Recording: SlowPitchSound

Artist: SlowPitchSound

Songs: unknown^* + "scene from Freak Show" (feat. Shikha Sehgal)

Recorded at Sherbourne Common (Camp Wavelength – Day 2), August 20, 2017.

SlowPitchSound - unknown

SlowPitchSound feat. Shikha Sehgal - scene from Freak Show

Since 2009, the summer Wavelength festival has been a highlight of the season, slowing down the hectic "festival experience" to an Island pace and making the whole thing as much about the vibe and the location as the (always well-curated) music. When this spring's floods shut the Island down, there was a ripple of apprehension from many quarters at the loss of favourite summer hangs, culminating in the festival decamping to the mainland.

There's been a number of WL events that have taken place at spots that've been overtaken by the city's voracious development, so it was a pleasant change to be in a new space — one's that's still not fully integrated into the city and that is going to be around for a while. With a wall of almost-completed condos along the park's east side, Sherbourne Common isn't going to be hosting too many festivals in summers to come, so hopefully some of Camp Wavelength's energy will remain imprinted on the space. Meanwhile, with the water glistening in the background and a sense of isolation from the city proper, this did a really superb job of capturing the feel of a show on the Islands. (Plus there was the bonus of the awesome slapback echo bouncing back from the new buildings surrounding the park.)

In his sets, turntablist Cheldon Paterson sometimes goes deep down rabbit holes (to Wonderland or to sci-fi destinations) but this time 'round he unfurled more of a discography-spanning mixtape approach, pulling together fragments old and new. There was a walk on from Shikha, whose voice has graced a couple of his releases, but the main collaborative element here was dancer Libydo, whose presence continues to expand the physical presence of Paterson's work — to the extent that that Libydo feels increasingly like a doppelgänger as the two occasionally switch places, making their artistry feel ever more like two sides of the same coin.

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