Here’s my interview with the director of a new film called Speaking in Code:

Documentary film director Amy Grill has just completed a new film called Speaking in Code. It’s a documentary about the world of techno music that follows a series of characters over a few years. The film audience gets a cinema  vérité slice-of-life perspective of what it is to be a participant in the music industry. While Grill does not portray the typical electronic music fan’s experience – and could thus be charged as portraying techno’s elite – she does capture an authentic energy in her film. What really connects the music producers she profiles (Monolake, Tobias Thomas, Wighnomy Brothers), the music journalist DJ (Philip Sherburne), and the event promoter and music section editor (David Day) is their love for music.

With a background in broadcast, Grill is a Producer-in-Residence at Emerson College in Boston. At the same time, she had a very personal connection with the subculture and the musicians she portrays. She’s a long-time fan of electronic music and used to throw events in Boston with her ex-husband. She and her then-husband became characters in their own film. As a result of the film, Grill’s own life journey has changed immensely. Now she’s touring the new documentary film.

This video interview was done prior to a Speaking in Code screening in Toronto at the Royal Cinema in November 2009. For more information  about the film you can visit: www.speakingincode.com/

Exploring the art of veejaying, a new trend in the live concert experience

Excerpt of my article from the CBC Arts website:

“[VJing] was an open system, and it was accepted as an experimental thing,” says Greg Hermanovic, a long-time software designer and visualist.

Johnny DeKam, who has his own live-visuals company in Los Angeles, remembers VJing at electronic music festivals in the 1990s. “It took some years for that to really start in the pop world,” he says.

In the ’90s, avant-garde electronic artists like Coldcut, Hexstatic and Emergency Broadcast Network began experimenting with improvised visuals, a practice that was picked up by more mainstream bands like Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails. On their current Lights in the Sky tour, Nine Inch Nails employ live 3-D rendering tools and an interactive touch screen device that frontman Trent Reznor can use to trigger visual and audio effects.

The idea behind VJing is that the images are live and constantly evolving. As a result, each show is a unique experience.

“I have to constantly react, and I am improvising with the live band. I have to push pads, to trigger effects,” says CPU, the VJ moniker of Bryant Davis Place, who has toured with the Black Eyed Peas. CPU alters the colours on a touch screen, creates patterns and remixes the live video feed of the show, as well as the Black Eyed Peas’ logo. He can “scrub” the video — which is like scratching a record — and manipulate the visuals in many ways.

“I keep the energy level going on stage during and in between songs,” he says.

“What makes a good visualist is someone who has a mastery over their technology but also an inherent talent or a formal background in creating visual images,” explains DeKam. “The art [of VJing] is in the kind of relationships you create.”

Modern VJing came into its own in the 1990s, with the emergence of more affordable laptop computers that were capable of faster processing.

Read more at:  http://www.cbc.ca/arts/artdesign/story/2009/10/13/f-rise-of-the-veejay-concerts.html

Derivative’s VJ Mixxa – TouchDesigner 077 software from Amanda C-U on Vimeo.

Is Yoga the way to enlightenment?

When experienced documentary filmmaker Kate Churchill set out on her latest project, Enlighten Up!, she was determined to prove that yoga can transform anyone. Fortunately for her audience, the result was a lot more realistic and less definitive than any kind of film objective can be. Yoga, as it is portrayed, turns out to be something a lot more complex and multifaceted than many yoga enthusiasts may have at first thought.

Churchill’s film rapidly unveils that yoga is a million dollar industry and she is quick to reveal some of the main contrasts between Western society and yoga practice there. A preliminary tour of yoga studios through Boston reveals that many of the yogis and teachers do not even know how old the practice is or why it started. But they are firm believers in yoga’s transformational power and they know it feels good. Still the duo encounters other yogis who say that they see yoga as nothing more than a workout.

The film nicely highlights the visual and spiritual contrast between the East and West, as it takes the pair from overcast Boston, to busy New York, then relaxed Hawaii, and finally to colourful India. Viewers can witness a collective spiritual awareness versus an intense individualism on the other hand.

Q&A with director Kate Churchill

ACU: Can you explain more about why you wanted to know whether yoga could lead a person to spiritual transformation?

Kate Churchill (KC): Well, in the beginning I would have used the word enlightenment, which could mean spiritual transformation, but what I was intrigued with was more what happens when a person focuses on yoga. I wanted to know what changes? How could one become more aware? What changes could occur by solely focusing on yoga?

