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Mutek Musing Montreal
Thursday I caught A/Visions II with The Fun Years, Jaki Liebezeit & Burnt Friedman as well as a portion of Martin Tétreault & Michel Langevin. Tight overall, filled with abstract percussion, broken beats ala world rhythms. Tétreault dazzled with a multi-bank of turntables while Liebezeit and Friedman have honed a balanced blend between their disparate world of Krautrock meets dub/jazz.
Later in the evening I spent a majority of my deep listening time dedicated to the goings-on at the Savoy (within the Metropolis complex where it was a blend of dub and dance music for party people). I managed to eavesdrop on a touch of both Moderat (a loud crowd-pleaser of techno ala rave pairing Apparat and Modeselektor) and DJ Mala whose intriguing rhythmic flow could have had the crowd on its feet ’til the wee hours. I focused on the more dense and diverse smaller room, however its proximity to the larger had caused for an aural spillover that was distracting at times when the artists performing were headed for deeper bass lows. That said, all were in top form including Anticipate’s Ezekiel Honig whose funky set had a wash of minimal, calculated harmonies layered together like a treasure map. Clinker of Alberta was the evening’s biggest risk-taker, evolving a commissioned Leonard Cohen piece with voice (digital and live), smoke machines and video. He crossed austere religious references with passionate sexuality in an emotional set that was imbued with a certain sense of longing. i8u along with video artist Chika (doing double duty w/Honig earlier) performed a pert 40-minute long set that was simply perfection. The unique culmination between the most minimal acoustics with beats that teased but never fully prompted a pop sensibility. There was something sensual yet very cryptic in this stand-out set of the showcase. Grecian artist Novi_sad’s part of the evening began off the main stage and behind the audience (”chill out” floor area) sans visuals. It was darkly experimental, full with lush drones and lost voices, sound effects and strange field recordings. His set ran longer, but I could’ve gone all night with him. Finally Montreal’s Aun took the stage, making for a continuation of the previous set, but perhaps a touch more ambient…though sleep beckoned and I left about half-way through all was well into the night.
unBLOGGED © 2002-2008 TJ Norris.
