Ones and twos and ones and zeroes

>> The sonic side of the FCMM

by RUPERT BOTTENBERG

The word "music" doesn't pop up anywhere in the longwinded nomenclature of the 30th annual Montreal International Festival of New Cinema and New Media (henceforth, for everyone's sanity, the FCMM). Rest assured, though, that music is an essential part of the forward-thinking, multimedia event.

Even in the straight-up cinematic aspect of things, there's a musical angle to be found. Take for instance the films Blue Wild Angel: Jimi Hendrix Live at the Isle of Wight and Screamin' Jay Hawkins: I Put a Spell on Me--pretty self-explanatory stuff.

More complex film/music crossover happens when locals Wetfish repeat their Metropolis performance. This time it's at the MAC (Musée d'art contemporain, 185 Ste-Catherine W.), on Sunday, Oct. 21. Essentially an electronic duo, Wetfish supplement their sounds with cello, percussion and the throat-singing of the Globe-glotters, giving the old German silent films they score a brand new feel.

Then there's experimental filmmaker Pierre Hébert, who's "dueting" with musician Bob Ostertag on Between Science and Garbage, an eco-active, on-the-spot animation jam, on Friday, Oct. 19 at the MAC. Also on the Sprockets tip are Berlin's Rechenzentrum, who last dropped into Ex-Centris for MUTEK earlier this year. This time, they're doing a "live remix" of Maurice Lemaître's Le film est déja commencé?, a classic of the lettriste genre, an explanation of which I will considerately spare you. That's at the Media Lounge on Friday, Oct. 19.

Mind you, film isn't the end of the visual possibilities the fest fuses with music. In the tradition of the audio-visual freestyle mayhem of FCMM veterans Coldcut, only less politicized/more insane, is Holland's Jeroen Hofs. Better known as Eboman, Hofs can be counted on for scratch-tastic, breakbeat TV carnage when he opens the FCMM (with guests Philip Sherburne and Dimensional Holofonic Sound) at the SAT Media Lounge on Friday, Oct. 12. Moreover, he'll be at the MAC on Sunday, Oct. 14, for a three-screen mega-jam.

Absolutely not to be missed is the Underground Persistence night, Saturday, Oct. 13, at the Media Lounge. It's presented under the auspices of prestigious U.K. nu-musik rag The Wire. San Francisco's darling laptop lunatic Kid 606 will be dropping in, which is news in itself. But he's backed up by no less than NYC's hip hop shit disturbers Anti-Pop Consortium. From closer to home the same night is recent Mirror cover boy Jetone. Providing the visuals for the evening are digi-vid discombobulators miau-miau.com (NYC video artist Kurt Ralske) and wildlifeanalysis.org.



Kill your TV

Even when the video screens go blank, there's some fascinating stuff to check out. Anyone with a debilitating Tetris jones will want to be on hand for Christoph Kummerer's Pocketnoise night at the MAC, Saturday, Oct. 13--Pocketnoise being the software with which Kummerer turns an ordinary GameBoy into a postmodern music machine. High score! He joins familiar locals [The User], last seen lurking around the Silophone. They're again dusting off their Symphony for Dot Matrix Printers. Beyond the sheer curiosity factor of a row of obsolete printers emitting a controlled cacophony of buzzing, grinding tones lies a thought-provoking statement on techno-turnover and its environmental implications.

No video games, no clackety printers, no fancy nuthin', just cutting-edge neo-techno when San Francisco makes itself at home at the SAT on Saturday, Oct. 20. Expect the talents of Seed (), Sutekh, Twerk and Safety Scissors, whose new release Parts Water proves him a wildly inventive and often quite funny addition to the microbeats scene, all of which will be ensconced in an "interactive environment" c/o one Mr. Robert David.

Finally, take note of the Nightcaps, the late-nite DJ sessions at the Media Lounge. German freak-a-zoid Felix Kubin (organist, terrorist or limp-wrist?) will join Jerôme Minière--oops, excuse me, Herri Kopter--on Monday, Oct. 15. Then there's Perlon label founder Markus Nikolai, joined by the DJ/VJ whatsit of Unisex, on Tuesday, Oct. 16. On Wednesday, Oct. 17, you can catch Sweden's Hakan Libdo, on hand to prove why he's one of the best-kept secrets in e-dance (Covert Ops bring the ocular noise).

A postscript comes in the form of the closing party, At the Media Lounge on Sunday, Oct. 21, which sees the launch of this year's official soundtrack disc. Mixed by Laika resident Mightykat for the Haute Couture label, Confidence features tracks by Deadbeat and Twerk (both of whom perform at the FCMM this year) as well as Akufen, Swayzak, Dimbiman and more. We're all confident you'll enjoy it.

For more info, check Listings or go to www.fcmm.com