Interviews – Page 31

When MUTEK was founded 25 years ago after incubating at Ex-Centris in the context of the Media Lounge, glitch was a dominant genre on the experimental electronic scene. The formal source of glitch was the deliberate deconstruction of dub music through sudden increases in tension. Derived from the malfunctioning of electronic lutherie, the glitch aesthetic was characterized by the creative integration of apparent sonic flaws. Germany’s Stefan Betke, aka POLE, was a recognized leader in this aesthetic. Over the past 25 years, POLE has been a frequent guest at various MUTEK events, and now he’s back in MTL to commemorate MUTEK’s quarter-century in the style he developed back then. That’s why PAN M 360 joined him on tour.

PAN M 360: You were a key MUTEK artist in the early years of the event, after which you went your own way on the international circuit. How has your art evolved in the years since?

Stefan Betke: There have been quite a few releases between the 1-2-3 trilogy (2000) and today. When you listen to all these recordings, I hope you can hear the natural development of my musical language. I’ve never abandoned bass, dub aesthetics, space planning, textural effects, all that. I’ve always added new vocabulary to the language I’ve created before.

PAN M 360: More generally, what remains of the glitch trend, what can we learn from it today?

Stefan Betke: We all agree that if we only dig into one detail of our creative life, it can get boring. We have to change.

PAN M 360: But at the same time, it was a very important movement. What was left of it?

Stefan Betke: Many artists were involved during this period, beyond music, visual artists, writers, intellectuals and so on. We remember these artists: Oval, Microstoria, Jan Jelinek, Burnt Friedman, Carsten Nicolai, myself, and so on. Others remained in the shadows, some evolving the Mille Plateaux and Scape labels, which were important at the time. It was an aesthetic imagined between 1995 and 1998, and which reached its apogee in 1999 and 2000. By the early 2000s, everything had been said, there was nothing left to add.

PAN M 360: Nevertheless, glitch discoveries are always present.

Stefan Bekte: Our influence is perceptible in much of the music of the last 25 years. Dubstep, for example, was influenced by these artists, myself included. Other genres still refer to the music we made back then. But we’re still here and we’re somewhere else, which means we’ve all evolved and most of us are still making interesting music.

PAN M 360: The original forms are still there in your music today, but the melodic and harmonic components stand out more. Jazz influences are more evident, for example.

Stefan Bekte: You have to remember that I started out with classical music and jazz. These elements were present in my glitch period, but were so deconstructed and reduced to their most minimal forms that it was difficult to recognize them at the time. And now, over the past 25 years, these influences have come into sharper focus, particularly on the recordings that preceded Tempus, such as Fading, Con-Struct and Wald.

PAN M 360: You also played in a band at this time. Were you already interested in music played in real time?

Stefan Bekte: I’ve always done that. Between 2000 and 2007, I toured with my band, a trio of bass, drums and electronic gear. This trio played at Mutek Mexico and Mutek Montreal.

PAN M 360: Your original musical education is emerging more clearly today, but you’re not abandoning what you’ve achieved electronically.

Stefan Bekte: I’d never do it. It’s always in me, it has to stay in me, but you have to transform the context. Sometimes it works well, sometimes it doesn’t. Composing music involves a certain amount of risk. In any case, it’s a great advantage to be able to do it: you can integrate old elements into a new context and open them up to a different audience.

PAN M 360: It’s the experience of a lifetime, a very long process of refinement. What are you presenting on stage on Sunday?

Stefan Bekte: I’ll be playing music from the Tempus album as well as other pieces. This solo set will be typical of my work. There will be a lot of sound overdubbing, and I’ll be using a variety of the latest technologies, both analog and digital.

PAN M 360: Of course, there will be a difference between the original recordings and what happens on stage.

Stefan Bekte: There’s always a difference between studio and live. Of course the music is based on the recording, the composition remains the same. But it can be a little more aggressive on stage, a little more dubby. In fact, the angle of attack depends on the mood in the room.

PAN M 360: And is there room for improvisation?

Stefan Bekte: Yes, of course! I improvise over loops recorded in real time. I can add sound effects such as reverb. I can make my pieces more ambient by removing the beat, or more dynamic by adding things. It all depends on the context in real time, so I make different decisions on the spot.

PAN M 360: At 57, do you still do a lot of touring?

