MUTEK MEETS DUBAI

Jeff Mills and Dasha Rush Headline First Event, November 16 & 17

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, September 17, 2017– MUTEK, the renowned international festival focusing on innovation in electronic music and digital art, adds a new node to its network later this year with the first edition of MUTEK.AE in Dubai.

Launched in Montréal in 2000 and now established in Mexico City, Tokyo, Barcelona and Buenos Aires, MUTEK’s internationalism is characterized by a commitment to discovery, contemporary forms and artists, and connecting the local with the global to create a circuit and a community that extends around the world. The newest and fastest growing city in the Middle East, Dubai offers a leap into an ultramodern future for a significant number of young people from around the region. A metropolis of intense development fixated on technology and dynamism, the Dubai Design District and the hosting of the World Expo 2020 are just a couple of elements that highlight the city’s contemporary ambition and character.

MUTEK.AE will be a gathering unlike anything audiences in the Middle East have previously experienced. Concentrated on elevating the art of live contemporary electronic music and cutting-edge visual works, MUTEK in Dubai will bring together artists crossing and combining disciplines to create a unique and compelling event. Assembled by a group already intimately engaged with underground electronic music and familiar with scenes in the Middle East, Europe and North America, Director Mehdi Ansari, co-founder of the renowned Analog Room sees Dubai as ripe for developing such a project. “We’re bringing MUTEK to Dubai because we see the deep potential and interest from people in enriching the city’s music, art and digital culture, which is still in its early stages.” Ansari adds “We’d also like to shift the emphasis away from clubbing and partying in Dubai and offer a new perspective on the way electronic music and audiovisual practices can be profound, inspiring and revelatory. MUTEK’s format and curatorial philosophy, with its commitments to local artistic communities in every city it exists, intersects perfectly with this mission. It is going to challenge and inspire them to join this global community with a statement.”

MUTEK is not simply a music festival, it is a cultural gathering that explores music, visual art, design and innovation led by technology and creative ingenuity. With increasingly sophisticated audiences in the Middle East who are hungry for creative content, this endeavor will reflect positively on Dubai’s artistic, digital and electronic music scenes.

MICRO MUTEK DUBAI 

This first MUTEK.AE event underlines the organization’s focus on live performance and emphasis on the art of electronic and digital artistry. Headlined by international heavy-hitters Jeff Mills and Dasha Rush, it will also feature some of the local and regional artists, giving them a rare opportunity to showcase their talent. Augmented with the presence of Québec-based artists, VJs and scenographers, organizers cannot wait to debut MUTEK’s format and ethos in Dubai.

DASHA RUSH (RU) / JEFF MILLS (US) / HUGUES CLEMENT (CA) / NASRAWI (AE) / SHADI MEGALLA & KARIM SULTAN (AE) – MAGNETIC FOSSILS LIVE.

Jeff Mills is one of the most influential American names in techno. Lauded for his relentless pursuit of futurism, while advancing electronic music as conceptual art, Mills has defined a unique signature in his musical productions. In recent years he has composed new soundtracks for classic films, created installation works and dialogues with art star Ólafur Elíasson. Previously presented at MUTEK in Montréal, his debut appearance in Dubai will astound audiences and leave a lasting impression.

Dasha Rush began her apprenticeship in electronic music at Moscow raves when she was a teenager. She started DJing at 14, dabbled in piano, and left for France when she was 16. An ambitious experimentalist, and fiercely independent, she continued to teach herself machine music, worked in fashion and sought out multidisciplinary collisions with theater, dance and installation. With Stanislav Glasov she has developed an audiovisual practice that has produced two mesmerizing works: Dark Hearts of Space and Antarctic Takt — the latter is an abstract narrative meditation on humanity and escape. Her additional solo live performance also promises a master class in real-time, immersive, transportive techno.

MUTEK.AE will also host discussions, workshops and networking opportunities that will be of immense benefit to anyone interested in digital creativity and electronic music in the region.

More artist confirmations and announcements still to come!

Ticket Sales: Platinumlist.net

Dasha Rush live set at MUTEK 2016: https://soundcloud.com/mutek_montreal/muteklive142-dasha-rush/s-Wbsma

Article on her practice: http://www.mutek.org/en/magazine/670-deep-dreamscape-disclosures-with-dasha-rush

 

Social Media Links:

Facebook / facebook.com/mutekae

Instagram / instagram.com/mutekae

Twitter / twitter.com/mutekae

Web: mutek.org

 

Quotes from International Press:

“A festival designed not only to poke at your pleasure centres, but to challenge your tastes, raise your expectations and get you thinking.” Resident Advisor

“One of the most well-regarded and carefully curated electronic music festivals worldwide.” VICE

ABOUT MUTEK:

MUTEK is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the dissemination and development of digital creativity in sound, music, and audio-visual art. Its mandate is to provide a platform for the most original and visionary artists currently working in their fields, with the intent of providing an outlet of initiation and discovery for audiences. MUTEK’s principal activity is the annual presentation of its namesake festival, which has taken place in Montréal since 2000. Since its first edition, the MUTEK festival has distinguished itself as an international rendezvous for original and avant-garde programming. In terms of content, the festival’s range strives to be diverse, with interests in both the experimental and the playful sides of digital creativity. MUTEK’s programming intends to create a sonic space that can support innovation in new electronic music and digital art.

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT: www.mutek.org

Get in touch with MUTEK.AE through:

wnehme@mutek.org / 00971 55 410 1258