mutek
mx 2006
31st march – 2nd april
centro cultural del bosque
The Mutek festival of music, sound and new technology arrived from Montreal for its third outing on Mexican soil. Since its inception in 2000 the festival has focused on southward expansion and in its present state compasses events in Colombia, Brasil, Chile, Argentina and Mexico (representing its most developed form outside its native Canada). The event has at times more the feel of an industrial fair rather than a musical extravaganza; discussion groups, networking, technology and file sharing seems to be more in evidence than entertainment. But there is no denying the momentum that has already been established by a well organised, well funded, and governmental backed, project. With two days of music based around the Auditorio Nacional’s buildings in el Bosque del Chapultapec there was a respectful air to proceedings, perhaps a reflection of a level of acceptance from the established arts as to the importance and contribution of electronica to the cultural pastiche of societal modernity.
Certainly the most interesting session of the festival was the session of ‘electronica experimental’ held on the Thursday in the Teatro de la Danza. The theatre provided a fittingly reserved backdrop for an 8 act, 6 hour session acting as a showcase for a wide variety of styles and attitudes that are often unappreciated in the generic term of ‘electronic music’ which often is used to smother some of the immense creativity and risk taking displayed by many artists. The first 3 acts of the evening were Mexican and taken together gave a strong indication of the depth and breadth of talent that is developing here.
The stage looked somewhat like an electronic junkyard as E. Lebleu squeezed themselves between the hardware to deliver what has to be said was a disappointing set, plagued with technical difficulties, in comparison to the quality and crispness of the music presented on their recent “Two Years Off” EP released on the Soundsister label. Next up were Childs (Static), in an all too short 30 minutes the Ensenadas sidekicks showed only a taste of their “bedroom blues” that have enchanted a growing following in recent months. With their opening a more experimental track that had only been completed the morning of the show, Childs grasped the spirit of proceedings and proved that they were deserving of their place in such a quality line up. Finally Mantrico Montero (Mandorla) with 5 guitarists in tow (including Paul from Childs) provided “structures of the afternoon” in a half hour mind blowing set that pushed the envelope off the table.
Once the Mexican contingent cleared their equipment during the first interval things took on a more orthodox feel with well known names from across the world contributing to an excellent evening’s entertainment. The highlight was Jan Jelinek (Scape) accompanied by Andrew Pekler on Guitar and the brilliant, almost lead drums, of Hanno Leichtmann. Jelinek’s unfettered loops and layers of sound beguiled the packed house into a semi-standing ovation. The quality of the music in the second (non Mexican) half of the show highlights an interesting point of discussion. Certainly Mutek is an excellent showcase for electronic music in the Americas, but for whom? Is it a case of Mutek showing Mexico how far they are behind or is it a unique opportunity for Mexican electronica to go toe to toe with artists from the rest of the world?
Certainly many of the foreign artists are more successful in a commercial sense but maybe this is because Mexican artists have more trouble penetrating the potentially lucrative markets of North America and Europe. Also while many up and coming Mexican artists have ample access to the (pirate?) software necessary to produce top quality music, maybe it is the cost and accessibility of electronic hardware that is acting as a dampener against the new wave of electronic sound being generated here and perhaps creating a ‘digital divide’. It seemed that the space and visuals provided for the foreign artists were almost geared to creating an illusion of superiority within the eyes of the observer.
When one experiences the incredible creativity of an artist, producer and engineer like Ruben Tamayo (Fax; Static) in action it is fairly obvious that given access to the best technology local artists can and will produce music of a quality that is world class but from a distinctly Mexican perspective. Mutek certainly proves a framework for the exchange of ideas and a forum in which up and coming Mexican artists can display their wears. Given that this is still a relativity new venture it may be best to reserve judgement in order to take a longer term perspective on what concrete benefit the Mexican music industry gains from such an experience.
It is, finally, however interesting to note that the heartland of electronica here in Mexico is in Baja California close to the US border. Societal structures breakdown, or transmogrify in areas where different political States meet, perhaps this creates certain flexibility in ones perspective of the accepted framework that one exists in and encourages an ability to think outside the box. One, at a stretch, can draw a parallel with the bringing together of the “states” of analogue and digital. There was ample evidence of the challenging of accepted orthodoxy in the integration of these two worlds in the the Teatro de la Danza this evening. This threw up new and interesting structures perhaps giving us a taste of a new school of architecture within electronica, something bold and beautiful suggesting a brave new world to look forward to.
