Recording: The Ryan Driver Quintet

Artist: The Ryan Driver Quintet

Song: (How Little It Matters) How Little We Know [composers: Carolyn Leigh/Phillip Springer]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), December 30, 2022.

The Ryan Driver Quintet - (How Little It Matters) How Little We Know

A pretty good way to close out a year's show-going by spending an evening with one of the city's great bands — Ryan Driver's standards combo here in quintet mode, sans vibes for the night (and with Josh Cole effortlessly sitting in on bass). Featuring the customary languid drift and wobbly excursions across a couple sets, this covered a lot of the band's usual territory, ranging from "You'll Never Know" to "I Know Why".

You can check out a few more songs over on youtube:

[Tania Gill will be sitting int for Ryan Driver at the group's next appearance, Friday, January 27th at The Tranzac.]

Recording: Aurochs with special guest Kurt Newman

Artist: Aurochs with special guest Kurt Newman

Song: [2nd set excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), December 30, 2022.

Aurochs with special guest Kurt Newman - [2nd set excerpt]

[before start of set]

Kurt Newman: Anything I should know?

Pete Johnston: We don't play very much... also, we're not a rhythm section.

Been a fair while since I'd caught up with Aurochs, in fact not at all since their significant shift earlier this year, which saw co-founder/pianist Ali Berkok depart from regular duties with the group on moving out of town. The remaining members (Pete Johnston, bass; Jake Oelrichs, percussion; and Mike Smith, processing) have continued on, with their monthly residency slots now featuring a rotating cast of guest performers.

Kurt Newman brought out his pedal steel for this instalment, gliding along for a couple sets and giving Smith an output so he could add some extra manipulations and spacializations to his sounds. To connect with the pedal steel's vibe, Johnston swapped double bass for bass VI, so there were some moments of minimal Nashville (though not quite Nashville Minimalist) sounds. Things actually got a little frisky — if not a gallop then nudging into a drunken waltz, but the back half of both sets found the musicians zoned in to some really pleasing flows.

Speaking of which, here's some sounds/visuals from the second half of the first set:

Recording: A Josh Cole Quartet

Artist: A Josh Cole Quartet

Songs: [two excerpts]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Josh Cole presents), December 21, 2022.

A Josh Cole Quartet - [2nd set, 1st piece excerpt]

A Josh Cole Quartet - [2nd set, 2nd piece]

Another of those indefinite-article groupings that occasionally pop up at Josh Cole's residency shows, this combo offered both a chance to catch trumpeter Lina Allemano (back once more from Berlin) as well as Rob Clutton joining in for a rare double-double bass outing. Percussionist Blake Howard rounded things out in this celebration of the year's shortest day (in fact, Howard was doubly-celebrating, arriving from opening with Eucalyptus at Jennifer Castle's solstice celebration).

You can check out some footage from the first set here:

[Josh Cole will be holding the fort at Colin Fisher's regular Tranzac night on Friday (January 13th) with the return of another of his irregular quartets featuring Brodie West, Phil Melanson and Andrew Zukerman.]

Recording: Nidus

Artist: Nidus

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Living Room), December 20, 2022.

Nidus - [excerpt]

Interested, as always, in slow-moving continuous sonic expansion, Nidus settled down amongst the strings of christmas lights to create some sonic zones, wheezes and microtonal lurches keeping things just across the border of the uncanny valley.

Speaking of continuous expansion, you can catch some video from this set over on youtube:

Recording: Wenderly Park

Artist: Wenderly Park

Song: [last section]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Living Room), December 20, 2022.

Wenderly Park - [last section]

Settling into the darkest part of the year, Wenderly Park brought some new drone zones, adding e-bow and theremin to its oscillating bricabrac.

You can catch some video from this set over on youtube:

Recording: The Electronoise Orchestra

Artist: The Electronoise Orchestra + Mike Hansen & Heraclitus Akimbo + Connor Bennett & William Davison

Songs: [two group excerpts] + [two duo excerpts]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (SynCirSundays), December 11, 2022.

The Electronoise Orchestra - [set 2, excerpt 1]

The Electronoise Orchestra - [set 2, excerpt 2]

Mike Hansen & Heraclitus Akimbo - [excerpt]

Connor Bennett & William Davison - [excerpt]

Nilan Perera curated this assembly of electroacoustic soundmakers, each with some non-standard instrumentations, including: Mike Hansen with his turntables; Connor Bennet with his soprano sax and some hidden gear in his briefcase (which might be rendered more comprehensible by pondering on this); William Davison's variety of amplied objects; and Heralitus Akimbo with ukulele, Sound Urchin, Speak & Spell and sundry pedals. Between two quartet encounters, exploring a variety of textures, the group also bifurcated for some smaller-scale tête-à-têtes.

With a new cycle of residencies beginning, the Synaptic Circus will not be at the Tranzac this Sunday, but keep an eye out for the next thing from one of the busiest minds in Toronto's creative music ferment. And kudos to Nilan Perera for all the cool sht that came together under his watchful eye.

They don't seem to be embeddable, but there is some sweet video of the whole night available: the first quartet set, the duos, and the second quartet set.

