Recording: François Houle & Nick Fraser

Artist: François Houle & Nick Fraser

Songs: [1st set, excerpt from 1st piece] + Sticks and Stones [composer: John Carter]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), September 30, 2018.

François Houle & Nick Fraser - [1st set, excerpt from 1st piece]

François Houle & Nick Fraser - Sticks and Stones

This wasn't the first chance I took in a set with an unfamiliar name based on Nick Fraser's presence — and is so often the case, it lead to a proper introduction to a visiting musician as well as a powerful spontaneous collaboration. François Houle was actually slightly familiar to me by reputation (he was in town not so long ago with Gord Grdina and plays with all the West Coast/Drip audio types) but it was really an inspiration to see him extending his clarinet's sounds through some creative pedal use, including some bent and warped loop action. Moving from tasty l'il dits and arpeggiations to frenzied blasts, there were plenty "excitatious" moments (to use Houle's phrase) through two sets.

Recording: Cosmic Homeostasis

Artist: Cosmic Homeostasis

Song: She Sells Moondust Down by The Sea of Tranquility [excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Cosmic Homeostasis VIII), September 30, 2018.

Cosmic Homeostasis - She Sells Moondust Down by The Sea of Tranquility [excerpt]

Another cheerfully-cluttered afternoon at The Tranzac, gathering past performers and new faces together to generate some spacious ambient drones. The crew this time included Patrick O'Reilly, Del Stephen, Niamh Shiffra Girling, Jordan Brown, Mira Martin-Gray, Abigail Trotsky, Chris Trotter, Ronnie Blake, Paul Newman, and Heraclitus Akimbo and got some welcome vocal assistance from aspiring homeostasisists Wolfgang and Annika. As usual, you can stream/download the whole thing over at Bandcamp:

[Cosmic Homeostasis IX will take place at The Tranzac on the afternoon of Sunday, December 30th — and the series will continue with four more fifth-Sunday-of-the-month instalments on 2019!]

Concert Listings Roundup #274

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.

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Gig of the week:

Sandro Perri [In Another Life LP release!] (Matthew "Doc" Dunn) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2018-11-04 (Sunday) [FB event]

Even after getting a preview of the new material from In Another Life at last week's Destroyer gig, I'm totally stoked to once more settle into the Tranzac's Main Hall for another Sandro Perri album release — and we'll have to see which friends will turn up to help him celebrate. With Doc Dunn opening, so rather an excellent double-header of a night.

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This week's noteworthy shows:

Meandering Streams of Consciousness [Chris Weatherstone/Anoush Tabaei/Peter Lutek/Rod Campbell/Alinima MadanI/Avesta Nakhaei/Yui Nakurama/Cheryl Ockrant/Alex Fournier] / Gallery 345 2018-10-29 (Monday) [FB event]

Harmonic Fields #2 (feat. Naman Cale [vibraphone, electronics] / Irene Harrett [upright bass, electronics]) / Burdock Music Hall 2018-10-30 (Tuesday – early show at 6 p.m.!) [FB event]

Mike McCormick's Proxemics (Hobson's Choice) / Burdock Music Hall 2018-10-30 (Tuesday) [FB event]

David Sait/Tilman Lewis/Bob Vespaziani/Glen Hall / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-10-30 (Tuesday – early!) [FB event]

Nick Fraser/Mike DeiCont/Brodie West / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-10-30 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Venus Fest Presents: A Halloween show (Peeling / Praises / Miss World) / The Baby G 2018-10-31 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Cindy Lee [new live configuration with Mounir Chami and Kyle Knapp!] / The Cameron House 2018-10-31 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Somewhere There Presents (feat. Emily Denison & Daniel Kruger / Eric Hofbauer / Emily Denison/Daniel Kruger/Andrew Furlong) / Array Space 2018-11-01 (Thursday) [FB event]

Jeff LaRochelle /Luan Phung/Søren Nissen/Ian Wright/Michael Davidson/Aline Homzy/Sheba Thibideau [Lenses Extend album release show!] (Sabine Ndalamba/Eric West/Phill Albert/Jeff LaRochelle) / Burdock Music Hall 2018-11-01 (Thursday) [FB event]

Therapy ["a brand new series on the first Thursday of the month... inviting you to exorcise your troubles on the dance floor with a triple bill of killer bands."] (feat. The Jessica Stuart Few / Vivienne Wilder & The Vice Presidents / Ronley Teper's Lipliners) / The Dakota Tavern 2018-11-01 (Thursday) [FB event]

Shannon & The Clams / Lee's Palace 2018-11-02 (Friday) [FB event]

Super Hot Sax [featuring compositions by Franco Donatoni, Clara Iannotta, Jimmie LeBlanc, Fausto Romitelli, Adam Scime] (feat. Wallace Halladay and Continuum Contemporary Music) / Trinity-St Paul's 2018-11-02 (Friday) [FB event]

For Jane (Inland Island / Falcon Jane / Sea Beau) / The Baby G 2018-11-02 (Friday) [FB event]

Spectrum Music Presents: The Road Not Travelled [works by Graham Campbell / Chelsea McBride / Tiffany Hanus / Mason Victoria / Suzannah Wilde / James Lowrie] (feat. Alheli Pimienta / Izabella Budai / Daniel Ramjattan / James Hamilton Lowrie) / Alliance Française de Toronto – Pierre Léon Gallery 2018-11-02 (Friday) [FB event]

Juini Booth/Patrick Smith/Mark Hundevad (The Archives of Eternity / Juini Booth [solo bass]) / Fatima in the Alley 2018-11-02 (Friday) [FB event]

