Communikey / Boulder, Colorado / April 25 - 28, 2013

After an unseasonably cold winter and spring in Toronto, the opportunity to visit the sun-soaked, idyllic mountain town of Boulder, Colorado, and the chance it offered to reconnect with friends from across the continent's electronic music scene was too good an opportunity to miss.

Unlike the experience of larger festivals such as Montreal's Mutek or Seattle's Decibel, Communikey offers its attendees a more informal and less harried pace of workshops, performances and art happenings, choosing to focus on a singular programming path that allows one the chance to explore the town's cultural hotspots, take in it's fantastic restaurants or relax with friends. It is the latter, social aspect, reflected in this year's programming theme, "Hello, Stranger" that makes the festival stand out amongst its peers.

"Communikey is amazing. The people behind it are even more so." noted one of my close friends, underscoring the almost familial feeling of the festival, which draws approximately 300-400 attendees from not only North America, but across the globe.

Of course the convivial atmosphere wouldn't be nearly as charming were it not for the Comnmunikey's adventurous programming that brings together the international avant-garde as well as local and regional performers.

Festival highlights included Clown & Sunset label boss Nicolas Jaar, for his experimental From Scratch collaboration with Will Epstein, reprised for the first time since its premiere at New York's MoMa at the gorgeous Etown Hall. While the show began with an orderly assembly in the converted church, Jaar and Epstein's jazz infused house music soon had everyone standing up and dancing.

Saturday's performance in the equally beautiful Oddfellows Hall featuring Oakland producer and Full Spectrum label owner, Andrew Weathers, also delivered strong. His beautiful, folk-infused experimental vocals with looping guitar patterns set the stage perfectly for the consistently brilliant post-rock drones of Mountains, whose A/V performance both mesmerized and amazed.

Going deeper into the evening programming, Cio D'or stole the show at the Form & Function late night after party. Her deep, minimal approach inspired more than one psychedelically enhanced dancefloor freakout.

Last but not least, Derek Plaslaiko's amazing 6 hour DJ set in the fantastically sunny, Boulder Central Park capped off a truly wonderful festival experience. Spinning everything from the soft shoegaze of Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine to more contemporary indie offerings like Beach House. Plaslaiko crafted a masterful journey by gradually moving into Detroit staples such as DBX's iconic Losing Control and ending with a buoyant Larry Levan edit of Yaz's Situation. The Detroit born, now Berlin based DJ demonstrated not only the depth of his seemingly bottomless record crates but also delivered a set which perfectly demonstrated the inclusiveness and welcoming nature of the festival itself.

In all Communikey serves as a perfect reminder in these days of overcrowded headlining bills and corporately sponsored mega-raves, that the charm and strength of electronic music communities, lays with great music, bonds of friendship and fun vibes. While the festival might have welcomed us with "Hello Stranger" it was impossible to leave with out saying "Goodbye Friend."

*edited by Andrew Lochhead


Thursday, April 25th


Boulder theatre sign


Boulder - Downtown


Ivy + Bones

Friday, April 26th


Data Garden


Roy England


steofan


Masaki Batoh's Brain Pulse Music


Brandon Brown


Safety Scissors


DJ Stingray

Saturday, April 27th


Nicolas Jaar + Will Epstein


Radere, Andrew Weathers + offthesky


Radere + Andrew Weathers


Odd Fellows Lodge Crowd


Mountains


Steffen Bennemann


Cio D'or


Nordic Soul

Sunday, April 28th


Derek Plaslaiko


Central Park


Spoolius Mélange


Central Park

radere / a pouring out of sleep / basic_sounds netlabel
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Thomas Mailaender

luke solomon / timelines / classic
resident advisor
preview


Guim Tió Zarraluki

Ryoichi Kurokawa

cajmere / too underground for the main stage / cajual
preview


Zimoun

laurel halo / behind the green door ep / hyperdub
boomkat
preview

Mr. Bingo

tone of arc / the time was right / no. 19
resident advisor
preview

valentino kanzyani / love and gratitude / cadenza
preview


Douglas Adesko

miles / unsecured ep / modern love
boomkat
preview

Alex Strohl

juan atkins + moritz von oswald / borderland / tresor
resident advisor
preview

steffi / panorama bar 05 / ostgut ton
resident advisor
preview


Javier Tles

eluvium / nightmare ending / temporary residence
preview

Radere's A Pouring Out Of Sleep released on basic_sounds netlabel today!



radere / a pouring out of sleep / basic_sounds netlabel
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Henrik Uldalen

minilogue / blomma / cocoon
resident advisor
preview

va / krake 001 / krake
resident advisor
preview


Andrea Melcangi

sid le rock / busted with a bag of bliss / my favourite robot
preview


basic_sounds is off to Communikey. Posts will resume in May.

Ox

asc / sonic assault ep / halocyan
boomkat
preview


Ed Freeman

valentino kanzyani / love & gratitude / cadenza
preview


breakandenter hosts Prosumer!!! Win tickets to MOVEMENT by purchasing presale tickets online!

gunshae / begin again (segunda caida dub) / basic_sounds netlabel
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Andrea Wan

clockwork / b.o.a.t.s. (based on a true story) / life and death
resident advisor
preview

maetrik / artist bundle 002 / treibstoff
preview


Charles Fréger

move d / ssr 05 / sound sensible radio
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Communikey, Boulder Colorado, April 25th - 28th

attentat / cmky podcast 17 / communikey festival preview mix
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Ruadh DeLone

alexander lewis / a luminous veil / blackest ever black
boomkat
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fabio orsi / glowing echoes / analog path
norman records
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Uwe Schramm

geoff mullen / filtered water / type
boomkat
preview

lowered / lost seas / hibernate
futuresequence
preview

Gabriele Galimberti

jennifer cardini / correspondant compilation 01 / correspondant
resident advisor
preview


Denisse García

isolée / allowance ep / pampa
preview

Irving Harper

ellen allien / lism / bpitch
resident advisor
preview


Jason Hackenwerth

maceo plex / dj-kicks / k7
resident advisor
preview

Jonas Unger

miles / faint hearted / modern love
boomkat
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Cristina De Middel

vondelpark / seabed / r&s records
boomkat
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Projecto Nuvem

omar s / thank you for letting me be myself / fhxe
resident advisor
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Christo and Jeanne-Claude

va / where the wind blows / bpitch
preview

Gunshae's Begin Again (Segunda Caida Dub) released on basic_sounds netlabel today!



gunshae / begin again (segunda caida dub) / basic_sounds netlabel
download