Thursday, August 31, 2017

Recording: Farewellwether 4

Artist: Farewellwether 4

Song: Anthropologie

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), July 26, 2017.

Farewellwether 4 - Anthropologie

Yet another playful renaming from the Bellwether 4 crew not only signified a different guest drummer (Nick Fraser, this time 'round), but marked the occasion of the group's last "regular" show at The Tranzac before Anthony Argatoff and Emily Denison decamped to Montréal. As such, there was a bit of tristesse beneath the usual good-natured ribbing and bonus snacks. We were told that these talented young players will be back in the city on a regular basis, but Montréal's gain is definitely a loss for the local community.

Recording: Andrew Furlong

Artist: Andrew Furlong

Song: [excerpt from first piece]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), July 26, 2017.

Andrew Furlong - [excerpt from first piece]

This double-bass solo set showed off Andrew Furlong's willingness to patiently pace in a circle, looking for minute variations of tonal colour instead of thrusting recklessly forward. Long skronk-pulls slowly opened up into a sweet drone and just floated there for a spell before worrying about any sort of extricating momentum to reveal itself. After that, exploring some extended techniques and drifting into a Paul Motian tune felt downright lush.

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Recording: Paper Laced With Gold Ensemble

Artist: Paper Laced With Gold Ensemble

Songs: Paper Laced With Gold (feat. Lisa Bozikovic) / I Got Stuck in Wawa (feat. Stevie Jackson) / It's Not Your Home (feat. Maggie MacDonald)*

Recorded at The Imperial Pub's back room (Paper Laced with Gold: the musical in concert), August 26, 2017.

Paper Laced With Gold Ensemble feat. Lisa Bozikovic - Paper Laced With Gold

Paper Laced With Gold Ensemble feat. Stevie Jackson - I Got Stuck in Wawa

Paper Laced With Gold Ensemble feat. Maggie MacDonald - It's Not Your Home

You will always be from where you are from / but you can never go back / it's not your home. Originally workshopped at the Harbourfront Centre in 2012, Maggie MacDonald's Paper Laced With Gold is a story that stretches out on that long Canadian spine that runs from the dirty mouth of the St. Lawrence River to the Sleeping Giant of Thunder Bay — mostly settled in a truck stop somewhere in the lonely middle, the Canadian equivalent of the "flyover states", the places where people were promised something that never came true (like, "there'll be plenty of jobs to go around once the Seaway opens!").

This re-mounting coincided with the presence of co-writer Stevie Jackson (in town for a somewhat larger gig with Belle and Sebastian the next night) and brought together most of the cast from the original performance. In streamlining the narrative down to some connective spoken passages, the performance not only tossed aside some of the musical's aesthetic/ideological choices (cross-gender casting, putting "non-singers" in singing roles, etc.) but also took some of the songs out of the character's mouths (Jackson did a fair bit more singing here than in the staged version). That said, in the previous version I could hear MacDonald's voice in the songs even though she was strictly a backstage presence, and here she reclaimed her alter-ego Betty, the waitress at the confluence of all the truckstop's dramas, stuck between laying down roots and movin' along.

The style of this version meant that all the songs came out in a river-rush torrent, but it was often quite glorious — there were several that I remembered well from just that single performance five years ago. My understanding is that this was a waypoint on the journey of getting these songs properly recorded, so they may yet have a life after the stage.

* I will update these once the proper titles come to light. Please leave a comment if you know them!

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Recording: Kenton Smith

Artist: Kenton Smith

Songs: two unknown songs*

Recorded at The Steady Café (Somewhere There + MFS present), July 24, 2017.

Kenton Smith - [first track]

Kenton Smith - [final track]

Somewhere There asked me to help put on this night hosting some new friends from Atlanta. To complement the visitors (and to bring in someone from outside the regular Somewhere There circles), I asked Kenton Smith to perform some audio experiments. On the cusp of the release of his p0st3rb0y tape release, he brought a stripped-down setup to try something different, building elaborate tracks from just a Kaossilator and a multi-effects pedal with no pre-recorded loops or samples. That kept the music on the cusp of spinning out of control as it was wrestled into wriggling, glitched-out songforms.

* Does anyone know the titles to these? Please leave a comment!

Recording: Nows

Artist: Nows

Song: [edited excerpt]

Recorded at The Steady Café (Somewhere There + MFS present), July 24, 2017.

Nows - [edited excerpt]

Somewhere There asked me to help put on this night hosting some new friends from Atlanta. Nows is the solo project of Robby Kee, a longtime presence in the ATL underground scene. Declaring that he had been keeping things fresh on tour by using a different setup every night, he dug through a box of gear before settling on a minimalist combination of phone, broken ipod and home-made elektrosluch — the latter reading the devices' electromagnetic fields and converting them to sound. That lead to some abstract sounds, like the ghosts of the ghosts of music, hidden behind veils of fuzz-hiss.

Recording: DUX

Artist: DUX

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at The Steady Café (Somewhere There + MFS present), July 24, 2017.

DUX - [excerpt]

Somewhere There asked me to help put on this night hosting some new friends from Atlanta. More of a co-operative team than a duo playing off each other, this pair used Chelsea Dunn's cello as a signal source, live-manipulated through Casey Battaglino's analog synth — the outcome definitely more abstract electronic sound symbiosis than chamber music.

Monday, August 28, 2017

Concert Listings Roundup #214

You can read more about why I'm doing listings here. Long story short: This curated and decidedly non-comprehensive list contains nothin' but shows that I am going to/would go to if I had more time.