ACU: Had you considered going to India for your own spiritual discovery or was it more justifiable while you were making this film?

KC: It was my first trip to India. I’ve working in a lot of different places. …South America. Brazil, Nepal, Alaska , Iceland – while producing and directing For PBS and National Geographic.

So, I had a lot of curiosity about it and when u decide to make a film it behooves you to have curiosity on your subject on all different levels. The film took five years and eventually you may get sick of it. Some of the most peaceful moments of my life happened through intense practice of yoga. I thought ‘Wow – six months and go anywhere in the world and meet teachers,’ and I was really intrigued by the idea.

ACU: It struck me that you and Nick had some things in common – both seeking information (he as a journalist and you as a filmmaker). At what point if ever were you aware of the similar challenges or view points you both shared?

KC: From the outset I was aware of our similarities. If anything our dissimilarities emerged through the journey. Our conflicts were unexpected. I never intended to include that in the film. One reason I picked him was because he was seeking information as a journalist and he was curious about yoga and change. Even though skeptical he still had a level of curiosity that I found quite hopeful.

ACU: What was the most challenging thing about making this film?

KC: It was the editing which took 3 years.

ACU: There were a few pieces in the film where you mentioned getting tired of yoga. Can you explain what you felt more?

KC: We wanted to shift the focus from Nick to include me as a character in the film. There were three characters: yoga, Nick and me.

Going into the filmmaking process my expectations were so high and that put pressure on Nick. That got him to dig in his heels and to resist. We ended up in a different place. We lost sight of what we were doing. All day long we met amazing yoga teachers and then we would go and interview about it, and I would ask him “How is it going to change you?”

The tension got to be so much and then we just both let go of everything. The point where I say I am tired of yoga – would normally never be included. But, part of it was to show was that we were on the wrong journey. It’s a turning point in the film when we both let go of the other person and the tone of the film shifts and we are two people each on our own journey. That is what ultimately leads both of us to learn a lot.

Enlighten Up! Opens on Friday August 28th at Cumberland Cinemas in Toronto.

Remember the tunes of Britain’s Goldfrapp or Norway’s Annie (who releasedthe Anniemal album in 2004)?

I remember rocking out to Robyn’s singles ‘Show me love’ and ‘Do you know (What it takes)’  in 1997 when I was 14.  Well the women of this diverse brand we call synth-pop have evolved and grown up since that time too.

And along the way new artists and faces have also risen above the crowd to stand with them. In this photo album for CBC Arts Online there are images that display their stylistic diversity. These performers all seem to have one thing in common – outlandish and fabulous fashion!

Here’s the CBC gallery:

21st Century Girls: A look at the fashionable first ladies of synth-pop http://www.cbc.ca/photogall…

A look at Robyn’s recent video for ‘Cobrastyle’, which was directed by Chris & Rankin, reveals paint flying. Unfortunately universal disabled embedding of the video, but you can look it up on Youtube. Chris & Rankin did a fantastic job, and have also directed The Enemy’s  ‘No Time For Tears’ and Nelly Furtado’s hit, ‘Say it Right’.

mystyleis made their own mash-up version here:

He dreams of Aboriginal fusion cuisine across Canada

Canadian readers of the Globe and Mail may have learned in May 2009 that Aboriginal foods are going to be highlighted at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver.

In her article, “Aboriginal cuisine preps for the world stage”, Alexandra Gill wrote about what will take place. All eyes and taste-buds are likely to be rapt by the new Aboriginal fusion cuisine showcased in the Aboriginal Pavilion at the games.

In fact it’s reasonable to deduce that wherever Aboriginal fusion cuisine appears in Canada, it exists as much more than a traditional style of cooking paired with a refined modern style.  In a recent phone conversation with one prolific 45-year old aboriginal chef from British Colombia, Andrew George shared his wisdom about what Aboriginal fusion cuisine is and where he sees it heading across the country.

Aboriginal fusion cuisine is demonstrated as more than just a way to make a living, it’s a way to give reverence to Aboriginal cultural traditions and a way to inspire Canadian chefs from many different walks of life. Recently with these goals in mind, George created a training and development program in partnership with the Kla-how-eya Aboriginal Centre of the Surrey Aboriginal Cultural Society. There he offers disadvantaged youth the opportunity to upgrade their education and obtain a hands-on cooking experience.

