On the third day of Seattle’s Decibel Festival, the city has finally showed its true colors. The grey clouds of Autumn drew like curtains around the landscape, bidding September farewell. Summer has come and gone, but the music kept on going – lets hope it will keep me warm throughout the day. I spent most of the morning writing in my hotel room, capturing memories of the past two days before they slipped away. By noon I found myself back at the conference, sitting in a circle with artists, business owners, and label heads discussing the changing landscapes of the music industry. The open conversation invited anyone to participate (rather than a panel format). This forum approach was very fruitful as it yielded a lot of great ideas, feelings and views. Later in the afternoon I explored Capitol Hill, walking around until my tired feet brought me back to the hotel. All of this visual and sonic stimulation was starting to finally wear me out, so I decided to recharge before another long night.

Mountains (Photography by KEXP)

I woke up from my nap with a call from Rafael Anton Irisarri. I was due to interview Simon Scott before his show later in the day, and walked down to the lobby to meet the crew. There I grabbed a few drinks with Brendon Anderegg and Koen Holtkamp of Mountains, Simon Scott and RAI, before it was time to head out to the first Optical showcase, subtitled “Sine Your Name Across My Heart“. At the Nordstrom Recital Hall, I grabbed the front seat and melted away into the harmonic frequencies of Mountains’ sound. The duo built up waves of aural walls, that covered the audience with a fuzzy blanket of sonic textures. The projections included Koen’s recorded videos, slightly manipulated to create hypnotic washes of visual stimulation. The hour long performance seemed to go by in minutes, as I entered a dream/wake state of meditative relaxation. Be sure to check out Mountains latest album, Air Museum, released by Thrill Jockey this year.

Simon Scott + Rafael Anton Irisarri (Photography by KEXP)

Simon Scott took the stage and surprised the audience by introducing Rafael Anton Irisarri as his collaborator for this live performance. Apparently, the duo had done some field recordings just a day before, which were going to be incorporated into the show. True to their word, Simon and Rafael began their performance with quiet bird chirping, distant water twirls, and light guitar drones, as Tana Sprague (aka Lissom) manipulated her absolutely beautiful visuals with the progression of sound. And then, when the deep rolling bass crawled out from beneath the stage, Tana dimmed the moving pictures of mountains with a slow moving fog of the night. During their set, Rafael cunningly slipped behind one of the amps, and twisted its knobs to eleven, introducing an out of phase amplitude tremolo of piercing frequencies between the two speakers. This sudden onslaught of high pressure levels awoke the audience to the physicality of sound, vibrating everything in its path. Be sure to check out Simon Scott’s upcoming album Bunny, out on Miasmah in October (now!).

Tycho (Photography by KEXP)

Unfortunately Ulrich Schnauss couldn’t make it into the country due to visa problems, and Sean Horton quickly secured Tycho to fill in the slot. I must admit that I completely missed Tycho’s set (my sincere apologies to Scott Hansen), as I was busy backstage talking with Simon Scott. My consolation prize is a very special Sound Postcard that I managed to record, while Thomas Meluch (Benoît Piuolard) played the impromptu piano in the green room. That, and a delicious dinner at a local Vietnamese place with Rafael Anton Irisarri, his wife Rita, Simon Scott, Thomas Meluch and Kelly Wyse (basically, the entire Orcas crew). Of course, as the dinner, numerous drinks, and the engaging conversation approached midnight, I managed to miss some of Friday’s highlights, including Mux Mool, Star Slinger, Breakage, Mt. Eden, and Kyle Hall… Sigh… But I’m sure you won’t blame me for that – you would have done the same in my place.

Martyn (Photography by Eric Gonzalez)

The restaurant was close by to Neumos, and at the end of my night I managed to catch a set by Martin Buttrich who laid down some liquid tech-house beats and got my body moving the second I set foot into the club. Once again, the venue was packed with sweaty bodies rolling to the rhythm in the thick of the night. For the closing, Martyn took the stage and showered the crowd with his unique take on Dutch-step, hollowed-out tech-house, and bass-rolling Berlin-techno. Defying categorization, Martijn Deykers‘ music is truly for the forward thinking minds. To get a taste of his beats check out a compilation he mixed for Fabric, celebrating the label’s 50th installment in 2009. Once again, I was too exhausted to attend any after parties, which seemed to offer their hospitality until morning light.

[ preview ] [ day one ] [ day two ] [ day three ]

I skipped the Battlestar Galactica and Avatar exhibitions (don’t hate me) and started a long slow climb up the hill towards FRED Wildlife Refuge, where the presenters held panels on dealing with publicity and press, legal and licensing issues, as well as social networking and special marketing techniques. I stayed for Christopher Willits‘ Max for Live Workshop, and then walked up and down Pike Street, where I stumbled upon Zion’s Gate record shop, stocked with rare vinyl and out of print CDs. With the recommendation from the store’s proprietor, Steven, I finally broke down and picked up Scientist‘s Scientific Dub (Clock Tower, 1981) and upgraded my digital copy of Clubroot‘s II – MMX (Lo Dubs, 2010) to a limited edition CD.

Tokimonsta (Photography by Olyheather)

By 8pm, I comfortably settled into a seat on a balcony at the Paramount Theatre, and promptly fell asleep for half an hour (if you can tell, I did a lot of walking). I woke up with Brainfeeder‘s Tokimonsta just taking the stage, playing a set of experimental hip-hop, dubstep and glitch. The venue was not originally designed for such low frequencies, and the sound was often overwhelmed by the large concert hall’s reverb. I believe the bill listed Jennifer Lee as a live performance, but I could swear I heard some James Blake samples and Dr. Dre beats in there. The crowd could not settle in, and the usher did his best to direct the audience, dazed and confused with the aroma of ganja, most likely alien to the theater’s past events. He couldn’t possibly comprehend why the people kept standing, talking and walking, and generally refusing to accept the rules designed by the aristocrats of the ancient times.

Eskmo (Photography by Olyheather)

Sadly, Will Wiesenfeld (aka Baths) fell ill and could not make it to Decibel for his performance. I spoke with the promoter and he conveyed the major disappointment and true sadness that Wiesenfeld experienced from this unfortunate setback. Luckily for the paid attendants of this absolutely sold out show, ESKMO took the place, who couldn’t have been a better opener for Tobin (besides Baths, of course, with all due respect). With the release of ESKMO’s self titled album on Ninja Tune in 2010, Brendan Angelides and Amon Tobin officially became label mates. They even collaborated on an ESKAMON project together, see Fine Objects release on Angelides’ own Ancestor Media imprint in 2010. On the stage, Brendan twisted, struck and sang, adding his own vocoded vocals to the delays of ripped paper, clanks of opened soda cans, and various eclectic percussion. The empty space of the theater was filled with raw, thick, and dense vibrations of ESKMO’s powerful sound, building up the anticipation for the main event. [See Headphone Commute's review of ESKMO and our Interview with ESKMO]

Amon Tobin (Photography by Olyheather)

Before the curtains officially revealed the hidden set, Decibel’s founder, curator and president, Sean Horton, took the stage and riled up the crowd for the US debut of Amon Tobin‘s ISAM Live – a visionary spectacle that has recently received high praise from its debut at Montreal’s MUTEK festival earlier this year. And Amon Tobin delivered. A three dimensional sculpture, housing Tobin inside one of the cubes, used projectional mapping with perfectly synced visual effects to the stuttering onslaught of Tobin’s experimental glitching sound. A truly unique visual experience, this multidimensional installation seemed to shape-shift, rotate, and slam into each other, to the rhythm of the music, as if Amon was controlling an abstract transformer, buzzing with electricity, industrial textures, and rising vapor. Describing this spectacle with words defies even my vocabulary and imagination – it’s suffice to say that adjectives like “breathtaking” and “revolutionary” understate this once in a lifetime event. [See Headphone Commute's in-depth review of ISAM]

Crowd… (Photography by Chris Van Wick)

By midnight I felt a sensory overload, fatigue and drain. Before the show ended and the enormous crowd spilled outside, I ran out, grabbed a cab and directed it over to Neumos, where I managed to catch the end of Qantic‘s DJ set. And I’m glad I did – the crowd smiled and danced to the sexy latin beats juxtaposed with heavy bass and jump-up rhythms. Will Holland seamlessly merged funk, jazz, reggae and cumbia into one roaring sweaty party. I popped a Red Bull (ding!), found a spot near the door with a cool breeze, and joined in the fun. For a taste of these carnival trip-hop broken beats, be sure to check out Quantic’s numerous releases on Tru Thoughts – especially Apricot Morning (2002) and Mishaps Happening (2004). Highly recommended!

Crowd… (Photography by Chris Van Wick)

When Opiuo took the stage, the crowd was primed for his happy glitch-hop beats, and immediately fell into the groove of his bass-heavy, slightly elastic and mostly spastic sound. I’ve been playing Opiuo’s Slurp and Giggle (Addictech, 2010), non-stop prior to the festival, and it was a pleasure to finally hear his tight production on a large sound system. I’m sure the crowd would agree. The night finally came to a climax when Simon Green took the stage and dropped his famous Bonobo beats! Even though it was mostly a DJ set, Green incorporated plenty of my favorite Bonobo’s tracks from Days to Come (Ninja Tune, 2006) and Black Sands (Ninja Tune, 2010), keeping me dancing late into the night, until my legs fell like jello, and my head like a brick. By two in the morning I was ready to collapse, hoping to save some of the energy for the next three days. My only Thursday night regrets included missing Ladytron, Bok Bok, and Holy Fuck.

