philip sherburne

Sneak peek: MUTEK

While you're booking those plane tickets for Barcelona, don't forget to make your reservations for the MUTEK festival in Montreal, June 1-5. The full lineup has yet to be revealed, but the preview I finegled when hacking into director Alain Mongeau's Blackberry — I was just looking for Ricardo Villalobos' phone number, I swear — is enticing enough as it is. Just a few of the highlights:

Biosphere
John Duncan
Günter Müller
Klimek + Tim Hecker
Bruno Pronsato
Apparat
Pan/Tone aka Sid LeRock
Monolake
Mathew Jonson
Serafin
Soul Phiction
Melchior Productions

"Autre artiste à confirmer," as they say, so check MUTEK's site in the next week or so for a proper announcement. But the taster alone has me smackin' my lips, and that's not to say anything of the unconfirmed acts. See you north of the border!

Smashups

We love the bootylegs. Especially when they're a four-man pileup — in this case, Justus Koehncke, Andreas Dorau, Jamie Lidell, and Mocky. (Only two records were harmed in the making of this mix, but I still like the thought of all those flapping calves.) Scroll to the bottom for the mix.

18 reasons I am going to Sónar this year (eg, holy shit, the Durutti Column???)

SHOWS

Alex Threadgold plays Sound-Ink (US)
Ellen Allien (DE)
Hot Chip (UK)
James Murphy (US)
Jamie Lidell (UK)
LCD Soundsystem (US)
M.I.A. (UK)
Mark One + Virus Syndicate (UK)
Mocky (CA)
Mouse on Mars (DE)
Mu (JP)
The Durutti Column (UK)
The Soft Pink Truth (US)

SHOWCASES
Año Gastronomia presents Matthew Herbert/Plat du Jour (UK)
Areal presents Ada, Basteroid (DE)
Circus Company presents Nôze, Sety (FR)
Get Physical presents Booka Shade, DJ T (DE)
M-nus presents Marc Houle, Mathew Jonson, Troy Pierce vs Magda (CA)

Miami heat

There is always a still point, even when everything else is spinning.

I'm a walking talking customer

From now on, Sundays belong to Jamie Lidell.

25 minutes

As far as the mixing goes, there's some sand in the mayonnaise, but that's just a day at the beach, right?

Sharing the tablecloth: Luciano, Studio 1, Hemmann + Kaden, James Holden, and some surprises.

A simple question

... and perhaps a lame one, but if anyone can confirm or deny that Harry Partch was ever included in Vanity Fair's ongoing "Rock Snob" dictionary, please get in touch. Danke!

Enthusiasm

What would we do without Ewan Pearson to steer us in the right direction? Check his site for a slew of tunes even I haven't heard yet, plus tunes you can play "safe in the knowledge that in 9 months time Erick Morillo et al won’t," unlike, ahem, a certain hard-rocking anthem that caught the ear of Mr Diddy.

Up and out

Christian Marclay enthusiasts may want to pick up this month's Interview Magazine, where I interview him (at some length!) about the recent Shake Rattle and Roll (fluxmix), his Fluxus influences, and the current status of "sound art." And if that's not enough for you, you get to see Hilary Swank in her skivvies on the cover.