Exploded View feat. Anika (Forma / Dusted) / The Garrison 2018-11-03 (Saturday) [FB event]

Feast In The East 71 (Luge [Tall Is Just a Feeling LP release!] / Retired / Baby Labour / Deep Waters) / Matt Durant Studio 2018-11-03 (Saturday – all ages!) [FB event]

Foxtrott (iaamSaam / L CON) / The Baby G 2018-11-03 (Saturday) [FB event]

Tour of Heart & Mind Homecoming Show (feat. The Queer Songbook Orchestra) / Jam Factory 2018-11-04 (Sunday – all ages!) [FB event]

Nhapitapi [Tawuya album release concert!] / 3030 Dundas 2018-11-04 (Sunday – all ages + free for kids!) [FB event]

Nite Comfort 61 (feat. Carbolizer / Schema Factor) / Handlebar 2018-11-04 (Sunday – PWYC!) [FB event]

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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!

Demons 9 (feat. Sydanie / Kaspr / Esther Splett / Blue Light) / The Beaver 2018-11-06 (Tuesday – no cover!) [FB event]

In Between Sounds #91 (feat. Lorde Awesome) / The Only Café 2018-11-08 (Thursday) [FB event]

Sonic Perfume [CD release party!] / The Rex Hotel 2018-11-11 (Sunday) [FB event]

Somewhere There's Second Sunday Series (feat. Mike McCormick’s Proxemics / Irene Harrett & Josh Sinclair) / Array Space 2018-11-11 (Sunday) [FB event]

Burn Down the Capital presents (feat. Vampire Belt [Chris Corsano / Bill Nace] / Horseman, Pass By / American Standard Trio) / Burdock Music Hall 2018-11-11 (Sunday) [FB event]

ECM’s Generation 2018 [works by James O'Callaghan, Thierry Tidrow, Patrick Gigue`re, Sophie Dupuis] (feat. New Music Concerts) / The Music Gallery @ 918 Bathurst 2018-11-11 (Sunday) [FB event]

Ornate presents (feat. Sonic Perfume and friends [playing the music of Ornette Coleman]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-11-13 (Tuesday – early!) [FB event]

Music By & For Ken Aldcroft XXIII (feat. Blackout Over Rio [Nico Arnáez/Will Northlich/Mark Segger] / Emily Denison & Friends [Jonathan Adjemian/Rob Clutton/Emily Denison/Germaine Liu) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-11-14 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Not Dead Yet presents (feat. Drew McDowall / Hiro Kone / Group ) / The Garrison 2018-11-16 (Friday) [FB event]

ZONES [The State of Light Hand Drawn Dracula release party!] (New Chance / World News) / The Dance Cave 2018-11-22 (Thursday) [FB event]

Karen Ng [solo tape release!] (Phil Melanson / Rob Clutton) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-11-22 (Thursday) [FB event]

Silent Shout (feat. Russell Louder / Hush Pup / Precious Jewel / Akage No Anne / Dinah Thorpe) / Handlebar 2018-11-24 (Saturday) [FB event]

Emergents I (feat. Grace Scheele / Xuan Ye) / The Music Gallery @ 918 Bathurst 2018-12-02 (Sunday – all ages!) [FB event]

Somewhere There presents (feat. Black Givre / Kee Avil / Laura Swankey / Patrick O'Reilly) / Wenona Lodge 2018-12-03 (Monday) [FB event]

21C Music Festival (feat. So Percussion) / Koerner Hall 2019-01-19 (Saturday) [FB event]

Burn Down The Capital presents (feat. Marc Ribot / Kee Avil) / Jam Factory 2019-03-01 (Friday – all ages!) [FB event]

Doug Paisley / The Drake Underground 2019-03-28 (Thursday) [more info]

Recording: Debashis Sinha

Artist: Debashis Sinha

Songs: Harmonium Pt. IV + unknown^*

Recorded at Array Space, September 25, 2018.

Debashis Sinha - Harmonium Pt. IV

Debashis Sinha - unknown

Floor-flooding torrential rain could merely delay — but never stop — this chance to celebrate Debashis Sinha's recent The White Dog album. Using live-looped percussion as part of an ableton setup, Sinha showed how the artful percussionist can get a lot of mileage from handclaps and other simple sounds.

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

Recording: Allison Cameron & Mani Mazinani

Artist: Allison Cameron & Mani Mazinani

Songs: [two excerpts from first piece]

Recorded at Array Space, September 25, 2018.

Allison Cameron & Mani Mazinani - [first piece, edited excerpt 1]

Allison Cameron & Mani Mazinani - [first piece, excerpt 2]

Mixing together Allison Cameron's sonic bricolage with Mani Mazinani's CAT synthesizer sounded something like listening to the opera on the shortwave — ornate and tuneful behind the fuzz and interfering signals. After that excursion, a second piece offered a rare opportunity to hear a cracklebox duo in action.

[Allison Cameron will be at the centre of a " mini-festival" taking place at Array Space on November 23rd and 24th. The first night will feature "a major new work by Cameron commissioned by Array, written for our ensemble combined with... Germaine Liu and Nicole Rampersaud" while the second night will have some AC solo and c_RL trio action.]

Recording: The Brodie West Quintet

Artist: The Brodie West Quintet

Songs: First Wave + Prel and Fug

Recorded at The Music Gallery @ 918 Bathurst, September 21, 2018.