[ preview ] [ day one ] [ day two ] [ day three ]

Arriving at Seattle’s downtown hotel, the first thing I realized was that I was under-dressed. The 70-degree crisp weather felt cooler on my skin than the New York’s same-temperature-stale-smug-mist, and even a cup of dark roasted Starbucks’ coffee failed to warm up my three-hour jet-lagged bones. Checking in at the press booth I ran into Uwe Schmidt (Atom™, Atom Heart), and having completed my first artist interview of the festival, my musical vacation was off to a good start! With the night’s super tight schedule presenting its first challenge of the week, I set off to an opening reception hosted by SXSW, for a few cocktails with the Decibel folks. On the way to the FRED Wildlife Refuge art center, I encountered my first record shop of the city, Wall of Sound, and after complimenting the proprietor on his amazing taste (the walls were lined with everything from Ninja Tune to Dragon’s Eye), I made a mental note to return with a larger bag in tow.

DJ /rupture (Photography by Ngoc Tran)

At the reception, where just a few hours ago DJ /rupture held a presentation on real-time performance with Serato, Ableton and Reaktor, I shared a few drink tickets with Thomas Meluch (Benoît Pioulard), Simon Scott, and my good friend Rafael Anton Irisarri (aka The Sight Below), until RAI dragged me away by the sleeve yelling “SHIGETO!” over the loud breaking beats. As we walked over to Neumos for the first official party of the night, Simon described some of the mishaps at their previous night’s performance, where he shared a stage alongside The Sight Below and Marcus Fischer at Eat. Art. Theater. in Portland – the show got shut down due to a noise complaint.^{[ † ]}  I’m sure an occasional disruption to a performance is not a huge surprise to many of the touring musicians, but ambient music being a bit too loud? A noise complaint against Marcus Fischer? Pretty funny…

Shigeto (Photography by Heather S.)

At Neumos I walked into the crowd with Zach Saginaw (Shigeto) already behind the decks, twisting and turning the knobs on his controller, glitching percussion and synths. The crowd was moving with drinks in hands, most gathering close to the stage observing the real-time manipulations of sound. And then Zach grabbed the drum sticks and blew everyone away! The abstract, jazzy, and hip-hop beats were now complimented by raw live percussion, as Shigeto cringed through the sweat of his own workout, punishing the drums with unprecedented power. Watching this performance not only increased my respect for Shigeto’s musicianship, but also changed my future perception of his unique sound. With a few EPs behind his belt on Moodgadget and a debut LP, Full Circle on Ghostly International in 2010, Shigeto is sure to turn heads in the years to come.

Atom™ (Photography by Nic Launceford)

As Shigeto ended his performance, I glanced at my watch and realized that it was time to cab over to Re-Bar where Atom™ was about to perform. On the stage, 43-year old Schmidt, “the father of electrolatino, electrogospel and acid-reggaeton,” also known as Señor Coconut, stood behind his beloved Akai MPC, loading 4k patches, changing the frequency cut offs, and triggering the loops, as visual output of the sampler was broadcasted on the screen behind him, intertwined with real-time manipulated visuals created by Schmidt himself. Here was a green terminal ASCII art of Schmidt’s rotating head, pulsing in sync with the triggered sample of his now famous cell phone interference tone, with an occasional millisecond cutover to a pixelated scene of a man’s member in a woman’s mouth (think subliminal messages of Fight Club). At one point, Schmidt folded his hands along his precision ironed German suit and stood back watching the audience, as a short film played itself out on the screen. Yes, he wasn’t doing a damn thing for a period of ten minutes on the stage, but at least he wasn’t faking it! A unique performance to say the least!

Zomby (Photography by Nic Launceford)

My night ended with a show from a mysterious artist on Hyperdub and now 4AD, known to the world simply as Zomby. Staying true to his wish to be anonymous, the skinny kid with a gold chain around his neck kept taking reefer puffs behind the mask, as he spun a warehouse set of old-skool rave, jungle, dubstep, and everything in between. Occasionally, Zomby would disappear behind the curtains, returning to pick up his set where it was left off. Unfortunately the shortest tracks from his latest album, Dedication (4AD, 2011), were cut even further into what seemed like minute-long vignettes, interrupting the rhythm and flow of his performance with those d’n'b air-horns and ’92 rave samples. But I get the point. With my jet lag, burning calf muscles, and a few beers, I decided to end the night at 2am and save the energy for the days to come. My only regrets for the night were missing performances by 214, Araabmuzik, DJ Krush, and a drum’n'bass showcase by Hive and Total Science, which I heard were outstanding!

[ preview ] [ day one ] [ day two ] [ day three ]

* [Erratum] In my earlier version of this article, I incorrectly referred to the promoters of Portland’s show as being uncooperative… In fact, it was the LA show where Simon Scott and Mountains were treated unfairly by the promoters. The Portland show was only shut down by the police, and was put together by Mike Jedlicka from Optic Echo.

It’s official! Headphone Commute is covering Decibel Festival 2011! The 8th International Festival of Electronic Music, Performance, Visual Art and New Media will take place across multiple venues in Seattle, WA, from September 28th through October 2nd – that’s five full nights (and days) of music! I’ve already scoped out the locations of venues and the announced showcases, and it looks like I’ll have plenty of choices to make, otherwise I’d be stretched pretty thin! For example, on the very first night, there’s Beat Prodigies with DJ Krush, araabMUZIK and Shigeto starting at 9pm, while ten blocks away (about 0.7 miles and approximately 15 min walking), exactly at the same time, Decibel Opening Party will kick off with Atom TM, Zomby, Jon McMillion and 214! Plus there’s a sick db Drum & Bass Showcase just down the street! Looks like I’ll be doing lots of walking!

This will be my first time in Seattle, and during the day (if it won’t be too booked with interviews, panels, and workshops), I’ll be roaming the city, stopping by at the (now famous) Triple Door, which, by the way, will also open up its doors for a Bit Pop Showcase on Saturday, featuring Dntel, Erika Spring, and Orcas - that’s the new project by Benoit Piolard and The Sight Below, which will be doing their world debut! All of that with visuals by Lissom! Oh, and I will FINALLY experience Amon Tobin with his ISAM performed live a the Paramount Theatre! The same night I’ll have to run over to Neumos for a Red Bull Music Academy Night featuring Bonobo on the turntables, and performances by Quantic and Opiuo! Meanwhile, at The Baltic Room, The Night Slugs will be throwing their very own showcase! Whew!

If I survive the first two jam-packed nights, Friday promises to start off calmly, ramping up with Ulrich Schnauss, Mountains and Simon Scott, before I head over to check out Moby, Alexi Delano, Star Slinger, oOoOO, Mux Mool, Kyle Hall, and hopefully have time for Breakage, Martyn and Egyptrixx. Saturday should bring an awesome outdoor event in the park with Eprom, Salva, Comma and Ill Cosby, flowing into Nordstrom Recital Hall for a performance by Oval, Ryoichi Kurokawa and Brainfeeder’s Matthewdavid. Saturday night will finally explode with multiple parties: DecaDance hosting Designer Drugs, Green Velvet and Jaguar Skills and Deep Foundations blowing up with Chateau Flight, I:Cube, Julio Bashmore and Deniz Kurtel. I would leave on Sunday, but that means I would miss another night of dB in Dub Finale with Mad Professor, Twilight Dub Circus, Gaudi and Systemwide, while the Flammable Showcase will feature Dop, Kate Simko and Brian Luons… so naturally I’m staying another night!

Well, enough name dropping for this preview! And I didn’t even list half of the performers! For the entire list and many more surprise announcements check out the artists page on the event’s site. For example, I just heard that iTAL tEK, Machinedrum, and dBridge were added to the roster! Also, there are additional, separate performances by James Blake and Trentemøller! Looks like I’ll have my hands (and ears) full! Besides the well-known names, Decibel will present me with an opportunity to check out much of the local talent, gathering in Seattle from the West Coast of the United States. Plus, there’s a full conference schedule during the days! And of course, besides all of the music, I’ll be able interview many artists, and meet many great people who make up this small, but very tight community! Just writing this up got me all giddy and tingly inside! I hope to see you there!

This Saturday, September 3, Rephlex Records celebrates their 20th anniversary with a showcase at The Empty Bottle in Chicago. The line-up includes Bogdan Raczynski, Aleksi Perälä, Soundmurder, Wisp, and Monolith. Earlier that day the same artists are scheduled to perform a free noon “lunchbreak” concert at Millennium Park. Information on the tour is scarce. There are no West Coast dates, and rumor has it a New York show has been canceled [Editor's Note: Headphone Commute confirms that a scheduled event at (le) Poisson Rouge has been indeed canceled]. Denise Dalphond discovered Sunday’s show is at Woodruff’s in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

Summarizing Rephlex Records is as difficult as summarizing Aphex Twin himself. When the label was founded in 1991 by Richard D. James and Grant Wilson-Claridge the British electronic music scene was in its infancy. Warp Records was still releasing house music and bleep techno. Other contemporaries, including Applied Rhythmic Technology (ART), B12, Black Dog Productions, and Evolution Records, were heavily influenced by the Detroit sound. Fans started calling these labels’ products “intelligent dance music” to separate them from the goofy breakbeat and simplistic trance releases flooding clubs and climbing charts. The phrase’s built-in value judgement (echoed in Rephlex’s preferred term “braindance”) is still a source of controversy.