Gigs of the week:

Intersection Day 1: Music Gallery Departures Series (feat. Mick Barr + Thin Edge New Music Collective + Droid) / Jam Factory 2017-08-31 (Thursday – all ages!) [FB event]

Intersection Day 2 (feat. Evyind Kang/Jessika Kenney/Andrew Timar/Pedram Khavarzamini/Araz Salek / Völur [acoustic set]) / Jam Factory 2017-09-01 (Friday) [FB event]

Intersection Day 3 (feat. Northumbria / Meridian / Contact / Carl Didur / Jason Doell & Xuan Ye / The Visit / Kristina Guison / Dialectica Sax Quartet) / Yonge-Dundas Square 2017-09-02 (Saturday – free! outside! all ages + family-friendly! weird sonic interventions in the mersh fabric!) [FB event]

One of the year's most consistently interesting musical experiences is sprawling out a bit this time round, with the annual Intersection festival now stretching out to four events astride the long weekend. (The last event, the very excellent Plant Music event at Allan Gardens, is not listed above as it comes a week from now on Labour Day itself.) Great work with Burn Down the Capital once more curating (alongside event founders Contact) — and now with two rather different nights in the Jam factory as well as the traditionally-odd mix of strange sounds in Yonge-Dundas Square, a free event that puts experimental music in the city's mershiest commercial zone.


This week's noteworthy shows:

Monday Penance (feat. Ylang Ylang / Fake Flesh / Shelf) / Smiling Buddha 2017-08-28 (Monday – early!) [FB event]

Josh Cole Quartet + 1 [Karen Ng/Ryan Driver/Brandon Valdivia/Josh Cole/Matthew Pencer] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2017-08-29 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Piano Party (feat. Diane Roblin / Jonathan Adjemian) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2017-08-30 (Wednesday – early!) [FB event]

The Lifers (Decoration Day) / Burdock Music Hall 2017-08-30 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Free and Improvised (feat. Daria Morgacheva/Janine Wright/Victor Ray/Corey Cosman/Stefan Haynes/Stuart Mein/Mackenzie Clugston/Tal Davidson) / Orchard Bar 2017-08-30 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Kulture 3 (feat. 185668232 / Mandelbrut / Oblique / Hexzuul + Iderdown) / The Steady Café 2017-08-31 (Thursday) [FB event]

Luan Phung Quintet / The Rex Hotel 2017-08-31 (Thursday) [FB event]

Live on the Patio: Arts & Crafts Night (feat. Bernice) / Roy Thomson Hall – Patio 2017-09-01 (Friday – free! all-ages! outside!) [FB event]

Moves [Spencer Cole/Zach Bines/Joe Organ] (Prince Nifty) / Burdock Music Hall 2017-09-01 (Friday) [FB event]

Omhouse (Dorothea Paas) / The Baby G 2017-09-02 (Saturday) [FB event]

Harrison² Quartet [Mike Murley/Harrison Argatoff/Steve Wallace/Harrison Vetro] / The Rex Hotel 2017-09-03 (Sunday) [FB event]

Nite Comfort 48 (feat. JSG / Hexzuul & Carolyn Ellen) / Handlebar 2017-09-03 (Sunday – PWYC!) [FB event]


Add these to your calendar:

Reminder: This post only contains this week's updates — the full listings can always be found over on the right-hand sidebar!

LAL (Jonny Goood & The Triple O's / Dammien Alexander) / The Painted Lady 2017-09-05 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Troubleshooting (feat. Nicolas Buligan) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2017-09-06 (Wednesday – early!) [FB event]

In Between Sounds #77 (feat. Lorde Awesome) / The Only Café 2017-09-07 (Thursday – free!) [FB event]

Partner [LP release!] (NOBRO / Sportsfan / Triples) / The Horseshoe Tavern 2017-09-08 (Friday) [FB event]

Burn Down The Capital presents (feat. Chris Corsano / Friends & Neighbors / Retired) / D.D.L. 2017-09-08 (Friday – all ages!) [FB event]

8th Annual Toronto Bicycle Music Festival (feat. Blokoloko / Rambunctious / Ansley Simpson / Bernice / Ventanas / Hooded Fang) / Trinity Bellwoods Park to Humber Bay Park West 2017-09-10 (Sunday – free! all-ages + family-friendly! daytime event! group ride to + from the performances!) [FB event]

Lina Allemano Four / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2017-09-10 (Sunday) [FB event]

Mixed Input Festival – Night 1 ["specially-engineered collaborations from some of Toronto, Montreal and Hamilton's most intriguing contemporary moving image, sound and performance artists"] (feat. David Jones/Carolyn Ellen/Philip Baljeu / Sonya Stefan/Black Givre / Man Made Hill/MC NTSC) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2017-09-16 (Saturday) [FB event]

Kensington Market Jazz Festival (feat. Lina Allemano Trio [Lina Allemano/Michael Davidson/Josh Cole, playing music of Thelonious Monk]) / Handlebar 2017-09-16 (Saturday) [FB event]

16th Annual Small World Music Festival + Rumi Canada present: Inner Journey 1 (feat. Soley Ensemble) / St. Andrew's Church 2017-09-16 (Saturday) [FB event]

Mixed Input Festival – Night 2 ["specially-engineered collaborations from some of Toronto, Montreal and Hamilton's most intriguing contemporary moving image, sound and performance artists"] (feat. James Schidlowsky/Émilie Mouchous / Cares/Vallée/Coderre / Wolfcow/Anna Mayberry) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2017-09-17 (Sunday) [FB event]

Star Triptych [Elisa Thorn/David Riddel/Laura Swankey] / The Rex Hotel 2017-09-20 (Wednesday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Star Triptych [Elisa Thorn/David Riddel/Laura Swankey] (Band Called Crow) / Orchard Bar 2017-09-22 (Friday – PWYC!) [FB event]

The Seams (Sunshine & The Blue Moon / No Frills / Tange) / Smiling Buddha 2017-09-23 (Saturday) [FB event]

