Circle Of Live^CA/SE/UK

An expertly curated and evolving collective of electronic artists, Circle Of Live smothers stages in equipment to take a deep dive into the immediate physicality of live music and the entire nightlife experience itself, particularly its unexpected moments of beauty and wonder. Conceived of by Swedish artist Sebastian Mullaert, Circle Of Live links artists and their machines for hours-long, unhindered, improvised performances that honour spontaneity, improvisation, curiosity and being fully present in the moment. Mullaert designed Circle Of Live as an elastic setup allowing participants to plug in and drift in and out of performances at will.

The MUTEK 2019 iteration features Mullaert with Dorisburg, Johanna Knutsson, Mathew Jonson and Matt Karmil. Solo and with partner Marcus Henriksson as Minilogue—epic, elegant, hypnotic tracks, spanning ethereal tech-house and deep ambient have always been a Mullaert signature. Canadian-in-Berlin Mathew Jonson has spent well over a decade exploring his own epic tendencies with moody, exquisitely layered compositions that run the rhythmic gamut—often privileging improvisation—not a surprise he’s teamed up with Minilogue for sets of winding techno, while improvising performances with his own groups Modern Deep Left Quartet and Cobblestone Jazz. Berlin-based Swedish artist, producer and DJ Johanna Knutsson founded the vinyl only label Zodiac 44 and co-runs UFO Station Recordings, and also has links to Mullaert, having remixed Minilogue, among a string of her releases. From United Kingdom but living in Berlin, Matt Karmil brings his improv bonifides to the project. His own sound mixes rare samples, smoothed-out tape hiss and deep grooves into his flavour minimal house. Before his solo success as Dorisburg, Swedish producer Alexander Berg earned club-track status for duo Genius of Time with Nils Krogh, and his textured, moody synth soundscapes and interlocking grooves.

Circle Of Live's debut performance came together at Freerotation in the summer of 2018, stunning the Welsh festival's crowd with a sprawling performance that evolved over six hours. In different configurations, Circle Of Live has in the past year, played Berlin's Funkhaus and London's Village Underground. All performances are initiated by Mullaert before taking flight as a unique cosmic alchemy spurred by the personalities of the collective. MUTEK presents the Canadian premiere of Circle Of Live, set in bespoke festival scenography and certain to be an equally dazzling night of freewheeling travels in electronic sound.

Presented as part of North-West Passage, a project by Insomnia, Intonal and MUTEK, with the support of the Nordic Council and the Quebec government.