By José Gandue @Gandour
Among the many musical events scheduled for the coming days in Bogotá, one of the most noteworthy is the second edition of the MicroMutek.co International Festival of Digital Creativity and Electronic Music. Organized by the Arca Cultural Foundation, this event will take place from September 24 to 26 in various venues throughout the Colombian capital, and promises to surprise locals and visitors alike with the high quality of its performances. To learn more, we interviewed Daniel Casas, one of the festival's key organizers:
What is Mutek?
Mutek is one of the most significant and important events in the world of digital arts. It was created in 2000 by Alain Mongueau, following his experience founding SAT, the Society for Art and Technology in Montreal, and creating a music section for the New Cinema festival in the same city, called the Media Lounge, where for five years he presented cutting-edge electronic music artists. From there, he took the leap to create MUTEK, a festival that quickly expanded its activities internationally. In its 16-year history, it has held more than 100 different events in over 20 countries and 40 cities. Mexico began hosting events in 2003, and Barcelona in 2003, with various attempts at festivals in countries like Chile and Argentina, and partnerships with other festivals and similar events.
At its core, the festival is a marvelous blend of cutting-edge visual presentations, projects that merge technology with art, and live electronic music artists engaged with the most avant-garde and revolutionary aspects of the genre. In fact, it's almost a requirement that the performers be live producers, not DJs, which immediately sets it apart from the world's major commercial electronic music events. Added to this is a strong academic component with workshops, conferences, colloquiums, forums, and talks with artists, all within a framework where technology, in its association with art, is constantly evolving.
What is MicroMutek.co?
It's basically a simplified version of the original. The goal is to preserve, as much as possible, its characteristics, atmosphere, and philosophy. While Canada and Mexico have festivals with 110 or 120 artists per edition, we're aiming for an artistic quota of 20 to 22 artists. They run for five days; we run for a little over two. The important thing is that, on a smaller scale, we're as close as possible to the original Canadian version.
How does MicroMutek.co differ from other electronic music festivals taking place or planned for this season in Bogotá?
microMUTEK.CO seeks out the most avant-garde side of the scene. And when we say avant-garde, we don't mean music from another planet or absolutely "freakish." Avant-garde means having something unique. Our lineup is subject to curatorial approval from MUTEK Canada. We search, we select, we propose, we argue, and Canada tells us, this works, this doesn't… They've had very clear guidelines in that regard for many years. It's true that other festivals that started to gain traction on the world stage and that come to Colombia were born with a similar spirit to MUTEK and suddenly opened themselves up to more commercial interests. MUTEK is completely unwavering in that sense. You have to have compelling arguments to, for example, get a DJ accepted into the lineup.
What is "avant-garde" in Mutek terms?
Novelty. The possibility of change. The differentiator in an increasingly homogeneous musical world. Creativity in terms of being on the verge of the next step and not being interested in the conventional. That's in music. In the visual field, it's absolute risk, what seems impossible but exists and is truly palpable.
Does the selected local talent meet those "cutting-edge" expectations?
This is the most complex aspect for our purposes. Alain Mongeau has always told us that they must respect local scenes to a high degree, because each one has its own workings, its own way of being and living. For us, arriving at microMUTEK.CO was, in a way, achieved through the experience of CONECTADOS, an electronic music concert program that we've been developing since 2010 through the Arca Cultural Foundation, initially in conjunction with the Gilberto Alzate Avendaño Foundation and currently with the Bogotá Planetarium. The original idea was always to present artists who produce their music in real time. Producers, as simple as that… and it's very difficult. We have an electronic music scene full of DJs who take advantage of the ease that technology and the internet offer today. But even so, and with more than 100 artists on stage, we discovered people who are involved in something different. Our local perspective led us to think, "Wow, this is amazing!" For us and our community, of course it is. From MUTEK Canada's perspective, it's not quite that simple. We're in a growth phase, and it's really exciting to see. The ideal of microMUTEK.CO is that over time it will become a benchmark for our artists to reach new heights. This year we have MITÚ, which was very well-received and immediately embraced. It's simply a matter of putting the dishes on the table and noticing which one stands out and tastes different. Our anticipation is that this will greatly benefit our scene.
For example, for the past three years, thanks to Conectados, we've been bringing local artists to MUTEK. This year it was Lunate's (Juan Manuel Cortés) turn. Our greatest thrill came weeks later when we met him and he told us that MUTEK Montreal had completely changed his perspective, that he was rethinking his entire set, all his new material, because what he had seen and heard was impressive and a great learning experience for him.
What special international attractions does the current edition of MicroMutek.co have?
There's a big challenge this year. It's called Maotik & Metametric. We're going to go inside the Bogotá Planetarium to present one of its wonderful immersive experiences, called Omnis. A fascinating journey to unreal worlds that absorbs you and places you on another plane as an audiovisual experience. But there's also Jonas Reinhardt, an American who a couple of years ago was a sensation in the audiovisual world with his work Ganymede and who premieres at our festival her new performance called Palace Savant. We'll have Reinhard Voigt from Germany, one of the founders of Kompakt Records, undoubtedly one of the most respected names in European electronic music over the last two decades, and also a brilliant producer and musician of the finest techno. Finally, and not to diminish the others, I'd say Rival Consoles, a multifaceted musician who will bring us two completely different acts.
Besides the support and advice of the parent company Mutek, what other institutions have provided assistance for the development of the event?
In Canada, the support that Lojiq provides us is vital (Les Offices jeunesse internationaux du Québec) entity that works with young people in the state of Quebec and that has been fundamental in the Canada – Colombia artistic exchange, which since 2012 allowed us to bring artists from there to our Conectados program and then the link they made for us with MUTEK to bring artists from here, as part of that exchange.
Here in Bogotá, the support of entities such as the British Council, the Goethe Institute, Idartes, in addition to its venues such as the Bogotá Planetarium and the Jorge Eliécer Gaitán Theater, SAE Institute, EMMAT and Invest In Bogotá has been fundamental.
Finally, besides seeing the spaces designated for the organized shows filled, what do you consider to be Micromutek.co's main objective this year?
There are several. But the most important is to follow a process of positioning the brand and the festival itself. Growing with events of this type is quite complex because private companies often don't believe in them. It's not easy to attract an audience with a new proposal like this. So the challenge is to make them aware of it and start believing in it.
For more information, visit the official event website: Mutek.co