Stefan Bekte: Yes, I’m still shooting, but less than before the pandemic. I also have to make room for the younger generations, who need to show their work. I’m coming to Montreal on Sunday, I’ve got a lot of other offers, but… Honestly, I don’t play as much as I used to, and I’m 25 years older.

PAN M 360: Perhaps it’s not as much fun to travel as it used to be…

Stefan Bekte: No, it’s the same pleasure! But there’s a change of generation, and that’s a good thing. There’s no room for everyone, so we have to share.

PAN M 360: Yes, it’s always that delicate balance between our role as seniors, our active life and sharing with the younger generations, it’s a difficult balance to strike.

Stefan Bekte: I couldn’t agree more. See you on Sunday!

POLE PERFORMS IN THE FINAL PROGRAM OF NOCTURNE SERIES, ON SUNDAY AT THE SAT

MORE INFORMATION HERE

Publicité panam

1 drop 1000 years by Martin Messier from Quebec is inspired by the thermohaline circulation system, generated on our planet by the differences in density of seawater linked to its temperature or salt content. A drop of water would take around 1,000 years to circle the globe. Water is at the heart of this performance, and its creator explains to Alain Brunet how this MUTEK regular and renowned creator of immersive audiovisual performances imagined its flow on stage, in front of an audience. His performance is scheduled for Saturday, August 24 at Théâtre Maisonneuve, 7pm, as part of MUTEK 2024 and part 2 of his A/Visions series.

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND FOR TICKETS

Publicité panam

ÈBONY, comprising Montreal based Jordan Gardner and Toronto based R-ODERICK, fuses Detroit Techno and Chicago House, enriched by plenty of genres and sub-genres from Footwork to Soca and Jump Up. Their EP Real Truth put them at a good place in the electronic music scene. Their first live sit, which celebrates their first album entitled Union, is an expression of global music carrying cultural narratives from the Black experience. This is exactly why Alain Brunet met them through this PAN M 360 video interview.

EBONY IS PERFORMING ON ESPLANADE TRANQUILLE, FRIDAY AUGUST 23. INFOS HERE

Publicité panam

CIEL is a multi-faceted artist with roots stretching from China to Canada, where she became a key figure in the electronic music scene. She is the co-owner of the Toronto electronic music label Parallel Minds, she is also a member of the internationally-renowned women & LGBTQIA+ DJ collective Discwoman. And she’s had a monthly residency radio show on Rinse FM in London since 2018. Ciel will perform at Mutek on Thursday in the Nocturne series, presenting and adapting for live the music of her album Homesick. Salima Bouaraour had a conversation with her about her creative process, Homesick live set up and her record label.

INFOS + TICKETS HERE

Publicité panam

Orchestroll is a curious ambient, experimental electronica duo formed by the musical partnership between producers Jesse Osborne-Lanthier and Asaël Richard-Robitaille. The music is sometimes slow and wave-like, and other times, maniacal, and always unpredictable. It’s akin to being on an everlasting rollercoaster but never quite reaching the peak or drop. Always sounding a bit like walking through a decaying Euro-bloc, the duo’s two albums—Hyperwide Lustre and Tintinnabulation ChXss (a collab with Feu-St-Antoine at the Suoni Per Il Popolo festival) are unique entities made to be explored live.

We spoke to the Orchestroll duo ahead of their performance at MUTEK, about their origins, recent residency in Stockholm, and fascination with psychedelics.

PAN M 360: How did Orchestroll start?

ORCHESTROLL: By force of circumstance. We’ve been good friends and collaborators for a long time. For years, we’d dreamed of creating a project that was entirely our own, unencumbered by outside constraints or influences. We wanted an experimental space where we could explore and develop our most intimate ideas, a canvas on which we could express the affinities, subjects, and concepts that nourish our artistic and friendly relationship. Orchestroll is also a kind of multi-dimensional project, a space where we recycle musical ideas sketched out during productions for other artists, ideas we felt we hadn’t fully exploited. This project matured for around five years before finally being unveiled to the public.

PAN M 360: You recently attended Stockholm to be part of the Elektronmusikstudion residency. What was that experience like?