Last month from Vancouver, George explained what differentiates Aboriginal fusion cuisine from other kinds of cooking. He said, “It’s described as fresh, organic and very health-conscious cuisine. It’s lean and healthy.

We have hardly any fat on the meat. We advocate for local products used in our culinary school. In a way we’re going back to the basics of cooking. It’s all made from scratch, it’s organic and local. We look to local nations, as well, for our suppliers.”

George explained enthusiastically, “Why is it fusion cuisine?… (Because) In most cases we can’t use our traditionally produced foods. But we can use other products. In restaurants we have to make it food safe – and it has to be prepared in an industrial kitchen. So, we duplicate our traditional dishes in a modern version, which can be difficult. We take authentic concepts and we move them forward.”

A member of the Wet’suwe’en nation, George grew up on reserve. He said, “We grew up poor and on reserve and walked the trails as our fore-fathers did. I learned as a young person how to cook on an open-fire and how they preserved and cooked food.” Then in junior high school, with his six siblings and his parents both working, George said, “Someone had to cook.  I took up the challenge. I didn’t like doing dishes. I liked open camp fire and we only had a wood stove.” George said he learned from his mother who was an excellent cook how to cook well, and he enjoyed it.

In Grade 11, George said his career counsellor thought he would make a good professional chef. So, after taking summer jobs in restaurant kitchens and finishing high school he went to college. After only visiting the ‘big city’ – Vancouver – once before in grade seven, George decided to move there in 1983 for college.

He said he was late for the first day of class because he got lost. He said, “It was risky for me. A big culture shock, but it paid off. It was a huge decision for me. I noticed there were only two aboriginals in the school. A lot of people approached us about aboriginal cuisine to ask us how to cook in that style. They wanted to know – I realized it was a niche that we had.”

The first job George got in the city was in 1985 in one of Vancouver’s first Aboriginal restaurants where he learned how to cook on a wood burning barbeque.

In 1992 as one of the most-renowned Aboriginal chefs and community leaders, George participated in the Native Canadian Haute Cuisine Team at the International Culinary Olympics in Germany. Then in 1997, along with a writer who he met there, Robert Gairns, he co-authored a book entitled FEAST—Canadian Native Cuisine for All Seasons, which was published by Doubleday. The book outlined how to cook game meats like bison and moose, inspiring home cooks and restaurants alike. From that point onward, George continued to expand his cuisine repertoire and gained business knowledge. Now he’s an expert in his field.

Today, George shares his version of fusion cuisine through the consulting with other chefs at restaurants such as the Four Seasons in Whistler and he ensures Aboriginal inspired menus are prepared. He wants to educate the public on how his people traditionally prepared food. He said, “I want to give them a whole new experience. I create a whole new dish. I do a combination of French, Italian and Aboriginal. I think cuisine has a key role to play today because the world is very universal. In Canadian cities we have many diverse people and ethnic backgrounds coming together with their own cuisine. We’re fortunate to have many cultural cuisines in Canada.”

Furthermore, George explained why he wants to incorporate his own traditions into the cuisine he puts into menus and educational syllabi. He said he sees fusion cuisine as, “promoting our culture – taking Aboriginal products from all parts of Canada.” Before the Olympics George says he’ll be going to remote regions, talking to elders about the traditional ways of harvesting and looking at modern technologies to move Aboriginal cuisine further into contemporary forms. He said, “I’m trying to modernize it. Highlight it and make it mainstream.”

George says his goals for Aboriginal Canadian cuisine are to have it be recognized internationally like other cuisines are. He explained, “The more people we educate and motivate – it will be better for all. The more people we get involved – the further it goes. Not only Aboriginal chefs are interested in this cuisine. Aboriginal fusion cuisine is getting more of a presence in the restaurant market.” George said he wants to train as many people as he can in Aboriginal cuisine.

George said that because the country is so vast there is a big range in the Aboriginal cuisine found. George said “It’s critical to move forward as a people that we show we understand who we are. We are able to produce haute Aboriginal cuisine. That’s my goal and vision.”

Although George says he only knows of a few restaurants specializing in Aboriginal cuisine he said he wants to create his own log house restaurant with a theater to promote Aboriginal culture, with dancers and a dinner theatre. He said, “There is room for restaurant like that in Vancouver.” Indeed there is plenty of room for restaurants like that all over Canada and in Toronto too.

Originally written for the Ryerson Free Press

“at location, here we go, 140 of use get ready, 5 minutes till Action!!!”

