Welcome to the 24th edition of MUTEK Montreal! This year, we have prepared a playlist that showcases local and international artists from the electronic and digital scene, and we hope you will enjoy the diversity of the artists and musical styles it presents. Get ready to immerse yourself in a unique sonic experience as you await the live performances from August 22nd to 27th at the Quartier des Spectacles in Montreal.

MUTEK Édition 24

A series of guest mixes, streaming here and featured on Dublin Digital Radio every month.
Also available at: www.eotrax.com/

Mix 16 comes from LA based Iranian-American artist Maral (@maral66). A beautifully eclectic mix featuring 'edits of Iranian dub, unreleased tunes and tracks I've been digging.'

Maral has spent the past half-decade quietly honing an approach that meshes the latest in club music contortions, a range of pulverized dub effects, and samples from her library of Iranian folk, pop and classical musics.

She has released music with Astral Plane Recordings and Leaving Records. Her most recent album is 'Push' (Leaving Records, 2020), a confident step forward from Maral’s club & mixtape work into a powerful collection of original songs.

As a DJ, she enjoys exploring music from around the world and showcasing the hidden gems from the past and present. Through her music and involvement in the scene, Maral seeks to both educate and have a positive impact on others.

She presents a regular show on LA's Dublab

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_ma_ral_/
Bandcamp: https://maral.bandcamp.com/
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/maral66

EOTRAX MIX SERIES: #16 Maral

Taken from "Night Blindness" album, out December 3 on all digital platforms and in select shops.

“Thinking is dimmed when familiar forms of reality disappear. This is not a loss. Long periods of inner silence favour clearings, they let the light in, the flooding, the blinding…” (Etel Adnan)

Chantal Michelle - Night Blindness

This month's mix comes from the talented Sinemis, aka @sinebuyuka & @villettemusic, founder of London-based label Injazero Records. She brings us an eclectic set, full of experimental and ambient music by artists from Turkey.

Interview + Tracklist: subtempo.com/mixes/sinemis

Tracklist + Interview

Subtempo Mix 037 - Sinemis

From a unique curation of Siné Buyuka, who is behind the London based Injazero Records, comes a record of Iranian descent, featuring two Tehran-based musicians: Shahin Entezami aka Tegh and Adel Poursamadi. The former has previously appeared with his experimental, noise, and drone works on labels such as Opal Tapes, Hibernate, Dronarivm, Midira, Futuresequence, and Flaming Pines just to name a few; while the latter is an established violinist (including the making of the instrument) and an active member of numerous ensembles and orchestras. Together, they have created an incredible soundscape, merging the electronic with the acoustic, and a focus on Iranian traditional music. “The album attempts to speculate new definitions of certain feelings – anger, confusion, excitement – in a non-anthropocentric, futuristic world, where human beings must seek new tools and approaches in attempting to express themselves to post-human creatures.” With the darker and harsher territories of the sonic palette becoming the ground base of Ima, the album takes the listener into uncomfortable territories and thereby requires one simply to feel all those suppressed and subconscious emotions which have been felt by this land for all time. Today I am sharing with you the third track from the album, titled Ijād (ایجاد in Persian, which means “creation”), traversing some powerful and stirring territories between sensations not felt until now.

"What if one day in the distant future, human beings, living among new forms of strange species, encounter unknown types of feelings? Feelings that simply do not ignite any sort of nostalgia and do not have the same physical/mental effects as common feelings” Ijād ایجاد attempts to define a new particular type of feeling, a combination of hatred and anger, that could make individuals feel deeply delighted or truly excited."

