboman looked like a campfire singalong by comparison. Things started off slow as most people migrated to the Encore stage to see Villalobos open, but once Move D hit the main area with a crack selection of summery vocal house, it felt explosive, an energy that kept up all the way through Dozzy's pounding sunset performance.
The audience was a mixture of younger partiers and EM15 attendees, and it was one of the few chances to see everyone let their hair down. It was good enough to see a crowd of thousands go nuts to music from Dozzy and Villalobos, never mind in the baking sun on an island with gorgeous views of Montreal. That's the kind of strange and wonderful experience that only MUTEK provides. The festival in its normal form, or as EM15, is a unique chance to network, learn about technology and see some mind-blowing experimental music—but it's a great place to let loose with your fellow music nerds, too.