Mutek_10 Festival

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.

My DEMF Review

I’m not witnessing stadium rock or stadium love, like pop band Metric’s new song depicts in their newest album. No – Instead I’m witnessing stadium techno. It’s Saturday night, May 24th 2009 in Detroit, and Carl Cox is playing some pounding techno anthems to a crowd of fans with their hands in the air, fists pumping, feet moving and heads bouncing.

Videos from Movement, DEMF 2009

You might want to turn your speakers down!
The sound is really distorted in these videos, sorry. The need for some earplugs (which I had) and a proper recording device is evident. However, if you’re interested to know what the Detroit Electronic Music festival was like, this is an alright sampling of a few sets I caught.

Berlin Calling Screening in Toronto

I wrote this article for Beatportal.com in September 2008.

Sunday night in Toronto during the Toronto International Film Festival in the heart of downtown (Little Italy to be exact), Paul Kalkbrenner stood outside of the Royal Theatre as people lined up to go inside.