The seventh Communikey Festival, put on by the Communikey (CMKY) organization, will be taking place in Boulder April 10-13. The festival features electronic music and performances along with symposiums and other events in support of the goal of bringing people together and building community using interdisciplinary arts.
“It’s so much more than just music,” explains Kate Lesta, creative and managing director. “We are really trying to bring people together and provide a space to experience art, creativity and music outside of the standard format. We want to facilitate a deeper connection to the music and the people you are sharing it with.”
Organizers have been slowly releasing planned events and the artist lineup, recently announcing Moon Eagles and KiNK. Moon Eagles are the duo of Denver techno favorites steofan (Steven Dermody) and Time For Trees (Joshua Smith). KiNK is an internationally known Bulgarian artist.
This year’s festival includes CMKY’s first Synesthetic Dinner Theater, which will take place in a pop-up restaurant set up in the Oddfellows Lodge. The event is designed to reach all the senses, with original compositions by Denver producers Radere, Offtehsky and Ten And Tracer combined with installation artists to create an interactive audio-visual space.
“The whole dinner is a collaboration between the chef, musicians and designers,” Lesta explains. “The music is being scored to the menu. The servers are performers. The idea is that the whole event is completely immersive — the smells, the music, the food.”
CMKY is a part of an international network of community-based and nonprofit festivals that focus on art and sound as opposed to commercial endeavors, and work together to create a support system for what Lesta calls “independent new creativity.”
“We are a core founder of a larger project known as ‘Tools For An Unknown Future,'” she says. “We are interested in the development of art and sound, and every year we host a summit to bring all of the organizers together. The purpose of the network and the project are to develop methods of cultural exchange working across borders in different contexts to create a support system for independent new creativity. Creativity plays such an important part in how we change as a society. … When creativity is at play, it really opens doors.”
This year’s summit will open to the public on April 10, and includes keynotes, presentations and panel discussions.
The CMKY headquarters is at eTown Hall in Boulder, where local up-and-coming DJs will play throughout the weekend. The public can come to listen to these artists, get information about the festival, purchase tickets at the box office and visit the pop-up record shop. The headquarters’ hours are from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 10-12.
Other festival locations include the Black Box Theater in the ATLAS Building on the University of Colorado Boulder Campus and Shine Restaurant and Gathering Place. Apex Movement will host the nighttime events and parties. On the Sunday of the festival, there will be a free outdoor party in Boulder’s Central Park.
In anticipation of the festival, the CMKY organization is holding its 10-year-anniversary celebration on Saturday, March 1. The night features live music at Apex Movement. Live music will come from Italian DJ-duo Voices From The Lake, hailing from Rome. Tickets are $25.
The full lineup is as follows:
Minilogue, Ben Ufo, Deadbeat, Vladislav Delay, The Missing Link, Eric Cloutier, Sassmouth, Ñaka Ñaka, Clark Warner, Sougwen Chung Jono Brandel, Radere, Offthesky, Ten and Tracer, Tony Z, Ivy: Seth Nichols, Ginger Perry, Benjamin Shreves, Newnumbertwo, Scott Everett, Rachel Murray, Cacheflowe, Roger Soave, Ryan Scannura, Moon Eagles and KiNK
The full schedule with show times and locations will be announced on March 4. Festival passes, individual showcase tickets and more information can be found at http://cmky.org/festival2014/festival/tickets/.