ORCHESTROLL: The EMS residency experience in Stockholm was brief, but extremely intense and productive. We arrived in Stockholm around the summer solstice, during the phenomenon of the midnight sun, after a journey of around 20 hours. Our sleep rhythms were completely out of whack due to the combination of a long journey and the incessant light of the day that never sets. We slept in a sort of attic, with little protection from the light and the constant birdsong, resulting in strange, interminable days at the studio. We’d nap for a few hours before locking ourselves in a windowless studio all day, only to emerge “at night,” disoriented, to find the sun still shining as bright as mid-afternoon. That said, the setting was extremely stimulating creatively. We were lucky enough to collaborate with a long-time friend, visual artist, and musician “Visio” Nicolas Tirabasso, who was also in residence. We recorded material for several albums currently in preparation. In addition, we had the incredible opportunity to work with the Halldorophone, a rare instrument that had been at the EMS studio for a year. As luck would have it, we arrived the day before it was due to leave, so we were able to use it for a day.

PAN M 360: Your music is very surreal, almost hypnotic. Can you speak to that?

ORCHESTROLL: We like to create pieces that provoke intense sensory states, experiences that we would also like to be confronted with as an audience. We’re drawn to the coexistence of elements that, at first glance, shouldn’t necessarily come together, creating a sense of destabilization. Some of the most interesting and revealing musical moments, for us as listeners, are those that have left us perplexed as to their creation, prompting us to question the how and why of such a sound or music. We seek to recreate this kind of experience for others. However, it’s also essential for us to create a gateway to our music, something that immediately grabs your attention, which may explain the hypnotic quality of our compositions. We want our music to be both catchy and deep, earworms that take root and resonate with the listener for a long time.

PAN M 360: How do you name your songs?

ORCHESTROLL: There are many ways in which our song titles take shape, but one aspect remains essential: the title must evoke something stimulating, directly related to the specific feeling of the piece. Sometimes it’s narrative, sometimes aesthetic, descriptive, or even political, but it’s always tinged with playfulness. The titles are clearly in the “naming convention” tradition of Jesse’s solo albums; but this time, they are perhaps infused with an aesthetic or meaning shared between the two members of the project. We often talk about worldbuilding, and it’s crucial to us that a certain folklore emerges, not only through the music but also in the visuals and overall concept.

PAN M 360: What is the live performance like? Much room for improv?

ORCHESTROLL: Orchestroll’s live performances are profoundly adaptable, evolving according to the venue, the available equipment, the setting and the sonic territory we choose to explore. Our shows have taken place in a variety of venues- concert halls, clubs, churches, warehouses, and galleries—each environment bringing a unique atmosphere to the performance. The nature of our performances is varied and unpredictable. Some concerts take an electronic approach, rooted in experimental or rhythmic and/or dance music, while others are more improvisational, emphasizing live instrumentation, band configurations, and ritual elements. These performances often involve guest musicians and are accompanied by immersive visuals and elaborate set design. In addition to playing as a duo, we often expand our trio formation during collaborations with Daniele Guerrini (Heith). Together, we create hybrid interpretations of Heith and Orchestroll compositions, as well as collaborative works, fusing our distinct sounds into something difficult to disentangle, even elusive.

PAN M 360: What is Orchestroll’s relationship with psychedelic drugs? I only ask because the physical album of Tintinnabulation ChXss with Feu St-Antoine is pressed with LSD?

ORCHESTROLL: We are no strangers to psychedelic drugs, and it would be a lie to pretend that our perceptions and appreciation of music have not been influenced or transformed by psychedelic experiences. These experiences have undeniably broadened our understanding of music, opening us up to otherwise inaccessible sonic and emotional dimensions. When we compose, we usually do so in a sober or stoned state. Our aim is often to achieve or recreate this state of expanded consciousness, not through the direct use of substances, but through the evocative power of sound itself. We see music as a vehicle capable of transporting the listener to these altered states in a natural way, playing on textures, rhythms and moods. The album, Tintinnabulation ChXss, is in some ways a nod to these influences, but also a way of celebrating the transformative potential of sound art. We aim to create compositions that, even without drugs, can evoke that feeling of transcendence, where music becomes a bridge to unexplored inner worlds.

Orchestroll plays live during MUTEK’s Nocturne 5 – TICKETS HERE

Film Scores for No One is inspired by the instrumental material Patrick Watson has produced over the last five years. During the pandemic he performed some electronic music, but this time is quite bigger. In a trio congext, he will perform no song forms but modular synth music in real time, thourgh a more ambitious set in a big room – New City Gas, Wednesday, 9PM. Mainly fouded on modular synthesizers, these new pieces are close to his original motivation in music, composing instrumental or electronic sound landscapes, for orchestras or for films. He also could use this new material in his future songwriting, so this is an excellent reason to attend this concert shared with Kara Lis Coverdale and Colin Stetson. And it’s also an excellent reason to watch this Patrick Watson’s interview by Alain Brunet.