The Brodie West Quintet - First Wave

The Brodie West Quintet - Prel and Fug

An exciting night of celebration, marking the release of the Quintet's Clips album. Things weren't too different than a typical night for the group at the Tranzac — a nicer shirt here, a fancier piano there — but it's important every once in a while to bring things out of that laboratory to a bigger audience. In the spirit of the night the group basically played the album top to bottom, showing off the variety of smaller encounters (interlocking dual drummers, piano/sax mind-melds, etc.) within the pieces.

[Following up from a West Coast swing, The Brodie West Quintet will be in residence at The Rex, playing every Tuesday in November.]

Recording: Wow and Flutter

Artist: Wow and Flutter

Song: [first section]

Recorded at The Music Gallery @ 918 Bathurst, September 21, 2018.

Wow and Flutter - [first section]

Plenty of intriguing sounds on tap from this new-ish trio bringing together Kayla Milmine (soprano sax), Bea Labikova (fujara, alto sax) and Sarah Peebles (shō, cracklebox). Moving from keening, reedy soundscapes to extended technique noisebursts the sounds filled up the space quite nicely — especially Peebles' shō, which hovered around the rafters quite satisfactorily in the large hall.

Recording: Victor Cirone & Colin Fisher

Artist: Victor Cirone & Colin Fisher

Song: [second section]

Recorded at Café Pamenar's back patio, September 20, 2018.

Victor Cirone & Colin Fisher - [second section]

A mildly-unsettled evening for the season's final patio show, with a piquant breeze and a few raindrops just before showtime. The forecast was calling for a late-evening warming pattern but instead there was a bit more of a hint of a autumnal chill in the air. Ever since I saw this duo make their formal live debut together they've been playing occasional gigs but I hadn't checked back in with them until now. With Cirone's tabla providing the propulsion, Fisher added textures on guitar and sax, with pads and loops often creating multiple layers for him to drift above.

[Colin Fisher will be playing a duo set alongside tar master Araz Salek at Track Could Bend #44 on Tuesday, November 6th at Wenona Lodge.]

Recording: Josh Cole Trio

Artist: Josh Cole Trio

Songs: [excerpt from first piece] + Doritos

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), September 19, 2018.

Josh Cole Trio - [excerpt from first piece]

Josh Cole Trio - Doritos

This Josh Cole Trio saw the bassist accompanied by Michael Davidson on vibes plus Karen Ng on clarinet and alto sax. For all the rattle-clankings and disassembled horn whooshes, this was still a quieter set, imbued with snooze-y drift magic.

[A different Josh Cole Trio, with Colin Fisher and Evan Cartwright, will be at the Tranzac tonight (October 25th).]

Recording: Matthew Pencer & Chris Willes

Artist: Matthew Pencer & Chris Willes

Song: [excerpt from first piece]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), September 19, 2018.

Matthew Pencer & Chris Willes - [excerpt from first piece]

Dimming the lights and dragging a couple piano benches into a vee, this pair created a drowsy sonic playground. Willes treated his sax and harmonica with some lo-fi effects, creating tin can ringing artifacts while Pencer's skittering drum machine beats more shared the space than provided rhythmic support.

Recording: c_RL

Artist: c_RL

Songs: [excerpt from set 1, 1st piece] + [edited excerpt from set 2, 2nd piece]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), September 19, 2018.

c_RL - [excerpt from set 1, 1st piece]

c_RL - [edited excerpt from set 2, 2nd piece]

Just a l'il potato chip party to celebrate the transition of this group from being a "Toronto trio" to a "Canadian trio" with trumpeter Nicole Rampersaud preparing to decamp to the East Coast. The always-casual Southern Cross vibes (with the occasional repeated instruction from a hypnotist bleeding through from the Main Hall) revealed a band that's really on top of their game, telepathy-wise.

With Germaine Liu off to one side, dressed in white behind her drumkit and Allison Cameron and Rampersaud clad in black (and with no shortage of strange devices strewn aboot them) it looked like some Spy vs. Spy schemes were about to unfold. "You're upside down... you're upside down," the hypnotist intones as the music falls suddenly quiet, right before the ringing chimes of metal bells and bowls and the toy accordion seep back up.

[Canadian trio c_RL will take the stage as part of an Allison Cameron mini-festival taking place at Array Space on November 23rd and 24th. The first night will feature "a major new work by Cameron commissioned by Array, written for our ensemble combined with... Germaine Liu and Nicole Rampersaud" while the second night will have some AC solo and c_RL trio action.]

Recording: Hübsch Martel Zoubek

Artist: Hübsch Martel Zoubek

Song: [excerpt, in two parts]

Recorded at at Gerrard Art Space (FASTER Presents), September 15, 2018.

Hübsch Martel Zoubek - [excerpt, part 1]

Hübsch Martel Zoubek - [excerpt, part 2]

This tri-national unit stopped on their way to the Guelph Jazz Festival for this show, offering an intriguing mix of Carl Ludwig Hübsch's tuba, Pierre-Yves Martel's viola da gamba and Philip Zoubek's synthesizer, with plenty of extended techniques to go around. Moving from a drone to warbling purrrps to breath-pffts to plucks to three-way sputtering, there's something scintillating about such radically-different instruments zoning in to work in similar tonalities. (Their new Otherwise album is highly recommended.)

Recording: magiceyeimage

Artist: magiceyeimage

Songs: [two excerpts]

Recorded at at Gerrard Art Space (FASTER Presents), September 15, 2018.

magiceyeimage - [excerpt 1]

magiceyeimage - [excerpt 2]

A cozy art gallery, walls lined with a lifetime's worth of prints, was an excellent space for a night of listening. If I'd thought that the quietness of the previous time I saw this trio was striking, I was soon to discover that that was like an arena show compared to the spare stillness on display here. Playing totally acoustically, the trio's gestures included near-silent bass-bowing, e-bow whispers on an acoustic guitar, a ball clacking against rotating tiles and so on. As always with material this quiet, my mics don't do it justice at all, but hopefully they give some flavour of what was going on.

