Montreal’s Mutek has been going strong since 2000, and this year is no exception. Over 100 artists will converge in five separate venues over five days at the end of May. Those already initiated know what to expect, but newcomers are sure to be blown away.

May 30 should satiate the headier members of the audience. Clinker will bend air with his focus on tones and sound production. Boris & Brecht Debackere will perform as Rotor, an audio and visual experience that challenges the notions of traditional film, and O.Lamm will play with dance music by creating floor-friendly beats for adults made from objects for children.

May 31 brings dub to the stage. Shackleton and Kode9 will show their stripped-down take on the London dubstep scene. Mastermind behind the Basic Channel and Burial Mix labels Maurizio will grace the crowd with his Rhythm & Sound project, while simultaneously representing the intersecting fundamentals between dub and techno.

Nadja’s Aidan Baker will turn the room into static on June 1, as he performs electronic compositions focused on layers and loops. Later that night, Montreal’s own The Mole will tear the club up with his minimal funk and leftfield disco, followed by Wagon Repair’s improve trio Cobblestone Jazz

Then, on June 2, brand-new Minus signing Ambivalent will rock the decks, as will Berlin’s micro-house superstars My My. Finally, the crowd will have the chance to experience the ubiquitous yet brutal techno of Audion.

June 3 wraps up the show with the psychedelic and progressive techno of Jesse Somfay, the minimal bounce of Heartthrob, and the ever-popular and wonderfully consistent Wighnomy Brothers duo. Phew!

Cameron Octigan

Mutek begins again May 30, 2007.