FIBER Podcast 007 Julien Mier

FIBER Podcast

The seventh podcast has been compiled by Julien Mier, a versatile artist whose music can’t be labelled easily. In his collaboration with Daan Kars the young musician has proven to be a great match for FIBER. Together they have created an audio-visual piece that was released on the net-label of our Utrecht based friends of Born Digital.

The mix consists of unreleased tracks by Dutch artists and provides a promising glimpse into the future of electronic music. Julien has chosen ‘the city’ as a theme for the podcast. The city is a place that owes its existence to the technological revolution, creating an abundance of job opportunities with factories as the cornerstone of a society that have adapted to the rhythm of its mechanisms. The theme is not only represented by dark metallic soundscapes and melodies but also by the serene tranquillity that characterises city parks. Both sides are intertwined in Mier’s hybrid music style.

This particular style can be drawn back to his father’s passion for collecting rare and obscure music, including releases by Captain Beefhart and Mouse on Mars.
After being introduced to these artists, Julien started exploring the works of Warp Records artists, such as Autechre and Squarepusher. Besides these influences, the solo works of Thom Yorke also inspired him to start producing. During his study at HKU, Julien became fascinated by the crossover between 2step, garage and techno. A good example of this is 2562, who is known for organising his death-like and static sounds in an organic and playful fashion in order to bring his music to life.

Even though Julien used to prefer the security of his own comfort zone, he now chooses to experiment and explore his limits, taking risks by choosing Bansky as his source of visual inspiration. This graffiti artist uses provocative messages to decorate cities. In addition to this, the dainty styles of installation artist Jean Tinhuely and art nouveau painter Alphonse Mucha did have their influence on him as well.

Tacheles, a squat in Berlin, is a perfect illustration for this podcast, as it brings all the works of these artists together. It is a location known for its graffiti, activist heritage and courtyard inhabited by figurative sculptures made of iron and other industrial materials.

As you know, FIBER presents young artists whose audiovisual performances exemplify how digital technology enriches contemporary art. Therefore we are proud to announce our presence at “Three Days of A”! At this event we will host the ambient sounds of Void Pointers, the eclectic style of Julien Mier and the exhilarating live performance of Distant Drummers – forged together with visuals by Born Digital and others. If you are as pleased by this podcast as we are we would like to invite you to experience the real deal at De Verdieping (TrouwAmsterdam) on november 26th 2011.