Concert Listings Roundup #273

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.

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Gig of the week:

Thin Edge New Music Collective, TIFF and Riparian Acoustics co-present: Contralto [Sarah Hennies' experimental documentary with live musical accompaniment] (feat. Ilana Waniuk/Nelson Moneo/Amahl Arulanandam/Adam Scime/Cheryl Duvall/Nathan Petitpas/Germaine Liu) / TIFF Lightbox 2018-10-24 (Wednesday) [FB event]

This unique multimedia event mixes Sarah Hennies' experimental documentary with live accompaniment from Thin Edge, who are steadily pushing musical boundaries while creating safe and cozy listening zones. This is definitely one of those occasions where you'll want to see the film on the big screen.

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This week's noteworthy shows:

Brodie West/Dafydd Hughes/Jesse Baird/Josh Cole / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-10-22 (Monday – extra early set, 6 to 8 p.m.!)

Concrete Cabaret: an evening of experimental puppetry (feat. Max Kelly / Devin O'Brien / Honeyball Puppetry / Sarah Tracy / Annie, Gabe and Bee! / Abby Gagnon / Raphael Lafleur / music by The Thirsty Jug Benders) / Burdock Music Hall 2018-10-22 (Monday) [FB event]

Avi Buffalo (Haunted Summer / Beams) / Monarch Tavern 2018-10-24 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Music by Harry and Furlong S1E2 (feat. Harry Vetro & Nick Donovan / UNHIP [Mike DeiCont/Andrew Furlong/Be Mcc-b]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-10-24 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Audio Bleed presents (feat. Kalte / DreamState / Hozerz) / Roland Inspiration Centre 2018-10-25 (Thursday – PWYC) [FB event]

Josh Cole Trio w/ Colin Fisher + Evan Cartwright / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-10-25 (Thursday) [FB event]

Aurochs / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-10-26 (Friday – early!)

The Ryan Driver Sextet / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-10-26 (Friday)

Death to T.O VIII (feat. Nyssa / Jessica Upton Crowe / Roy Phillips / Sahara / The Effens / In Drift / Rapport / Hot Garbage / Sportsfan / Brenda / Mother Tongues / Komodo / members of MIMICO / Weaves / Kaleidoscope Horse / Greys / CRAZY BONES / Witchrot / Simone TB) / Lee's Palace/The Dance Cave 2018-10-26 (Friday) [FB event]

In Store 12 (feat. Sandro Perri / Ejji Smith) / Quixotic Sounds Toronto 2018-10-26 (Friday – free!) [FB event]

Flesh Rag (Le Prince Harry / Teen Archer / Vanity Phase) / Duffy's Tavern 2018-10-26 (Friday) [FB event]

Alternate Forest ["a multidisciplinary adventure revealing some magic powers within our world's forests"] (feat. SlowPitchSound and Lybido) / Array Space 2018-10-26–2018-10-28 (Friday–Sunday) [FB event]

The Holy Gasp [The Love Songs of Oedipus Rex release celebration!] / 918 Bathurst 2018-10-27 (Saturday – rescheduled date! "please dress for a wedding") [FB event]

Pop. 1280 (Posterboy / Blankscreen) / Weekend at Bernie's 2018-10-27 (Saturday) [FB event]

Carbon Copy I (feat. Q: Are We Not DEVO? A: We Are Not! [members of First Base, Vanity Phase, and Tough Age] as Devo / members of Leather Jacuzzi as The Stooges / Goosebump with members of Weaves & Blonde Elvis as Roxy Music / Members of Slutcode as Madonna / Digits and co. as Kraftwerk) / Handlebar 2018-10-27 (Saturday) [FB event]

Phycus (Corpusse) / Euro Sports Bar 2018-10-27 (Saturday) [FB event]

4th Annual Hallowe'en Bash! (feat. catl. / VOLK) / The Dakota 2018-10-27 (Saturday) [FB event]

The Goon Sax (Ducks Unlimited) / The Baby G 2018-10-27 (Saturday) [FB event]

Michael Snow/Mani Mazinani / The Bentway Deck 2018-10-28 (Sunday – free with RSVP!) [FB event]

Toronto Improvisors Orchestra [screening of F.W. Murnau's "Nosferatu" with live improvised musical accompaniment] / Array Space 2018-10-28 (Sunday) [FB event]

SynapticCircusSundays (feat. Heidi Chan / Nic Murray [solo sets plus duo set!]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-10-28 (Sunday) [FB event]

The World Provider (Marker Starling / The Canadian Romantic) / Burdock Music Hall 2018-10-28 (Sunday) [FB event]

Batuki Music Society and Polyphonic Ground present (feat. Blandine / Fatoumata Kouyaté & Mabinty Sylla) / Lula Lounge 2018-10-28 (Sunday) [FB event]

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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!

