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The Mire

The Wire at Mutek 6 June

The weather thus far has been warm and humid, so you can wander the city and venue-hop way into the night, but yesterday the heavens opened on and off throughout the afternoon. Mutek's outdoor picnic went ahead just about, we hear, but we were at our stall in Monument-National watching the rain storms come and go. The music began in earnest at around 7pm at Sat with Vladislav Delay, and the programe (including CM Von Hausswolf) was centred around various takes on tone-experiment/drone/beatless exploration – a somewhat abstract line-up for a Saturday night. I only made it down to the venue a little later when Tim Hecker was on, and the place was completely dark, so Hecker himself was only visible in silhouette, with shards of guitar chords just about sensible through the churn of effects. Hecker was doing this before many others, and moments of it hit home. A melody would be routed through his laptop again and again and when...

The Mire

The Wire in Mutek 5 June 2010

Our series of four artist Q&As are complete – The Caretaker and Mouse On Mars completed the set yesterday, and all four should be available to download soon. So last night was the first time we got out on the town proper, heading away from the main Monument-National venue and into the clubs – although as it happens, they're just across the road. Sat and Club Soda are right over the street, separated by a few strip clubs. The main area of Mutek used to be (and still partially is) a red light district, and there's a square just around there which is a big area for street drinkers, but with the number of people on the street due to Montreal's balmy weather, it's a intimate, friendly atmosphere both inside and out the clubs. Club Soda has one main room with a high ceiling and balconies down the side, everything pointing your attention to the stage, with concrete and metal decor...

The Mire

The Wire in Mutek 4 June 2010

Greetings from Montreal, where The Wire is stationed for the next four days or so. We're currently in our hotel room trying to shake off jetlag by watching a selection of YouTube clips of schmaltzy ballads and power rock posted by Leyland James Kirby. It's working.... we think. All these old school Yello, Daryl Pandy and 80s rock clips are taking us back just enough in time so that we sync with where we left our bodyclocks in the UK. Our coffee machine isn't working, sadly, and Nathan Budzinski is behind me reading Cold World: The Aesthetics Of Dejection And The Politics Of Militant Dysphoria , but apart from that everything's rosy, and the festival has been impressive. The is the first time we've been to Mutek - we're in the middle of a selection of Q&As presented in association with the festival, and after Matmos and King Midas Sound we've got Caretaker and Mouse On Mars today at...

The Mire

Konx-om-Pax Display Copy Mix

Glasgow-based director, animator and sound designer Konx-om-Pax aka Tom Scholefield (designer/director for Hudson Mohawke and Jamie Lidell amongst others) has put together a club night as part of his Display Copy project (studio and record label). Forthcoming gigs scheduled are: Oneohtrix Point Never, Tomutonttu, DJ set from Konx-om-Pax and special guests. Glasgow Artschool , 29 May, 11pm–3am, £5/6. Gescom, Konx-om-Pax and Guy Veale, Glasgow Ivy Bar, 4 June, 8pm–12am, free. Download Konx-om-Pax's Display Copy mix here 1. City Scum Shot, “The Bamboo Vein” 2. Grippers Nother Onesers, “After Dark Cravings” 3. Ducktails, “Seagull’s Flight” 4. Dolphins Into The Future, “Lone Voyager” 5. Tod Dockstader, “Knockwhistle” 6. Tom Dissevelt & Kid Baltan, “The Visitor from Inner Space” 7. Bruce Haack (Miss Nelson And Bruce), “Mudra” 8. Conrad Schnitzler, “Trigger One 2″ 9. Irsol, “Concentration” 10. Tolerance, “Sacrifice” 11. Stephen Mallinder, “Length of Time” 12. David...

The Mire

Wanted: Goodiepal

Eccentric electronic composer/lecturer/performance artist Goodiepal (real name Parl Kristian Bjørn Vester) from the Faroe Islands who has been living in London for the past few years doing workshops at his residency in Bethnal Green, is now on the run from Danish Police. Sort of. This morning he booked a series of full page adverts in The Wire , to be published in the July issue, and subsequently phoned me from the Faroe Islands where he managed to get to by boat from Iceland. Goodiepal left the Århus conservatory of music in 2008, when he was fired - as he puts it himself - because, according to the university’s heads, he wasn’t following the teaching plan. He’s since spent his time touring his performances and lectures wordwide, preaching, in his own peculiar fashion, how to reinstate the notion of utopia back into electronic music. Sporting a handlebar moustache and wig - he’s every bit the mad professor –...

The Mire

MWC at Outer Church

A quick heads up for Brighton Wire folk: Joseph Stannard's psych/prog/kraut/cosmic/electronic extravaganza The Outer Church touches down again on 9 June, with a special guest DJ in the shape of Moon Wiring Club’s Ian Hodgson, who promises "AN ELECTRONIX FIZZPOP SLURRED ITALO SYNPOP SPACE EXPLOSION". We don't know as yet if he'll be DJing in capitals. That's his marvelous flyer above. There'll be the usual music from Giorgio Moroder to Mordant Music to Magma. It takes place at The Penthouse @ The Freebutt and it's FREE.

The Mire

Sublime Frequencies - In The Streets Of Mexico City

elnicho , a mail order project for experimental music (who co-curated the recent Radar festival in Mexico City ), has curated an evening celebrating the musically omniverous, globe-spanning Sublime Frequencies series. The evening will feature tunes and projections culled from the extensive Sublime Frequencies catalogue, along with wild dancing. It all takes place on 13 May at the Galeria del Comercio , a gallery for free public art projects on the streets in Mexico City (in this case, one particular corner). Links: • press page with streaming playlist, videos and articles • elnicho blog (in spanish): focus on Sublime Frequencies with Alan Bishop's interview and selected reviews • SF on elnicho (in spanish and available in mexico only) • Event on Facebook

The Mire

Susan Philipsz: The Internationale

Sound artist Susan Philipsz has been nominated for the Turner Prize this year (along with The Otolith Group , one half of which is The Wire contributor Kodwo Eshun). It reminded me that we shot some footage of an installation of hers at the ICA back in 2008. The Internationale was shown for two days at the ICA in central London off The Mall, a wide boulevard leading from Trafalgar Square up to Buckingham Palace (monarchs use The Mall to impress during state visits and other ceremonies). To experience the piece, a small group of visitors were led to the rear of the ICA and up a ladder onto the bare roof terrace. A single loudspeaker attached to the façade of the grand building broadcast Philipsz’s voice softly warbling its way through the anthem of international socialism , blending with the background...