11:57 AM June 21st from mobile web

What happens when a large number of people from around the world participate in a social experiment? How does knowing that we share similar experiences of using online technology shape our identities?

In the making of a new film entitled 140, 140 independent amateur and professional filmmakers from around the world synchronized their actions around twitter in order to explore themes of home and questions about how people are connected. Directed by Frank Kelly in London, UK, the yet-to-be created film promises to examine how twitter can be used as a positive tool rather than as a distraction.

The film is timely in its inception, with the rise of the micro-blogging site twitter.com and when it is completed by 2010 it will likely be the first film inspired by twitter to surface.

In conversation in May from London by phone, Frank Kelly said with his film he plans to reveal from a distance, with a birds’ eye view, how we can look at social patterns and specifically how humans construct their connections to home.

Kelly explained he got the idea for his film through using twitter. He said he first signed up in January 2009 after hearing of it through actor, Stephen Frye, who he wanted to ‘follow.’ He said he first thought twitter would be yet another distraction, but soon he found himself wanting to follow more people.

He said, “I wanted to know if it can help me and if I can use it as a tool.” Kelly explained what still strikes him most is that, “It’s all about instant connection and immediacy with other people. It’s fast too. People all around the world can see what everyone else is doing, at once.”

Kelly said, “I thought it would be neat to use twitter to… synchronize a hundred and forty filmmakers… So they all film at the same time.” He said, “All a hundred and forty filmmakers will shoot on the same day and time for approximately a hundred and forty seconds.”

In May, Kelly said his plan was to “send a message out for free on twitter and everyone will see it at the same time on their phones or the net. That will be the ‘Go’ signal to start shooting simultaneously around the world… I’d like some filmmakers from Africa and Alaska to get on board to broaden the geographic scope of footage we get.”

So, that’s just what Kelly orchestrated. On June 21 via twitter, Kelly sent the ‘Action’ message to the recruited volunteering filmmakers and they all shot for approximately 140 seconds.

Now the filmmakers are finished shooting, and they’re sending their footage to Kelly from countries all around the world, including Brazil, Costa Rica, China, Mexico, Germany, London, Scotland, New Zealand, Portugal and Australia.

Once Kelly receives all 140 clips of submitted footage he says he’ll edit them and incorporate music.

Kelly said he first pitched his film idea to friends who liked it and then he sent out press releases to media outlets. He got personal contacts on board, and soon the project had snowballed. To date the project has been written up about in the popular Paste Magazine (online), Metro Newspaper (UK), The Salt Lake Tribute (USA), The Irish Film and Television Network and Wired.com.

On Kelly’s website, the names of the 140 filmmakers are listed. On the list are several Toronto area residents: 134. Paul Gitschner; 126. Simone Fried; 99. Stephen Clark; and 22. Jill Carter.

Kelly said he’d like to promote the film by the end of the year and have the feature length film ready for festivals, broadcast and online sometime after January. As an experienced filmmaker Kelly is confident of landing a distribution deal and having a DVD release as well. The film will be produced by Kelly’s own company: Pale Stone Productions Ltd. which he co-founded with Thomas A. Kennedy in 2005 while producing their debut short film called Emily’s Song. That film went on to screen at 25 festivals and on television and it won the Crystal Heart and Unicef awards.

As for 140, Kelly thinks the film will encompass a very broad range of footage from the filmmakers. He said, “I might cut it chronologically – From time zones, starting in China, around the world, and back. Or I might splice into continents or around the themes that come out. I think I’m going to see a lot of landscapes and cityscapes.”

When asked in May how he was going to choose the filmmakers for the project he explained, “I don’t want to say ‘No’ to anybody. I wanted to give anyone who’s interested a chance. I have 17-year-old students and professionals involved. We have two professional feature filmmakers working with us: Adam Abel & Ryan Little, who co-directed Forever Strong last year.”

Kelly explained, “I think it’s a really wide concept and what people’s connection is to home can have so many manifestations. I think it’s a lot for people to grasp: ‘How do I connect to my home?’”

Kelly expects the footage to come to him in many formats. He said, “Some people were concerned they didn’t have professional equipment. I said they can shoot on their phones or digital cameras if they don’t have video cameras. Others are using professional high definition cameras and 16 mm film.”

He continued, “Another filmmaker in Australia reminded me it will be night time when he has to film and he asked about taking lights to shoot with. I think other people are going to head out into the wilderness and drive out to somewhere special. So, people are putting a lot of thought into it.”

