Monday Roundup #37

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.

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Community notes:

• In case you missed it, here's a peek inside the rebuilt Silver Dollar Room at College and Spadina, which may cause feelings of dislocation and/or ambiguity in anyone who spent some time there soaking in the rock'n'roll.

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Livestream nation:

• This month's Exit Points (Thursday, September 30) is a special collaboration with the Society for Literature, Science, and the Arts; Sensorium Centre for Digital Arts and Technology; and the School for Arts, Media, Performance, and Design and will feature two improvising electroacoustic ensembles: Brigitte Bardon't/Kavi/thispatcher plus Esin Gunduz/Megan Kyle/Ninja Riot.

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Concert listings:

• Holy Oak Family Singers + Surprise Guest / Island Cafe 2021-09-30 (Thursday). $pwyc. [FB event]

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Bandcamp corner:

• It's Bandcamp Friday again this week! Stock up on music for your fall walks + support the artists you dig! Here's a couple things I'll be buying/pre-ordering:

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It happened this week...

• ...on September 27, 2014 at June Records (Cassette Store Day).

Pneuma Ensemble - Stella Splendens

• ...on October 2, 2015 at the Jam Factory (Feast in the East 53).

Jerusalem in My Heart - 7ebr El 3oyoun

[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 #36

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.

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Video hits:

• Keep and eye out here on Tuesday (the International Day of Peace and the fall equinox) for a link to the premiere of a new collaboration between Ella Morton (photography/film), Anna Höstman (composition) and Cheryl Duvall (piano) pairing Moron's imagery with the composition ‘Late Winter’ (from Höstman and Duvall's Harbour album).

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Concert listings:

• Long Winter 10th Anniversary Kick-Off: Together Apart International DIY Festival (feat. Fiver/LAL/Status/Non-Status [Friday]; Obuxum/Absolutely Free/Zones [Saturday]) / The Garrison's rooftop (and parking lot across the street) 2021-09-24 & 25 (Friday–Saturday). $15 advance (reserved)/PWYC at the door. [FB event]
  After a season of "Long Winter TV", LW is easing back into IRL events, starting with these two nights inventively distancing crowds outside on Dundas. (Keep an eye out for any updates to the safety protocols at LW's site.)

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It happened this week...

• ...on September 24, 2012 at The Shop under Parts & Labour.

Sun Araw - Born Under Punches

• ...on September 22, 2013 at Christie Pits (Bloor Ossington Folk Festival).

Beams - White Belly

[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 #35

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.

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Community notes:

• Heading into fall, here's a nice roundup from Rich Trapunski on the outlook for events in the next couple months.

• By the way, did you happen to notice that I posted my first live recording in nearly eighteen months yesterday?

• And in the department of #weloveitwhenourfriendsbecomesuccessful, what a delight to see this profile of Brandon Valdivia previewing the forthcoming Mas Aya album in a little-known newspaper called the New York Times.

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Video hits:

• This Wes Anderson-esque video (matching group coveralls!?) gives us a peak ahead at Charlotte Cornfield's forthcoming Highs in the Minuses:

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Bandcamp corner:

• Rick White's bandcamp page continues to be a sterling mix of new material and archive digs, and this new one album is a sweet addition. More lush than you might guess from its solo, home-recorded description, this is mostly filled with short'n'sweet gently-psychedelic bursts — but the extended coda of closer "Where It's Fine" sticks around and rocks out in a most satisfying manner as well.

• Heidi Chan's Bachelard project has been releasing a steady stream of music during pandemic times, often in the form of EP's and singles that don't stick around any longer than necessary to explore a modular synth patch or other sonic idea — and there's an admirably minimal (or ascetic?) principal in place for this pairing of tracks:

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It happened this week...

• ...on September 17, 2010 at The Piston (The Pigeon EP release show).

Planet Creature - Ramona

• ...on September 16, 2011 at The Horseshoe Tavern.

Andre Ethier - Pride of Egypt

[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.]

Recording: Nidus

Artist: Nidus

Song: the gauzy meshwork of an invisible thought [excerpt]

Recorded at Cedarvale Ravine, September 11, 2021.

Nidus - the gauzy meshwork of an invisible thought [excerpt]

Wow. So it's been, uh, 515 days since I've posted a recording, so hopefully I remember how this-all works. Given everything we've learned in the past year-and-a-half, I'm pretty sure it'd be premature to evince any hearty sort of "we're back, baby!" sentiments — I feel like things will remain somewhat trepidacious for the next while. I'm still pretty unsure with gathering indoors in any sort of numbers, but we'll see how things develop in the next month or so. Stay tuned, is what I'm saying — presumably the next field recording will come sooner than this one.

Having reconnoitred an off-the-path clearing that had been turned into an informal zone filled with handcrafted wood sculptures/structures, Nidus invited some friends out for a safely-distanced Saturday drift. These sonic sorcerers (Marc Couroux, Jason Doell and Matthew Ramolo) are known for their durational explorations, so setting aside a couple hours to timestretch and agitate the soundfield felt like a reasonable return to action. Sounded nice against the fading sunlight, and even with a slightly-accelerated wrap-up this felt like a cozy return to drifting inaction.

I brought along my toy camera and gathered some footage, so here's some different sounds you can absorb in video format:

Monday Roundup #34

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.

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Video Hits:

• Here's little taste from Hot Garbage's upcoming debut full-length (out October 29th) — if I label this as a "sleazy, murky throb", do understand I mean that in the most complementary way.

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Livestream nation:

• This Native North America/@2RiversRemix Virtual Feast is going down tonight (Monday, September 6th), and has some heavy hitters, including Duke Redbird, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Leland Bell, Vern Cheechoo, Willie Thrasher & Linda Saddleback, Willy Mitchell and The Try Umphs.

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Concert listings:

• NIDUS: the gauzy meshwork of an invisible thought / Cedarvale Park 2021-09-11 (Saturday, 7-9 p.m.). $free. [FB event]

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It happened this week...

• A formative event for me as a show-goer and show-documenter, let's check out a few samples from Owen Pallett's 30th Birthday Party, held on the 2009 Labour Day weekend at Lula Lounge. A remarkable gesture from an artist who had "made it", this day-long event was a celebration of local micro-histories, bringing together artists that had inspired and shared stages with him. As a time capsule of a then-just-passed moment, it's the sort of thing we definitely need more of. (You can read my — literally — exhaustive notes from the day in three parts here, here and here.)

Electric Canaille Trio - Vincent Massey

Alex Lukashevsky - Horsetail Feather

Diamond Rings - Something Else

[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.]