Recording: Kyle Brenders Ensemble

Artist: Kyle Brenders Ensemble

Song: Grasslands [1st mvt]

Recorded at Yonge-Dundas Square (Intersection Festival – Day 2), September 3, 2016.

Kyle Brenders Ensemble - Grasslands [1st mvt]

A lovely day, warm in the sun with a cool breeze, the Intersection Festival once again filled Dundas Square with music of all kinds, offering a counterpoint to business at usual in the ad-basked concrete canyon. With Tad Michalak (of Burn Down the Capital/Feast in the East) again taking a leading role in curating the day, the music had nods to the festival's more chamber music-intensive past while upping the noise and weirdness reverberating off the surrounding walls. That had a sort of push-pull effect on the passers-by, sometimes drawing them in, sometimes causing evident confusion and moving along.

A very-worthy re-emergence of this abstract big band (with a slightly-shuffled lineup¹ from its appearance back in February) saw them fill the square with electroacoustic soundfields. There was an interesting tug of war between the horns' drift and the electronics' drone, while Michael Davidson's vibes rode above giving things a hint of melodic direction.

---

¹ This time out the band included Kyle Brenders (saxophones, composition), Scott Peterson (bass), Nick Buligan (trumpet), Peter Lutek (clarinet, electronics), Karen Ng (alto sax), Cheldon Paterson (turntables), Brandon Valdivia (drums), Doug Van Nort (electronics), and Michael Davidson (vibes).