Venus Fest (feat. Emel Mathlouthi / Grouper / Madame Gandhi / Weaves / DIANA / Lido Pimienta / Phèdre / Ice Cream / Witch Prophet / Queen Of Swords / The Highest Order / HEX) / Artscape Daniels Spectrum 2017-09-30 (Saturday – all ages!) [FB event]

Quiet Bedrooms presents: QB3 (feat. Allison Cameron / Sea Beau / Happy Baby) / The Dupe Shop 2017-10-01 (Sunday – all ages! Afternoon show! PWYC!) [FB event]

Forward Music Group: 10 Year Anniversary (feat. Michael Feuerstack / Gianna Lauren / Paper Beat Scissors / Dan Misha Goldman) / The Baby G 2017-10-12 (Thursday) [FB event]

Beliefs [Habitat record release!] / The Garrison 2017-11-03 (Friday) [FB event]

Saturday, August 26, 2017

Recording: Gilliam-Hall-Sorbara

Artist: Bill Gilliam/Glen Hall/Joe Sorbara

Songs: [excerpts from two improvisations]

Recorded at Array Space, July 23, 2017.

Bill Gilliam/Glen Hall/Joe Sorbara - [excerpt from first piece]

Bill Gilliam/Glen Hall/Joe Sorbara - [excerpt from second piece]

This cozy Sunday night of "Over the Edge" improvisations was convened by Bill Gilliam to give five players each a couple chances to combine in different duos and trios. The night closed with this grouping, with Joe Sorbara's percussive negotiations holding the middle ground between Hall and Gilliam, each moving from more outside/manipulated sounds (the former's laptop processing, the latter's prepared piano percussion) to moments of acoustic clarity.

Recording: Bill Gilliam & Nicole Rampersaud

Artist: Bill Gilliam & Nicole Rampersaud

Song: [improvisation]

Recorded at Array Space, July 23, 2017.

Bill Gilliam & Nicole Rampersaud - [improvisation]

This cozy Sunday night of "Over the Edge" improvisations was convened by Bill Gilliam to give five players each a couple chances to combine in different duos and trios. Between the bookending trios that started and ended the night, there were a pair of duo encounters, including this short volley of ideas between Bill Gilliam's prepared piano calls and Rampersaud's trumpet responses.

Recording: Allison Cameron & Glen Hall

Artist: Allison Cameron & Glen Hall

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Array Space, July 23, 2017.

Allison Cameron & Glen Hall - [excerpt]

This cozy Sunday night of "Over the Edge" improvisations was convened by Bill Gilliam to give five players each a couple chances to combine in different duos and trios. Between the bookending trios that started and ended the night, there were a pair of duo encounters, the first of which mixed Allison Cameron's acoustic instruments (flute, banjo) with Glen Hall's processed wind-sounds.

Recording: Camperbar

Artist: Camperbar

Song: [excerpt from first piece]

Recorded at Array Space, July 23, 2017.

Camperbar - [excerpt from first piece]

This cozy Sunday night of "Over the Edge" improvisations was convened by Bill Gilliam to give five players each a couple chances to combine in different duos and trios. This portmanteau name from Allison Cameron, Nicole Rampersaud and Joe Sorbara was offered at least halfway in jest. Cameron provided SK-1 beep-blips and oscillator fuzzbursts to complement Rampersaud's horn sputters and Sorbara's percussive spatters.

Thursday, August 24, 2017

Recording: Cris Derksen

Artist: Cris Derksen

Songs: New Nimkii* + What Did You Do Boy?

Recorded at Harbourfront Centre – Concert Stage (Northern Passages Festival), July 21, 2017.

Cris Derksen - New Nimkii

Cris Derksen - What Did You Do Boy?

Having previously brought her Orchestral Pow-Wow project to Harbourfront, there was more room on the stage this time with cellist Cris Derksen performing with powerhouse drummer Jesse Baird. That left lots of room stage centre for dancer Nimkii Osawamick, who dazzled with his stunning hoop dance moves. Derksen's set covered a lot of ground, from delicate vocal ballads to raucous beat-driven instrumentals where her cello loops provide the "voices". Derksen has been busy working the folk festival circuit across the country (and beyond) all summer long, so it was a treat to see her in a brief stop back at home. Once things quiet down, there an album's worth of new material to be recorded, plus, I'm sure, reflections on the cognitive dissonance of playing songs like "Our Home on Native Land" to summer sesquicentennial crowds.

* This is likely just a working title for this new piece. I will update when more information comes to light.

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Recording: Mbongwana Star

Artist: Mbongwana Star

Songs: Malukayi + unknown*

Recorded at The Great Hall, July 19, 2017.

Mbongwana Star - Malukayi

Mbongwana Star - unknown

This Congolese crew has been busily circling the world ever since creating a sensation with their debut album From Kinshasa a couple years back — so if they were a bit weary with their material by the time they touched down in T.O, there was certainly no sign of it. Part of it might be down to the fact that on stage this is a somewhat different beast than the post-punk tinged sound on their album, coming out instead like a supercharged soukous party. Live, the guitar had some of that Konono Nº1-esque electric likembé sound, but was also just as likely to grab from a nimble bag of tricks (including bringing new levels of coolness to some tones last heard on hair-metal albums). The real focus was vocalists Coco Ngabali and Theo Nzonza (formerly of Staff Benda Bilili), who never stopped dancing and whipping up the crowd. As things got heated up, there were several show-stoppers in a row, with the band barely pausing for breath before attempting to top themselves — a well-tuned groove machine indeed.

* Does anyone know the title to this one? Please leave a comment!

Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Recording: FOG

Artist: FOG

Song: Snag

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), July 16, 2017.

FOG - Snag

More than just a blast-it-out-by-the-numbers New Orleans jazz band, Rebecca Hennessy's FOG manages to bring together several strands, mixing slow'n'low N.O. flow with pieces that more directly show off her composerly skills, and all filtered through her love of nature (especially fishing). This evening was a celebration of the release of the band's new Two Calls album, with the whole crew offering some righteous simmering grooves.