INFOS & TICKETS HERE

Drew Hemment is a festival creator and academic with decades of experience in the cultural sector. He founded the renowned FutureEverything Festival in the UK in 1995, which became a global reference for innovation in arts and technology. Currently, he serves as the Director of Festival Futures at the Edinburgh Future Institute, where he continues to push the boundaries of what festivals can achieve. Additionally, he leads the New Real project and holds a professorship in Data Arts and Society, while also collaborating with the Alan Turing Institute. PAN M 360 met Hemment right after his opening conference of Future Festivals Summit, officially launching MUTEK Forum 2024.

PAN M 360: Can you explain what Festival Futures and the Edinburgh Future Institute are about?

Drew Hemment: Yeah, sure. I’m mainly interested in looking at festivals in two different ways. First, I’m interested in future festivals—those that are about the future and also of the future. I think about the changes that festivals are going through, how we can support their resilience, and how we can champion festivals as the amazing creative spaces that we all know they can be. I also look at festivals as a way of thinking about and making futures. Just as some people create films to explore speculative futures, I see festivals as a space to explore, test, and experiment with ideas that can help us address challenges today and steer trajectories towards the kinds of futures we’d like to see.

PAN M 360: It might seem like a simple question, but how do you define a festival? What is a festival to you?

Drew Hemment: That’s a really good question. For me, a festival is not just about the mechanics like ticketing systems. It’s not the metrics that funders might count, like the number of hotel rooms booked by people visiting the festival. Those things don’t define a festival’s importance. To me, a festival is an idea, a community of people, a movement. It’s something so important that we have to do it. That’s what a festival is to me.

When I talk about festivals, I’m primarily referring to those that are interdisciplinary and committed to social change — not the large corporate festivals focused on big bands and massive stages. We’re currently witnessing a polarization where the big commercial giants dominate, leaving smaller, more innovative festivals struggling to survive. I passionately believe that festivals are the future, but we must fight for that future.

PAN M 360: In an international network like Future Festivals, we imagine many participants face similar challenges. However, are there any issues that are particularly local or specific to certain regions?

Drew Hemment: Absolutely. Unfortunately, it’s a common experience globally that things are becoming more challenging, especially with the current political climates, such as the rise of right-wing populism, neoliberalism, and the corrosive state of capitalism. These factors make it difficult to create nurturing and caring organizations and events, and sustainability becomes a major challenge. While many challenges are shared, there are also unique, localized issues. For example, in some regions, there’s an urgent need for conversations around indigenous knowledge. Different parts of the world face distinct social and political contexts, and festival makers respond to these in various ways. Their involvement in issues — whether related to artistic movements, technology, democracy, or other areas — also varies. So, while there are common themes, each festival and its makers are unique, with their own local challenges and interests.

PAN M 360: How important are the types of art practices that are showcased in a festival?

Drew Hemment: I love working across and between boundaries. My background is in music, but I’ve always been interested in social change and social activism. I’ve always been involved in technology and digital culture, both as a tool and as a topic—something that can be troubling or inspiring. My career has been about moving between electronic music, new media art, and digital art. I’m most excited by festivals that embrace the unexpected and are open to many different artistic expressions.

PAN M 360: You’ve been organizing festivals for a long time. How does your experience as a festival maker align with the methodology you’ve developed to study festivals?

Drew Hemment: It’s not just about studying festivals, it’s also about making them. In a way, I approach festivals as art projects. I’ve worked in design, and I believe in the power of sharing what you do and how you do it. Design is really good at finding ways to document, reflect on, evaluate, and improve the methods and tools you use. I developed “Festival as Lab” as a design methodology for developing festivals, particularly those engaged in social change and technology development. It’s about how we, as festival makers, can broker between different people, disciplines, and sectors. This methodology has been adopted by an international festivals network, including MUTEK, and has had an international influence. I believe in its power to enhance what we do and enable us to grow and share our work better.

PAN M 360: What role do you see Artificial Intelligence (AI) playing in the future of festivals?