The above labels weren’t afraid to acknowledge their Chicago house and Detroit techno roots. ART published tracks by Carl Craig, while Rephlex released a Drexciya single as well as an entire Future Sound Records compilation. In its early days, Rephlex mostly showcased Richard D. James and friends. Michael Paradinas’ productions in particular stretched the boundaries of what techno should sound like. The label’s discoveries are a who’s who of electronica, from Cylob to Squarepusher. In their second decade, James and Wilson-Claridge continued to release the unexpected, including albums by French composer Pierre Bastien, obscurities by Stakker and Black Devil, and even a couple of grime compilations.

Personally, Rephlex Records has been an incredible inspiration. It’s a label I collect religiously, whose releases helped shape my taste in music back in college (having spent my teenage years listening to house and hip-hop radio mix shows). Two years ago, Rephlex started offering releases digitally, and their physical products began to dwindle. This year their Web site hasn’t even been updated. I sincerely hope this weekend’s concert isn’t part of a farewell tour. Mike Paradinas has shown it’s still possible to lead a vibrant, evolving label. Here’s hoping Rephlex has at least another decade in it.

Words by Jacob Arnold of Gridface. Republished with permission.

This past Saturday night was my third time at New York City’s Le Poisson Rouge – second to check out a dubstep show (on July 18th, I saw a live performance by Darkstar). What can I say? I definitely dig the venue. From its laid back style with dedicated staff to good selection of drinks (and food), to clean bathrooms and the non-harassing waitresses, the overall experience is very pleasant, even if there’s a two-drink minimum to sit in the back (with included gratuity). The stage is of nice size with an equally dominant dance floor. The sound is pretty tight, and although the highs are at times piercing, I find that I can always find a spot to save my ears while treating my bones to deep vibrations.

Masashi Nakazawa

On August 20th, Resident Advisor took over the gallery for its 10 year anniversary celebration, featuring a secret headliner to be revealed seconds before the artist takes the stage. The show kicked off with a DJ set by Masashi Nakazawa who threw down an eclectic mix of obscure records, ranging from abstract hip-hop, to Hawtin-esque techno, to stomach churning dub, and early house. The selection was at times pretty bizarre, making my friend Kris, (who came to document the show with the photos featured in this review) think of “sitcom 60s and Vietnam rice paddies music”. The night was still young, and at 10pm the dance floor was pretty empty. Come on, New York, where are you? It’s Saturday night!

King Sunshine and Miss Maya

Next up was King Sunshine, a Montreal Toronto based nine-piece ensemble that got the house moving with their disco influenced funky jazz. Featuring Toronto pop artist, Maya Killtron (aka Miss Maya) on the mic, the band pulled in the crowd to the dance floor, blending deep house and techno influences into a an organic contemporary dance explosion. The physicality of sound penetrated the moving bodies, and I laughed as the brass instruments tried to compete with power of Maya’s voice. Towards the end of King Sunshine’s set, Peven Everett joined the band to lay down some of his smooth vocals. The soulful sessions and a few covers brought smiles to many faces, as people reached for their iPhones to take videos, check latest FB updates and send out a Tweet.

Peven Everett

Finally Mala (one half of Digital Mystikz and part owner of DMZ label) took the stage, dropping vinyl on the turntables and gathering packed clusters of people in front of him. The lights went out, and the deep rumbling bass pushed the thick air with incredible force. Atmosphere became dense – hot air-filled with alcohol infused perspiration, cigarette breath, and intense sounds pressure levels shifted between grinding bodies as they thrust every last bit of oxygen away. High frequency sounds cut through the devious and right down nasty razor-sharp bass screeches, as Mark Lawrence teased the salivating pack with his double rewind torture. “It’s about to go off,” I heard someone saying during another treacherous rewind episode. “That’s Coki’s massive tune,” said another fan – so these are true followers after all.

Mala

The night ended with the promised super secret headliner, one allocated for each city in the Resident Advisor’s ten-party celebration. For New York City, Detroit based legend Theo Parrish graced the crowd with his renowned presence, bringing the late night to a peak and a dance floor to a frenzy. Parrish is also credited with curating the NYC’s night’s bill. By this time I was getting exhausted, having lost a few pounds of sweat in the process (I hope). The night was a great success – three for three at Le Poisson Rouge. I left the venue in good spirits, looking forward to the upcoming events: The Album Leaf on Sept 28th, Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra on Oct 6th, and Plaid on Fri, Nov 18th!!!

Theo Parrish

Exclusive photography by Kristopher Wuollett. Text by HC.

On Sunday, April 24th, New York’s Le Poisson Rouge hosted a showcase of Ghostly International artists, celebrating another installment in the label’s mysterious experimental, ambient, and modern classical series, SMM: Context. This was my very first visit to the famous and eclectic NYC venue, and I came away impressed and delighted from the overall experience.

First of all, I must have walked by this space a hundred times in the past – located right on Bleecker St., the “multimedia art cabaret” often had an intimidating bouncer and a long line outside the door – forcing me to mistake it for a posh club. And although the venue does occasionally host more dance oriented nights (I have since attended a few  dubstep shows), the atmosphere was very cozy, intimate and mature. It’s no wonder, that Le Poisson Rouge’s tagline is “serving art and alcohol”. Dare I agree, the two go well together. On the day of the show, the dance floor was transformed into a seating area, allowing the attendees to sit closer to the stage. The lobby hosted a merchandise table, selling the SMM: Context CDs and Vinyl, as well as individual releases from the performing artists, who mingled with the crowd. And wait… was that Ryuichi Sakamoto talking to Jeff Owens (Ghostly’s label manager)? Yep, it was indeed…

The night kicked off with a performance by Kyle Bobby Dunn – a Brooklyn based composer with releases on many labels, including Moodgadget, Low Point, and Standard Form. Dunn’s ambient guitar drones spread through every crevice of the space, filling the holes, cracks, and nooks, missing only the squeaky entrance door,which was in need of massive lubrication. The minimal shoegazing swells drenched every cell of my body with dynamics, frequencies and vibrations, leaving me thirsty for more of his sounds to be experienced at slightly lower volumes. Here’s a track from Dunn’s 2011 release on Desire Path Recordings, Ways of Meaning LP to set the mood as you keep reading this review.

Kyle Bobby Dunn – Statuit

Dunn was followed by Sarah Lipstate, aka Noveller, billed as a special guest (because she didn’t contribute a track to Ghostly’s SMM: Context release), adding a special touch to the evening’s already excellent lineup. Lipstate’s experimental guitar loops, with bowed and fingered strings, reminded me of a morph between Aidan Baker, Mountains and Grouper (minus the vocals). The built up distortions soared and crashed across organic waves of sound, dampened only by the venue’s acoustically treated walls.

The night, subdued with alcohol and music, slipped on a comfy blanket, and settled down for a nod. By the time Keith Kenniff (aka Goldmund and Helios) took the stage, I was sufficiently buzzed, and opted to experience his music with my eyes closed. Goldmund‘s set consisted of delicate solo piano pieces, reverberating through the space with natural amplification. I sat close to the stage, only a few feet away from the instrument, and the entire experience gave me the sense of a private affair, fading the rest of the crowd, the glass-clanking bar, and the squeaky door in the background, beyond my peripheral line of perception. Time slowly dissolved, confusing senses and tenses. Hearing here and now was the moment as it still remains. Here was Goldmund… playing for me…

Somehow, as if in danger of running late, Rafael Anton Irisarri slipped onto the stage. But instead of preparing for a belated sound-check, he began to play along. At this moment, it was unclear whether this was a piece by Irisarri with Kenniff at the piano, the other way around, or simply ambient swells of sound wrapping musicians in a sonic union. Whatever this spontaneous (or pre-planned) performance cloaked beneath, quickly became irrelevant, and only music mattered. Soon after, as the Sunday night approached late hours, I began to drift with the drones. In my hazy state of mind, I failed to notice Kenniff leaving the stage. Somewhere behind me, Ryuichi Sakamoto also had his eyes closed, inadvertently making Irisarri nervous during his performance (this Rafael admitted to me after the show) – after all, it was Sakamoto in the audience. And here was Irisarri… playing for him…

Rafael Anton Irisarri + Goldmund – Gnossienne No. 1

The limited edition of the release came with a sampling of source material used in creating the album packaging and the cover art. A sample of the material appeared on the tables with the following notecard, which I will use to sign off this review:

“The ashes you hold in your hand are the source material for Michael Cina’s cover art for SMM: Context. In taking possession of these remains, you complete a circle, a process: a book was purchased, incinerated, photographed, and re-contextualized to represent an album of music. The book’s original purpose–that is, information–is erased, and the remaining fragments have become a piece of artwork, open to interpretation and the whims of context. We hope, in experiencing SMM: Context and its accompanying packaging, you also grasp a little something about the postmodern breakdown of right and wrong, the slowly disintegrating border between fact and fiction. Black and white have faded and only shades of grey remain. It may not seem so, but this is a hopeful message: in the disintegration of boundaries, the truth emerges. In destruction, construction.”

