Say it with me: “this is the summer I will step outside my music comfort zone and experience something fresh, something different”. Realistically, you have no excuses for not full-filling this pledge – you live in Montreal, and MUTEK 2011 begins on June 1 (until June 5). As described in a recent Montreal Gazette article, “picture 25-foot stage sets, 3-D mapping, magic worlds and virtual realms ranging from the poetic to the monolithic” – this is MUTEK. A great place to start your summer-of-new-music, I say.

Otherwise known as the International Festival of Digital Creativity and Electronic Music, the 12th edition of MUTEK will bring together 80 digital, visual and audio acts, including five distinctive series, each with an individual theme and performance schedule. Among the five, ‘Expérience’ highlights Montreal talent in the popular 5 à 7 format, while ‘Nocturne’ will showcase late-night acts with international reputations. MUTEK will also collaborate with Piknic Électronik in Parc Jean-Drapeau for daytime events. Notable acts include Brazil’s Amon Tobin, the UK’s James Holden and Gold Panda, and Denmark’s Modeselektor. Dig out your dance/rage shoes, is the point I’m trying to make here.

There are nine participating venues, and tickets can be purchased at various locations around town or online. A full festival passport is $200, with multi-day tickets ranging from $50 to $110. However, individual performances start at $20, so breaking the bank is not necessary in your quest for new sounds, I assure you. Onwards. 

~ Tyler Yank