The silver lining of a fashionably late festival chronicle is the opportunity it affords to see the calm after the storm. Highlights have already made the headlines, and headlines have defined the highlights. Certain points were emphasized for public attention, and everything else has started to mold into an individual aftertaste.
When a forward-thinking, innovative organization like MUTEK is in question, you can bet that nothing about their programming is arbitrary, unimportant, or non-consequential… No artist, performance or event went unnoticed during the festival; but the critical focus afterwards seemed to gravitate towards the same points in multiple eloquent, high quality reviews.
While this indicates a consensus on the overall success of the festival, the emphasis on a few, bigger acts inevitably cast a shadow on the rest. This calls for opening a page to prevent those shadows from leading into obscurity for the more modest, yet equally important artists and performances. From misguided perceptions to actual conundrums, here’s a look at the aftermath, as well as the festival itself.
Where expectations have gone wrong, and reactions stumbled…
The most common misconception seemed to be thinking of MUTEK [ES] as an electronic music festival. [Cannot blame anyone who does, especially after witnessing Nils Frahm say on stage: “This is an electronic music festival – this is THE electronic music festival.”] While music plays a very central and major role, MUTEK has never limited itself with any art form. Its motto sets its mission as: “building bridges between creativity and technology.” Music is always an option; but still, optional, not required…
The unapologetically outrageous performance of 1024 Architecture walked on the thin line between visual genius and deliberate insanity that they have drawn… Extremely original and creative, what might have been missed by many is that everything that you see reflect to the stage is controlled entirely by the two people on stage real-time. They plug in and out various cables, one even wears a magic tie that’s both a musical instrument and a visual controller – yet, all is part of the act… They use sounds to create an impact, not to please the ears; and whether it may be considered music is debatable. It definitely is not a musical act, nor a dramatic piece; but a spectacular show nevertheless. [And a quite merciless one, especially for those sitting in the front row. Choosing to stack up empty boxes “because they are cheap”, as they say, is the reason I’m still a three-dimensional human being today.]
On the other hand, sound and video artist _blank’s conceptual performance seemed to be misunderstood, or rather, not understood at all. Her deep and exacting exercise on deciphering and exposing how sound relates to image seemed to get lost on many. The loud, sharp sounds never intended to be anything like music – the audio was the very own sound of the image on the screen. While such an exercise is quite interesting in terms of revealing the philosophy behind digital sound, it understandably is not for every taste. However, such conceptual art that relates directly to sound and image definitely has a place in the festival. Briefing the audience prior to more conceptual, non-musical acts might help adjust the expectations, possibly… It’s not for easy consumption, but _blank’s work is one to stay, and echo through the years as a landmark of its very unique kind.
All about music – stars, misfits, and hidden gems
Genius piano wizard Nils Frahm dismissed the titles of his songs (in case the one called “Improvisation for Cough and a Cell Phone” was not clear enough), and went on to prove that nothing really, not even catching the last metro of the night mattered to the enchanted crowd that filled up the elegant Teatre Tivoli. More than his two pianos and synths, it was himself, and his emotionally charged, cathartic performance that filled up the ample stage. He speaks to his instruments with key, or toilet brush, strokes, and make them come alive to create a unique, magical musical atmosphere, powerful enough to leave one literally breathless.
Not much matters as long as the music defies the gravity of the mundane, especially past 2:00 AM… A good portion of younger audience, still under the influence of Frahm’s performance, took to the dance floor at Apolo soon after, and let Andy Stott and Marcel Dettmann‘s strong beats take control of what’s left of them. The following night, the very last closing event of the festival required a bit more energy, with Laurel Halo and Kode 9 performing as the main stars; while lesser known, but equally strong artists had simultaneous acts at the smaller venue La [2] downstairs, which were somehow widely overlooked in chronicles.
All music/AV performances in both rooms saw a full house of enthusiastic audiences; but that didn’t mean authenticity and complexity were appreciated by everyone, especially in the main room. Laurel Halo and Andy Stott were singled out by some audiences as well as a few critics, and openly criticized for staying true to their experimental, complex styles, instead of making it easier for the dance floor… A dilemma indeed, for the ones on the dance floor; not so much for Halo and Stott who were there to be their original selves, and have done just that.
Boundary, a new project of a successful Canadian producer, might have been the ultimate hidden gem of the festival. He performed to and amazed big crowd at La [2], with the intimate setting of the smaller room working in favor of its subtleties. Boundary’s impressive live show was accompanied by a drummer with an electronic drum set and not much else – with music that more than fulfilled its promise of dark, minimalist, genuine IDM. The complex, cold, yet coconut-flavored rhythms are mastered to the point of almost moving people without them even noticing that they are, while the overall coldness sends shivers down the spines moving to the very same music… Brilliant, unique, and a bit scary due to its ability to make people dance to the cold darkness, and at times, silence…
Local / International distinction – does it even exist anymore?
The fact that about 50% of the artists this year were hailing from Spain at first might sound like an effort to push the local talent; but to actually see them perform left no doubt in minds that they belonged on the MUTEK stage, Spain or otherwise…
Kino Internacional & Inesfera musically opened the festival with a top-notch, colorful, high-energy show that set the pace, and the bar, quite high… Wooky’s multilayered, multidimensional, almost too-intelligent-for-dance-floor IDM album Montjuïc is already a delight to listen to; but it gained a whole different dimension juxtaposed with Videocratz’s manic, restless, and unbelievably amazing visuals… If they haven’t yet made it into someone’s dreams already, it´s only a matter of time…
Microfeel‘s moody, seamlessly crafted music from Polaroid Soundtrack, with subtle, high impact visuals were hypnotizing, and beGun, who played at Apolo’s La [2] easily pleased a literally cheering crowd with an audiovisual feast. Not to forget Sun Color, whose homemade gadgets that mix digital and analog processing, complete with a joystick, were perfect for creating interesting soundscapes.
Nev.Era‘s moody, intense, and hauntingly captivating music from his album Presión Profunda, combined with subtle, sensual and seductive visuals by Xarlene, was one to be seen, experienced, and felt thoroughly… Maybe stating the fact that they followed the glitz, glamour and insanity of 1024 Architecture, and managed to dominate and cast a spell on the room within seconds might give an idea…
Following its all-around success, and well-deserved praise, MUTEK [ES] has signed off on its fifth chapter on a high note. And as the ink of that signature dries in time, certain moments, sounds, images, experiences will stick with many, some permanently, as powerful experiences are the tattoos that decorate artistic souls…
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