To follow the filmmaking process and learn more about Frank Kelly’s 140, check this out or on twitter @frankwkelly.

Finding connection online

Hal Niedzviecki’s new book The Peep Diaries boldly proclaims, “In the age of peep, core values and rights we once took for granted are rapidly being renegotiated, often without our even noticing.”

Here are two cautionary tales about the erosion of social values on the internet. Both authors warn us that social networking may be eroding privacy and this could very well have a detrimental effect on us. Instead of the promised freedom it was intended for, it may instead bring citizens the exact opposite.

Peep culture consists of reality television, YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, over-the-counter spy gear, and blogs that many of us consume daily. The Peep Diaries is a book that looks into what Niedzciecki writes is the “tell-all, show-all, know-all digital phenomenon that is dramatically altering notions of privacy, individuality, security, and even humanity.”

While, Niedzviecki delves into the identities and behaviours that are being produced through modern internet socializing and interactivity, James Harkin constructs the notion of a place called ‘Cyburbia’, akin to 1950s Suburbia where conformism abounds. He writes about it as a place where people go, sometimes to search out information, other times to browse material in a hyperactive manner, or other times to waste time. With his exploration of Cyburbia, Harkin reveals the often over-looked history of this place and its cultural and social evolution.

Both authors do a nice job of revealing something more about our society and about the ways we’re changing our values – for better or for worse.

From TV to Cyburbia:
Both authors readily admit how reality television and the voyeuristic qualities of television viewing readily made way for ‘peeping’ online.

Niedzviecki contemplates the surge of videos and online sharing sites that capture everything from sex scandals to the most mundane of everyday occurrences. And he asks, “Do people do crazy things just so they can upload their antics to YouTube?”

Meanwhile, Harkin remarks on Marshall McLuhan’s theory that television would unify the masses in a kind of communal psychic understanding. And Harkin wonders whether this communal connection has now been made possible with the electronic media that we know today.

The Need for Connection:
Harkin reminds us of McLuhan’s spiritual convictions, and later the similarly utopian ideals of cyber punks, that we would connect to one another online in a wider global community. Harkin writes convincingly that it was out of a conviction of our common humanity that the internet’s social networking capacity grew.

Niedzviecki argues that the practices he sees online today reveal how lonely we are and how little we seem to value privacy because we would seemingly trade it up, in the desperate search for community and connection with strangers, our neighbours or even those we know.

Harken warned that by creating profiles and tagging ourselves, this information could be used against us in future. In fact, according to Harkin, electronic tagging was being floated as a controversial way of profiling potential terrorists.

Niedzvieski also warned about the negative aspect of weakening social ties in online interaction. He wrote,“There’s no cohesive social network to say ‘that’s not the way you conduct yourself on a date, young man’ … We are many different people living in many different milieus. As a result, we are responsible to almost no one… The arrival of Peep as a primary cultural past-time suggests how much we long for the kind of cohesion and recognition we used to be able to get from the tribe.”

The desire to perform:
Harkin notes that many of us are skilled when we find ourselves in front of a camera – we know how to behave because years of television watching have taught us how.

Niedzviecki agrees, writing that when we market or promote a production of ourselves online, we do so in a fragmentary way.

Q & A with James Harkin, the author of Lost in Cyburbia:

Amanda Connon-Unda: Are there any downfalls to the increasing time people spend in cyburbia?

James Harkin: “People don’t necessarily make the right decisions in Cyburbia. For example, on March 26 with Obama’s open web-forum, they tried to transfer democracy online and they asked people to send in questions online.

But the majority of questions had to do with the question: “Can you legalize cannabis?” And essentially the meeting agenda was hijacked by small group of people around only one issue. I think what we have online is not necessarily authentically democratic.…For the most part, online portals are conformist places. So, a closed information loop is not always better.”

ACU: Can you think of recent developments in legislation, new software or procedures which threaten to further erode citizen’s privacy rights online?

JH: “Google Inform is a company that attempts to make money out of the information we type into search boxes. It’s behavioural targeting.

Google gets a hold of all of the information typed into search boxes and it targets people with precise advertisements. Advertising agencies are also thinking of making money this way. It will explode.

People forget that the Google search box is a sophisticated database and they type all of their desires there. They may sell this information. They (people’s search key words) tell the stories of peoples’ lives.

In 2006 information from AOL searches was leaked and privacy was turned upside down. Twenty million searches surfaced and AOL tried to get it back, but by then many people had seen it.”

