Electric Circuits holds virtual festival of electronic music, performance and digital art

This weekend Electric Circuits, Kingston’s festival of electronic music, performance and digital art, will be taking place virtually, in collaboration with The Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts.

The festival, which was cancelled in April due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will be broadcast on Friday Oct. 16 and Saturday Oct. 17, 2020 as part of Bader’s Digital Concert Hall series.

“We were all ready to move forward with our 2020 festival on April 3rd and 4th,” explained Shannon Brown, co-founder and Artistic Director of Electric Circuits, “Posters were hung and everything! When we realized we had to shut down we were all devastated. But, we stayed optimistic and now we are excited to collaborate with the Isabel on this presentation, which will allow these artists to find audiences all over the world. It’s a thrill to be able to bring the beauty of the Concert Hall to our audience too. Kingston shines with this showcase of ground breaking and nationally known artists, it also allows our local performers to find themselves in the spotlight too.”

Bader’s Digital Concert Hall series lends a perfect outlet for this virtual festival, and Electric Circuits brings something innovative and new to the series with their world class line-up of DJ’s, visual artists and performers. This Concert Hall series was created by the Isabel Bader as an effort to present high quality entertainment to fill the void people are feeling from the inability to attend live concerts and festivals.

“The best thing about throwing a streaming event is being able to showcase unique talent, not just DJs. There is a lot on offer for the casual electronic music fan enjoying from home. Tunes that will move your body and mind,” says Clint House, programming lead for the festival. “The only drawback is not being able to experience the music on the dance floor. There is a lot to be said for a DJ that reads the crowd and elevates the party atmosphere.”

According to event organizers, a grant from the Ballytobin Foundation had allowed Electric Circuits to utilize the Isabel Bader Centre as the venue for this year’s festival.

“This is a tremendously creative festival and I applaud the organizers for brilliantly programming such diverse talent and activities,” says Tricia Baldwin, Director, Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts. “Our expert production team will bring the entire festival online this year to audience members near and far. The Festival’s fantastic DJ team and artists will have us all dancing the night away in the comfort of our own homes.” 

Brown adds that more than half of this year’s lineup consists of female identifying performers, including headliners Monika Janek aka DJ Elektra and queer, Ethiopian/Eritrean, Polaris Prize nominated singer-songwriter Witch Prophet.

“At Electric Circuits we strive to showcase diverse, BIPOC and women artists who create ground-breaking beats and performances that you often can’t find outside of big cities,” she says. “The event is entirely free, so this is an accessible online event for everyone, whether you are a seasoned electronic music lover or someone new to the genre. Find a place to dance in your home and tune in, you will be blown away by these two evenings of presentations.”

Friday’s line-up includes DJs Kakow (Kingston) and Melo-T (Ottawa), Indigenous hoop dancer Theland Kicknosway and live painting by Kingston’s Francisco Corbett performing with visuals by Josh Lyon (AKAFLK Productions, Kingston) between 7pm and 9pm. From 9pm – midnight Clint House (Brockville), Matt and Mark Thibideau (Toronto), and DJ Elektra spin to the mind bending projections of Diagraf (Montreal) and performances by Kingston Freestyle Dance.

Saturday Night Electric Circuits welcomes Witch Prophet, DJ SunSun, Korea Town Acid, and Moaad & Daura will with the stunning digital art of SEKS (Toronto) and VJ BunBun (Montreal). Performances on Saturday include flow arts with Katie Gütz and performances by Erin Ball / Kingston Circus Arts.

All performances for this Electric Circuits festival will be broadcast online from the main stage of the concert hall at the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts from 7 p.m. to Midnight on Friday, Oct. 16 and Saturday, Oct. 17 as part of the Digital Concert Hall performance series. Access to the live steam will be available on Electric Circuits social media accounts and at https://www.isabeldigitalconcerthall.queensu.ca/live-streams.

The line ups:

Friday, Oct. 16

MUSIC

• Kakaow 7 p.m.
• Melo-T 8 p.m.
• Clint House 9 p.m.
• Matt & Mark Thibideau 10 p.m.
• DJ Elektra 11 p.m.

PERFORMANCES

• Theland Kicknosway 7 p.m.
• Francisco Corbett 8 p.m.
• Kingston Freestyle Dance 9-11 p.m.

VISUAL ENVIRONMENT

• Josh Lyon 7 – 9 p.m.
• Diagraf 9 p.m. – midnight

Saturday Oct. 17

MUSIC

• Witch Prophet 7 p.m.
• SunSun 7:30 p.m.
• Korea Town Acid 9:00 p.m.
• Moaad 10 p.m.
• Daura  (back to back w/Moaad)

PERFORMANCES

• Katie Gütz 7:30 p.m.
• Katie Gütz 10 p.m.
• Erin Ball & Kingston Circus Arts 8:30 p.m.

VISUAL ENVIRONMENT

• SEKS 7 – 9 p.m.
• VJ BunBun 9 p.m. – midnight

To read more about the artists, please visit https://electriccircuits.org/2020-lineup/

ABOUT ELECTRIC CIRCUITS

Electric Circuits was developed by four local Kingston women (Shannon Brown, Julia Krolik, Kristiana Clemens and Claire Grady-Smith) in 2015 in order to provide a performance space for trans, Indigenous, female and artists of colour working in the genres of electronic music and digital art. The festival has grown over the past four years (its inaugural festival being held in 2017) and aims to represent and nourish a culture of acceptance and experimentation on the shores of our converging rivers, on unceded Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe territory. To find more information visit www.ElectricCircuits.org