Ijād

TRACK PREMIERE : Tegh & Adel Poursamadi - Ijād

Halina Rice - Elision

Animistic Beliefs - MERDEKA

With their profound take on electronic music, Animistic Beliefs have steadily solidified their spot in the global underground. Influenced by cultural concepts such as ancestry, animism and mythology, as well as the languages of political techno, punk, bubbling and IDM, Linh Luu and Marvin Lalihatu consistently translate their visions into sensitive productions as well as high-octane live performances. On their new record, MERDEKA, the artists explore and embrace their cultural heritage in all of its pride, pain and complexity. MERDEKA symbolizes Animistic Beliefs’ breaking free, coming to terms with their changing selves and letting go of external expectations. The record rethinks childhood memories, confronts the generational trauma left by (post-)colonialism, and re-connects Linh and Marvin – respectively of Vietnamese-Chinese and Dutch-Moluccan descent – with their formative cultures. 

MERDEKA marks their first step in an overall departure from western club music. For its layered sound, Animistic Beliefs once again draw from the past, present and future of global club music, creating a sonic space where fast techno, warped breakbeats and ambient soundscapes make way for the augmented influence of (Southeast Asian) tribal music. 
The record incorporates Indonesian scales and recordings of 
the Tahuri (a wind instrument made out of a conch shell), Totobuang (Gamelan-like gongs) and Tifa drums, known as ‘the Moluccan heartbeat’. 
There is no audible distinction between old and new, between organic and digital, between instrumentation and voice. 
It is through words that the artists further touch on their experience; To Dream About Water opens with a stirring spoken word fragment by Marvin, marking the first time his voice is recognizably featured, whereas Khi Minh Gap Lai (‘Until We Meet Again’) centres on a Vietnamese poem by Linh, in which she beseeches her ancestors and finds a safe haven for unanswered questions. 

In true Animistic Beliefs fashion, MERDEKA will set fire to sweltering clubs and (sleepless) dreams. Yet, for the artists, it is essential to amplify the stories that spark that flame and keep it burning. 
The release of MERDEKA follows CACHE/SPIRIT, their ongoing collaboration with visual artist Jeisson Drenth, which extensively explores the artists’ intersectional identities. As such, the latest album is the next step within a bigger, introspective investigation. More unapologetic than ever, MERDEKA embodies a turning point on Animistic Beliefs’ ongoing journey towards self-acceptance – fuelled by the sound of urgency. 
credits
released August 26, 2022 

Written and produced by: Marvin Lalihatu and Linh Luu 
Artwork by: Don Elektro 
Mastered by: Rashad Becker

Poetry In Earthly Whispers

Injazero is a forward-thinking boutique label straddling Instanbul and London via the impeccable mind of Siné Buyuka. And I’m not just saying that because she also released my album. The diverse and boundary-pushing output of the imprint includes music by Matt Emery, C. Diab, Heinali, KMRU, Hinako Omori, and most recently a collaboration between Tegh & Adel Poursamadi. So I’m always tuned into what Injazero is up to. And this time, I am more than pleased with their latest! Halina Rice is a London-based electronic musician and AV artist, with a debut, titled REDUX released back in 2017. It may have just slipped passed my ears, but it only takes one listen for them to prick up! This is modern electronic music at its finest. Deep rolling bass, sharp synthy stabs, and incredible atmospherics make up this cinematic journey into a mind expressed through ELISION – a fusion of the abstract and real worlds, combining synthetic with organic in music, art, and technology. “The idea is to evoke places that don’t exist – like a surreal parallel world,” says Rice about her sophomore release. “Fracture” is one of my favourite pieces, which is why I selected to premiere it for you here today – it encompasses the fragmentation of reality through jittery and elastic elements, which seem to come in like waves, to unsettle and heal. Further on the album, Rice explores sound through a range of styles, anywhere from experimental IDM to dancefloor hitters, with a nod to artists such as Rival Consoles, Max Cooper, and Jon Hopkins. And if any of these names tickle your fancy, you’ll be in love with Halina Rice.