ACU: What’s the moral of the story in your book?

JH: “Many predictions haven’t materialized as we thought they would… If people invest too much in technology…. I think that’s dangerous. They thought that a new global harmony would become of the net, but our world problems still exist. Technology can’t solve all of our ills.”

ACU: The author of The Peep Diaries, argues that online socialization reveals how little we value privacy in an age where we are desperate for community. Would you agree with him?

JH: “I think that’s true. Young people have different ideas about what privacy is. People in their 20s don’t care as much. It is not the end of the world for them to be posting their photos up… But…We get caught up. We spend time there… rather than as a tool to meet someone new.”

ACU: How will cyburbia evolve?

JH: “The big question is ‘Will we move from a world where we stare at each other?’ Or ‘Will we start to consume professional content on the web?’ New films by professional storytellers will be found online I think, using the new multi-platform media that we have online.

There are dangers to the way things are now. We are not that entertaining. It will be better if people of a new generation tell more sophisticated stories, instead of as it is now, where people spend large amounts of time staring at each other on social networking sites and zoning out. It is not that gripping to me, to stare at Facebook. I’m confident that these new forms of more engaging storytelling will emerge.”

Little Boots pop music video for ‘New in town’ deals horribly with the serious issue of poverty

While in San Francisco, a beautiful city with plenty to do in what is an urban playground to those with an income, I saw many homeless people on
Market Street. It was very sad. I saw this right before we went further along to the Saks Fifth Avenue and Iphone stores.

What a contrast it was – seeing a very large number of visibly poor people and then seeing the Apple store packed with people buying the new 3GS.

Sure we have poverty in Toronto and plenty of panhandlers, but in California I noticed nobody really begs for change. However, maybe since people may have farther distances to go, shopping carts seemed to be more common.

As usual popular culture and music videos out there fail to amaze me in their deftness and insensitivity when it comes to the real economic crises of our time.

I recently got a copy of Little Boots latest album, ‘Hands’ and it features a track called “New in town” as seen below.

According to the Boots youtube site: “we made a video for the new single ‘New In Town’ in down town LA coz I wrote the song one of the first times I went to LA on my own so its kind of about being a stranger in a strange place …www.littlebootsmusic.co.uk“

This whole video reeks of recession-style capitalization. It is exploitative of the real condition of poverty. Did they use actors to play ‘homeless’? Or did they exploit real street residents? The tone of the video makes poverty look like a laughable condition, rather than as a political problem which needs people to take action on, to change, within our society.

While we are desensitized regularly in urban places to the poverty and suffering around us, I’m not quite sure what this video accomplishes. Other than the song’s clearest message: “sex is free” Now everyone go out and have sex! = ?

Having just returned from California; a state in serious debt with a real poverty crisis, and a former movie-man Schwarzenegger as governor, one has to wonder why Little Boots makes light of this sad situation.

According to the Governor’s site, in March he had a plan to relocate people in a tent city in Sacramento into Cal Expo. But, in another NPR story, there was reportedly some resistance from residents. Meanwhile homeless advocates pointed out that there were at least 1200 homeless people and only 200 beds being provided.

Little Boots’ poorly done music video does nothing but exacerbate a false sense of what poverty is. I guess this is old news… but I really wish pop music videos could have better standards than this.

Here are a few photos of city scenes taken in Los Angeles and San Francisco. I found some typical July weather and lots of palms.

Midtown LA

Car culture galore… One can spend a lot of time driving around this state.

Skaters near the waterfront in San Fran

Lovely old car across from Dolores Park in SF

Los Angeles neighbourhood

The City of Angels from the Griffith Observatory

Originally uploaded by Amanda C-U

Mutek’s tenth edition line-up was a reflection of where dance music continues to push the boundaries and maintain its solid foundation. Annually, according to the festival, over 54 per cent of Mutek attendees travel from places outside of Quebec – Chicago, Edmonton, Los Angeles, New York, Vancouver and Europe – for an experience that Time Out New York has called “North America’s leading electronic-music event.” Thus, it should come as no surprise then, that Mutek recently won Quebec’s Tourism Grand Prize for ‘Festivals and Touristic Events’. I was one of many avid techno tourists who attended Mutek’s 10th edition.