David Sait/Tilman Lewis/Bob Vespaziani/Glen Hall / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-10-30 (Tuesday – early!) [FB event]

Cindy Lee [new live configuration with Mounir Chami and Kyle Knapp!] / The Cameron House 2018-10-31 (Wednesday) [FB event]

For Jane (Inland Island / Falcon Jane / Sea Beau) / The Baby G 2018-11-02 (Friday) [FB event]

Foxtrott (iaamSaam / L CON) / The Baby G 2018-11-03 (Saturday) [FB event]

Tour of Heart & Mind Homecoming Show (feat. The Queer Songbook Orchestra) / Jam Factory 2018-11-04 (Sunday – all ages!) [FB event]

Track Could Bend #44 (feat. Araz Salek & Colin Fisher / Julie Reich / Alex Fournier & Tara Kannangara) / Wenona Lodge 2018-11-06 (Tuesday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Audiopollination #65 (feat. Chris Cawthray/Sean O'Connor/Andrew Furlong / Brenda Joy Lem/Christof Migone / Rob Carroll/Tiina Kiik/John Yelland / Robert Appleton /Ian Jarvis) / Array Space 2018-11-10 (Saturday) [FB event]

Balmy (Bunny / Carinae / PAX) / Handlebar 2018-11-10 (Saturday) [FB event]

Batuki Music Society presents: Sounds of Senegal (feat. Alioune Guissé) / Alliance Française de Toronto 2018-11-10 (Saturday) [FB event]

Mother Tongues (Matt "Doc" Dunn) / Monarch Tavern 2018-11-14 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Petra Glynt (Bile Sister / Mr. Joy) / The Baby G 2018-11-25 (Sunday) [FB event]

Moon McMullen [Made by a Boy rescheduled album release party!] / The Drake Underground 2018-11-29 (Thursday) [FB event]

Casper Skulls (The Spirit of the Beehive / Horse Jumper of Love) / The Baby G 2018-12-02 (Sunday) [FB event]

LUKA / Burdock Music Hall 2018-12-09 (Sunday) [FB event]

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Bandcamp corner:

• In these parts, a summit between Heidi Chan, Mira Martin-Gray and Kayla Milmine is big news. This new electroacoustic power trio, dubbed Overleaf, has just opened up shop on bandcamp, with an album of home recordings plus a live set from the Tranzac. Recommended to all fans of blurp, skritch and honk.

Community corner:

• Registration is open for the second installment of Sounding Difference, the Music Gallery's series of workshops with Anne Bourne exploring Pauline Oliveros' text scores. These are great for helping anyone to extend their listening techniques and extremely useful for music heads whether they're on stage or in the audience. It's a participatory environment, but as the song says, don't worry if you're not good enough for anyone else to hear — just sing. This is a free event, but it will fill up, so register now!

Recording: Baby Labour

Artist: Baby Labour

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Music By & For Ken Aldcroft XXI), September 12, 2018.

Baby Labour - unknown

One of the more powerful strands of this series is seeing some of Ken Aldcroft's former students come back and share the inspiration and musical passion they learned alongside a bevy of technical skills. Dan Loughrin's guitar work in this math-y, instrumental Guelph based trio might not draw much from Aldcroft's style, but the mix of tightly-composed pieces played with joyful, spatter-y abandon was right on the mark.

[Baby Labour will be back in town for Feast In The East 71 (Saturday, November 3rd at Matt Durant Studio), celebrating Luge's new album alongside Retired and Deep Waters.]

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

Recording: Harrison Vetro & Friends

Artist: Harrison Vetro & Friends

Song: [sections 2 + 3]^*

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Music By & For Ken Aldcroft XXI), September 12, 2018.

Harrison Vetro & Friends - [sections 2 + 3]

The first half of this night of music for Ken Aldcroft brought some carefully-crafted sounds from drummer Harry Vetro alongside Kaelin Murphy (trumpet) and Dan Pitt (guitar). With some nice give-and-take all around, there were moments of quiet introspection pushing outward seamlessly into louder abstractions.

^* I'm not sure if these are a couple smaller pieces, or two parts of a larger suite. If you know that and/or the titles, please leave a comment!

Recording: Stadhouders/Lumley/Groven/Ng

Artist: Jasper Stadhouders/Aaron Lumley/Marielle Groven/Karen Ng with Brodie West

Songs: [excerpt from first piece] + [second piece]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), September 12, 2018.

Jasper Stadhouders/Aaron Lumley/Marielle Groven/Karen Ng - [excerpt from first piece]

Jasper Stadhouders/Aaron Lumley/Marielle Groven/Karen Ng/Brodie West - [second piece]

Getting the chance to occasionally wander further afield, our local players are part of a global network of creative musicians, sharing stages and finding places to doss down across the planet. This combo was a musical reunion for three cities' worth of musicians, mixing Amsterdam-based guitarist Jasper Stadhouders with Montréal players Aaron Lumley (double bass) and Marielle Groven (piano/violin) plus local host Karen Ng (clarinet). After some opening clumps and noisebursts, they were joined by "secret guest" Brodie West for the bulk of the set for explorations on partial clarinet, piano strings, feedback bursts and the like.

Recording: BREM

Artist: BREM

Song: Body and Soul [composer: Johnny Green]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), September 12, 2018.

BREM - Body and Soul

This group (which derives its name from the first initials of performers Brodie West, Reg Schwager, Evan Cartwright and Marilyn Lerner) takes a casual approach to playing standards — before the set began, Brodie West could be seen surveying the members for pieces that everyone knew enough to get together on. From there, it was a close-yr-eyes-and-take-flight sort of affair as the parallel explorations unfolded.

Recording: Saturn City

Artist: Saturn City

Song: Shepherd

Recorded at Wenona Lodge (Track Could Bend #42), September 4, 2018.

Saturn City - Shepherd

While I've been familiar with her work in Processor (and that excellent tape she made with Castle If's Jess Forrest) for a while now, I've been a huge fan of M. Joakim's Saturn City project since hearing the Korg Etudes set she put out early this year. I was bummed when I missed her performance of that material at Nite Comfort earlier this year, so what better way to make up for it than an invite to TCB? All expectations were exceeded when that lead to the release of a new EP of material inspired by Saturn's sixth largest moon, moving from ring reflections to an edge-of-the-solar-system dance party.