Drew Hemment: AI is fascinating as both a technology and a science domain, but it also raises many ethical challenges. With the rise of large language models and algorithms, the world we live in and the world in which we make festivals are changing massively. Festivals must navigate this environment, finding new ways to engage with artists and audiences while also providing alternatives. Festivals are powerful because they bring people together face-to-face, breaking out of filter bubbles and fostering real, sometimes challenging, conversations that can lead to radical change and inspire powerful art.

PAN M 360: Finally, what’s your take on the idea that some festivals aren’t meant to last forever?

Drew Hemment: I’m a case study in this. I started a festival in 1995 and ran it for 25 years, but I reached a point where I felt the festival had come to a natural close. I transitioned the organization away from a festival format and handed it over to a new creative director. The organization now has a year-round program. My decision wasn’t because I don’t believe in festivals anymore, it’s because my passion led me to explore how the ways of working I developed in festivals could be applied in other areas. So, it wasn’t that the festival ended, but that new doors opened, and I couldn’t resist running through them.

The idea of a festival having a natural shelf life is appealing. I think it’s kind of beautiful if a festival arises and brings a community together for a period of time and then people let that go. This can be a different kind of gift, creating space for others to come in and create their gatherings and festivals. However, there’s also the challenge of sustaining festivals, especially in the current climate. I’m not sure how it is in Montreal, but in the UK and many parts of the world, smaller venues and festivals are under significant pressure. It’s essential that we support each other to ensure these spaces continue to thrive while caring for our well-being and the community.

Publicité panam

Where do I begin? Jordan GCZ is a name that has resonated in the electronic music scene for decades. Since his debut in 1999 with Optisimo (Fact Records) Jordan’s career has been marked by his effortlessly capacity to glide between house, deep house, ambient, jazz-infused soundscapes as well by an impressive string of achievements. His deep love for Detroit techno has been a guiding force, leading to collaborations with pioneers like Terrence Dixon and remixes by Robert Hood. The Ohio’s native is also known for his collaborative projects, including Juju & Jordash with Gal Aner and Magic Mountain High, adding Move D in the mix. You may have caught them at MUTEK respectively in 2013 and 2014.
Jazz has always been a significant influence on Jordan’s work, deeply influencing his creative and performance processes, which are almost entirely rooted in improvisation. After spending the last 20 years building his career in Amsterdam, the producer has recently relocated to Toronto. Which brings us to MUTEK Montreal, where he will be playing live on Tuesday 20th August, at l’Esplanade Tranquille, after Duchesse and before Mathew Jonson. You don’t want to miss it.

PAN M 360: What kind of music did you grew up listening to?

Jordan GCZ: I was following the British pop charts religiously. I was very much into pop, electro pop, what was very common like Duran Duran, Pet Shop Boys. I really was obsessed. I was one of those kids with a Walkman on my ear all day. I was lucky to grow up in the 80’s, I’m sure that on in on some level, hearing so many synthesizers early on made me want to get into synthesizer music and electronic music.

PAN M 360 : What was the first music scene you remember being engaged in by going to concerts, buying cassettes or records?

Jordan GCZ: In my early teens, I was more into punk and industrial. I was really into Bauhaus and then a little I got into more American stuff. I was into Sonic Youth, even Skinny Puppy, The Cure… I was one of these depressed gothy teenagers. I would go out to hear that kind of music, but always loved synthesizers and I played keyboards in a band.

PAN M 360: How did you transition from playing in a band to becoming a producer and starting your own journey?

Jordan GCZ: Technology played a big part in that. I got my first synthesizer when I was 13, and soon after, I got a four-track cassette recorder. I never really loved being in a band, I always wanted to do my own thing. Once I had the recorder, I could start making my own music. By the time I was 16 or 17, I had a couple of synthesizers and started gathering more equipment. I also started using a computer to record music, which opened up even more possibilities. I was really into jazz as well, which is a bit different, but it all came together for me.

PAN M 360: It’s fascinating how the rise of home studios allowed so many people to create music. How did that impact your approach to making music?

Jordan GCZ: The ability to make music at home was a game-changer. When I was around 18, I discovered American techno from Detroit and house music from Chicago. I fell in love with the jazzy elements of Detroit techno—it had the raw, rhythmic elements of industrial music that I already loved, combined with the musicality of jazz. It was the perfect genre for me at the time. I started making more dance music that incorporated those influences. I was just lucky that the timing was right, and it fit perfectly with what I was into.