Monday, August 21, 2017

Concert Listings Roundup #214

You can read more about why I'm doing listings here. Long story short: This curated and decidedly non-comprehensive list contains nothin' but shows that I am going to/would go to if I had more time.


Gig of the week:

Audiopollination #54 (feat. Minibeast [Keith Seidel/Eric Baylies/Peter Prescott] / Insect Factory [Jeff Basky] / Sandy Ewen) / Array Space 2017-08-21 (Monday) [FB event]

After a summer break, beloved improvised music series Audiopollination returns with this Monday-night special with some high-powered out-of-town guests before returning to its usual "self-curated" format. Known for his work with Mission of Burma and Volcano Suns, Peter Prescott brings his Minibeast project to town, joined by Jeff Barsky's meditative/atmospheric guitar project Insect Factory. And Sandy Ewen, who has some local roots, is no stranger to Audiopollination.


This week's noteworthy shows:

See Through 4 [Pete Johnston/Rebecca Hennessy/Mike Smith/Jake Oelrichs] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2017-08-22 (Tuesday)

Andrew Miller/Alexei Orechin/Emily Denison / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2017-08-23 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Burn Down The Capital presents (feat. Lea Bertucci / Manticore / Kat Estacio) / Double Double Land 2017-08-23 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Institution Vol. 1 (feat. Nailbiter / MNISOTA / Mike Rocha / C.R. Gillespie / Castle If) / The Baby G 2017-08-24 (Thursday) [FB event]

Nhapitapi / Island Cafe 2017-08-25 (Friday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Aurochs / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2017-08-25 (Friday – early!)

A Ryan Driver Quintet [Ryan Driver/Brodie West/Blake Howard/Josh Cole/Kurt Newman] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2017-08-25 (Friday) [FB event]

Rob Michalchuk (Brian Ruryk) / The Dupe Shop 2017-08-26 (Saturday – afternoon show @ 3 p.m.! PWYC!) [FB event]

Toronto Outdoor Picture Show presents Slapstick By Starlight [live original score to the silent comedy classic "The Freshman"] (feat. The Holy Gasp) / Parkway Forest 2017-08-26 (Saturday – free! outside! all-ages + family-friendly!) [FB event]

AIM LOW (birdboy / Childs / Mud) / Smiling Buddha – basement 2017-08-26 (Saturday – early!) [FB event]

The Starved (Terror Lake / Candi) / The Baby G 2017-08-26 (Saturday) [FB event]

Quiet Bedrooms presents: Launch Show (feat. Ivan Distaro / Henoheno / S. Ayton / Charles Spearin / Guilt Mountain / Heraclitus Akimbo / YlangYlang) / Danforth And Woodbine neighbourhood 2017-08-27 (Sunday – afternoon/evening show! PWYC!) [FB event]

A Quiet Little Village [Paul Newman/Kayla Milmine/Tomasz Krakowiak] (Heraclitus Akimbo & Matthew Fava) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2017-08-27 (Sunday) [FB event]

POSI VIBEZ presents (feat. Osypa Luna [EP release!] / Brigitte Bardon't / James Gray) / Handlebar 2017-08-27 (Sunday) [FB event]


Add these to your calendar:

Reminder: This post only contains this week's updates — the full listings can always be found over on the right-hand sidebar!

Intersection Day 1: Music Gallery Departures Series (feat. Mick Barr + Thin Edge New Music Collective + Droid) / Jam Factory 2017-08-31 (Thursday – all ages!) [FB event]

Kulture 3 (feat. 185668232 / Mandelbrut / Oblique / Hexzuul + Iderdown) / The Steady Café 2017-08-31 (Thursday) [FB event]

Intersection Day 3 (feat. Northumbria / Meridian / Contact / Carl Didur / Jason Doell & Xuan Ye / The Visit / Kristina Guison / Dialectica Sax Quartet) / Yonge-Dundas Square 2017-09-02 (Saturday – free! outside! all ages + family-friendly! weird sonic interventions in the mersh fabric!) [FB event]

Harrison² Quartet [Mike Murley/Harrison Argatoff/Steve Wallace/Harrison Vetro] / The Rex Hotel 2017-09-03 (Sunday) [FB event]

Track Could Bend #30 (feat. MAMALIA / Tova Kardonne / Christopher Willes) / The Steady Café 2017-09-05 (Tuesday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Jay Arner (Ducks Unlimited [EP release!] / Tough Age / Germaphobes) / Monarch Tavern 2017-09-14 (Thursday) [more info]

Peggy Lee Octet / Array Space 2017-09-16 (Saturday) [more info]

Nick Ferrio [Soothsayer album release!] (Dan Edmonds / Ansley Simpson) / Burdock Music Hall 2017-09-22 (Friday) [FB event]

Saint Pé (Crocodiles / Twist) / The Garrison 2017-10-10 (Tuesday) [FB event]

The Diodes / The Horseshoe Tavern 2017-10-31 (Tuesday) [FB event]

The 'B' Girls (Pale Lips / Chris Houston Au GoGo / The Trash Bags) / Rivoli 2017-11-04 (Saturday) [FB event]

Thursday, August 17, 2017

Recording: Xuan Ye

Artist: Xuan Ye

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Seven Sonorous Scintillators), July 16, 2017.

Xuan Ye - [excerpt]

Celebrating the release of her You've Just Become Part of Me album of selected comprovisations, Xuan Ye gathered a collection of friends, collaborators and fellow travellers to celebrate, including a Drone Therapy session from Kristel Jax and some jams from DJ New Chance. There was something of a chapter closing/chapter opening feel to this show, with the album release marking the end to a period of intense solo performance that saw radically unique sets from an artist reluctant to re-use past ideas/set-ups. Joining in on percussion and piano during Zoë Alexis-Abrams & Johnny Spence's last song before segueing into her own short-ish set to cap the show off felt like a nod to a direction Ye has been discussing, foregrounding collaboration instead of individual effort. Expect voluminous ideas to keep flowing in any case.

