For its 6th edition, Elektra is still set on introducing works
and artists that crossbreed leading electronic music and visual art. Again this year, Elektra
creates links between creative media rooted in audio, video, film, design and interactive
installations, in conjunction with the latest digital technologies. To breathe new life into the term
audio-visual (A/V) – now obsolete in our multimedia era – Elektra selected outstanding works
that demonstrate in many forms the increasingly indissociable relationship between sound and
image. From May 10 to 15, hook up your senses to the digital!
Elektra and Groupe Spectacles Gillett join forces
For this 6th edition, Elektra is proud to collaborate with Groupe Spectacles Gillett in the
presentation of two special events. First, Autechre will kick off Elektra on opening night – May 10
– as part of the famous duo’s North American tour to promote their latest album. They will
showcase their agility in wielding abstract, disjointed and sensuous beats live to the Montreal
audience gathered at Usine C. They will be preceded by sets by snd and Rob Hall. Belgian
group Front 242 will also take part in the event on the occasion of an exclusive performance in
North American at Club Métropolis on May 14, as part of a benefit in aid of Elektra. These
pioneers of EBM (electronic body music) promise to make quite an impact on the Montreal public
with their new performance made of of shattering beats and singular, never-before-seen visuals.
Installations at Elektra.
Over the entire course of the event, a number of audio and interactive installations will be
presented across the city. Usine C will host Cantique no. 3 by Marie Chouinard and Louis
Dufort, an interactive sequel to Cantique no. 2, which was warmly received last year by the
Elektra audience. The Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal will exhibit Frequency and Volume
by artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer who somewhat transforms the spectator in a radio antenna. At
the Usine C studio, Julie Andreyev and Jordan Benwick will present an experimental DJ/VJ
platform set...in a car. As well, rising collective Les Platinistes numériques in collaboration with
Jason Arsenault and Dominic Gagnon will propose an interactive installation composed of old
TV sets at Pas perdus, the main hall of Place des Arts. Finally, Elektra partners with Chants
Libres and creators Louis Dufort, Alain Pelletier, Alexis Nouss and Pauline Vaillancourt to
present three evenings of l’Archange, an opera that unfolds inside a permanent video installation.
Performances
Many of the works presented during this 6th edition focus on the current place and role of media.
More specifically the RedSniper – S338 project (May 11, Usine C), by the duo made up of visual
artist Kendell Geers and musician Patrick Codenys (Front 242), and the video work of Istvan
Kantor which will be presented at Usine C May 12, during a night dedicated to projects
combining video and music, and including the works of Jean Piché, Khrystell Burlin,
Zack Settel, Delphine Measroch and Nicolas Bernier. Still on the same night, a performance
by Ryoji Ikeda focusing this time on the manner in which computer data construct our perception
of the world will surely not fail to hypnotize the audience.
Another night of performance and videomusic works will take place at Usine C on May 13, with
performances by UVA, to which we owe the visuals of the Massive Attack and U2 shows, d-Fuse
and Scanner, and finally the French duo Servovalve. The presentation of the Plastikman video
trilogy directed by Ali M. Demirel will drive this night which will end festively with the launch of
Epsilonlab’s recent DVD. After fulfilling its audience’s thirst for audio-visual works all week,
Elektra will conclude its series of shows with a multichannel electroacoustic music concert
featuring pieces by composers Nicolas Bernier, Ambrose Field, Ned Bouhalassa,
Louis Dufort and Robert Normandeau.
Elektra and Epoxy present 1024: Design in Motion
In collaboration with Epoxy, Elektra includes a new design tier in its program this year – 1024:
Design in Motion. May 14 at Place des Arts’ 5e salle, internationally recognized artists, among
others special effects experts Richard "Dr." Baily (Solaris, The Cell) and Kevin Tod Haug
(Seven, Panic Room, Fight Club) and design artists UVA (Massive Attack), d-Fuse (Beck),
Étienne Auger (Incandescence) Frédéric Bourque (Ambidextre), Georges Fok (Époxy) and
MK12 will present previously unpublished works further to taking part in a panel. Daniel Fortin,
creative director, and Jean-Christophe Yacono, creative director – new media at Epoxy, are
invited as commissioners for this occasion. www.elektra1024.ca
Audio-visual told
May 12 and 13, Elektra will present to a broad and diversified audience the opportunity to learn
more about and better grasp the concerns of digital artists and workers:
- Free of charge at café de l’Usine C, as of 5pm, the public will be given the chance to meet
Andreas Broeckmann from Transmediale (the most important digital art and creation festival in
Germany), on Thursday, May 12. On May 13, it will be Chris Salter’s turn. He will discuss audiovisual
spaces.
- Elektra will renew its student activity, Alpha_Elektra. Free for secondary school students, this
experience promises to initiate them to the digital arts culturally and technologically. Reputed
Canadian artists, namely Jean Piché, Marie Chouinard, Louis Dufort, Lynn Hugues and
Simon Laroche, will demonstrate various innovative ways of using new technologies at Place
des Arts’ 5e salle.
Elektra in Quebec City
Elektra will host an exclusive evening in Quebec City as part of Manif d’Art, on Saturday, May 21,
at Caserne Dalhousie. On that night, a videomusic for three screens signed Jean Piché will be
presented. Then, Purform (Alain Thibault and Yan Breuleux) will present black_box, a
quadraphonic performance for four screens. The night will end on a festive note with the launch of
Epsilonlab’s DVD, Silence is Presence, with DJ Eloi Brunelle and VJs Les Passagers, among
others.
Elektra thanks all of its partners
Elektra, presented by ACREQ in partnership with Epoxy and Usine C, wishes to acknowledge
the support of the public sector: Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, Canada Council for
the Arts, Conseil des arts de Montréal, Ministère des Affaires municipales et des Régions,
Canadian Heritage, the City of Montreal, the Ville-Marie Borough, the French Consulate General
and the British Council.
Special thanks also to our private partners: Gillett Entertainment Group, Produkt, Explornet,
Christie, Fondation Daniel Langlois, Pioneer, Zoom Média, Boréale, Musique Plus, Musimax,
Mirror, ICI, Exclaim, Urbania, CG Channel, Convergence, Klublife, Urb, CISM, CKUT, Moog
Audio and Misto.
6e ÉDITION : DU 10 AU 15 MAI 2005 / 6th EDITION: MAY 10 TO 15, 2005
Ticket office
Tickets will be on sale as of April 13 in the various halls hosting the festival.
Usine C and Musée d’Art Contemporain:
Admission Network/www.admission.com/514 790-1245/1-800-361-4595
Métropolis:
Ticketpro – www.ticketpro.ca/514 908-9090 /1-866-908-9090
Place des Arts:
www.billetterie.pda.qc.ca/514 842-2112/1-866-842-2112
Tickets will also be pre-sold at:
CD-ÉSOTÉRIK/1841C Sainte-Catherine St. W./514 937-5192
ATOM HEART/364B Sherbrooke St. E. 514 843-8484
Information: www.elektrafestival.ca / info@elektrafestival.ca
