Things are booming at Mutek. Montreal’s festival of electronic music and digital arts has long existed on the cutting edge of club culture, but its popularity has soared in recent years. The 27th edition, which runs Aug. 25 to 30, is gearing up to be the biggest yet.
“We set an attendance record for our 25th edition in 2024,” said festival director Alain Mongeau. “Last year, we maintained the same level, it didn’t go down. This year, sales are up 30 per cent.”
What more, 68 per cent of festival passes and weekend packages were sold to people who live outside Quebec.
“That positions the event as an attraction in North America,” Mongeau said.
It’s an impressive feat for a festival that programs boundary-pushing acts that are far from the mainstream DJ fare you’ll find at ÎleSoniq and Ibiza. Connected to Mutek’s overall growth is the surging popularity of its free outdoor programming, which since 2022 has been presented on the Esplanade Tranquille.
The entirely renovated square at the corner of Clark and Ste. Catherine Sts., which is also used by the jazz festival and other events, doubles as a skating rink in winter. The venue has become a festive hub for Mutek, attracting over 15,000 people on weekend nights in recent years.
“Since we were able to set up at the Esplanade Tranquille, everything has come together,” Mongeau said. “It’s so convivial. It has really become a carrefour, where all our crowds mix and where everyone meets up daily as of 5 p.m. Given that we can go until midnight each night, it has become the backbone of our programming. It’s a free entry point to the festival and an invitation to dig into the different dimensions of our indoor programming.”
Among the free offerings at the Esplanade Tranquille this year are Berlin-based British artist Barker, who brings his ambient techno to the stage Tuesday evening alongside Toronto duo Pick a Piper, featuring Caribou touring drummer Brad Webber and singer-songwriter Sophia Alexandra.
Wednesday’s program is headlined by Barcelona DJ-producer-vocalist Zora Jones, formerly of Fractal Fantasy, in her first solo performance. Friday offers a treat as veteran British house producer and activist Matthew Herbert closes out the day.
Herbert performs three times during the festival, where he will present material from his forthcoming work theukhasmorefoodbanksthanbranchesofmcdonalds.com. Mongeau names the artist as one of his “personal highlights” of this year’s edition.
“He’s an artist who was super important for Mutek during its first 10 to 15 years. We presented him in many configurations. Then he stopped travelling for ecological reasons. Now, because of the realities of the music industry, he has accepted to travel sometimes.”
Herbert also plays Wednesday night at the SAT as part of the Nocturne 1 program, which runs from 10 p.m. to 2:30 a.m., and again on Sunday at the SAT, teaming up with Swiss percussionist Julian Sartorius as part of the Nocturne 5 program, 10 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.
True to its electronic music roots, shows run late into the night at Mutek. “It’s always been like that,” Mongeau said, noting that Montreal’s evolving bylaws regarding opening hours for bars have allowed the festival to go extra late on the weekend.
“We always conceived Mutek to force people to take a vacation during the festival,” he added, noting that the event wraps early compared to European festivals like Berlin’s CTM and Kraków’s Onsound, “which go until 8 a.m. every day.”
The biggest name in this year’s edition is Detroit techno legend Jeff Mills, who performs Friday night at MTelus as part of the dance floor-oriented Métropolis 1 series, which goes from 10 p.m. to 4:45 a.m.
At the other end of the spectrum, for the first time in over a decade, Mutek takes over the Maison symphonique this year with three nights of programming that will take listeners on a sonic journey.
“These are performances that will benefit from the auditory qualities of the Maison symphonique,” Mongeau said, naming an evening with Montreal’s Kara-Lis Coverdale and Colorado-born, Stockholm-based composer and musician Kali Malone, who will both be playing the Maison symphonique’s Grand Orgue Pierre-Béique as part of the X/Visions 1 program on Thursday from 6:15 p.m. to 9:15 p.m.
For a hot tip in the under-the-radar department, Mongeau points to Electronicos Fantasticos!, a Japanese group that repurposes old reel-to-reel tape recorders, TVs, fans and other curbside finds into instruments for their energetic electro-punk jams. They play Thursday at the SAT as part of the Nocturne 2 program, which also features Zora Jones, from 10 p.m. to 3:40 a.m.
Looking at the richness of this year’s lineup and the increased attendance, Mongeau said he feels “like Mutek is entering a state of grace. We had important deficits after the pandemic. Now we have adjusted and can work on quality and the details. We’re doing all this work in the shadows that increases the quality of the festival and makes it an important hub that continues to put Montreal on the map.”