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Re: [microsound] mutek just as you're missing it, part 4/4



just wanted to add my "thank you" to David and Tobias for exciting,
well-written and
informative reports

----- Original Message -----
From: "david turgeon" <david.t@xxxxxxxx>
To: "microsound" <microsound@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, June 02, 2002 9:29 AM
Subject: [microsound] mutek just as you're missing it, part 4/4


> so, part 4/4, get it?  4/4, mutek...  yeah yeah yeah, that wasn't always
> the case this year actually, & there was more evidence today in the mutek
> curatorship of a genuine departure towards new pastures.  the show this
> afternoon was absolutely essential.  it was so jam-packed with excellent
> stuff, & at only $8, one missed it at their own risk.  throughout the
first
> 3 sets there were visuals by sue costabile (the first set made use of an
> alorenz patch if i understood well) which actually managed to add to the
music.
>
> stephan mathieu was back for that show, this time under his full swing
> guise.  the drones were at it again, though this time it seemed easier to
> pay attention to the details within, which were quite complex &
> ever-changing.  the video for this was clever: layerings of coloured
pixels
> which were conceptually "in sync" with the music, in that you could see
> them almost as an illustration of the drones produced by mathieu.  it
> provided for a good laidback experience.
>
> timeblind had a long & rather complex set which did not let go an inch of
> silence, except for a short bit when his macintosh quite simply crashed &
> it took a few minutes for it to reboot.  this little bit of technical
> frustration aside, the music itself would be hard to describe: it was very
> rhythmic & somewhat groovy.  lots of interesting high pitched samples,
> too.  the visuals there were a little weaker though, but that was only
> until agf entered the stage.
>
> antye greie-fuchs (agf) was a revelation to me, & i think a good part of
> the audience would agree on that.  her way of putting together her songs
is
> very abstract & unsettling.  upon complex layers of drone & glitch sounds,
> she adds her voice, sometimes singing straight into the mix, sometimes
> modified, chopped up, frozen or echoed...  whatever this might sound like
> written, this is an absolutely beautiful & poetic show from start to
> finish.  very unexpected for me as i had no idea what it could be like
> before it started, but this woman has such a deep, empathic control over
> her music, it was impossible not to fall under the spell.  in this set,
sue
> costabile provided the most amazing visuals, done with very simple means
> (layering of projections) & yet exploding with boundless creativity.
>
> it got better still.  vladislav delay appeared & took over the stage.  for
> a little while he jammed in solo while agf was taking a bit of a rest.  &
> then she got back on the microphone & sung over delay's ever so sultry
> beats.  the result was magic, for the most part.  delay was feeling rather
> crazy, even going so far as to play his own material (_terra_, from _vapaa
> muurari_, & the rather bombastic _huone_ from a chain reaction 12")
> underneath agf's seemingly stream-of-consciousness lyrics.  the audience
> was also treated to a rather PHAT dub tune, an amazing funky track & some
> more abstract textures only delay is capable of mustering.  the pair
seemed
> to have an awesome time playing together & the alchemy was just perfect.
>
> so much music it feels exhausting!  so i went to the metropolis show
> afterwards, but we might as well say i missed it.  :)  just ask tobias,
> he'll tell you how it went.  :)  the only peculiar thing i noted was
> farben: wow, he can be meaner than his records show.  i left as luomo
> (delay again) was about to begin.  i was too far off in the back to
> appreciate the sound anyway.
>
> with this, i have now accomplished my mission.  i'm happy to say that this
> year's mutek was great, in stark contrast with last year's decidedly
> unexperimental (& for me, deceiving) line-up.  this year i think all the
> visitors got to have fun & discover plenty of new names.  the more
> experimental shows attracted a large & captive audience.  with this kind
of
> attitude from mutek, things bode well for the future.
>
> wheew, ending on such a happy note, one will think i've been paid to write
> that stuff.  the truth, though you may never know it, is much, much more
> sinister.
>
> have a nice day
> ~ david
>
>
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