Read Headphone Commute’s review of SMM: Context compilation.

Check out The Sight Below “N-Plants_Remixes” on Touch Records

Exclusive photography by Kristopher Wuollett. Text by HC.

ghostly.com | lepoissonrouge.com

Walking into Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater of New York, I have to sneak in past the security guard, past the gathering crowd, past the box office receptionist, in through a carelessly propped open back door, in towards the dark seating room of a restaurant slash bar slash performance, where I am due to meet Volker Bertelmann for a quick Hauschka interview before his show. Through the thin veils of the projector’s red lights I see a figure slouched over a grand piano, operating on the innards of the instrument awaiting its transformation for the performance. Like an evil scientist working on his new creation, Volker is busy preparing the piano, inserting foil wrapped cardboard, wooden clips, and fabric dampers between the strings, testing out the newly augmented sound with a few strokes of the keys. On the inside of the piano, next to the hanging pearl-like ornaments there’s a bag full of marbles. Finally it hits me: I am watching Hauschka prepare his piano! An act witnessed by only a few prior to the show!

In the green room, Volker attempts to gather last minute information through a flaky wireless connection, and I get to briefly meet his drummer, Samuli Kosminen, a percussionist from múm. It feels like Hauschka was only recently on tour, performing pieces from his last album, Foreign Landscapes, released only a year ago.  All this traveling must really be exhausting. “Yes,” Volker confirms, “once I’m finished with a record, I want to present it to the public, and that’s why, since 2007, I have been playing every year about a hundred concerts or so. And although, the positives of traveling outweigh the negatives, I still think I need a little break, which will finally happen this summer until the end of the year. There will still be releases in between, but at the same time I will try to concentrate on more music for film, theater and studio work.”

On Salon Des Amateurs, Hauschka explores a rhythmic structure of every piece, often within a four/four beat, always centered around his light piano melodies, occasional string accompaniment by Joey Burns on the cello, Bernhard Voelz on the trombone, and the above mentioned Samuli Kosminen on the drums. This is the same good ol’ Hauschka we’ve learned to love, but with an upbeat feel. In fact, Salon Des Amateurs really feels like an extension to Foreign Landscapes. “Well, they were two records that I wrote at the same time. Whenever I wrote a score for Foreign Landscapes, in the evening I would sit down and create these club oriented beats. I really thought that it’s something that has been missing for a while. So there was always this back and forth switching between the two worlds. In the end, I composed about 40 songs and had to decide if everything should be on one record or separate. I’m glad that it was separated, because Foreign Landscapes encompasses a very melodic, classical and experimental world, while Salon Des Amateurs seems to affect more of the electronic music crowd.” On the perceived departure from his staple prepared piano sound, Volker continues, “It’s actually not a departure for me at all. It’s been in me all this time. And when you listen to my older records, you should hear an approach to dance music, with electronic sculptural music and texture, and of course, classical music as well.”

On the stage, Hauschka plays on the keys, while bells, clips and metal objects resonate along with the vibrations. Ping-pong balls are flying up in the air when the piano hammers connect with the strings. Samuli seems to be dancing with his drum kit, brushing on the snare, and moving in rhythm created with his entire body. A certain energy transfers between the players, moving back and forth among percussion instruments, and finally leaking into the crowd. I put down my drink and start tapping on the table with the infectious beat. Soon, the entire room is bopping their heads up and down along with the rhythm. Here’s the true beauty of a live performance – music is actually created right in front of you.  “I feel that a live performance is there for creating new material on the fly, and give people the excitement of experimentation, risk and danger at the same,” Volker adds.

Salon Des Amateurs is actually named after a a cafe/bar located in the Kunsthalle museum of Düsseldorf, Germany. Volker explains some more, “It’s supposed to be a coffee place for the museum visitors. But the place is a little bit dark, and people don’t really want to have their coffee there. So instead, they come there to dance and listen to poetry readings. I’m really glad that Salon Des Amateurs exists, because there’s not much in Düsseldorf that has such a wonderful program, free open space, and a buzzing atmosphere.” Salon Des Amateurs is released on the wonderful FatCat‘s offshoot, 130701. This sublabel continues to excite our neurons with the latest signing of Dustin O’Halloran and the latest release from Jóhann Jóhannsson, both of which, I’m sure, will show up on Headphone Commute’s pages very soon! Make sure you check out Headphone Commute’s reviews of Hauschka’s Foreign Landscapes, Ferndrof, as well as our past Interview with Hauschka.

Exclusive photography by Kristopher Wuollett. Text by HC.

myspace.com/hauschka | hauschka-net.de
myspace.com/fatcatrecords | fat-cat.co.uk

The tenth iteration of Bristol’s In Between Time Festival of “Live Art and Intrigue” has just wrapped up. This year they made the very respectable programming decision to show international sonic heavyweights Ben Frost and Tim Hecker with native Bristolian, Ekoplekz (recently signed to Peverelist’s Punch Drunk label.) The Arnolfini Auditorium was an ideal venue, neither too cozy nor too cavernous. The audience gathered around a satisfyingly bare-bones stage and the space filled up nicely without getting overly crowded.

 

Ekoplekz was a solid opener. His sound navigated a space between the mechanical and the organic, taking hulking, driving percussion reminiscent of heavy machinery and punctuating it with random quirky chirps and warbles that were just echo-y enough to stay on the artificial side of life. He flirted with rhythm without ever falling completely into it. He also incorporated very classic synth frequencies, particularly via voice modulation, which were fun but, for the most part, a bit heavy-handed – they didn’t integrate particularly well with the rest of the sound and as a result were somewhat distracting. Some light, fluttlery snare textures here and there, on the other hand, were a really enjoyable nod to Peverelist. Overall, it was an engaging, well-executed sci-fi-esque performance, and it didn’t hurt that you could tell he’s completely in love with sounds and was generally having a blast.

 

Hecker used absolutely minimal lighting – only what he needed to see what he was doing – which made it that much easier to pick up on the delicate micro-textures of his opening moments. He built up layers thick and fast, though, and quickly had us suspended in a dense, deeply spatial environment. Some endlessly stretched organ couldn’t help but lend a degree of spirituality, a reference to something eternal, but there was definitely tension and evolution throughout. He played with the liminal a bit, pushing some of the frequencies beyond what the speakers could handle (or using frequencies reminiscent of this), evoking palpable opposition between the restrictions of the hardware and the unrealized potential of the sound. At other times everything was incredibly compact, a tight sonic canvas onto which he threw various intriguing elements. Periodically, the pressure of all those layers was completely released into airy, shimmering tones, with the contrast lifting us into a kind of sonic weightlessness. This was really the underlying structure of the performance – a rich and impossibly slow, irregular pulsation between heavy and light.

 

Ben Frost, as has been noted, throws you out into the wilderness. True to form, he tapped into a somewhat sadomasochistic dynamic in which he used sound, particularly percussive elements, almost as a kind of violence – and the audience loved it. (If the calls of ‘louder’ and ‘more’ were anything to go by. Hurt me, hurt me do it again?) The reason it was good pain is he didn’t rely on brute force. His menacing landscape was complex, built in part out of howling, mutated electric guitar, and he moved us through it with an astute sense of timing that lent itself well to live performance. There was, overall, more of a theatric element to what Frost presented. He made use of intense lighting and he certainly had stage presence. He improvised a lot, which meant not everything came together all the time, but when it did, it was a very ecstatic darkness. Simple, repetitive piano loops appeared from time to time, almost as a refrain. They offered a stability, a gentleness and, eventually, a familiarity that made you feel as if you might have found your way home from the wild. But this sense of relief was always fleeting. The notes were inevitably consumed by yet another wave of dissonant chaos against which they proved themselves to be a totally ineffective shelter. So no happy endings, but a thoroughly enjoyable story nonetheless.

 
Hecker and Frost were in good form with performances that, as would be expected, were not for the faint of heart nor delicate of ear. Neither went easy on the Arnolfini, which was great because the sheer physicality – the vibrational pressure and potential for actual pain – is something that simply can’t be experienced outside their live shows (unless you’ve got far more cash than most of us to spend on your personal sound system.) There were moments when the two artists worked with a very similar dynamic. Namely, when earbone-crushing low frequencies were laced with ethereal, hauntingly lovely fragments and there was an intense merging of pleasure and discomfort. As far as where they differed, it’s probably fair to say that Hecker presented a more abstract, timeless quality while Frost’s work was slightly more narrative.

- – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – -
Text and photography by Kyra Kordoski for Headphone Commute.

Two and a Half Questions with Ben Frost
Two and a Half Questions with Tim Hecker

inbetweentime.co.uk

I returned to New York City’s Randall’s Island Park on the second day of the Electric Zoo Festival in time to watch Jon Hopkins‘ live performance at 1pm. I was able to leave a bit earlier the night before, drive home, wash off all of the dirt, and get some rest before another full day of electronic music festivities. Too bad I didn’t wash all of it off, I’ve been fighting a cold for the second day, and I’m sneezing non-stop as I’m writing this. I guess that’s what I get for spending two days with over fifty thousand people packed like sardines in a dancing, sweaty frenzy.

