MUTEK returns to the heart of the Quartier des spectacles and the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (MAC) for 5 days and nights of carefully curated performances. Emphasizing live and original expressions of contemporary electronic music and audiovisual arts, the festivities run at a breakneck pace from Wednesday, June 1 to Sunday, June 5 at various indoor and outdoor locations downtown.
In a city now renowned for its electronic music culture and digital creativity, MUTEK proves once again that the festival remains a vital and vibrant frame that provides a hyper-concentrated showcase of artists from all over the world working at the vanguard of new forms and ideas. Functioning as a hub and meeting place, the festival also plugs the local and international community into a social and artistic circuit that generates revelations, new experiences, and premonitions about what is coming next. After 17 years, MUTEK still thrives on immediacy and unpredictability, on curiosity and conviviality, gathering an array of different audiences, while always creating a sense of proximity to the art and artists. With Montréal as the backdrop, another layer of sensory stimulation is added to the experiential theatre of the whole festival.
This years program balances international names, masters and trendsetters with emergent talents, Québec and Canadian artists, and more women than ever. Boasting numerous premieres and special projects, and with a reputation for introducing future stars, MUTEK is excited to announce the first names for what will be another polyphonic and exhilarating edition:
ASH KOOSHA (IR/UK) / ATOM™ (DE/CL) / BURNT FRIEDMAN (DE) / COLLEEN (FR) / DASHA RUSH (RU) / DASHA RUSH & STANISLAV GLASOV present DARK HEARTS OF SPACE (RU) / DAWN OF MIDI (US) / ESSAIE PAS (CA) / FLANGER (DE) / FRANCESCO TRISTANO (LU) / FRANCK VIGROUX & KURT DHAESELEER present CENTAURE (FR/BE) / FUNCTION (US) / GALCHER LUSTWERK (US) / JLIN (US) / JULIA KENT (CA) / KARA-LIS COVERDALE (CA) / LAKKER (IE) / LOCAL ARTIST (CA) / MAYAAN NIDAM (IL) / OFF WORLD (CA) / ORPHX (CA) / PAUL JEBANASAM & TARIK BARRI present CONTINUUM (LK/NL) / POWELL (UK) / PROJECT PABLO (CA) / ROMARE (UK) / SONJA MOONEAR (CH) / TEREKKE (US) / TIM HECKER (CA)
You can check out the artist biographies and links here.
Get familiar with the artists of our first wave with this sampler mix: bit.ly/MUTEK2016PREVIEW01
Red Bull Music Academy x MUTEK
Looking forward to the Red Bull Music Academy taking up residence in Montréal this fall, MUTEK is pleased to renew its long running collaboration with RBMA during the festival. Two RBMA nights at Métropolis will feature amongst others: FUNCTION (US), LAKKER (IE), DASHA RUSH (RU), ORPHX (CA), FRANCESCO TRISTANO (LU), MAYAAN NIDAM (IL) and SONJA MOONEAR (CH).
SHAPE x MUTEK
A member of several international networks itself, and always concerned with global outlooks and connections, MUTEK will act as a convergence point this year for festivals from the European SHAPE project, which is supported by the Creative Europe program of the European Union.
Resident Advisor x MUTEK
Resident Advisor, longtime media partners of the festival, will collaborate on the Friday night program at the MAC: OFF WORLD (CA), COLLEEN (FR), BURNT FRIEDMAN (DE), JLIN (US) and ROMARE (UK).
Bloc x MUTEK
Partnering with British festival Bloc this year, a lineup at the MAC on Saturday night has been devised that reflects both festivals commitment to emergent underground insurgents:
POWELL(UK), TEREKKE (US), GALCHER LUSTWERK (US) and ESSAIE PAS (CA)
Learn more about our collaboration and artistic highlights here.
MUTEK by day
MUTEK’s daytime program brings together workshops, showrooms, interviews and discussions, creating a space for exchange and education. Additionally this year, the festival welcomes the second edition of the VR Salon at the Phi Centre. Introduced as the centerpiece of last falls MUTEK_IMG event, its a forum in which to explore the myriad artistic, technological and industry issues driving the new medium of Virtual Reality, and will boast exhibitions and workshop activities as well as a full day conference on Tuesday May 31. Information on how to participate can be found here.
Passports presale on now
The best way to enjoy the festivals many and varied offerings is through the full festival Passport or Weekend Pass, now on sale in limited quantities.
The box office is open here.
Passports can be purchased in person at Atom Heart in Montréal: 364 Sherbrooke Street East.