PAN M 360: You lived in Amsterdam for quite a long time. How did that experience shape your music career?

Jordan GCZ: I spent about 19 years in Amsterdam, and during that time, my most successful project was Juju & Jordash with my partner Gal. We were both living in Amsterdam, and most of my gigs were with him during those years. We were fully dedicated to making music, recording albums, and touring almost every weekend. We developed our own thing, and improvisation was a big part of that. It’s something that I continue to focus on in my solo work as well.

PAN M 360: Improvisation is a central part of your work. How do you approach it when you’re working alone versus with someone else?

Jordan GCZ: Improvising alone is definitely different from improvising with someone else. When you’re with another person, you exchange ideas and react to each other, which makes it easier in some ways. But when you’re alone, you have to react to yourself, which can be more challenging. My process in the studio is similar to what I do on stage. It’s all about starting from nothing and seeing where the music takes me. The main difference is that in the studio, I can stay on one idea for a long time until it develops into something coherent. On stage, I need to keep things moving more quickly to keep the audience engaged.

PAN M 360: It sounds like you spend a lot of time preparing for your improvisations. What’s your approach to that preparation?

Jordan GCZ: It’s important for me to know my instruments inside and out. My setup has evolved over the years, but it’s been more or less the same since I started. I use very old technology – synthesizers and drum machines from the 80s. There’s no computer or laptop involved, I use sequencers that are part of the instruments, a monophonic synthesizer with a little monophonic sequencer, another one is a polyphonic synthesizer with a little polyphonic sequencer. I need to feel confident with it so I can focus on the music. I don’t want to spend time troubleshooting technical issues while I’m playing. My creative energy needs to go towards the music, not fixing gear.

PAN M 360: How do you handle situations where your gear doesn’t work or you have to use unfamiliar equipment?

Jordan GCZ: Those situations can be stressful, but they also lead to some interesting results. I’ve had gigs where everything went wrong with the gear, but somehow, we managed to pull through. One of my favorite albums that I put out came from a gig where all the gear stopped working, and we had to ask people on the internet to bring us synthesizers. It was nerve-wracking, but it worked out in the end. When I’m performing alone, I really need my setup to be reliable. Last year, I had a gig where I was supposed to play with a Terrence Dixon, but he got sick, so I had to perform alone with minimal gear. It ended up being a great experience because I knew my setup well enough to make it work.

PAN M 360: You recently moved to Canada. What motivated that decision, and how are you finding the music scene here?

Jordan GCZ: My partner and I were living in Amsterdam for my career, but during the pandemic, we realized that we didn’t want to be tied to that lifestyle anymore. My partner is from New Jersey, and I found out that since my mother is Canadian, I’m also Canadian. That opened up the possibility for us to move here. We visited Toronto and loved it. It was nice to finally live in the same city as some family after 20 years. As for the music scene, I haven’t been too involved yet. I’ve DJed a few times, but I haven’t played live here. We’ll see how it goes after my performance at Mutek.

PAN M 360: How do you feel about the future of your music career?

Jordan GCZ: I’m still passionate about music, but I’m going through a bit of a midlife crisis, trying to figure out what I want to do next. Music is still my main interest, along with my dog, but I need to decide how I want to make a living from it. I’ve started producing other artists, which I enjoy, but I might end up doing a bit of everything—performing, producing, teaching. We’ll see where it takes me.

PAN M 360: You’re talking about the diversification of revenue streams, and I found out that you started a Patreon page during the pandemic. How has that experience been for you?

Jordan GCZ: I started a Patreon page during the pandemic to teach producers and offer studio jams to subscribers. It was a good way to stay connected with people and help them develop their talent. But this past year, I’ve been less active on it, and I’m considering shutting it down. Teaching is great, but now that I can do it in person, I’m not sure if I’ll continue with Patreon.

PAN M 360: I’m asking because I’m also a Ph.D candidate in digital studies and sociomusicoly and I’m studying the effects of platforms like Patreon on the relationship between artists and fans. How do you see it?

Jordan GCZ: Patreon offers a more personal connection with fans, which is nice. It’s an extension of social media but more focused because it’s only for subscribers. People feel invested, and I feel more connected to them than I do with regular social media. It’s definitely interesting, but like everything, it has its pros and cons.

PAN M 360: What are your thoughts on the current state of the dance music scene?