Hopkins put on a great show, although the sound in an outdoor tent was not comparable to the club in Montreal, where I saw him last June at MUTEK. Be sure to pick up his latest album, Insides out on Domino – it’s my favorite! After a few bites and drinks, I gravitated towards the Hilltop Arena, which I completely neglected the day before. There, I lost a few hours immersed in the progressive trance sounds of long time German veterans, Claus Terhoeven and Stefan Bossems, collectively known as Cosmic Gate since 1998. I went through a few pleasant flashbacks, and heard a couple of new tracks, mostly released by Black Hole Recordings.

Photography by Bennett Sell-Kline for ElectricZooFestival.com

After Cosmic Gate, Avicii turned up the heat in the tent, and I had to get some rest, quickly swinging by the Red Bull Academy Riverside Stage where Savoy was just handing over the decks to the West Coast nasty boys, The Glitch Mob. Here, Justin Boreta, Josh Mayer and Edward Ma (edIT) got the crowd careening to their IDM sprinkled, bass-heavy, instrumental hip-hop, raising the roof even where there was none to raise. The mob has recently released Drink The Sea album on Glass Air. Be sure to also pick up their individual singles.

I went back to the Hilltop for the sounds from Above & Beyond – these guys are the regular Anjunabeats trance stars, continuously flooding the scene with quality tracks. For a taste of their sound grab a compilation they mixed, Anjunabeats Volume 8. There I danced myself silly among the candy ravers and fist pumpers. I was going to stay for some more to hear Sander van Doorn, but I got pulled away to listen to Moby on the main stage. Moby? Really? The only artist on the lineup with a “(dj set)” next to his name? Yes, there was that album, Wait For Me (Little Idiot, 2009), but is Moby even relevant these days?

What can I say? Moby turned over one of the most exciting DJ sets of the weekend! Perfectly beat matched, phrased, paced, plateaued and peaked, Moby mixed quality selections from tech-house to dirty electro and techno. Yes, I was floored, impressed, and pleasantly surprised. I was a Moby fan in the early 90s, so it was nice to see his comeback, even if it was as a DJ. Wish I had the track list. After his set, I was ready for another break, grabbing a bite by the Red Bull Academy tent once again, from which Aeroplane blasted some beats, with the follow up of deep dropping bass from Diplo. Here, once again, dubstep ruled the scene, rolling hips and spliffs from the ground into the air.

Photography by Bennett Sell-Kline for ElectricZooFestival.com

As the night came to a close I was faced with a tough decision. Which tent to attend to catch the headliner? Should I choose Steve Aoki who many of the party-goers I interviewed came to see? Will it be the world renowned John Digweed and his progressive tech-house beats? Should I try to squeeze in through the crowd for the main stage event with Armin van Buuren, or should I end the party with the sweet oozing beats of Bassnectar? Well, the choice was made for me – as my friends dragged me towards the main stage, where van Buuren entered in the shadow of his own video projection, expanding his sound and light as if it was an extension of his whole being. There, far at the end was a little figure who must have been Armin himself, but here, all around me, the earth, air and fire shook with vibrations of that inner being, projecting himself via the energy throughout.

Before I go, I promised to share with you a story I have learned, from a petite 19-year old dolled up candy raver, Aurelia… You see, Aurelia is a huge fan of Bassnectar, and last time she saw Lorin Ashton perform, she threw a pair of her undies on the stage, which apparently Ashton put in his back-pocket and later bragged about to his friends. She was back again to make it count this time! Another pair of underwear, which she excitedly whipped out from her bag to show me, had a message and a phone number inscribed on the inside. Her plan was to send these his way, as soon as she could get close enough for another throw. There you have it, folks… Who needs Twitter?

Photography by Bennett Sell-Kline for ElectricZooFestival.com

Looking back at the festival I can say that I had a lot of fun. If it wasn’t for this cold, I’d be probably still jumping around my studio to the latest tunes from the above mentioned artists. Just to get all of that trance out of my system! If I had any suggestions for the organizers, I’d say that the number one complaint I heard was about the garbage and the long lines for the porta-potties. I realize that it’s tough to plan for such a large crowd, but a few extra sanitary stations and containers would probably save a lot more time for cleanup post event. Ending on a good note, I hold two thumbs up, only wishing I had the time to check out all of the artists and DJs… Sure enough, if Electric Zoo survives for another year, I’ll be there again!!! Well done, and thank you for a fun weekend!

Read Day One of Electric Zoo

On Labor Day weekend (Sept 4th & 5th), over 50,000 fans gathered at New York City’s Randall’s Island Park (the event was sold out both days at 25,000 person capacity) to celebrate some of the world’s top dance music producers and DJs. Although parking was advertised as limited, I met many people coming over from Albany, Maryland, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington DC, and of course all of the corners of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Besides the ones I met, people also traveled from across the country (Los Angeles, New Mexico, Colorado) and the world (South Africa, Sweden, Peru, and others)!

The two-day open-air dance party started early, with the opening sets shaking up the insects at 11am, providing ample opportunity for the visitors to enjoy the beautiful weather, picnic, sunbathe and just chillax. The abundance of great food and drinks improved the atmosphere by allowing the dancers to cool off and energize with offerings from VitaminWater, Red Bull, and Coke, or to warm up with artisan teas from the mobile truck vendors. My favorite selections included the on-site wood oven baked pizza from PizzaMoto, hand made pretzels from Sigmund Pretzelshop, and fresh draft beer from Molson Coors (I only drank Blue Moon). Plenty of vegan and organic choices allowed the discerning palettes to enjoy the culinary options of New York.

With over sixty artists playing at four stages, it was tough to absorb it all at once. One had to continuously roam the perimeters of the tents, hoping to squeeze in deeper into the crowd.  This is only the second year for Made Event‘s attempt at curating one of the largest electronic music festivals on the East Coast. The production company has been throwing parties since 2004, featuring artists such as Paul van Dyk, John Digweed, Danny Tenaglia and alike. The principals behind Made Event, Mike Bindra and Laura De Palma, draw their inspiration and vision from the European outdoor festivals:

“We’re very excited to be bringing our version to America – Electric Zoo, New York’s first electronic music festival. Our intention is to showcase the top artists in each of the sub-genres, there will be something for everyone – a literal ‘zoo’ of electronic music.”

Crowd in the tent. Photography by Bennett Sell-Kline for ElectricZooFestival.com

Three covered tents of tightly packed bodies hosted some of the most outstanding global talent, with the main stage propelling its outdoor sound, challenging some of the loudest systems I’ve heard to date. The sound quality was tight, colorful, and not overly compressed – kudos to the engineers – every frequency penetrated my body, at times vibrating the clothing where the ear drum could not. I sat on the blanket in the middle of the field, and the music was still loud enough for me to get up and dance with the crowd. Well done.

The all-age crowd seemed to recognize and enjoy a lot of veteran names – apologies for my surprise here, but more than a few artists had their first record out two decades ago, and that’s way before many of the dancers were born. Of course there was Darude‘s Sandstorm that sent waves of teenagers running towards the tent to jump along that unforgettable punch theme. When ATB played some of his new tracks mixed in with a few classic samples [the main melody from 9pm (Till I Come) kept resurfacing], I sat at the picnic tables, drinking my cold beer, swirling in the air thick with haze, smoke and skunk. Be sure to pick up André Tanneberger’s latest single, Could You Believe and a mix album, Sunset Beach DJ Session, both released by Kontor in 2010.

The selections by the main stage artists and DJs had that Love Parade quality to them – epic melodies, vibrant anthems, and morning beats, with plenty of sun rays from beaches to skies. Ah… to be young and careless again, to roll around in the grass and forget about homework and exams… wait, what the hell… I might just do that! A few tunes brought back the memories, and I jumped around like a kid, unapologetic for being a fool among the candy ravers and bikini girls. I may have completely lost it when Major Lazer played All That She Wants by Ace of Base. Yeah… you read that right…

Flying Lotus. Photography by Scott Kowalchyk for ElectricZooFestival.com

The Red Bull Music Academy brought in some of the toughest talent from the UK and West Coast alike. Here, some of the nastiest dubstep was dropped in the hands of Martyn and Rusko. Sweaty bodies swayed with the beat, and the tent literally  breathed with hot waves of pheromones and ganja. Here, I was finally convinced, that dubstep has made it to US and is here to stay. The kids loved it, throwing their hands up in the air, screaming out the lyrics, and grinding away. “I love dubstep,” the fans I interviewed yelled later. They cringed their noses and rolled their hips to demonstrate enthusiasm. “The dirtier, the better!” Yeah… I think I know what they mean! That tent was absolutely drunk with the bass by the time Flying Lotus came on, setting up the stage for Pretty Lights. Be sure to check out FlyLo’s upcoming release, Pattern+Grid World, out on Warp on September 21st.

