NOCTURNE 1 is the opening edition of MUTEK Montréal 2026's core Nocturne series, taking place on both floors of the Société des arts technologiques (SAT). Espace SAT hosts live electronic performances while the immersive Satosphère presents audiovisual films produced through SAT's residency programme.
On the Espace SAT floor, Berlin-based UK artist Barker (Sam Barker) performs his signature kick-less, left-field techno, drawing on his 2025 album "Stochastic Drift". Mexican composer and producer Debit (Delia Beatriz) presents "Desaceleradas", reworking Monterrey cumbia rebajada through tape culture, building on her critically acclaimed 2025 album. Montreal composer Marc-Antoine Barbier (known for Choses Sauvages and Totalement Sublime) performs "Musée des espèces", merging saxophone and analog textures into organic soundscapes. UK musician and activist Matthew Herbert presents the North American premiere of "theukhasmorefoodbanksthanbranchesofmcdonalds.com", a politically charged work addressing the UK food bank crisis through sounds sourced from household objects.
In the Satosphère, new media artist and composer duo Weidi Zhang & Weilu Ge (CN/US) present "Wayfarer", an immersive work exploring AI and sonic-spatial composition. Montreal collective mesocosm screens "Resonance", a speculative synthetic-ecosystem audiovisual film. Montreal duo Guillaume Coutu Dumont & Line Katcho present "Les Empires", blending techno and electroacoustic roots with cinematic new-media composition. Finally, France Jobin & Markus Heckmann give the world premiere of "Entanglement", pairing minimalist sound-sculpture with generative visual design.