15 years of digital creativity
Mutek celebrates its anniversary edition from 9 to 13 April.
Daito Manabe, Grand River, Autreche, Martin Messier, Ricardo Villalobos and Yamila. These are just some of the many, many artists taking part in the next Barcelona edition of Mutek Barcelona, a festival of digital creativity which, this year, for the past fifteen years, has been held in four venues in the Catalan capital.
The event is organised by the Mutek Association, which aims to promote, exhibit, train and internationalise digital creativity, expressed in the form of sound, music and visual arts. The main activity of the association is the annual festival that brings together, under these objectives, all multidisciplinary and digital creations.
This year's edition has four venues: the Sala Apolo, the Roca Gallery, the Sala Paral-lel 62 and the Antiga Fàbrica Estrella Damm. Symposiums, markets, project exhibitions, audiovisual proposals... and even a space dedicated to exploring the possibilities of light and sound (Sculpted With Light & Sound; at the Roca Gallery; 10th) will be held in these spaces. There you will have two artists from Quebec: Maxime Corbeil-Perron, who establishes relationships between obsolete and contemporary technologies; and Martin Messier, who fuses sound, objects and images in his creations. Messier premieres his project Impulse, a work that, they say, has an electrifying effect on the public, as it amplifies sensations.
But, in fact, everything will begin the day before in the evening, at the Sala Apolo, where there will be an opening concert (8 pm; 39.60 euros) featuring a live performance by the legendary English electronic music group Autechre and another by the Belgian musician Roméo Poirier.
In addition to Impulse, he will be presenting 1 drop 1000 years, a performance that is the artist's newest project and which reflects on a biological and physical process that is basic to life: homeostasis, through which he talks about the balance of life on our planet. With him, the Japanese artist Hatis Noit, a self-taught vocal performer who draws inspiration from classical Japanese music as well as from opera, Bulgarian songs, Gregorian chant and even pop and avant-garde sounds. Completing the evening at Paral-lel 62 is Daito Manabe, a multimedia artist, programmer and DJ who is considered one of the most avant-garde artists on the digital creation scene. Pay attention, he's premiering a live show that promises to be a great success.
On Friday, the action moves to the Antiga Fàbrica Estrella Damm, where there will be symposiums, talks and presentations.
The night takes place at Nitsa where, at 11.45 p.m., you'll be invited to two different rooms: at Nocturne 1, the visual artist and videographer Acid Thermal, the Palestinian DJ Maher Daniel, the deep sounds of the Uruguayan Michelle and the DJ performance, twenty years after the legendary record Alcachofa, by Ricardo Villalobos. At Nocturne 1 in the second room, on the other hand, you'll find performances by Amantra, Nick Leon, representing the Miami club scene, Ezra Miller, Sofia Kourtesis and Pelada, the dance-song duet made up of Chris Vargas and Tobias Rochman.
On 13 April, on the last day of the festival, there will be performances at the Antiga Fàbrica Estrella Damm, during the day (from 4 to 10 pm) and with artists such as the Torí collective SPIME.IM (pictured. Photo: Davide Sabatini), which presents the show Grey Line, with a particularly powerful sound and fascinating strobe-like images (pay attention if you're sensitive).
With them, Grand River (the Italian and Dutch Aimée Portioli), who creates experimental and emotional electronic sounds, complex rhythms that have resulted in works such as All above. Also performing on the same stage, among others, is the cellist Yamila, an expert in blending Spanish folklore and electronica. .
You can finish off the night of the 13th, and end the festival with Nocturne 3 at the Nitsa, where you will find performances by Darren Cunningham, that is, Actress presenting a studio album LXXXVVVIII, which summarises twenty-five years of career. Along with it, a live performance by Hendrik Weber, better known as Pantha du Prince, the local Lanav, a Honeydrip who represents the most underground scene in Quebec, and Acid Thermal, a visual artist who excels in the art of turning music and sounds into images.
These are just some of the artists who will be performing at Mutek Barcelona next year. If you don't want to miss it, start buying your ticket, but first check the festival's full programme on the website.