MUTEK 2019 Report [Part 2]

Held in Shibuya area in December 2019
Report on the audiovisual art and electronic music art festival "MUTEK.JP".
Part 1 Following the second part, the stage will be LINE CUBE SHIBUYA (Shibuya Public Hall).
We will also report on the only all-night program held at LIQUIDROOM during the exhibition.

Seated appreciation in the latest hall Face the artist

Day 4 program is the latest hall just completed in October 2019,
Started at LINE CUBE SHIBUYA (Shibuya Public Hall).
All seats are seated, which is rare as an electronic music listening style.

Highly acclaimed at Canadian head office MUTEK
Ryoichi Kurokawa's performance "subassemblies"

Ryoichi Kurokawa is a Japanese artist based in Berlin.
In 2010, he won the Grand Prix in the Digital Music/Sound Art category at Ars Electronica, and is still active worldwide.
The highlight of this program is the reconstructed images obtained from point cloud data of nature, buildings, and ruins using a laser scanner. From concrete structures to forests, eye-popping high-resolution images unfold in 3D view, while sharp electronic sounds that cut through and deep bass that resonates throughout the body are linked with the images to create a unique worldview. increase.
It was an overwhelming stage that took your breath away many times, befitting the theme of "contrast between nature and man-made."

Popular program with all seats sold out
Rhizomatiks Research, ELEVENPLAY, KYLE MCDONALD

The dance performance "discrete figures" by famous top creators attracted the most attention during the exhibition.
A collaborative stage performance by Rhizomatiks Research led by Daito Manabe and Motoi Ishibashi, dance company ELEVENPLAY led by choreographer MIKIKO, and media artist KYLE MCDONALD.
It was such a great success that the approximately 2,000 seats in the venue were fully occupied.

Shortly after the start, a cameraman will appear on the stage and a real-time image of the dancer will be projected in the background. Augmented reality (AR) effects such as light tracking appear on the screen as if in response to the dance.

At the climax of the show, a “dancer avatar” that does not exist on stage appears on the screen.
Dance in harmony with real dancers. Smooth movements, probably generated by machine learning, blur the line between real and virtual.

After it was over, my honest impression was, "I saw something outrageous...".
It may be difficult to say that it is a further extension of augmented reality (AR), but the more you immerse yourself in it, the more you will not be able to distinguish between the dancer dancing in front of you and the image behind you, which is real and which is virtual. It was a strange experience.
I think that it is an expression that can only be realized because it is a real performing art that shares the experience with the audience.

Dance the night away in the LIQUID ROOM

On the evening of the fourth day, an all-night program will be held at Ebisu's live house LIQUID ROOM.
By the time the date changed, many people had already formed a long line, and while enjoying alcohol, the inside of the venue suddenly went into relaxation mode.

Rrose playing dance music that resonates in the mind

American techno artist Rrose will perform on the main stage from 1:00 am.
Start with a thunderous roar and a vibration that transcends sound. A raw, ethnic, meticulously calculated sound that gradually builds into a rhythm. The underground and avant-garde 1-hour stage further increased the enthusiasm of the venue.

Berlin's leading underground techno duo LADA

LADA by Dasha Rush and Lars Hemmerling from Berlin.
We have a track record of performances on famous European floors such as Berghain, a nightclub registered as a World Heritage Site, and Tresor, a mecca of techno.
At 2 o'clock in the morning, I was overwhelmed by the length of the equipment table brought to the stage with the appearance of the two.
You will be shocked by the huge amount of information in the sound, such as the kick sound that shakes your whole body and the solid sound that is layered. This could be called industrial techno, and the 1.5 hours of play felt like it went by in a blink of an eye, with a development where you couldn't miss a single note.

Illusion of light and sound using the entire hall

Finally the last day. I will return to LINE CUBE SHIBUYA (Shibuya Public Hall) again.

Falaises creates a world of monochrome reflected light and electronic sounds

Falaises is a trio from Quebec, Canada, collaborating with composers Guillaume Côté and Alexis Langevin-Tétrault and filmmaker Dave Gagnon.
You can see the huge reflectors on the left and right sides of the stage. Reflected light that seemed to reach the back of the venue harmonized with noise-based electronic sounds, creating a powerful stage.

Performance by Hiroaki Umeda that fuses noise, dance, and optical illusions

Choreographer, dancer, and video artist Hiroaki Umeda has created a unique stage that transcends genres, and is an artist invited from all over the world, mainly in Europe.
In this program "Median", various noise sounds that are stressed and weakened, Mr. Umeda's dance, and flood-like light shapes projected on the background are wonderfully combined. In line with the theme of "choreographing time and space," it was an impressive stage where you could feel physicality in the digital creation.

Laser and electronic music show by Robert Henke

German artist Robert Henke will round out the five days.
The original stage using high-precision lasers is called "Lumière" and tours around the world, mainly in Europe.

On this day, Robert himself set up a seat in a part of the audience and operated it with a "spectator's eye" performance.
A number of lasers fired from the back of the venue are projected onto the screen, forming various shapes and transforming in response to the music.
There is a scene where straight lines are drawn with a sharp sound like a so-called “laser beam”, and there is also a part where multiple circles gradually change size while playing a certain rhythm with deep bass. I will not let you get bored of the side you are on.
The laser figures that move with the sound without any deviation are like living creatures, and is the sound coming from the image? It was enough to be an illusion.

After the performance, the audience gave a standing ovation. The curtain closed amidst applause.

at the end

We reported on MUTEK JAPAN in the first and second parts.

I've always been an electronic music lover, but this event made me reaffirm the appeal of sound and visual creation, seeing how different artists express themselves.
After five days of continuous participation, my ears were so sharp that I could feel all environmental sounds as music, from the sound of cars starting to crying to the cries of a child.

How to enjoy electronic music that changes depending on the space

The fact that we were able to experience different viewing styles at the three venues was a major feature of this year's event.

Standing where you can enjoy yourself anywhere on the floor, night clubs where you can dance the night away in a unique late-night mood, theater-style where you can concentrate on sitting...

While there is a strong image of electronic music being enjoyed while dancing at nightclubs or festivals, I was able to discover that one of the ways to enjoy music is to face the artist's view of the world as a form of art.

MUTEK JAPAN is expected to be held next time.
How about enjoying a new world of expression that you have never seen or heard before?

Overview of the event　*Exhibition period has ended
MUTEK.JP EDITION4
https://mutek.jp/
Date: December 11-15, 2019
Venue: Shibuya area 9 venues (SHIBUYA STREAM HALL, LINE CUBE SHIBUYA, EDGE OF, LIQUIDROOM, etc.)
Organizer: MUTEK JAPAN

Photo: MUTEK JAPAN