After UK techno favourite Blawan was forced to drop off the bill and cancel his headlining performance (citing issues with an electronic visa), Mutek pulled up a champion replacement, calling in a massive DJ set from New York City's Veronica Vasicka. A worthy sub-in for the industrial-sized hole left in the lineup by Blawan, as the brain behind Minimal Wave Records, Vasicka is known for propping up underserviced sounds, making visible and codifying the label's titular genre as a shorthand for the stuff lost between the boundaries of cold wave, post-punk, industrial and synth-pop. At Mutek's biggest party of the week so far, she compounded those influences with techno and a set of four CDJs, casting icy, declarative vocal samples over the occasional breakdowns.
Despite the billing's last-minute switch, the dancefloor grew increasingly elemental throughout the extended set, a testament to Vasicka's booming command.
Despite the billing's last-minute switch, the dancefloor grew increasingly elemental throughout the extended set, a testament to Vasicka's booming command.