Jordan GCZ: To be honest, the dance music scene has always had its flaws, but I feel like it’s gotten worse in the last five years. There’s not much room for artistry in dance music these days. Most festivals and clubs prioritize commercial success over creativity. It feels like it’s more about being successful and mainstream than being authentic. There are still places like Mutek that encourage creativity, but they’re rare.

PAN M 360: Don’t you think the rise of clubs implementing a no-phone policy on the dancefloor is a step in the right direction?

Jordan GCZ: I think it’s a step in the right direction, but I’m a bit cynical about it. A lot of clubs use the no-phone policy as a marketing tool rather than genuinely trying to improve the experience. They don’t surprise you at the club and say “Listen we have no phone policy”. It’s more like they go on Instagram and say “We’re now not allowing phones in come give us your money”. Maybe they do it now because it’s fashionable but in a year they’ll be like, “OK, look, we can bring our phones back”.

PAN M 360: You were talking about MUTEK being one of the rare place where creativity in encouraged: what can we expect from your performance?

Jordan GCZ: I am so excited to play this music. Over the past year, since moving to Canada, and especially after the pandemic, I’ve been questioning whether I still want to perform in nightclubs. I’m getting older, and the pandemic changed a lot of things for me. MUTEK felt like the perfect opportunity to explore how I feel about performing again—whether I want to return to that life, and if so, what kind of music I want to create. This gig gives me the chance to experiment and see where it takes me.

Publicité panam

From France, the Fakir Trio combines traditional Moroccan melodies with instrumental music updated by jazz and other Western influences. In the second half of the program, Rachid Zeroual and his group, virtuosos of the ney, a wind instrument typical of North Africa, join the host trio to give this encounter the inspiration of gnawa rhythms, hmadcha music and more. Leading the event, violinist and composer Marwan Fakir explains to Alain Brunet and PAN M 360 users how North Africa meets the West.

FAKIR TRIO AND RACHID ZEROUAL’S CONCERT IS TAKING PLACE THIS SATURDAY, AUGUST 17, 3PM AT CINQUIEME SALLE DE L A PLACE DES ARTS

Publicité panam

Made up of musicians Amélie Lamontagne and Ana Drobac (violins), Nayiri Piloyan (viola) and Sophie Coderre (cello), the Quatuor Rhapsodie is an ensemble characterized by the versatility and accessibility of its repertoire, and by the dynamism of its interpretation. Ranging from folk to classical and popular music, these four friends showcase their musical favourites as well as music from their cultural heritage.

As part of Virée classique 2024, the quartet will be giving two free afternoon concerts, on Saturday August 17 and Sunday August 18, at Espace George-Émile Lapalme, featuring Armenian music in all its forms and influences. On the eve of their performances, Alexandre Villemaire spoke with Nayiri Piloyan to discuss their program and their participation in La Virée.

FREE AND NOT-FREE EVENTS

Publicité panam

Miloš Karadaglić is among the most coveted classical guitar soloists in the world and also a true friend of maestro Rafael Payare. With Montreal Symphony Orchestra and also in a solo context, he performs Joaquín Rodrigo’s great Concierto de Aranjuez on Saturday August 17, 8PM, Maison symphonique. For a second program entitled Souvenirs d’Espagne he is on his own on Sunday 18, 1:30 PM at the 5e Salle de la PdA, then he plays solo pieces by Isaac Albéniz, Francisco Tárrega, Heitor Villa-Lobos and Mathias Duplessy. Alain Brunet met him between rehearsals.

INFOS & TICKETS HERE

Publicité panam

Founded by choral conductor and clarinetist Xavier Brossard-Ménard, vocal ensemble Les Rugissants has been a fixture on the Montreal musical scene for seven years, offering audiences performances rich in content and musical discovery. With a program ranging from classical to folk and popular music, the ensemble also stands out for its committed, multidisciplinary approach.

As part of Virée classique, Les Rugissants present their Voces de España concert at Esplanade Tranquille, featuring Spanish music, with Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Romancero Gitano and Einojuhani Rautavaara’s Suite Lorca as the main works, joined by pieces by Manuel Oltra, accompanied on guitar by Marc-Étienne Leclerc and flamenco dancer Marie-Andrée Cloutier.

Alexandre Villemaire spoke to Xavier Brossard-Ménard about the program and its conception.

Publicité panam