Boston music fans rejoice- Together has returned! The eight day festival, taking place in venues across the city, has handily established itself as a chief summit for boundary-pushing electronic music, both locally and across the East Coast. Matching a lineup of all-star musicians and producers with some of the brightest local talent, the festival’s strong sense of community and commitment to education makes for a week that will have you thinking as much as dancing.
Leading up to it’s debut year in 2010, the seeds of Together were laid during founder David Day’s tenure as music editor at the Weekly Dig.
“Covering the scene and analyzing everything, it felt like there was something special going on in all these different pockets, but they all shared a forward-thinking attitude to music and tight knit communities,” recalls Day. “I sent an email to 85 people and said ‘let’s celebrate what we’re doing here and give us all a good look once a year.’”
Citing Barcelona’s Sonar and Montreal’s Mutek as influences, Day and his team put together a multi-day event focused on pulling in massive national and international talent and pairing them with artists from Massachusetts’ small but passionate scene. With Boston traditionally not considered a major city for dance music, it took some time for the festival to really get its footing.
“In the early days, people thought that maybe we were just some kind of EDM thing; that we were going to party and play terrible music,” says Day. “It was a challenge communicating exactly what we were.”
However, in the ensuing years Together has garnered acclaim on both a local and global scale. From the support of local figures like Mayor Walsh (who dropped the ceremonial “first beat” in 2014) to the significant exposure granted by their partnership with international dance juggernaut Resident Advisor, it has grown in stature from a plucky boutique festival to a major cultural event.
“At this point, not only the community at large understand what we are, but the agents and artists understand who we are,” says Day. “I think people understand that Boston is full of musicians and scientists and programmers and engineers and they’re not coming here to party as much as show off.”
Unlike many contemporary electronic music festivals, oft-derided for their increasingly generic cash grab lineups, Together curates its artists with nobler intentions.
“The point is to put our musicians on a pedestal next to the world’s greatest so they feel appreciated,” Day proudly notes.
It’s a mission statement that they come through on handily. Local jockeys like John Barerra and Sventh are given placement before crowd-drawing international acts, while the more rock-inclined Strange Mangers and synthpop curios St. Nothing are featured at smaller showcases. With all of these sets included in the price of a pass, they have had great success getting their patrons to explore the exciting sounds coming out of Boston.
On the headliner front, Together’s organizers have consistently curated lineups that reflect current trends in electronic music, and this iteration is no different. After last year’s techno-dominated schedule, 2016’s lineup is focusing on live acts. From the full band experimental electronic jazz of Floating Points to the soulful house of Henrik Schwarz to the gleefully twee synthwork of Giraffage, the bulk of the artists on the lineup will be reproducing their music on the spot rather than simply cuing tracks. While DJing remains an integral part of dance culture, the breadth of technology now available has enabled a more dynamic type of set which is quickly becoming a prefered approach to performance.
“I think a lot of music is heading that way, where you’ll see the new equipment from Roland or the Ableton Push at shows,” says Day. “The new instrument is engaging with the technology to create sounds that have never existed before.”
Attending the shows is only part of the experience, though. Together also presents a daytime educational series, with programming including artist talks and history seminars, design classes at local laser printing shop danger!awesome, production workshops and the famous “synthesizer petting zoo.” These events- all of which can be attended free of charge- foster a vibe more focused on interaction and community building than simply the consumption of other people’s art.
“The educational component is key,” says Day. “We want to not just put our local talent in front of people but also engage with them and teach them new things. The festival wouldn’t be what it is if we didn’t have the meetups and the skill shares and the discussions that we have.”
Of course, while many of these elements are geared more towards producers or serious dance heads, Day stresses that outreach is an integral goal of their programming and that prior experience with electronic sounds isn’t necessary to participate.
“A love of music is what this is all about,” Day notes. “If you love music, you’ll enjoy these experiences. If you have any questions, please ask us. If you don’t know what Ableton is, we’d love to show you!”
Looking to the future, Day envisions even more expansion. Citing Brian Eno at Symphony Hall as a dream booking, the team are looking to up the scope while keeping the approachable framework that has been so successful. However, when asked about the potential for a more traditional one location stage-based festival, he said that if the audience and funding are there, his team would be up to the challenge.
“We’re pretty comfortable in our own skin now,” Day chuckles. “We know what we’re capable of, and I think that could potentially be a lot.”
With a killer lineup and a passionate community surrounding it, Together is on track for another excellent year.
Together Boston kicks off tonight with Floating Points at the Sinclair. A full schedule, including both shows and daytime events can be found here. Full passes are no longer on sale but tickets to individual shows are still available, some in advance and some at the door.
All photos by Nick Minieri