[Xuan Ye + David Jones will be collaborating at a sure-to-be-wonderful show with ANAMAI and YlangYlang, Thursday, September 21st at The Baby G.]

Recording: Zoë Alexis-Abrams & Johnny Spence

Artist: Zoë Alexis-Abrams & Johnny Spence

Song: The Mountain*

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Seven Sonorous Scintillators), July 16, 2017.

Zoë Alexis-Abrams & Johnny Spence - The Mountain

Celebrating the release of her You've Just Become Part of Me album of selected comprovisations, Xuan Ye gathered a collection of friends, collaborators and fellow travellers to celebrate, including a Drone Therapy session from Kristel Jax and some jams from DJ New Chance. Occasionally collaborating ever since last summer's "Abundant Habitat" show, it was no surprise to see Zoë Alexis-Abrams on this bill.

Working through the possibilities of her "solo" material has seen Alexis-Abrams collaborating with some different partners as she explores new textures and sounds. This joint enterprise with synth wizard Johnny Spence saw him creating space for Alexis-Abrams to worry less about setting up loops and so forth. It also included a somewhat-surprising shift that saw her singing mostly in English, changing from relying on her vocal qualities alone to relate her lyrical messages.

[Manticore, Zoë Alexis-Abrams' longstanding duo with David Jones, will be playing at a Burn Down the Capital show alongside Lea Bertucci and Kat Estacio, next Wednesday, August 23rd.]

* Thanks to Zoë for passing along the title to this one!

Recording: Heraclitus Akimbo & Jason Doell

Artist: Heraclitus Akimbo & Jason Doell

Song: [edited excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Seven Sonorous Scintillators), July 16, 2017.

Heraclitus Akimbo & Jason Doell - [edited excerpt]

Celebrating the release of her You've Just Become Part of Me album of selected comprovisations, Xuan Ye gathered a collection of friends, collaborators and fellow travellers to celebrate, including a Drone Therapy session from Kristel Jax and some jams from DJ New Chance. The night started with this somewhat-noisy encounter between Jason Doell (Xuan Ye's partner in Invisible Out, here on guitar and pedals) plus one Joe Strutt (on function generator, spring reverb, pedals, mixer).

[Heraclitus Akimbo will be back at The Tranzac performing another duo set — this time alongside Matthew Fava — on Sunday, August 27th, opening up for A Quiet Little Village (Paul Newman/Kayla Milmine/Tomasz Krakowiak).]

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Recording: {AN} EeL

Artist: {AN} EeL

Song: Birthday A Cappella

Recorded at Gerrard Art Space (Eclec~Tic~Toc Fest, Vol. 1 – Night 2), July 15, 2017.

{AN} EeL - Birthday A Cappella

Ever since washing up on our shores, Neal D. Retke (who performs as {AN} Eel) has been spreading joy and preaching the benefits of D.I.Y. co-operation. A busy member of the international home-taping circuit known for his many collaborative projects, this festival arose from a desire to bring together some of the different musicians he's encountered here so far, mixing together songs and noises over two days in the G.A.S.'s cozy east-end space.

With time growing short at the end of a day packed with music, Retke played the consummate host by cutting short his own festival-closing set — despite the fact it was his own birthday! An ambitious thing done well, here's hoping that this festival makes a return next year.

Recording: Damon Loren Baker

Artist: Damon Loren Baker

Song: Birth Pangs [excerpt]

Recorded at Gerrard Art Space (Eclec~Tic~Toc Fest, Vol. 1 – Night 2), July 15, 2017.

Damon Loren Baker - Birth Pangs [excerpt]

Ever since washing up on our shores, Neal D. Retke (who performs as {AN} Eel) has been spreading joy and preaching the benefits of D.I.Y. co-operation. A busy member of the international home-taping circuit known for his many collaborative projects, this festival arose from a desire to bring together some of the different musicians he's encountered here so far, mixing together songs and noises over two days in the G.A.S.'s cozy east-end space.

That Damon Loren Baker's name is almost an anagram for "Demon Lore Barker" is on point, as that would almost be an apt description for what went down here, with a droning laptop track the backdrop for some just-almost-audible unamplified vocals, Baker's expression somewhere between possession and catharsis.

Recording: Knurl

Artist: Knurl

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Gerrard Art Space (Eclec~Tic~Toc Fest, Vol. 1 – Night 2), July 15, 2017.

Knurl - [excerpt]

Ever since washing up on our shores, Neal D. Retke (who performs as {AN} Eel) has been spreading joy and preaching the benefits of D.I.Y. co-operation. A busy member of the international home-taping circuit known for his many collaborative projects, this festival arose from a desire to bring together some of the different musicians he's encountered here so far, mixing together songs and noises over two days in the G.A.S.'s cozy east-end space.

It's always a gift that we are able to watch real artistes like Alan Bloor at work. This time out, instead of his circular sawblade stringed instrument, he brought his table of mounted medal tongues to bow, clink and rasp.

Recording: Moth Ash

Artist: Moth Ash

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Gerrard Art Space (Eclec~Tic~Toc Fest, Vol. 1 – Night 2), July 15, 2017.

Moth Ash - [excerpt]

Ever since washing up on our shores, Neal D. Retke (who performs as {AN} Eel) has been spreading joy and preaching the benefits of D.I.Y. co-operation. A busy member of the international home-taping circuit known for his many collaborative projects, this festival arose from a desire to bring together some of the different musicians he's encountered here so far, mixing together songs and noises over two days in the G.A.S.'s cozy east-end space.