[Track Could Bend is back at Wenona on Tuesday, November 6th with performances from Araz Salek & Colin Fisher, Julie Reich and Alex Fournier & Tara Kannangara.]

Recording: Very Many

Artist: Very Many

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at Wenona Lodge (Track Could Bend #42), September 4, 2018.

Very Many - unknown

It's always deeply satisfying to be able to present musical explorations from folks I know from other avenues. I was familiar with Andrew Finlay Stewart as an organizer at the Long Winter series as well as a visual artist, and I knew Georgia Webber as a storyteller and comics maker (her Dumb: Living without a Voice has just been published by Fantagraphics) — so I was intrigued when they suggested they might be prepared to make some sounds together in public.

Each playing an unamplified violin, their set was all about listening, and listening closely. This piece (presented as a rather underwhelming field recording, I must confess) used the geometry of the room to create a spacialized experience, with the performers starting at opposite ends of the room and then meeting each other in passing as their quiet musical gestures trailed along with them and ending up at the far end from where they begun. A second piece (too beautifully delicate to be recorded at all) pushed further into Pauline Oliveros territory with Webber asking the audience members to add their own quietly-humming voices to create a soft bed for their hushed musical string-scratches.

[Track Could Bend is back at Wenona on Tuesday, November 6th with performances from Araz Salek & Colin Fisher, Julie Reich and Alex Fournier & Tara Kannangara.]

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

Recording: Sarah Tracy

Artist: Sarah Tracy

Song: Anagnorisis [excerpt]

Recorded at Wenona Lodge (Track Could Bend #42), September 4, 2018.

Sarah Tracy - Anagnorisis [excerpt]

This recent returnee — who has until recently been pursuing studies and creative avenues in Montréal — brought a multimedia performance piece that utilized manipulated voice alongside live-collaged images from an old-school overhead projector. With elements of ritual, mediatation and offering, this was a most satisfying way to open up the night.

[Sarah Tracy will be performing as part of "an evening of experimental puppetry" called Concrete Cabaret, taking place at The Burdock next Monday (October 22nd). Track Could Bend is back at Wenona on Tuesday, November 6th with performances from Araz Salek & Colin Fisher, Julie Reich and Alex Fournier & Tara Kannangara.]

Recording: Dame Cook

Artist: Dame Cook

Song: [first piece, in two parts]^*

Recorded at Handlebar (Nite Comfort 59), September 2, 2018.

Dame Cook - [first piece, part 1]

Dame Cook - [first piece, part 2]

A charming night out at Nite Comfort that offered, as they say, both kinds of music (that is to say, electronic and electroacoustic). Playing violin — at times held like a dowsing rod — Dame Cook entered into a mysterious forest for some explorations. American Standard Trio bandmate Danny Sheahan added support on laptop manipulations (as well as duet vox on a closing cover of Peter Gabriel's "Don't Give Up").

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

Recording: Carlo Conda

Artist: Carlo Conda

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at Handlebar (Nite Comfort 59), September 2, 2018.

Carlo Conda - unknown

A charming night out at Nite Comfort that offered, as they say, both kinds of music (that is to say, electronic and electroacoustic). Carlo Kinda offered the former with some spare and pleasingly hand-crafted synth studies that drifted between cuts like a sort of ambient mixtape.

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

Recording: The Cosmic Range

Artist: The Cosmic Range

Song: The Gratitude Principle

Recorded at Yonge-Dundas Square (Intersection Day 2), September 1, 2018.

The Cosmic Range - The Gratitude Principle

Another interesting day in Yonge-Dundas Square for Intersection, once again excellently curated by Burn Down the Capital's Tad Michalak. Mixing in some abrasive sounds with lots of accessible experimentation, there was a pleasing range of mostly-local talent spread out through the square, animated between sets by the whispersounds of Tina Pearson's installation piece. Capping things off was another bigglyup ensemble, breaking out something like a greatest-grooves set. Convener and head kowboy Doc Dunn was off to the side on organ, while a casual observer might have concluded that sax player Andy Haas — performing with joyful verve centre-stage — was the leader here. Fun stuff and a perfect way to end the day's takeover of that strange ad-bathed concrete space next to the centre of the city's shopping vortex. There is always culture seeping out through the cracks.

Recording: Tonstartssbandht

Artist: Tonstartssbandht

Song: Breathe

Recorded at Yonge-Dundas Square (Intersection Day 2), September 1, 2018.

Tonstartssbandht - Breathe

Another interesting day in Yonge-Dundas Square for Intersection, once again excellently curated by Burn Down the Capital's Tad Michalak. Mixing in some abrasive sounds with lots of accessible experimentation, there was a pleasing range of mostly-local talent spread out through the square, animated between sets by the whispersounds of Tina Pearson's installation piece. This Florida-based brother duo made excellent use of their "side stage" zone, rocking like they were putting on a patio party. Simultaneously classic rock-accessible and wig-out weird, their songs are more like mini-suites, stretching out over shifting terrain. Supremely honed, there was plenty evidence here of the duo's heavy touring and some indications of fraternal telekinesis.

Recording: Nadja

Artist: Nadja

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at Yonge-Dundas Square (Intersection Day 2), September 1, 2018.

