The past weeks have been pretty intense for me. I was lost in a techno world the last weeks of May and beginning of June. First at Movement in Detroit then at MUTEK (well, EM15 but who really calls it that anyway?!). I prepared you a list of this year’s hits and misses and I wish I could have shared it with you earlier but my body literally shut down when the music stopped. It was a lot of fun but for the next little while I’ll stick to tea and kale.
HITS
He played a free party outside Place des Arts and it was the best way to spend your Saturday afternoon. He already impressed me on Thursday night when I had the brilliant idea to escape Hawtin’s set. I’m going to lose the music nerds here but anybody dropping “Oh Yeah” by Yello and “Africa” by Toto automatically wins my heart.
You never know what to expect from Villalobos. Will he be sober enough to play? Will he even be able to cross the border? Luckily for us, he did show up at Metropolis and was in good enough shape to make his fans dance until 6 a.m. He even opened the small stage a Piknic Electronik the next day. Such a trooper!
The smaller room at Metropolis was the best kept secret. It was a place you could go when you needed a break from the crowd and it was a chance to discover a lesser-known artist. Matthew Hawtin delivered a nice ambient set on Thursday night. During Metropolis 3, Ben Nevile, Stephen Beaupré and Mossa (who used fruits for percussion during his set) made many new fans with their groovy sounds.
The crowd
What makes MUTEK special is definitely the crowd attending. Throughout the years, I made friends from all over the world I now call my techno family. We’re lucky enough to have an open-minded crowd that really cares about the music and not just the party. It’s not your typical techno festival.
MISSES
Richie Hawtin presents ENTER.
Thursday night was lacking in the vision MUTEK got us used to. Unlike his Plastikman performance, which really brought some fresh air while reviving memories, his set last Thursday was predictable and didn’t quite fit with the MUTEK motto. Not everything was bad about this party and I must say, it was the only night the sound was good at Metropolis.
Musée d’art contemporain [MAC]
Presenting some showcases at the MAC seemed a good idea on paper but many people were not able to buy the full pass this year or attend the last showcase with Nicolas Jaar because the venue didn’t have enough capacity. In the past years, S.A.T. and Metropolis were close enough to make the venue-hopping more convenient which wasn’t the case with the museum. It’s something to think about for next year.