After letting things build for several minutes, Craig Renaud (who had also played the festival the day before in his solo guise) crouched down to guide things along through pedal manipulations, which slowly got more abrasive and crunched-up. On the whole, another excellent set from one of the city's choicest drone duos with Lumi Krysztal (violin) and Renaud (a.k.a Bit Reduction, hurdy gurdy + electronics) offering elegant sounds that never overstay their welcome.

Recording: Valerie Kuehne

Artist: Valerie Kuehne

Song: Nootropics

Recorded at Gerrard Art Space (Eclec~Tic~Toc Fest, Vol. 1 – Night 2), July 15, 2017.

Valerie Kuehne - Nootropics

Ever since washing up on our shores, Neal D. Retke (who performs as {AN} Eel) has been spreading joy and preaching the benefits of D.I.Y. co-operation. A busy member of the international home-taping circuit known for his many collaborative projects, this festival arose from a desire to bring together some of the different musicians he's encountered here so far, mixing together songs and noises over two days in the G.A.S.'s cozy east-end space.

Valerie Kuehne hit this show on tour with fellow NYC-ers Irrevery, and while each occupy a different musical terrain, one could see the kinship in the highly-energized performance styles of Kuehne and Irrevery's Paige Johnson-Brown — a sort of hyperactive/hyper-stylized cabaret. (And, indeed, the latter came on-stage to help close out this set.) Though without her usual backing musicians, Kuehne filled the room with her story-babbles and the skronk of her unamplified cello. There were a couple mannequin heads to keep her company, too, though her presence alone was enough to make this a memorable set.

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Recording: Members of Retired

Artist: Members of Retired

Song: [first two sections]

Recorded at Gerrard Art Space (Eclec~Tic~Toc Fest, Vol. 1 – Night 2), July 15, 2017.

Members of Retired - [first two sections]

Ever since washing up on our shores, Neal D. Retke (who performs as {AN} Eel) has been spreading joy and preaching the benefits of D.I.Y. co-operation. A busy member of the international home-taping circuit known for his many collaborative projects, this festival arose from a desire to bring together some of the different musicians he's encountered here so far, mixing together songs and noises over two days in the G.A.S.'s cozy east-end space.

With bassist Adam Hanrahan having played his own solo set the day before, the remaining members of the group assembled for a jam, giving a rare chance to see how the group's musical sensibility shifts with one element removed. Most notably, the sample-segues evident in band shows in between songs were now centre stage, with the instrumental breakdowns being more palate cleansers, giving the previously unrealized insight that underneath the weird jazz band there's a really weird hip-hop/noise collage band clawing its way to the surface.

Recording: Fake Flesh

Artist: Fake Flesh

Song: Cosmic Dread

Recorded at Gerrard Art Space (Eclec~Tic~Toc Fest, Vol. 1 – Night 2), July 15, 2017.

Fake Flesh - Cosmic Dread

Ever since washing up on our shores, Neal D. Retke (who performs as {AN} Eel) has been spreading joy and preaching the benefits of D.I.Y. co-operation. A busy member of the international home-taping circuit known for his many collaborative projects, this festival arose from a desire to bring together some of the different musicians he's encountered here so far, mixing together songs and noises over two days in the G.A.S.'s cozy east-end space.

Day 2 of the festival had some intense noise-bursts as well courtesy of Fake Flesh, the solo counterpart of the busy/collaborative Goth Girl. As this piece shows, there's a concept beyond noise-for-the-sake-of-noise — there's an actual song fighting to breathe amongst the distortion-bursts and crunching percussion. That shouldn't be taken to mean that there to too many soft edges here, and this was still music that felt a bit out of place in the daylight hours, as opposed to late at night in the darkest shadows.

Recording: Irrevery

Artist: Irrevery

Song: unknown*

Recorded at Gerrard Art Space (Eclec~Tic~Toc Fest, Vol. 1 – Night 2), July 15, 2017.

Irrevery - unknown

Ever since washing up on our shores, Neal D. Retke (who performs as {AN} Eel) has been spreading joy and preaching the benefits of D.I.Y. co-operation. A busy member of the international home-taping circuit known for his many collaborative projects, this festival arose from a desire to bring together some of the different musicians he's encountered here so far, mixing together songs and noises over two days in the G.A.S.'s cozy east-end space.

The festival even gave shelter to a couple bands on tour up from N.Y.C., including Irrevery, who mixed scratchy country-punk (think Uncle Tupelo fronted by Loretta Lynn) with some conceptual art elements. Hints of ready-to-roll-on-the-floor recklessness, but there was also a lot of control in the way that the band could descend from a racket down to an intense whisper.

* Does anyone know the title to this one? Please leave a comment!

Recording: No One Receiving Duo

Artist: No One Receiving Duo

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Gerrard Art Space (Eclec~Tic~Toc Fest, Vol. 1 – Night 2), July 15, 2017.

No One Receiving Duo - [excerpt]

Ever since washing up on our shores, Neal D. Retke (who performs as {AN} Eel) has been spreading joy and preaching the benefits of D.I.Y. co-operation. A busy member of the international home-taping circuit known for his many collaborative projects, this festival arose from a desire to bring together some of the different musicians he's encountered here so far, mixing together songs and noises over two days in the G.A.S.'s cozy east-end space.

No One Receiving was one of Lorne Shapiro's active projects when he was based in Montréal. Since coming to Toronto, there's fewer opportunities to gather, but one could sense an instant connection sparking his gamba playing when Michal Seta (guitar, electronics) was on hand, with strings swelling into clouds of electronic interference. ("Moveable" member Hiroya Miura was virtually present in some of Seta's samples.)

Monday, August 14, 2017

Concert Listings Roundup #213

You can read more about why I'm doing listings here. Long story short: This curated and decidedly non-comprehensive list contains nothin' but shows that I am going to/would go to if I had more time.