The absolute highlight of my first night was Richie Hawtin, who followed up Steve Bug with funky tech-house. His mixing had that razor-like precision, dropping out the beat for only 8 bars, to let me catch my breath, then slamming it back into the groove. Does anyone have the tracklist? Too bad that our feet stomped out all of the grass, and the dust filled up my lungs leaving me coughing for hours afterward. Meanwhile, at the main stage, Benny Benassi played an interesting remake of Satisfaction, mixing in tracks that sounded like Cajmere‘s Percolator and Speedy J’s Pull Over. Mmm, that does sound delicious, doesn’t it? Benassi’s Spaceship single is currently out on Ultra and D:vision Records. I also enjoyed his last compilation mix, Toolroom Knights (Ultra, 2009).

Chemical Brothers. Photography by Bennett Sell-Kline for ElectricZooFestival.com

I missed out on The Chemical Brothers hoping to leave the island earlier, and avoid the traffic of a thousand vehicles, but I’ve heard many good reviews the next day. Their 2010 return to the scene is marked with Further out on Virgin this past June. If you were there, please submit your feedback and stay tuned for Day Two review of Electric Zoo! I have a few more things to say!

Read Electric Zoo [day two]

A few days have passed since I attended MUTEK, and I am now able to reflect on the five days I spent in Montreal. Overall, what pleased me the most, was the ease with which the festival unfolded. There was no overwhelming drama, major technical difficulties, or other issues that could have possibly made this a disappointing experience, given the vast scope of the festival. Yes, the weather was bad in the last few days, but the crew was prepared and moved the entire outdoor Piknic into a club setting on a day’s notice. Thumbs up for organizing that!

The location of the festival was ideal, and the numerous venues were literally within a city block. When multiple events were going on, it was easy to walk across the street into another performance. The security crew were super nice, and barely noticeable, stamping your hand on the way out, and checking the wrist on the way in. Again, a super smooth transaction that could have been a stressful situation. And whoever thought of building Chinatown right next to the festival deserves a special award! The array of Asian delights satisfied my empty stomach and equally vacant wallet. Big thanks to Banh Mi Cao Thang for the amazing Vietnamese sandwiches at three bucks a pop!

Brandt Brauer Frick at Nocturne. Photo by Caroline Hayeur courtesy of MUTEK.

The crowd was friendly and the people were beautiful. With the exception of a few drunks here and there, who put on a free comedy show stumbling in front of moving traffic, I was surrounded by a mature audience that appreciated the variety of showcased music. All of the artists I have met and interviewed were professional, patient, and respectful. Some may wonder why I even bother mentioning this, but those who have dealt with difficult individuals know what a mark it could leave on the overall experience.

I loved the outdoor wireless broadcast, enjoyed the panels, and wish I had more time for the workshops. The schedule was a bit tight, and I wish that I could have attended the Ectoplasmes³ series – I missed every one! The Saturday night party, Nocturne 4, could have started a few hours earlier, but otherwise the programming was pretty tight, and should have kept the pass holders satisfied. Big points for a variety of free programming for the public – a great exposure of the new talent and electronic music to the city!

Marsen Jules at A/Visions. Photo by Caroline Hayeur courtesy of MUTEK.

My absolute favorite was the A/Visions series, with performances by The Caretaker, Marsen Jules Trio, Vladislav Delay, Tim Hecker, and Ben Frost to name just a few. My newly discovered Montreal based talent includes Bernier + Messier, Gemmiform, Thierry Gauthier, and Aun. My favorite dance sets where I actually moved my feet include Jon Hopkins, Overcast Sound, Demdike Stare, and Ikonika. And the award for the most permanent memory goes to the hooker on the corner of Saint Laurent and Rue Ste Catherine, who tried to entice me with her running mascara and ripped up pantyhose. You’re beautiful, honey, but I’m not a fan…

And just so that I don’t look like I’m always positive, my most disappointing experience featured the Days Inn. With the rotting elevator carpet, hay filled pillows, coin sized soap, and most importantly, unpredictable internet, it’s no wonder why I spent most of the time outside. Maybe I’m spoiled, but I expected just a tad higher quality for the $140 a night. At least the valet returned my car safe and the room didn’t have bed bugs [that's a whole other story]. Oh well… A mattress and a hot shower is always better then a tent and a baby wipe.

Time Drifts by Philipp Geist. Photo by Caroline Hayeur courtesy of MUTEK.

My big thanks go out to Morgan Steiker and Mara Gourd-Mercado for making my journalistic experience at MUTEK go as smooth as possible. Without your perfect schedule, up-to-the-minute updates and top-notch coordination I would have been completely lost! It’s a pleasure watching you at work. Now stop trying to obsess over every detail and get some sleep! Overall, MUTEK jumps to the top of my favorite electronic music festivals. And given my availability next year, I would be happy to jump in the car for a smooth six hour drive, to be fully surrounded in music among some of my favorite artists. Five stars. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

My morning started off with a Brunch for Professionals put together by the MUTEK crew. Big thanks for that – I’ve got to chat and meet up with some journalists, folks from Serato, and Ableton. It started raining in the early afternoon, and instead of taking the boat to the first Piknic at Jean-Drapeau Park, I walked back to the Monument-National. I missed the outdoor performance by Krill.Minima, Minilogue, DJ Koze and Paul Kalkbrenner, but I think you’ll forgive me, because instead I was interviewing Tim Hecker, Ben Frost, and Carl Michael von Hausswolff after their sound check at the SAT.

So let’s get right to the final A/Visions showcase, subtitled Live Wires. At first I was surprised that the venue for this installment got moved from the comfortable theater setting of the Monument-National to the concrete standing-room-only club of the SAT. But during the performance, I realized that the volume levels achieved by the SAT sound system were far superior to those of the vast reverberation hall of the theater. The room was packed, and getting to the front by the stage meant avoiding a few angry stares and using my “media” credentials for a sneak peek of a photo opportunity. Later on, I settled comfortably at the back of the venue, where the sound was just as dense, enjoying every frequency penetrating my flesh.

Vladislav Delay at SAT. Photo by Caroline Hayeur, courtesy of MUTEK on flickr.

Sasu Ripatti, who earlier performed at the museum as Uusitalo, unleashed his glitchy percussion set as Vladislav Delay. Rhythmic pulses erupted in the cacophony of sound and blasted through the crowd, as I stood behind the house sound engineer’s mixing board and watched the spikes on his frequency spectrum analyzer. I caught a glimpse of this auditory canvas once again, when Carl Michael von Hausswolff took the stage, but within a few minutes of his set I had to escape outside. I’ve got to be honest – I love sine waves, but I love my ears just a tad bit more. If it wasn’t for my good friend’s latest tinnitus ailment, I would have probably stayed through his performance.

But even outside I could feel the power. The low frequencies penetrated the concrete walls, and vibrated the windows, asphalt and even the trees. I wonder if any insects or rodents survived this sonic warfare. The security guards kept taking outdoor breaks, sticking their fingers into their ears and moving their jaws. Rafael Anton Irisarri ran over to the street and placed his hands on a nearby parked car. Even its body was vibrating, he reported, and I wondered if it was possible to set off the alarms this way.

Ben Frost at SAT. Photo by Valerian Mazataud courtesy of MUTEK on flickr.

Tim Hecker‘s set was more serene, but still at incredible decibel levels. This was an altogether different performance from his album work, which I’m used to absorbing in a calm environment. Once again, it was a  unique experience, unlike anything possible in a studio setting. The sound traveled through the tightly packed crowd, cement walls, and water drenched air outside. His set ended just in time for Ben Frost, who, in my opinion, is the master of decibel levels and the balance between noise and music. Frost did not disappoint. Humans inched even closer to the stage, like the moths sucked into a fire. This was an amazing performance, and I think that experiencing it in a church would be the only thing to top it off.

Towards the end of Frost’s set, I literally ran over to Place des Festivals to catch a free outdoor show by Señor Coconut and His Orchestra. Uwe Schmidt got the whole crowd dancing on the street and I really wish I could have stayed a bit longer (perhaps this show should have been on Sunday?), but instead I had to turn around and run back again to the SAT, where Tim Hecker and Ben Frost played together, for a once in a life time performance! After a few hours of wide spectrum of frequencies bombarding my ears at extremely loud levels, I became fatigued, and had to escape to my hotel room for a little break. Unfortunately, by the time midnight came around, I couldn’t bring myself to get out for one of the largest night party of the festival. I was exhausted and collapsed, regrettably missing out on Move D, Henrik Schwarz, Dixon and Attentat, among many others, playing at Metropolis and Savoy until 6 in the morning. Sorry, I’m lame.

“Around the world”, Señor Coconut and His Orchestra at Place des Festivals.
Photo by Caroline Hayeur, courtesy of MUTEK on flickr.

At his point in my review, I might as well cover Sunday, since it was pretty much uneventful for me. The entire day was cold, rainy and bleak, and I spent running around for a few more interviews, becoming even more tired and wet. Piknic 2 got moved inside the Metropolis, but in the afternoon the night club was empty and kind of sad. I really wish I could have enjoyed the lineup outdoors, but one can only blame capricious nature for not falling inline with the plan. As if these circumstances weren’t enough to ruin my last day, I had to leave Montreal early, missing out on the applauded set by the Moritz von Oswald Trio. And I’m totally cool with that – I’ve got more than enough memories, which I will summarize in my last installment of MUTEK.

