Monday Roundup #15

In the absence of concert listings, my regular Monday dispatches have fallen off. After bringing some life to the blog with the "bumping into" series, I figure I should get back in the groove. I'm guessing that this will be a bit like what used to get shoved into the end of the post when I was doing listings — some bandcamp suggestions, nods to a few livestreams, and sundry community notes (email me if you have anything that needs broadcast in the latter category!). Plus maybe a look back through the MFS archives.

---

Livestream nation:

• Tonight (Monday, April 26th) Vannessa Barnier will be launching her Intricate Oscillations tape (consisting of "one-take loops, recorded non-linearly on the bass, sometimes featuring a Volca Beats synth.") with guest performances from Sen Cajlm and Del Stephen's Today Versions. (free show, register for zoom link!)

---

Bandcamp corner:

• Speaking of people I miss seeing at The Tranzac, guitarist Dan Pitt has launched Wrongs, a new album from his quintet with musical contributions from Naomi McCarroll-Butler, Patrick Smith, Alex Fournier and Nick Fraser. Great playing and some really sharp compositions here.

---

It happened this week...

• ... on April 27, 2012 at Sneaky Dee's.

Steamboat - Chains

• ...on April 27, 2014 at Oz Studios.

Clarinet Panic Deluxx - De-troit

[Do remember that you can click on the tags below to go back and find the original posts (and often, more stuff) from these artists.]

Monday Roundup #14

In the absence of concert listings, my regular Monday dispatches have fallen off. After bringing some life to the blog with the "bumping into" series, I figure I should get back in the groove. I'm guessing that this will be a bit like what used to get shoved into the end of the post when I was doing listings — some bandcamp suggestions, nods to a few livestreams, and sundry community notes (email me if you have anything that needs broadcast in the latter category!). Plus maybe a look back through the MFS archives.

---

Community notes:

• Some day we'll be able to be in close physical proximity with each other again. One thing we can do in this time of not-gathering-together is to keep thinking on how our events can be better, so a virtual panel on Thursday (April 22nd) from The Music Gallery is a great chance to reflect and listen. Entitled "Setting the Scene: The Curation of Safe Spaces & Accountability", the event is curated by Olivia Shortt, moderated by Kim Senklip-Harvey and features panelists Frances Koncan, Nikki Shaffeeullah, and Chaka V. Grier. Free stream on the MG's live page.

---

Livestream nation:

• Some can't-miss West African-via-Montréal grooves coming up Saturday (April 24th), with a livestreamed show from Coup de Cœur — a new group of Senegalese and Malian curated by Batuki Music Society featuring Sadio Sissokho (kora, djembe and vocals), Assane Seck (electric guitar), Seydina Ndiaye (vocals), Diely Mori Tounkara (kora and guitar) and Carlo Birri (bass).

---

It happened this week...

• ... on April 20, 2016 at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge.

Christine Duncan/Patrick O'Reilly/Laura Swankey - [set 2 excerpt]

• ...on April 20, 2019 at Workman Arts.

Fiver - Sick Gladiola

[Do remember that you can click on the tags below to go back and find the original posts (and often, more stuff) from these artists.]

---

Bandcamp corner:

• Anyone looking for some Deep Listening should check out this collection of improvised cello loop experiments from Anne Bourne, offering up some "calm ambience for you / raw drone wave patterns / sonics in the dimensions of the heart."

Monday Roundup #13

In the absence of concert listings, my regular Monday dispatches have fallen off. After bringing some life to the blog with the "bumping into" series, I figure I should get back in the groove. I'm guessing that this will be a bit like what used to get shoved into the end of the post when I was doing listings — some bandcamp suggestions, nods to a few livestreams, and sundry community notes (email me if you have anything that needs broadcast in the latter category!). Plus maybe a look back through the MFS archives.

---

Video Hits:

• In lieu of a release show for the new Lina Allemano Four album Vegetables (now on Bandcamp!) the group has posted some live-in-studio videos on the Lumo Records youtube page:

---

Livestream nation:

• Lots of cool community events free and online this week! Audiopollination returns on Wednesday (April 14th) with sets from Heather Saumer and Del Stephen.

• On Friday (April 16th) Thin Edge New Music Collective begins their 10th anniversary season with Dark Flower, named in honour of Linda Catlin Smith's newest piano quartet which will be the night's centrepiece. Also works by Jonathan Bailey Holland, Sarah Hennies, and Alex Jang.

• Also on Friday, MAW Vocal Arts is offering "an immersive experience of voice in all its permutations" with a two-part World Voice Day event. In the afternoon set you can "learn about the care of trans* voice affirmation with R.J. Risueño, take a voice bath with Odeya Nini, listen to Jewish songs of atonement channeled through Daniela Gesundheit, and feel the uniquely dynamic vocal expressions of Honey Novick, and Jasmine Pope" and later in the evening "practice trauma-informed voice care with Megan Durham, sing some low key karaoke with Devon Sproule, and feel the unique vocal expressions of Fairy J, Deep Fake Georgia, and New Chance."

---

Bandcamp corner:

• Just a quick note here that estimable Montreal instrumentalists Torngat have shown up on bandcamp, giving hope their tunes won't be lost in the myspace-era digital debris.

---

It happened this week...

• ...on April 17, 2014 at Lula Lounge (Bridges #4).

Tanya Tagaq - Colonizer

• ... on April 17, 2015 at The Horseshoe Tavern.

PANIC - Tear Off Your Flesh

[Do remember that you can click on the tags below to go back and find the original posts (and often, more stuff) from these artists.]

Monday Roundup #12

In the absence of concert listings, my regular Monday dispatches have fallen off. After bringing some life to the blog with the "bumping into" series, I figure I should get back in the groove. I'm guessing that this will be a bit like what used to get shoved into the end of the post when I was doing listings — some bandcamp suggestions, nods to a few livestreams, and sundry community notes (email me if you have anything that needs broadcast in the latter category!). Plus maybe a look back through the MFS archives.

---

Livestream nation:

• The postponed Women From Space Festival arrives in our orbit this weekend (April 9th to 11th), so take some time to discover some adventurous sounds, either flat on your screen or in your hologram viewer.

---

Requiem for a CD store:

• Sadness over the weekend with the arrival of news of Soundscapes' imminent closing. The store was hugely important to me, a nexus of musical community that helped connect a lot of dots in the time when I was just starting to diligently pay attention to interesting local sounds. The sort of store you'd duck into if you were walking by, even if just to say hello to whoever was working behind the counter. There are already some more expressive remembrances appearing than I could muster, so I'm just going to cast my mind back to some of the many in-store performances I remember seeing there and hope that the future-times will still have some sort of discovery spaces like this.

---

Video Hits:

• Dany Laj took to the feeds this weekend with a "virtual tour", revisiting old friends and giving a sobering reminder of the costs of a loss of a year's career opportunities for touring musicians. Here's a perfectly-charming video previewing Dany Laj & The Looks' forthcoming album — hopefully these rock'n'roll road warriors will be able to get back in front of some live audiences after it arrives.

---

Bandcamp corner:

• I sure miss getting to witness seeing Colin Fisher play. The liquid dexterousness that he deploys on this album certainly doesn't surprise, but the careful settings provided by producer Jeremy Greenspan give the sounds an impressively-considered situatedness.

• Speaking of home-bound road-warriors, Beams won't be able to take this to their hard-won, far-flung friends just yet, but that does give some extra time to soak in the fine sonic details of this album, pushing the band further along their trajectory from intimate folksters to gliding Chicago-style post-rockers.