31st march – 2nd april
centro cultural del bosque
The Mutek festival of music, sound and new technology arrived from Montreal for its third outing on Mexican soil. Since its inception in 2000 the festival has focused on southward expansion and in its present state compasses events in Colombia, Brasil, Chile, Argentina and Mexico (representing its most developed form outside its native Canada). The event has at times more the feel of an industrial fair rather than a musical extravaganza; discussion groups, networking, technology and file sharing seems to be more in evidence than entertainment. But there is no denying the momentum that has already been established by a well organised, well funded, and governmental backed, project. With two days of music based around the Auditorio Nacional’s buildings in el Bosque del Chapultapec there was a respectful air to proceedings, perhaps a reflection of a level of acceptance from the established arts as to the importance and contribution of electronica to the cultural pastiche of societal modernity.
Certainly the most interesting session of the festival was the session of ‘electronica experimental’ held on the Thursday in the Teatro de la Danza. The theatre provided a fittingly reserved backdrop for an 8 act, 6 hour session acting as a showcase for a wide variety of styles and attitudes that are often unappreciated in the generic term of ‘electronic music’ which often is used to smother some of the immense creativity and risk taking displayed by many artists. The first 3 acts of the evening were Mexican and taken together gave a strong indication of the depth and breadth of talent that is developing here.
The stage looked somewhat like an electronic junkyard as E. Lebleu squeezed themselves between the hardware to deliver what has to be said was a disappointing set, plagued with technical difficulties, in comparison to the quality and crispness of the music presented on their recent “Two Years Off” EP released on the Soundsister label. Next up were Childs (Static), in an all too short 30 minutes the Ensenadas sidekicks showed only a taste of their “bedroom blues” that have enchanted a growing following in recent months. With their opening a more experimental track that had only been completed the morning of the show, Childs grasped the spirit of proceedings and proved that they were deserving of their place in such a quality line up. Finally Mantrico Montero (Mandorla) with 5 guitarists in tow (including Paul from Childs) provided “structures of the afternoon” in a half hour mind blowing set that pushed the envelope off the table.
Once the Mexican contingent cleared their equipment during the first interval things took on a more orthodox feel with well known names from across the world contributing to an excellent evening’s entertainment. The highlight was Jan Jelinek (Scape) accompanied by Andrew Pekler on Guitar and the brilliant, almost lead drums, of Hanno Leichtmann. Jelinek’s unfettered loops and layers of sound beguiled the packed house into a semi-standing ovation. The quality of the music in the second (non Mexican) half of the show highlights an interesting point of discussion. Certainly Mutek is an excellent showcase for electronic music in the Americas, but for whom? Is it a case of Mutek showing Mexico how far they are behind or is it a unique opportunity for Mexican electronica to go toe to toe with artists from the rest of the world?
Certainly many of the foreign artists are more successful in a commercial sense but maybe this is because Mexican artists have more trouble penetrating the potentially lucrative markets of North America and Europe. Also while many up and coming Mexican artists have ample access to the (pirate?) software necessary to produce top quality music, maybe it is the cost and accessibility of electronic hardware that is acting as a dampener against the new wave of electronic sound being generated here and perhaps creating a ‘digital divide’. It seemed that the space and visuals provided for the foreign artists were almost geared to creating an illusion of superiority within the eyes of the observer.
When one experiences the incredible creativity of an artist, producer and engineer like Ruben Tamayo (Fax; Static) in action it is fairly obvious that given access to the best technology local artists can and will produce music of a quality that is world class but from a distinctly Mexican perspective. Mutek certainly proves a framework for the exchange of ideas and a forum in which up and coming Mexican artists can display their wears. Given that this is still a relativity new venture it may be best to reserve judgement in order to take a longer term perspective on what concrete benefit the Mexican music industry gains from such an experience.
It is, finally, however interesting to note that the heartland of electronica here in Mexico is in Baja California close to the US border. Societal structures breakdown, or transmogrify in areas where different political States meet, perhaps this creates certain flexibility in ones perspective of the accepted framework that one exists in and encourages an ability to think outside the box. One, at a stretch, can draw a parallel with the bringing together of the “states” of analogue and digital. There was ample evidence of the challenging of accepted orthodoxy in the integration of these two worlds in the the Teatro de la Danza this evening. This threw up new and interesting structures perhaps giving us a taste of a new school of architecture within electronica, something bold and beautiful suggesting a brave new world to look forward to.
