The furious
and the curious

>>Mutek 2008 oscillates between the
irresistible and the incomprehensible

GLITCHY-KOO: Modeselektor

By JACK OATMON

If there’s one thing the Mutek festival reigns supreme at, it’s the sharp juxtaposition of alienation and engagement. Half the time you’re standing there in complete bewilderment at the esoteric experiments of some conceptual filmmaker with a thing for squelchy intestines and dripping water, and the other half of the time, you’re spazzing out to hammering new-school techno, grinding with weirdly dressed androgynes and sucking back G ’n’ Ts like they were gonna save your life.

But whether you want to get taken aback or taken out back, you gotta know what’s gonna turn your crank and what’s just gonna burn your bank. To begin, those of reflective spirit and discerning eye can enjoy an immersive evening of audio-visual head-fuckery at the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde next Thursday, May 29. Pay particular heed to the works of Berliners Rechenzentrum, whose extensive catalogue of creepy cinematography will transport you out of this world and into… well, a box full of green blobs of paraffin wax, or something like that.

That night at the SAT, catch one of Cristian Vogel’s unpredictable sonic forays. Barcelona-based Vogel also counts London, England and mother country Chile amongst his former homes, so the tunes are duly eclectic, from hard techno and psychedelic soul to clanky electro-punk and dubwise minimal funk, while some of his stuff is just screechy noises run through too many filters and compressors.

Friday night, May 30, everybody in their right mind will be gettin’ hamboned at Metropolis to the consistently trendsetting, trouser-dropping chaos that is Modeselektor. The name rings true as innumerable producers are constantly trying to keep up with the styles the Berlin duo select for their anticipated releases. What’s more, they most definitely bring it live, as was the case two years ago when their bombastic blend of dubby electro and drugged-out glitch set fire to Mutek crowds. They’ll be in league with longtime collaborating VJs Pfadfinderei, and alongside plenty of great names that night. In the midst of the chaos, see if you can gouge out some time for Toronto’s knifehandchop, an attention-deficit blog-house outfit with style.

On Saturday night at Metropolis, you’ll get the real bread and butter of the Mutek festival, as some of the most exciting names in psychedelic techno and minimal house come out to twist your synapses into yarn with spaced out grooves and literally relentless beats that are guaranteed to go boom boom boom long after you’ve stumbled back to the crib. The big news is that Rekids poster boy Radio Slave is going to be there doling out the dope, trippy bangers. The bigger news is that he’ll be upstairs at Savoy earlier in the night with his wicked leftfield groove band Quiet Village. The biggest news of all is of course the very first North American performance by Kompakt’s big deal, Swedish live techno trio the Field.

And lastly, as for the Piknic Électronik collaborations during the daytime, you know the score—be there, be square, get drunk and feel the funk. As always, stay stupid and talk to strangers (otherwise you’ll never find the afterparties).

For full info, go to
www.mutek.org