TAYLOR
DEUPREE:
URB (US)
...
on MUTEK 2000
by
Susanna Bolle
With
a lineup that featured some of the most innovative muscians
from Eruope, the U.S. and Canada, Montreal's MUTEK promised
to be one of the most significant North American festivals devoted
to experimental electronic music.
The first two nights, held at the ultra-cool Ex-Centris new
media and film center, were mixed-media events. The opening
night featured artists from NY's Caipirinha label. The highlights
of the evening were Taylor Deupree's delicate, microscopic minimalism
(Deupree would play another outstanding set as part of a series
of happy-hour shows at Cafe Laika) and Sound Track's restrained
tech-house. The venue itself proved problematic, despite its
fantastic sound system, with the audience sitting uncomfortably
on the floor for much of the show. On the following night, however,
when Noto, Komet, Byetone, COH and Signal from the Raster-Noton
label performed, all physical costraints were forgotten in the
face of their electronic sound sculptures and mesmerizing visuals,
which added to the most impressive night of the festival.
For
the last three nights, the action shifted to Cafe Campus. Vladislav
Delay's extended set, which opened Friday's performance by other
Mille Plateaux artists, was one of the most eagerly anticipated
of the festival. He did not disappoint, creating a richly textured,
complex and fluid form of abstract dub. The same night, SF-based
Sutekh turned in an excellent set of atmospheric, detritus-strewn
techno, despite some technical difficulties. Saturday's theme
was minimalism and featured Cologne's Triple R and Thomas Brinkmann.
Brinkmann was very much in Soul Center mode, delivering a hybrid
of funk and house which had the crowd dancing ecstatically.
The festival wound down with a night of experimental dub from
Kit Clayton, Pole and Montreal's Dakca. Clayton's short set
of swirling, intricately layered dub was nothing short of amazing,
providing another high point
