Sunday  4.30 pm, the sky looks ominous and as I reach the booming site of Piknic people are getting ready for the rain. While the dark clouds hover above us,  Justin Martin is peddling the broken beats and signature blips from his Dirty Bird label. Halfway through his set, he graces the dancers with his superb take on Mushrooms and nobody cares anymore about the vile rain.

The mood is set, atmospheric and dreamy, oblivious to the fickle weather. At 6.30 pm, Soundshaper takes the controls alongside Olivier Saint-Germain and Justin slides to the side. The dancers are anxious as the rain is drumming down heavily and rumours spread like wildfire about shutting down the event.

Against the odds, the duo start building a soaring mix, catapulting us into a magnetic field: the stomping, the clapping, the shouting can be heard everywhere. Everyone rallies around. In the booth, Justin Martin looks on approvingly at the tag players;  they interlace beats with layers of effects, each more enthralling as time goes by. While the sky gives no respite, the decknicians weave in and out of styles and finish off with a whiff of 80s synth era. The brave are rewarded and the music prevails. Piknic under these circumstances is nothing but epic.

Weatherwise, it was another grim day. Musicwise, it was a real treat that Mutek doled out. Picture this, Minilogue, DJ Koze and german sensation Paul Kalkbrenner.

While we mustered around early in the day, Minilogue, the crafty sweedish duo got warmed up behind their machines. Their live set was smooth, flowing and replete with new material. Intelligent and intricate, their performance gave us shivers. For those who hankered after Animals, their last acclaimed album, it was a smart follow up to their boundless imagination.

It took just a few minutes for DJ Koze to ensure a seamless transition and to waylay us in his musical universe. The man behind the gutsy and playful Reincarnations, collection of remixes that came out last year on Get Physical, is no stranger to the djing world. He played with flair and finesse, never letting the groove trail behind. A class act.

Then Paul Kalbrenner took to the stage. After many setbacks in the past, he finally made it to Montreal. In keeping with the warped spirit of Berlin Calling, he delivered the soundtrack that all wanted him to play out for so long. A great day surrounded by warm human energy.

Kudos to Mutek for putting emphasis on the good solid eletronic music and extra care for their well thought programing this year.

Also, (thanks to ejival) here is a Minilogue interview about music… a very zen approach these guys have.