Nadja - unknown

Another interesting day in Yonge-Dundas Square for Intersection, once again excellently curated by Burn Down the Capital's Tad Michalak. Mixing in some abrasive sounds with lots of accessible experimentation, there was a pleasing range of mostly-local talent spread out through the square, animated between sets by the whispersounds of Tina Pearson's installation piece. Berlin-based local expats Aidan Baker and Leah Buckareff managed to fit in several gigs over a summer sojourn back to T.O., capped off by swathing the square in some warm, heavy drones. Pressing down like the afternoon sun that had just been eclipsed behind the surrounding tall buildings, this felt like a perfectly-reasonable soundtrack for the city's concrete heart.

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

Recording: Dun-Dun Band

Artist: Dun-Dun Band

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at Yonge-Dundas Square (Intersection Day 2), September 1, 2018.

Dun-Dun Band - unknown

Another interesting day in Yonge-Dundas Square for Intersection, once again excellently curated by Burn Down the Capital's Tad Michalak. Mixing in some abrasive sounds with lots of accessible experimentation, there was a pleasing range of mostly-local talent spread out through the square, animated between sets by the whispersounds of Tina Pearson's installation piece. An outdoor festival is an ideal place to bust out some bigglyup¹ grooves, and Michalak obliged by programming two different sets over the course of the day. Featuring three saxophonists up front to entrance passers-by, creator and band leader Craig Dunsmuir was tucked off to the side, turned around from the crowd to stay in eye contact with bassist Josh Cole and the percussion section. Meanwhile, it was interesting to note that the group's overlapping polyrhythmic fragments have been formalized in a "book" (beautifully-designed by Mike Smith) so here's hoping there will be cause for the musicians to break it out again soon.

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

¹ Local scholar Kurt Newman was moved to ask, after this event, what the proper name was for "the unique instrumental groove based but experimental large group music that happens in Toronto with a lot of musicians in common", and he was informed by percussionist (and frequent participant in this phenomenon) Blake Howard that "bigglyup" is, indeed, the proper term.

Recording: Deenzi

Artist: Deenzi

Song: [excerpt from 1st piece]

Recorded at Yonge-Dundas Square (Intersection Day 2), September 1, 2018.

Deenzi - [excerpt from 1st piece]

Another interesting day in Yonge-Dundas Square for Intersection, once again excellently curated by Burn Down the Capital's Tad Michalak. Mixing in some abrasive sounds with lots of accessible experimentation, there was a pleasing range of mostly-local talent spread out through the square, animated between sets by the whispersounds of Tina Pearson's installation piece. The sun broke through a layer of clouds to start baking the zone's unsheltered denizens just as this re-emergence from Heidi Chan (flute, modular synth) and Andy Yue (synth) conjured up some froopy grooves, at some times sounding like off-kilter acid-jazz/trip-hop and at others (as heard here) like robot love ballads.

[Deenzi's Heidi Chan will be performing solo and in an improvising duo with Nic Murray at the next SynapticCircus event, Sunday, October 28th at The Tranzac.]

Concert Listings Roundup #272

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.

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Gig of the week:

The Pineapple (xLq / Heart Structure Quartet [Del Stephen/Bree Rappaport/David Parker/Jeff Sinibaldi]) / The Tranzac (Tiki Room) 2018-10-18 (Thursday) [FB event]

Expect music and multimedia experimentation at this night in The Tranzac's cozy Tiki Room. Conceived as the local stop on a mini-tour from improvising audiovisual crew Heart Structure Quartet, there'll also be something from rising performance art crew xLq plus sweet/tart/acidic sounds from The Pineapple.

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This week's noteworthy shows:

The Ford Pier Vengeance Trio (Laura Barrett) / Burdock Music Hall 2018-10-15 (Monday) [FB event]

Jim Lewis/Andrew Downing/Jean Martin / The Emmet Ray 2018-10-15 (Monday) [FB event]

Toby Driver (Clara Engel / Qarafa / Reversal) / LOLA 2018-10-16 (Tuesday – all ages!) [FB event]

Lake Visions [members of Beliefs/Chere Francoise/Fresh Snow – first show!] (Picastro [solo] / The Pinc Lincolns [solo]) / The Baby G 2018-10-16 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Lowell Whitty 4 (Jacob Gorzhaltsan Group) / Wenona Lodge 2018-10-16 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Hearts & Minds / The Rex Hotel 2018-10-16 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Yellow Tentacles [Germaine Liu/Mark Zurawinski/Kurt Newman/Allison Cameron] (Nessun Angelo che Balla? [Michelangelo Iaffaldano/Allison Cameron/D.A. Meeks]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-10-17 (Wednesday – early!) [FB event]

Mike DeiCont/Germaine Liu/Karen Ng/Daniel Pencer / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-10-17 (Wednesday) [FB event]

BEAK (Absolutely Free) / Mod Club 2018-10-17 (Wednesday) [more info]

Danceband [Paul Linklater/Dave Clark/Kevin Hearn] / The Dakota Tavern 2018-10-18 (Thursday) [FB event]

Laurence Lemieux: Love me out of it ["Set to the iconic "Frantic City" by Canadian punk band Teenage Head, Love me out of it explores Lemieux's long relationship to dance through various characters that come to life with every song. Following each performance will be a concert by a different local band."]) (feat. Pony) / Citadel + Compagnie 2018-10-18 (Thursday) [FB event]

Fucked Up / The Horseshoe Tavern 2018-10-19 (Friday) [FB event]

Audiopollination (feat. Michael Snow & Diane Roblin / Nobuo Kubota) / Array Space 2018-10-19 (Friday) [FB event]