Saturday afternoon, after a six-hour drive into Montreal from Toronto, the Strawberry Fields Forever piknic electronique on Île Ste-Hélène was an energizing respite. Partiers reveled under the remnants of Expo 67 in Montreal – the impressively large and expressive sculpture entitled ‘Man’ by the great modern sculptor, Alexander Calder.

Generous in its appeal, the music of Saturday afternoon was full of dub, deeper house, funky disco rhythms and techy hooks. Starting things off was the Canadian premiere of Berlin’s Thomas Fehlmann, an early collaborator with the Orb. His set was groovy and gentle on afternoon ears. He made djing to the crowd look easy, and with so many years in the business (his first work was completed for early UK house labels in the 1980’s) he definitely knows how to get a party started.

The sun shone moderately on those who danced. Up next was the Manchesterite, Trus’Me, whose signature deep house sounds pleased those in attendance and left no one wondering why he is, today, an internationally renowned talent. Finally, former Montrealer and British Colombia born favourite, The Mole was back in town from Berlin, and he closed out the piknic to a fully pumped crowd. As the sun came down, the Mutek crowd looked ready for the evening festivities ahead.

Saturday evening came quickly and Metropolis was the place to be. Upon arrival, Canadian Public Transit Recordings label head, Moonstarr, had a small but growing crowd engaged. He performed with Tony Ezzy, and DJ’d a hip-hop infused set. The beats were deep and the synths, keys and vocals by Ezzy blended well together. Their stage presence was fantastic and the energy between the performers was amicable.

In conversation with Moonstarr prior to his Mutek performance he explained that he would play tracks from his new single called ‘Farfisa 45′, which is named after the organ that Ezzy plays. Moonstarr’s latest full length, Instrumentals Forever, was also showcased in his set. While he’s better known for hip hop and breaks with jazz and funk samples, his set fit in perfectly with the line-up that the festival curators built that night.

done

Up next, the French trio, dOP, played a great set with very playful lyrics and beats in a collaborative stage show. However, as nearly a full bottle of vodka disappeared from the stage, as it was drunk, the frontman’s verses became sparser and the set lost a bit of its earlier finesse. But after dOP’s very successful I’m Just a Man EP in 2008, the audience looked eager to experience the live incarnation of the recognizable group. The funniest point in their set was when they invited four ladies onto the stage to dance. Although not particularly musical, it was entertaining never-the-less.

After dOP, Mathew Jonson and Dandy Jack came along. Their collaboration has apparently been an item for months behind the scenes, and they unleashed a fairly pounding and experimental techno set on the crowd. It was interesting to speculate how the two artists, both into musical fusion – techno and jazz, and techno and latin – came together. Maybe it was their love for experimentation or the fact that both artists are living in a home away from home, Berlin, and perhaps sharing the expatriate experience. Jonson is from Victoria, Canada, and Dandy Jack is from Santiago de Chile. In any case, their music was enchanting and exciting – with an energy that is unparalleled by other live techno acts.

done

Next, tobias. from Berlin, performed in an exclusive North American premiere. His set was surprisingly refreshing, not because one could underestimate the aptitude of an artist who put out his first single in 1989 and who collaborated with Ricardo Villalobos (as Odd Machine), but more because after such a hard experimental techno set, tobias. brought the atmosphere back down from its cerebral tones. His set was elegantly constructed and made a nice arch toward a great finale performance by Detroit techno icon, Carl Craig. Craig’s set was danceable and superb, taking festival-goers well into the early morning hours.

Perhaps, nothing better can be said about Mutek’s production than the visuals. They were done to perfection, beautifully crafted with amazing hues on the artists and the crowd in front of them. From almost any vantage point in the multi-level concert venue, the visual spectacle could not be downplayed.

Wrapping up a 24 hour stint in Montreal for Mutek’s tenth year of international experimental sound and digital creativity, we found ourselves back at Parc Jean-Drapeau on Île Ste-Hélène. A short subway ride away, the island oasis with its view of Montreal, was a pleasure, even in the cooler rainy weather that day. For the final piknic, Zip and Ricardo Villalobos played a marathon set. Starting out with dubby low-key minimal vibes, the energy only grew as more people arrived in the later afternoon to listen to the kind of quality electronic music so rarely found in any abundance in North America. The atmosphere was bohemian and hip without being over-done, making this event a real treat for those in attendance.

The 10th anniversary year of Mutek once again showcased the range of international and domestic talent that can only be expected from a festival that has techno tourists roaming the continent for it.

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To see the article on Urb Magazine’s website visit: http://www.urb.com