Here’s what to catch at this year’s Mutek electronic & art festival

Friday May 29th

Lucy

MÉTROPOLIS 1, Métropolis

Born in Italy, but currently based in Berlin, Luca Montellaro produces ambitious and refined techno. Under the name Lucy, he accomplishes a profound and driven sound that arrives neatly packaged and dance-floor ready. Lucy has collaborated with a number of big names and has become a mainstay at internationally respected festivals including Sonar, ADE, Time Warp and Club2Club. In addition, he runs his own label, Strobscopic Artefacts, building a personal discography that has helped to establish his polished persona.

For a chilled out vibe, catch Lucy’s ambient set on Thursday May 27th at Nocturne 2 instead.

Friday May 29^th

Project Pablo

EXPERIENCE 2, Parterre du Quartier des Spectacles

After relocating from Vancouver last year, Project Pablo has been making his way around Montréal venues for the months leading up to Mutek. Patrick Holland crafts forward thinking, fanciful house music. His sound has a sheen that reminds the listener of warm weather, the reflection of sun off the water. His rhythms and synth lines seem to glitter, and his beats bounce happily through space.

To top it all off, this event is free.

Friday May 29^th

Ramzi

PLAY 1, Musée d’art Contemporian

Phoebe Guillemot produces under the moniker Ramzi: her divine dub beats and transcendent, discordant melodies are at once simply pleasurable and also elevated and complex. Originally from Montréal, Ramzi experiments with animal sounds, polyrhythms, distorted vocal tracks and free jazz. Working alongside videographer Kyle Bowman, she will unveil a live set never before seen. Hopefully, it’s as hallucinatory and warped as her usual beats.

Saturday, May 30^th

Martin Messier

A/VISIONS 2, Théatre Maisonneuve

Martin Messier works to explore and expand the imaginary realms of everyday life. Using contact mics and amplification, he refocuses the aural experience to analyze specific sounds and their relationship to the wider cultural landscape. His multidisciplinary work Field sets out to create a dialogue between sound and the body in motion. He has collaborated with Thomas Payette on the 30-minute performance, looking to uncover the voids we cease to recognize in our daily lives: the invisible and inaudible electronic waves.

Sunday, May 31^st

Pole & MFO

NOCTURNE 5, Musée d’art contemporian

As one of the pioneers of dub techno Stefan Betke, or Pole, operates at the intersection of sparse dub reggae and minimal, abstracted techno. His sound fluctuates between genres, touching on jazz, house, techno, dub and hip-hop. His music is texturally complex and intricately crafted, each noise driven by intent and purpose.

Pole returns to Mutek, this time with visual artist and designer Marcel Weber (MFO) in tow. MFO will look to translate the mosaic that is Pole’s music into a choreographed visual language.

Mutek runs from May 27 – 31 at various venues throughout the city. For tickets and the complete schedule, visit www.mutek.org.