More links:

A panel discussion with Pimmon, Ben Frost, Tim Hecker and Carl Michael von Hausswolff centered around the physicality of sound, conversation of a performer with the space through music, and the delivery of unpredictable decibel levels vs. the controlled production of a studio album. This was one of the most interesting panels I have ever attended! Unfortunately I missed the Q&A session with Mouse on Mars, but you can’t attend them all…

Carl Michael Von Hausswolff, Tim Hecker, Ben Frost, Paul Gough (Pimmon) and Matt Schulz

With the tight schedule of events, my personal errands, artist interviews, and basic dietary nourishment, I couldn’t make it to the third Expérience installment. But I ran back to Monument-National just in time for another A/Visions showcase, subtitled Sublime Distortion. Montreal’s Thierry Gauthier used “acoustic and electronic sound sources to build a series of audio-visual, non-narrative, [and] abstract animations”. His sound was beautiful, minimal and soothing, and I melted in my chair, at times closing my eyes to absorb the music as is, without distraction of visual input. The performance of Nord/Sud left me relaxed after a day of information intake, just in time for Marsen Jules Trio to take the stage.

Twin brothers, Anwar and Jan Phillip Alam, on the end sides of the stage, as VJ Nicolai Konstantinovic projected visuals in smooth transition with the music and Marsen Jules took center-stage with his laptop, a few cymbals, and an array of tuned wine glasses. Jules himself played a minimal part in the performance, queuing samples of his work, mixing effects, and slowly rotating his finger across the glass rim, while Anwar played the violin, and Jan Phillip played on the old piano. After a few days of experimental and abstract music, this was the first performance that finally delivered harmony and musicality to my ears. And I can’t thank the trio enough, for placing me back into a world of music where not everything needs to be distorted, jiggered and destroyed.

For the last performance of the evening, Australia’s Pimmon took the stage to cover the audience with warm drones, ambient pads, and occasional glitches. Paul Gough “uses technology to shape compositions based in granular synthesis, often using elements such as pitch and sound debris to form soundscapes that are once maximalist in texture and yet minimal in overall design”. The evening ran a bit late, and although I wanted to sit through the entire showcase, I had to run over to the SAT to catch the ending set of Overcast Sound. My sincere apologies to Paul, as I hope to be able to catch him next time, when my mind is not in a state of total sensory overload.

Jamie Drouin and Michael Pettit of Overcast Sound

At the SAT, Michael Pettit and Jamie Drouin of the Overcast Sound played minimal dubbed-out beats. The crowd gathered at the stage where instead of dancing, they sat on the floor, swaying in time with the minor echoed chords and hypnotic rhythms. Be sure to check out their latest releases, as well as Jamie Drouin’s solo work on Dragon’s Eye and INFREQUENCY, and an Overcast Sound April Ambient Mix for Headphone Commute’s Podcast!

The club atmosphere was excellent, and it perfectly set the stage for Demdike Stare. Once again, Miles Whittaker and Sean Canty filled the room with warm dubbed out sounds and deep rolling bass. Be sure to pick up Demdike Stare’s Symbiosis out on Modern Love. I kept going back and forth between SAT and Club Soda, where Orphx and Actress were playing, but must admit that I enjoyed Overcast Sound and Demdike Stare a lot more… Plus, it’s worth it to mention that both groups are incredibly warm and wonderful people!

Miles Whittaker and Sean Canty of Demdike Stare

And then King Midas Sound came on… Opening up with an auditory illusion of Shepard tone and a background helicopter sound, Kevin Martin pushed the sound system to the limit, while Kiki Hitomi and Roger Robinson took on the vocals. Loved this performance. My only comment is that it was a bit too loud, and at times seemed that Martin was always in the red, as the high-frequency white noise overpowered the depth and warmth of that King Midas Sound, I learned to love from Waiting For You… out on Hyperdub. Also, be sure to check out Kevin Martin’s London Zoo released as The Bug on Ninja Tune.

Kevin Martin of King Midas Sound

Once again, I was too mesmerized by all of the music to properly attend Cheap And Deep, Jacek Sienkiewicz and Shed over at Club Soda. I know! It sucks! And at the end of the night, Ikonika took on the stage at SAT. I’ve danced myself silly to her chiptune meets dubstep meets latin techno beats, and then passed out at my hotel…

mutek.org

At Expérience 2, a four-member group, If Then Do, orchestrated a glitch-based torrent of experimental sound, drenched in “writhing, seething, calculated clock-ticking audio hallucinations”. I’ll admit that I missed the second performer, Sébastien Cliche, in exchange for a fast-paced meal, but I made it back in time to catch Martin Dumais and Julie Leblanc, together performing as Aun, for an hour of textured drones, dark ambient swells and a hint of apocalyptic images, of an audio-visual world premiere of “Black Pyramid”. Be sure to check out Aun’s Motorsleep on Montreal’s Alien8 Recordings, as well as his previous releases on Oral.

The night peaked at the second A/Visions installment, subtitled The Cult of Longer Memories. Freida Abtan opened the show with her beatless electronic explorations, at times reminding me of earlier Autechre glitches, and manipulations of her own voice, reciting abstract poetry and evoking lost ghost’s songs. The incredibly striking visuals of melting colors and morphing textures, displaying women hanging bird cages dressed in peacock coats, tied the performance together with a hallucinogenic knot.

And then The Caretaker took the stage. Displaying a cut-up collage of his own documentary of the past trip across Europe, James Leyland Kirby of V/Vm watched his memories flicker across the screen. With his incredibly wild blond hair, dark sunglasses, and a bottle of whiskey, The Caretaker, at times shook his head in disbelief at the way the story unfolded, as the samples of old ballroom 78-rpm records from the late 20′s slowly swirled through his alcohol drenched cranium in search of forgotten and suppressed memories. The repetition of fuzzy and crackling record sounds created a haunting atmosphere of dusty attics and abandoned family videos. But Kirby didn’t stop there. At the end of his performance, with a bottle of Scotch in his hand, he faced the audience and sang “The Way We Were” through a raspy robotic effects chain that distorted his voice and brought back what at once was so beautiful. I will never forget this.

The showcase closed with one of the originals of the early noise-industrial acts, Nurse With Wound. The group pushed the sound system and the audience to the limit, with a current of guitar shrieks, mind-numbing drones, and unsettling howls, that can only be experienced live, in all of its physicality. The visuals captured my attention again. A collage of short films displaying images that I’m sure will haunt me later: blood and guts poured out of the walls and fell onto the sheets and food of unconcerned home dwellers. The house was then set on fire, and still, a character reading a paper just tapped it away, as if it was a harmless insect. Similar behavior continued when the scene was submerged in water. Lets hope I won’t have nightmares.

At the end of the night, I rushed over to Metropolis to catch the end of Nathan Jonson performing as Hrdvision, just in time for Jon Hopkins to take the stage. And although I climbed up high on the balcony of this large theater-shaped club, I was still blown out of my chair when Hopkins dropped that bass. I then spent the entire time mesmerized at the immensity of his glitchy cinematic sound, and, more importantly, Hopkins’ performance on the stage. In the age of laptops and box-shaped controllers, it’s rare to witness anything exciting in the club. Not so this time. Hopkins is a virtuoso of his [3 Kaoss?] pads. I’ve never seen anyone move so fast across the two dimensional matrix to jitter, stretch, and release the hungry kick in time with the moving rhythm. Hopkins stole the night. Be sure to pick up his latest, Insides released on Domino in 2009.

Jon Hopkins on the decks

And although Jon was an opener for Mouse on Mars, it was almost difficult for them to follow up his cutting-edge sound. Nevertheless, the duo captured the audience with a selection of their favorite tunes, and a few new tracks from their upcoming album. The club moved with the beat of this sound delivered by one of the pioneering groups of electronica. Once again, after a sensory overloaded day, my mind and body gave in, and I had to bail for the night, unfortunately missing out on Nathan Fake‘s set. I also completely missed Bowly, Chris Hreno and Mossa playing in the other room at Savoy. Sorry, boys, there’s only so much I can process in one day! But if you were there, be sure to send me your mini review!

mutek.org

In the afternoon, I walked out of Chinatown via Saint Laurent Boulevard to Peace Park (Place de la Paix). On the side of the street, a white bus filled with CD listening stations showcased the upcoming artist performances. On the steps leading to the square park, a group of early festival attendants sat listening to the music, wearing wireless Sennheisers. As I picked up my free headset, I noticed that it was Colin de la Plante (The Mole), who was downloading minimal techno beats into the crowd’s ears. Much to the amusement of the homeless and the drunks, the people were bopping their heads and tapping their feet in an invisible sync to the silent beat over the air.

At my first Expérience event, I sat in the dark room surrounded by the sounds of Stephen Beaupré (Gemmiform) and the incredibly evolving visuals of Nancy Belzile, Patrick Bernatchez, and David Fafard. I immediately fell in love with Beaupré’s sound, built on samples of acoustic instruments and organic field recordings fused with synthesized sound, an array of effects, and punctuated beats. The music seemed to encapsulate the visuals of crystal forming water particles and the theme of “genesis, growth, metamorphosis and decay, desire, joy and loss, mythos and the natural world, of which the image of a bud, the gemmiform, is a perfect synthesis.” Fans of Murcof must seek his music out!