Michael Feuerstack [Natural Weather LP release! (Isla Craig [solo]) / Burdock Music Hall 2018-10-19 (Friday) [FB event]

Laurence Lemieux: Love me out of it ["Set to the iconic "Frantic City" by Canadian punk band Teenage Head, Love me out of it explores Lemieux's long relationship to dance through various characters that come to life with every song. Following each performance will be a concert by a different local band."]) (feat. Rapport) / Citadel + Compagnie 2018-10-19 (Friday) [FB event]

Hot Garbage (Possum / Kaleidoscope Horse / Mother Tongues) / The Garrison 2018-10-19 (Friday) [FB event]

The Curse [with original vocalist Mickey Skin] (The Discarded / Chris Haight's Ad-ventures / The Screwed) / Rivoli 2018-10-20 (Saturday) [FB event]

BA Johnston (First Base / Jean Daddy) / Junction City Music Hall 2018-10-20 (Saturday) [FB event]

Nennen (Charise Aragoza / Dorothea Paas) / The White House 2018-10-20 (Saturday) [FB event]

Laurence Lemieux: Love me out of it ["Set to the iconic "Frantic City" by Canadian punk band Teenage Head, Love me out of it explores Lemieux's long relationship to dance through various characters that come to life with every song. Following each performance will be a concert by a different local band."]) (feat. Peeling) / Citadel + Compagnie 2018-10-20 (Saturday) [FB event]

CCMC with Charity Chan [launch of new CCMC residency!] / Array Space 2018-10-20 (Saturday – free!) [more info]

Diane Roblin/Brodie West/Nick Fraser / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-10-21 (Sunday – early!)

Destroyer [solo] (Andre Ethier / Sandro Perri) / The Great Hall 2018-10-21 (Sunday) [FB event]

Louis Cole (Bernice / Jake Sherman) / The Velvet Underground 2018-10-21 (Sunday) [FB event]

Somewhere There Presents (feat. Wire Circus) / The Emmet Ray 2018-10-21 (Sunday – PWYC!) [more info]

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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!

Avi Buffalo (Haunted Summer / Beams) / Monarch Tavern 2018-10-24 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Music by Harry and Furlong S1E2 (feat. Harry Vetro & Nick Donovan / UNHIP [Mike DeiCont/Andrew Furlong/Be Mcc-b]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-10-24 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Audio Bleed presents (feat. Kalte / DreamState / Hozerz) / Roland Inspiration Centre 2018-10-25 (Thursday – PWYC) [FB event]

In Store 12 (feat. Sandro Perri / Ejji Smith) / Quixotic Sounds Toronto 2018-10-26 (Friday – free!) [FB event]

Meandering Streams of Consciousness [Chris Weatherstone/Anoush Tabaei/Peter Lutek/Rod Campbell/Alinima MadanI/Avesta Nakhaei/Yui Nakurama/Cheryl Ockrant/Alex Fournier] / Gallery 345 2018-10-29 (Monday) [FB event]

Harmonic Fields #2 (feat. Naman Cale [vibraphone, electronics] / Irene Harrett [upright bass, electronics]) / Burdock Music Hall 2018-10-30 (Tuesday – early show at 6 p.m.!) [FB event]

Somewhere There Presents (feat. Emily Denison & Daniel Kruger / Eric Hofbauer / Emily Denison/Daniel Kruger/Andrew Furlong) / Array Space 2018-11-01 (Thursday) [FB event]

Jeff LaRochelle /Luan Phung/Søren Nissen/Ian Wright/Michael Davidson/Aline Homzy/Sheba Thibideau [Lenses Extend album release show!] (Sabine Ndalamba/Eric West/Phill Albert/Jeff LaRochelle) / Burdock Music Hall 2018-11-01 (Thursday) [FB event]

Sandro Perri [In Another Life LP release! (Matthew "Doc" Dunn) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2018-11-04 (Sunday) [FB event]

Julien Gasc (Marker Starling) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2018-11-06 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Riparian Acoustics presents (feat. Thin Edge New Music Collective) / Canadian Music Centre 2018-11-08 (Thursday) [FB event]

Toronto Tabla Ensemble [Bhumika CD release!] / Harbourfront Centre (Studio Theatre) 2018-11-09 (Friday) [FB event]

LeBarons [Summer Of Death record release!] (United Snakes / The Old Salts) / The Dakota Tavern 2018-11-10 (Saturday) [FB event]

Burn Down The Capital presents (feat. Charlie Looker / Tryal / Clarinet Panic) / Burdock Music Hall 2018-11-13 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Musicworks at 40 (feat. Desert Island Re-Direct [John Oswald & Sandro Perri] / Gayle Young & Phil Melanson / Bonjay) / Array Space 2018-11-15 (Thursday) [FB event]

Sahara (Mimico / Mr. Joy) / Monarch Tavern 2018-11-16 (Friday) [FB event]

Dastgah: Adam Rudolph's Go:Organic Orchestra (feat. Araz Salek/Sadaf Amini/Hamidreza Khalatbari/Jonathan Adjemian/Ernie Tollar/Aline Homzy/Nelson Moneo/Rob Clutton/Karen Ng/Emily Denison/Peter Lutek/Jay Hay/Pedram Khavarzamini/Brandon Valdivia/Nick Fraser) / The Music Gallery @ 918 Bathurst 2018-11-17 (Saturday) [FB event]

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Bandcamp corner:

• A surprise collection from The Weather Station documenting their current live lineup and setlist "live... to tape, with no overdubs or edits" just materialized on bandcamp. This is a must-grab, and you should grip it right away, as it'll only be available 'til until October 27th, when their tour ends.