Elision

Fracture

TRACK PREMIERE : Halina Rice - Fracture

Fresh off the back of her recent DJ Kicks compilation release and an EP for Shall Not Fade in 2021, Cinthie returns to Will Saul’s Aus imprint for her first EP release of 2022, once again delivering her raw, energetic House sound to the world. Title-cut ‘Light A Fire’ leads the way and lays down organic drums, hypnotic vocal lines and choppy stab sequences alongside bumpy bass tones, intricately unfolding synth swells, resonant bleeps, and dynamic delays, resulting in a big sun-drenched anthem to perfectly set the tone. ‘Keeping Strong’ follows next and employs classic House tropes via gritty string stabs, plucked bass notes and dubbed out vocal cuts, running atop skippy, swinging drums for six and a half minutes. ‘Everything’ then rounds out the release, diving deeper this time as Cinthie employs dubbed out chords, weighty subs, crunchy percussion, and cinematic, elongated strings swells, concluding the release with a smooth, emotive feel.
BUY:
https://www.decks.de/track/cinthie-light_a_fire/ck3-sd
https://www.juno.co.uk/products/cinthie-light-a-fire/896635-01/
https://www.phonicarecords.com/product/view/182704

PREMIERE: Cinthie - Keeping Strong [Aus Music]

Taken from Sinemis's LP Dua on Injazero Records, out November 4.

Pre-order: https://sinemis.bandcamp.com/album/dua
More: www.orbmag.com/music

@injazerorecords
@sinebuyuka

Listen more

Premiere: Sinemis - Elegy

Sine Buyuka has found a perfect remedy for a gloomy Monday. Fireplace videos, her dog and fresh ginger tea feature in the London-based Circassian-Turkish producer's R&R routine, but today it's soundtracked by her own soothing blend of ambient sonics from across the world.

Sine wears many different hats: she's a DJ, label owner of Injazero, ex-music journalist, radio host, Guildhall School of Music and Drama graduate and a producer, the latter of which she's now doing under the moniker Sinemis.

This new project recently came to life with the release of Dua, an album that came at a life-changing time for Sine. Last year she began feeling unwell, but at the time her symptoms weren't diagnosable and gradually they worsened, resulting in her being admitted to A&E whilst visiting her family in Turkey. She eventually had surgery and has been on the road to physical and emotional recovery this year, a period that has had a profound affect on her musical output.

Drawing inspiration from Sufi music - traditional ritualistic music that are used to accompany ancient sema ceremonies native to her home of Turkey - the compositions are meditative and gentle, brought into the contemporary sphere by electronic soundscapes, ambient atmospheres and field recordings. 

To celebrate the release of the record, she offers up a mix of ambient vibrations plucked from Turkey, the Middle East, North and East Africa and the West...

Sinemis: The 'Monday Is OK' Mix

Taken from: .VRIL - Animist - Delsin Records - 152dsr

pre-order
vinyl: https://www.delsinrecords.com/release/7286/vril/animist
digital: https://vrilofficial.bandcamp.com/album/animist

Channelling his own explorations in search of the soul inside the machine, VRIL draws from the deep well of his live performances to present his third LP for Delsin, Animist. Inside lie 12 pieces which seem to probe at the unknowable distance between tangible consciousness and the astral plane, imbuing even the most seemingly synthetic of materials with a living essence. Given his illustrious back catalogue, it’s no surprise to hear VRIL conjure explicitly electronic music with such loaded emotional impact and seemingly organic animus, but in the process he also toys with the idea of how far the technology’s spiritual potential can reach.

Artwork by Daniel M. Diaz.

Buy @ Delsin Shop

.VRIL - Zūkunftsstrāße (taken from 152DSR)

She looked underneath her bed. Her parents were snoring from across the hall. From beneath her bed, two iridescent eyeballs peered back at her. The monster was awake. She reached into her nightgown pocket and pulled out a packet of BLOW YOUR HEAD OFF: SENSATIONAL STRAWBERRY BUBBLEGUM and slid it across the floorboards.

The monster seized the packet, and emptied the entire packet of gum into his cave-like mouth. The flavours erupted on his taste buds, his eyes widened and his fur stood static. Taking a deep inhale of breath, he blew a bubble bigger than his head. The girl reached out, popping it with her finger. The gum ruptured, showering the monster’s fur with a blanket of pink.