The A/Visions showcase, subtitled Pandora’s Box, featured “duos who are all to some degree engaging or reacting to the reflections and refractions of the world through the mirror of technological innovation.” Let me skip a bit around the program. The Baltimore-based duo of Drew Daniel and Martin Schmidt (Matmos) seemed to headline the event, with their playful musique concrète sound, luring the audience into their world of pop abstractions, bended metallic sheets and squeaky toys. Matmos has recently spent some time touring with Bjork, having last released Supreme Baloon on Matador in 2008. Following this duo, Thomas Macintosh and Emmanuel Madan performed their Symphony #2 for Dot Matrix Printers as [The User]. Synchronizing fifteen computers and printers (why not a binary number of sixteen?) [edit: Emmanuel later told me that the 16th node in a chain is the main sync server], this obsolete peripheral orchestra performed the ASCII text-file score of motorized screeches, high frequency characters and deep rumbling carriage returns. Checkout their releases on the Dutch Staalplaat label – the two symphonies are available on vinyl.

What impressed me the most, however, was the opening performance by Martin Messier and Nicolas Bernier. In this North American premier, the duo paid tribute to the futurist Luigi Russolo. Using their own custom sound boxes designed by Alexandre Landry, called intonarumori, the group pulled, bowed, and slapped the see-through contraptions for their noise driven and digitally effected piece, La Chambre des Machines. This was a one of a kind experience, where the industrial sound of analog and mechanical machines, along with a group of wound alarm clocks, were driven by the physical energy of Bernier + Messier to challenge the marriage of noise and music. At times the artists even appeared to violently abuse their instruments – at one point the alarm clocks hit the floor – yet the music moaned and howled in all its resonant glory. Russolo would be proud! Check out their works on the Ekumen label. Words alone can not possibly describe this performance, so watch this video clip where you can witness for yourself!

mutek.org

If you haven’t heard me rave about MUTEK yet, well, now is the time. I am absolutely excited to be attending this year’s 11th edition festival, taking place in Montreal, Canada in less then a week – on June 2nd through 6th. I am also deeply honored to announce that I will be covering the festival as the member of the press, and will return not only with many memories, but also hours of interviews with some of my favorite artists. The ones that I am really looking forward to hearing and meeting in person include Ben Frost, DJ Koze, King Midas Sound, Marsen Jules, Minilogue, Moritz Von Oswald Trio, Mouse on Mars, Nathan Fake, Overcast Sound, Shed, The Caretaker, Tim Hecker, and Vladislav Delay among the many others! Check out the entire List of Artists scheduled to perform! I am also looking forward to being introduced to much of Canada’s new talent, and hope to uncover a few gems to share with you when I return.

Since its creation in 2000, MUTEK, a non-profit organization, has been curating the annual summer festival to promote the development, evolution, and creativity in electronic music. In 2009 MUTEK saw over 20,000 people in attendance, and hosted many world renowned musicians, such as Plastikman, Gas, Carl Craig, Murcof, Pole, Apparat, Modeselektor, Gui Boratto, Jamie Lidell and Ricardo Villalobos. The success of the festival has brought much attention to the city, and the organization has been awarded the Grand Prix du Tourisme Du Quebec in the “Festivals and Touristic Events” of 2009.

I’ve had the privilege to interview Alain Mongeau, the founder and artistic director of the festival. In it, Monegau reveals that MUTEK is a morphing of two words: MUsic and TEKnology, with a notion of MUTATION to blend the two. It’s not all about electronic music at the festival – there is a large connection to visual and technological arts as showcased in the A/VISION series. Another series, EXTRA MUROS, will showcase a number of outdoor installations and interactive performances, using Montreal as an urban canvas for the artists. MUTEK’s DIGI SECTION, will include workshops, panels, and presentations covering Physicality of Sound (with Ben Frost and Tim Hecker!), intimate interviews (The Caretaker and Mouse on Mars!), and Ableton Live workshops.

This year, MUTEK features over 50 Canadian and International acts, hoping to “raise the standards of the five-day showcase by striking an equilibrium among [its] many historical strengths”. I am once again, extremely excited and honored to set forth on this adventure in just a few days, to make many memories with some old buddies and newly found friends!

Be sure to read my Interview with Alain Mongeau

mutek.org

I rarely get this excited about live shows these days. Don’t get me wrong, I love to see the artists perform. But with the bad sound system, rowdy crowd, and god awful hours, it’s difficult for the event to compete with my studio speakers. But Resonant Forms is a whole new deal, boys and girls. I am so excited about this event that I’ve got myself a ticket to LA, where I plan on immersing myself within the art, the music, and the people for the whole three days.

No, it’s not an outdoor festival, where you go to sleep in the morning hours, and wake up sweaty at noon with the sun blazing on your tent. This festival will be held at LACE (Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions). In collaboration with VOLUME, the festival will showcase new and established artists focusing on experimental electronic music, live cinema, and sound art.

The event will kick off with a live cinema performance by SUE-C. and Laetitia Sonami, titled Sheepwoman. The duo will premiere this piece with projection of photographs, drawings, three dimensional objects, and a huge array of other media, all of which will be manipulated in real time to create visuals inspired by Haruki Murakami‘s novels, “The Wild Sheep Chase” and “Dance, Dance, Dance” (watch the Sheepwoman trailer). Now I am very much familiar with Murakami, a contemporary Japanese surrealist fiction icon, and so I’m already drooling in anticipation of this presentation. And that’s just the beginning!

Throughout three days my ears will be sonicly treated with performances by William Basinski, Richard Chartier, Christopher Willits, Kadet Kuhne, Lucky Dragons, Yann Novak and Celer. Where do I begin in expressing my adoration for the above mentioned names and their contributions towards the contemporary evolution of ambient, minimal, and experimental electronic sound. I briefly spoke with Richard, and he informed me that his projected set will include a solo performance and a rare collaborative performance with Basinski, of a version of Untitled 3, from Untitled 1-3 (LINE). This will be my chance to witness this only second live performance to date! Throughout the space there will be installations by David Kwan, Mark Trayle and artSpa, hosted by Adam Overton.

Oh, and if that’s not enough, during the day, there will be panel discussions with Basinski, Khne, Trayle and Kwan. On another day, Christopher Willits will present a workshop, titled “Designing Process“, based around the use and evolution of customized signal processing, and software tools Max/MSP/Jitter and Ableton Live.

And me? I will be observing, interviewing, soaking in, and floating through, submerged in visuals and sound. I plan on covering the entire event yielding a journalistic piece, which will emerge on its own during this experience. Again, I am very much excited about this upcoming event, and if you happen to live or be in the LA area, be sure to not miss out on this. Looking forward to meeting everyone and you!

welcometolace.org | volumeprojects.org | artleak.org

I always show up early. Especially at the club. I like to watch the atmosphere evolve, the vibe morph, and the dance floor slowly cover its shameful nudity with a layer of sweaty bodies. Tonight, I’m at The Kinetic Playground – a Chicago venue, which usually showcases live music from blues and jazz to rock and jam bands. But spring is here. Change is coming. Bass is in the house. The Kinetic Playground has opened its doors to one of the UK dubstep scene’s rising stars, Reso. Ten bucks at the door, free parking, and a double shot of 15 year Glenfiddich in my glass. Now I’m ready.

For the opening DJs, who spun everything from dubstep and grime to old-skool hip-hop and breaks, the bass was a bit on a weak side, getting lost in the corners of the venue, where it would gather in invisible clouds of standing waves. But by the time Reso went up, the sound engineer seemed to solve this dilemma by turning the volume way the fuck up. And after the girls in high heels, and the boys with the glowsticks went home, Reso ripped it up with the rawest, filthiest, and nasty vibrations. Here’s what happened next. Ugly mud creatures oozing with rubber stank wobbled up from the darkest crevices of the venue. Absolutely disgusting, saw-toothed synths, clawed through the revolting layers of smut and grime. My entire body hurt from cringing my nose, clenching my jaw, and shaking my head in disbelief. You sick, vulgar, mother fucker. What did you just do?

I’ve been following Reso ever since my good friend Rob Booth introduced me to his sound through Electronic Explorations. Since then, I’ve snatched up every 12″ and digital release (available from beatport.com) that Alex Melia has released on a roster of labels like Urban Graffiti, Civil Music, Pitch Black, and even a collaboration with Ruckspin on my favorite Ranking Records. Reso’s unique sound can be summarized with one of my all time top tracks, Onslaught, available on Tags & Throw-Ups Vol. 5 (Urban Graffiti, 2008). Make sure to pick up Reso’s 2009 collaboration with I.D, Shifty EP (Smokin’ Sessions, 2009). Reso is currently finishing up his full length debut due for release in 2009.

Big ups to Phaded, who also runs The Dented Sessions on Dubstep.fm every Sunday 2-6pm (CST), for bringing Reso to Chicago. And now I hear that Rusko will be here next (Smartbar, April 2), while The Kinetic Playground will keep their new bass infused lineup by showcasing Colorado’s Vibesquad.

myspace.com/corgrimey | thekineticplayground.com
myspace.com/sosophaded | electronicexplorations.org