Gigs of the week:

Camp Wavelength (feat. Jessy Lanza / DJ Shub / DATU x HATAW / Os Tropies / Loji) / The Garrison 2017-08-18 (Friday) [FB event]

Camp Wavelength (feat. Un Blonde / Haviah Mighty / Witch Prophet / Germaphobes / Exit Someone / Tomi Swick) / Sherbourne Common 2017-08-19 (Saturday – free! all-ages! outside!) [FB event]

Camp Wavelength (feat. Dilly Dally / Rich Aucoin / Duchess Says / Ice Cream) / Longboat Hall 2017-08-19 (Saturday) [FB event]

Camp Wavelength (feat. She-Devils / Zuze / SlowPitchSound / Dan Misha Goldman / Best Fern / L CON) / Sherbourne Common 2017-08-20 (Sunday – free! all-ages! outside!) [FB event]

Camp Wavelength (feat. Deerhoof / The Luyas / Emilie & Ogden) / The Great Hall 2017-08-20 (Sunday) [FB event]

The Island giveth and the Island taketh away. Normally a respite from the hurly-burly of the city, this spring and summer have seen Toronto Island seemingly under siege by nature, suddenly seemingly eager to reclaim the glorious sandbar that has building up in the city's natural harbour for so long. This should be a sobering reminder of the long-term challenges the city faces in the coming ecological catastrophe — but in the short term we also have to face up to the bummer of Wavelength's annual summer festival losing its venue. Regrouping with all their logistical acumen, the WL crew has at least salvaged some of the outdoor vibe with a pair of free outdoor daytime shows close to the water's edge. The night-time portion won't be quite the same, but there's still a wealth of excellent homegrown and imported music to make up for from the vibechange.


This week's noteworthy shows:

Nick Fraser/Bryan Qu/Alex Fournier / The Emmet Ray 2017-08-14 (Monday)

The AMBiENT PiNG: 18th Anniversary (feat. Shimmer Crush / Weep O' Mine Eyes / Paul Kwitek) / Handlebar 2017-08-16 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Nick Fraser/Bryan Qu/Alex Fournier / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2017-08-16 (Wednesday)

Play the Parks (feat. Os Tropies) / McGill Granby Parkette 2017-08-17 (Thursday – free! all-ages + family-friendly! outside! early show @ 5 p.m.!) [more info]

Feminist Art Museum presents: Pauline Oliveros' "To Valerie Solanas and Marilyn Monroe in Recognition of Their Desperation" (feat. Christopher Willes / Anne Bourne / Allison Cameron / Ame Henderson / Anni Spadafora / Ellen Furey / Evan Webber / Germaine Liu / Ishan Dave) / Gardiner Museum 2017-08-17 (Thursday – early event @ 7 p.m.! free with registration!) [more info]

The Mean (Wolfcow / George Westerholm) / Bovine Sex Club 2017-08-17 (Thursday) [FB event]

Beats, Breaks & Culture (feat. Dead Obies / Above Top Secret with Witch Prophet / Leila Dey) / Harbourfront Centre 2017-08-18 (Friday – free! outdoors! all-ages!) [FB event]

NYON (Greydini / Passion Altar / Protruders) / Euro Sports Bar 2017-08-18 (Friday) [FB event]

Not Dead Yet presents: Benefit for Parkdale Organized (feat. S.H.I.T. / Tonkapuma / Tashme) / Bike Pirates 2017-08-18 (Friday – all ages!) [FB event]

Beats, Breaks & Culture (feat. Austra / Harrison / Rae Spoon / XOLISA / Mackenta) / Harbourfront Centre 2017-08-19 (Saturday – free! outdoors! all-ages!) [FB event]

Zine Dream 10 Matinee show (feat. Shoe Beach / Dohn Valley / Hexagon [Carl Didur/Louis Percival]) / The Dupe Shop 2017-08-19 (Saturday – afternoon show!) [FB event]

The Orb / Mod Club 2017-08-19 (Saturday) [FB event]

Pop. 1280 (Whimm / WLMRT) / Monarch Tavern 2017-08-19 (Saturday) [FB event]

Low Noise showcase (feat. Transmit Vs. Intangerines / Anome / Stan K) / LP's LPs 2017-08-19 (Saturday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Audio Bleed (feat. L'ombre / Error 144 / Dustin Good) / Belljar Café 2017-08-19 (Saturday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Beats, Breaks & Culture (feat. Phèdre / Aiko Tomi) / Harbourfront Centre 2017-08-20 (Sunday – free! outdoors! all-ages!) [FB event]

Diane Roblin/Heather Saumer/Joe Sorbara / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2017-08-20 (Sunday – early!) [FB event]

Somewhere There presents (feat. DF [Montreal-based audiovisual duo]) / The Emmet Ray 2017-08-20 (Sunday – PWYC!) [FB event]

JFM (YlangYlang / NPNP / Leucrocuta) / Handlebar 2017-08-20 (Sunday) [FB event]


Add these to your calendar:

Reminder: This post only contains this week's updates — the full listings can always be found over on the right-hand sidebar!

