Please wait a few moments while we process your request
Please wait...

Mutek

MUTEK.CL festival in Valparaiso, Chile

(Montreal, Quebec, Canada)

MUTEK.CL in Valparaiso, Chile, is an initiative of MUTEK, a Montreal group devoted to distributing and developing emerging forms of electronic music and sound creations. Its main activity is an annual festival.

To reach European and South American audiences, the MUTEK team wants to set up a biennial edition of its festival in Berlin, Germany, (MUTEK.DE), alternating with an edition in Valparaiso, Chile, (MUTEK.CL). The aim is to develop a network between Montreal, Berlin and Valparaiso to promote events and nurture the communities of artists and fans interested in electronic music and sound creation. The Berlin festival helps forge a bond with the thriving electronic music scene in Europe while fostering exchanges that can help close the gap between Europe and North America. Meanwhile, the South American edition in Valparaiso helps local music scenes to emerge and develop. Chile is a fertile ground for electronic music and sound creation. The country already has informal networks of musicians influenced by the European and particularly German scene. In addition to musicians with dual citizenship (Chile-Germany), Chile is home to well-respected German artists like the musician Uwe Schmidt. MUTEK.CL benefits from the MUTEK.CA team's solid experience in organizing events and from the rich culture that has sprung out of electronic music in Europe.

The Foundation's support helped to launch the MUTEK.CL festival and to build a permanent local structure for organizing the festival's future editions in Chile.

The first South American festival was held in January 2004. Inspired by the Montreal model, MUTEK.CL included concerts and performances presented at different venues over five days and brought together some 40 artists from Chile, the rest of South America, and across the globe. The musical program was complemented by two other segments: MUTEK_VISION (films and videos exploring the link between music, sound and images) and MUTEK_INTERSECTION (workshops and conferences on issues and trends in digital creation and digital culture). A catalogue and a CD compilation was also put together, as well as a recording to be archived on the MUTEK Web site.

Dominique Fontaine © 2004 FDL