Based in the Netherlands, Carmen Jaci is a French-Canadian producer exploring the fragmented nature of memories from the frivolous days of childhood. On her newest album ‘Happy Child’, Jaci continues to surprise and provoke with her nostalgic loop-based sonic elements. Out this spring on Noumenal Loom, the LP reflects on childlike wonder and welcomes listeners into a surreal universe through Jaci’s eccentrically layered synthesizers and vocal recordings.

PREMIERE: Carmen Jaci - oh ah eh ih ah oh [Noumenal Loom]

Some things could be attributed to chance, while others result from human [in]action. Reality has a way of unfolding, but we also can shape it, if we only try. We can create distortion fields in this world, both negative and positive. I prefer to do it with music [and also with these words], feeling the pressure levels of air displaced through this space, seeing my actions evolve our community. The key is to channel it into the right things. The key is to mould this reality by lowering suffering and not creating more insanity spun out by imaginary thoughts. Turkish electronic musician Siné Buyuka expresses her frustration, aggrievement and grief for the loss and devastation of the 2022 Turkiye-Syria earthquake on her latest album, Farewell. Producing under her Sinemis moniker, the music captures the visceral emotional maelstrom through sound shaped by organic pads, pulsating bass, and prickly stabs from semi-modular synths. Buyuka's music is "at once a love letter to the beautiful land that she once called home and a scathing indictment of the governing powers that have so harmed its own people, culture, and freedom." The tension of this cinematic expression is held together by beatless rhythm and sweeping noise that would appeal to fans of Caterina Barbieri, Alessandro Cortini and Helene Vogelsinger. Siné, of course, is more than an artist - she is also the founder and curator of an Istanbul and London-based boutique label, Injazero Records, which put out a benefit compilation two years ago (March 2023) titled re-LEAF with all profits donated to the Ahbap NGO in Turkiye for their wide-range relief operation in an ethnically diverse area home to millions of immigrants and Syrian refugees.

TRACK PREMIERE : Sinemis - It's Not Fate, It's You

Farewell, the new album by Turkish producer Sinemis is an elegant and elegiac electronica-imbibed techno that mourns the loss and devastation of the 2022 Turkiye-Syria earthquake, out via Injazero Records on May 2nd.

Pre-order: https://sinemis.bandcamp.com/album/farewell
More: www.orbmag.com/music

@injazerorecords
@sinebuyuka

Premiere: Sinemis - Exit Democracy

Pre-order the album here: https://smarturl.it/volumemassimo

Amore Amaro is taken from the forthcoming studio album VOLUME MASSIMO. 
Released on Mute 27 September 2019.

Volume Massimo Live-AV tour includes:

30 August - Atonal, Berlin
8 September - Up to Date Festival, Białystok
14 September - Draaimolen, Tilburg
22 September - TBA, Japan
28 September - Sonica, Ljubljana
19 October - Barbican, London
20 October -  LEV Matadero, Madrid
21 October - St Paul`s Sessions, Athens
25 October - Semibreve, Braga
6 November - Slaktkyrkan, Stockholm
8 November - Mira Digital Arts Festival, Barcelona
30 November - KoncertKirken, Copenhagen
6 December - Monk, Rome
7 December - Argo 16, Venice
11 December - Bozar Electronic Series, Brussels
11 April -  Concertgebouw, Bruges

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/alessandrocortiniofficial/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alehan/ 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/blindoldfreak 
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/blindoldfreak

AMORE AMARO

An independent avant-ambient and experimental electronic label from London & Istanbul. Home to music from Hinako Omori, KMRU, Pétra, C. Diab, Steve Gibbs, Heinali, Matt Emery, Snowdrops, LTO, Tegh & Adel Poursamadi and Sinemis. 

We are unable to accept any demos at the moment, thank you for your understanding.

Next Edition: 19_24.08.25 | International Festival of Digital Creativity & Electronic Music

Halina Rice - Elision

Injazero Records

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