There’s “something for everyone” at this year’s RE:FLUX festival, says coordinator Catherine Arsenault. CHMA called up Arsenault to find out what’s on tap for the experimental art and sound festival based in Moncton, which launches online Monday.
After cancelling last year’s festival due to uncertainty around the COVID-19 shutdown, Arsenault says the idea this year was to make the festival, “as COVID-proof as possible.”
“Last year was interesting, because we made the call to cancel pretty much everything early on,” says Arsenault. “I was right about start buying plane tickets.”
“That was its own roller coaster,” says Arsenault. “There was a lot of questioning, like, why are you canceling it? It’ll be over in two weeks, or whatever.”
So for this year, they planned a shut-down proof festival, which means most of it takes place virtually, online.
As with many things in these pandemic years, there’s been a silver lining. This year’s roster of artists is quite possibly the biggest RE:FLUX has ever offered, says Arsenault.
“There’s close to probably 30 participating artists in different kinds of mediums, sound exploration and kind of a mix of visual arts and experimental music,” says Arsenault. “It’s huge. And it wouldn’t be possible to do it this way live.”
RE:FLUX is run by a “tiny team” of Arsenault and her partner, Annie France Noël. Together, they also run Galerie Sans Nom in Moncton.
Another blessing of the online nature of this year’s festival is that the audience can be anywhere. “There’s people tuning into our tiny festival from Germany and Portugal, and all over Canada,” says Arsenault. Experimental music and sound art is “still kind of a niche market” says Arsenault, though less and less so. “That access and that openness on the web is definitely an advantage.”
The festival consists of recorded performances, an Instagram takeover (by artist Cynthia Naggar), collaborations and interactive online experiences.
Harpist Sarah Pagé, a Montreal-based artist who experiments with pedals and homemade electronics, will perform via pre-recorded concert.
There’s also a festival staple: N’importe qui peut jouer de la guitare, which translates to ‘anyone can play the guitar.’ The concept is for more mainstream musicians to explore a soundscape, without music, lyrics or rhythm, says Arsenault.
There’s some projects with interactive aspects including a virtual reality/3D project which involves downloading an app. “There’s the Absent Listener,” she says, “where you can curate different forest sounds that are recorded in different times.”
“There’s also an in person component we’re a little excited about,” says Arsenault. “We partnered up with the Imago print shop who our neighbours and had the idea to match up printmakers with New Brunswick based singer-songwriters.”
Print artists take inspiration from a song by a New Brunswick artist, and create a piece of art. The musicians include Sackville local Julie Doiron, as well as Menoncle Jason, Wolf Castle, Allumette , and Paranerd.
“If you’re in Moncton [at the Aberdeen Cultural Centre], you can see the actual work,” says Arsenault. “So that’s a little exciting.” That exhibition starts today, and runs throughout June.
This year the festival is all free online, says Arsenault. All you need is a device and an internet connection. “And bonus if you have headphones, because the sound is better with headphones.”
“We’re all maybe a little tired of digital content and computers because of COVID,” says Arsenault. “But RE:FLUX is kind of a place to escape all of that. You can plug in and you can really find some cool surprises. There’s there’s definitely something for everyone.”