Burn Down The Capital presents (feat. Lea Bertucci / Manticore / Kat Estacio) / Double Double Land 2017-08-23 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Rob Michalchuk (Brian Ruryk) / The Dupe Shop 2017-08-26 (Saturday – afternoon show @ 3 p.m.! PWYC!) [FB event]

AIM LOW (birdboy / Childs / Mud) / Smiling Buddha – basement 2017-08-26 (Saturday – early!) [FB event]

The Starved (Terror Lake / Candi) / The Baby G 2017-08-26 (Saturday) [FB event]

Quiet Bedrooms presents: Launch Show (feat. Ivan Distaro / Henoheno / S. Ayton / Charles Spearin / Guilt Mountain / Heraclitus Akimbo / YlangYlang) / Danforth And Woodbine neighbourhood 2017-08-27 (Sunday – afternoon/evening show! PWYC!) [FB event]

The Lifers (Decoration Day) / Burdock Music Hall 2017-08-30 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Live on the Patio: Arts & Crafts Night (feat. Bernice) / Roy Thomson Hall – Patio 2017-09-01 (Friday – free! all-ages! outside!) [FB event]

Intersection Day 2 (feat. Evyind Kang/Jessika Kenney/Andrew Timar/Pedram Khavarzamini/Araz Salek / Völur [acoustic set]) / Jam Factory 2017-09-01 (Friday) [FB event]

Intersection Day 4: Plant Music (feat. Castle If / Nick Storring / JFM / Laura Swankey) / Allan Gardens 2017-09-04 (Monday – free! all ages! afternoon event!) [FB event]

John Millard (Tim Posgate & Andrew Downing) / Burdock Music Hall 2017-09-07 (Thursday) [FB event]

Pleasence Records presents (feat. Woolworm / WLMRT / Moon Eyed) / Monarch Tavern 2017-09-07 (Thursday) [FB event]

Couch Slut (Show of Bedlam / IRN / Brigitte Bardon't / Noose Talk) / Coalition: T.O. 2017-09-09 (Saturday) [FB event]

Camp Girls (Kurt Marble / Beige) / Smiling Buddha 2017-09-09 (Saturday) [FB event]

ANAMAI (YlangYlang / Xuan Ye + David Jones) / The Baby G 2017-09-21 (Thursday) [FB event]

KASHKA [acoustic] / Likely General 2017-09-29 (Friday – all ages! dry show!) [FB event]

X Avant XII (feat. Man Forever / Germaine Liu + Ensemble / Luyos MC/Reila) / 918 Bathurst 2017-10-11 (Wednesday) [FB event]

X Avant XII (feat. Chino Amobi / INTERRO feat. Kaie Kellough, Tanya Evanson, Jason Sharp, Kevin Lo) / 918 Bathurst 2017-10-13 (Friday) [FB event]

X Avant XII: Deep Listening Intensive (feat. Anne Bourne) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2017-10-14 (Saturday – afternoon participatory event! free!) [FB event]

X Avant XII: curated by LAL and Babely Shades (feat. Avrha [members of Yamantaka // Sonic Titan] / Bizzarh / Drawing With Knives) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2017-10-14 (Saturday) [FB event]

Fake Palms [Pure Mind album release!] (Cindy Lee / Lee Paradise) / Smiling Buddha 2017-10-14 (Saturday) [FB event]

X Avant XII: James Tenney: Resistance / 918 Bathurst 2017-10-15 (Sunday) [FB event]

Kamancello [album release!] / Burdock Music Hall 2017-10-15 (Sunday) [FB event]

Invocation presents (feat. COLLEEN / Khôra) / Array Space 2017-11-12 (Sunday – all ages!) [FB event]

Sunday, August 13, 2017

Recording: FASTER

Artist: FASTER

Song: Hypnochondria, Part 1

Recorded at Gerrard Art Space (Eclec~Tic~Toc Fest, Vol. 1 – Night 1), July 14, 2017.

FASTER - Hypnochondria, Part 1

Ever since washing up on our shores, Neal D. Retke (who performs as {AN} Eel) has been spreading joy and preaching the benefits of D.I.Y. co-operation. A busy member of the international home-taping circuit known for his many collaborative projects, this festival arose from a desire to bring together some of the different musicians he's encountered here so far, mixing together songs and noises over two days in the G.A.S.'s cozy east-end space.

This duo's recent works have been moving away from punk-jazz cabaret/warped carnival songs and into a more composerly space. That doesn't necessarily mean it's less frenzied — "Kaleidoscopter" (this set's first piece) extended the genre-blender whirligig they'd previously explored in their "Death Suite". This one is a bit less dense, but the complicated array of sheet music that the pair were taping to their stands before playing indicates there's still plenty of notes.

Recording: Grossman/o/Prophet

Artist: Ben Grossman/cheryl o/Barry Prophet

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Gerrard Art Space (Eclec~Tic~Toc Fest, Vol. 1 – Night 1), July 14, 2017.

Ben Grossman/cheryl o/Barry Prophet - [excerpt]

Ever since washing up on our shores, Neal D. Retke (who performs as {AN} Eel) has been spreading joy and preaching the benefits of D.I.Y. co-operation. A busy member of the international home-taping circuit known for his many collaborative projects, this festival arose from a desire to bring together some of the different musicians he's encountered here so far, mixing together songs and noises over two days in the G.A.S.'s cozy east-end space.

Exhibiting a true richness of sound from Ben Grossman's hurdy-gurdy, cheryl o's cello and Barry Prophet's digital theremin, this set's peaceful ambient drift was one of the festival's highlights.

[You can listen to the band's own recording of their full set over at their soundcloud, alongside some older trio work and duo pieces from cheryl o and Barry Prophet.]

Recording: The Bim Prongs

Artist: The Bim Prongs

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Gerrard Art Space (Eclec~Tic~Toc Fest, Vol. 1 – Night 1), July 14, 2017.

The Bim Prongs - [excerpt]

Ever since washing up on our shores, Neal D. Retke (who performs as {AN} Eel) has been spreading joy and preaching the benefits of D.I.Y. co-operation. A busy member of the international home-taping circuit known for his many collaborative projects, this festival arose from a desire to bring together some of the different musicians he's encountered here so far, mixing together songs and noises over two days in the G.A.S.'s cozy east-end space.

Celebrating the occasion, William Davison brought some tapes of the event's host singing to warble in the background before looping some bristly sounds from a contact mic'd brush and other bricabrac from his collection of implements. Near the end of this extract, there's are some beautiful plinks from the metal tines of an egg slicer that then get whooshed into reverse.