[still taken from the video linked above]

Recording: Mad's Happy Music

Artist: Mad's Happy Music

Songs: Plan D + Don't Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder) [Beach Boys cover]

Recorded at Wenona Lodge (Track Could Bend #74), December 6, 2022.

Mad's Happy Music - Plan D

Mad's Happy Music - Don't Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder)

I've seen trumpeter Madeleine Ertel enlisted for quite a few noteworthy local ensembles and was pleasantly surprised to see her also enjoying a sideline in piano pop, so when offered a chance to bring something to TCB I was happy to see her vision combining those threads. Emerging as something of a chamber pop ensemble, this group (with Aline Homzy on violin, Beth Silver on cello, and Alexa Belgrave on keys) played some of Ertel's instumental pieces, but also incorporated her singing as well. Covering Brian Wilson and Antônio Carlos Jobim gives a sense of her ambitions, and her arrangements of self-penned material like "Giving Up Again", which offered some Bacharach vibes, shows she's willing to take on the challenge. Hopefully we'll get more chances to hear further developments in this vein.

You an check out some video from this set over on the TCB youtube playlist:

[Track Could Bend is back at Wenona tonight (January 3rd) with music from Alex Ven's Ambient Works (featuring Andrew Noseworthy/Alex Ven/Yang Chen/Zain Solinski/Adrian Irvine) and Chapped Lips (Annie Elgie/Patrick O'Reilly/PT Sandberg)]

Recording: Ecotone

Artist: Ecotone

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Wenona Lodge (Track Could Bend #74), December 6, 2022.

Ecotone - [excerpt]

Soren Brothers (who runs the fab ur audio visual label) and and Guelph's M. Mucci have been off-and-on collaborators for quite some time, as evidenced by the description on their joint tape as Ecotone that the pieces were crafted over a six-year period dating back to 2016. Guitar ambience accented by microloop textures, there's a sense of lansdcape in their work, and of changes taking place on a geologic timescale. Even as some fussy cables forced Mucci to re-wire and strip back on the spot, this set found space to drift, like smoke rising toward a full moon in the sky.

You an check out some video from this set over on the TCB youtube playlist:

[Track Could Bend is back at Wenona tonight (January 3rd) with music from Alex Ven's Ambient Works (featuring Andrew Noseworthy/Alex Ven/Yang Chen/Zain Solinski/Adrian Irvine) and Chapped Lips (Annie Elgie/Patrick O'Reilly/PT Sandberg)]

2022 Gig List

Cosmic Country for Communists (feat. Country Phasers / Nick Flanagan) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-03-10 (Thursday)

Audiopollination (feat. Mickle32/Thispatcher / Paul Newman/Sarah Albu/Elizabeth Lima / KARLA) / Array Space 2022-03-11 (Friday)

Sweater Vest Bauble Noggin / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-03-12 (Saturday)

Kind Mind / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-03-16 (Wednesday)

Music by Harry and Furlong (feat. Andrew Furlong/Chris Pruden/Yang Chen / Colin Fisher / Fahmid Nibesh) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-03-23 (Wednesday)

Small Chaos / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-03-24 (Thursday)

Del Stephen & Friends: "a song, a sound, a birthday" (feat. Del Stephen / Del Stephen & Yunjin Claire Lee / Liz Lima/Jeff Sinibaldi/Andrew Finlay Stewart/ Del Stephen/Yunjin Claire Lee/Liz Lima/Jeff Sinibaldi/Andrew Finlay Stewart/Joe Strutt) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-03-30 (Wednesday)

Ayal Senior's Monthly (feat. Ayal Senior / Kurt Newman & Karsten Stryker / Living Water Assembly) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-04-10 (Sunday)

SynCirSundays (feat. William Davison/Mike Hansen/Alex Fournier / Alex Fournier) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-04-10 (Sunday)

Never Was / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-04-13 (Wednesday)

A Josh Cole Quintet [Jim Lewis/Ryan Driver/Rob Clutton/Josh Cole/Blake Howard] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-04-20 (Wednesday)

Eldritch Priest/Ryan Driver/Rob Clutton / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-04-22 (Friday)

Joe's birthday show! (feat. Paul Newman & Heraclitus Akimbo / Wenderly Park) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-04-25 (Monday)

Women From Space Festival 2022 (feat. Lisa Conway/Emma Ongman / Neema Bickersteth/Jessica McMann/Dot Starkey / Sara Constant / Lori Freedman/Scott Thomson) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2022-04-29 (Friday)

Women From Space Festival 2022 (feat. Aisha Sasha John/Brenda Joy Lem / Kayla Milmine/Geordie Haley/Peter Morin / Ronley Teper & The Lipliners / TUSH) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2022-04-30 (Saturday)

Women From Space Festival 2022 (feat. Kathryn Merriam/Isabelle Clermont/Elysha Vorstenbosch / Marilyn Lerner / PIQSIQ / Sook-Yin Lee) / 918 Bathurst 2022-05-01 (Sunday)

Ayal Senior presents (feat. Ayal Senior / Del Stephen / Aaron Knight / Nick Flanagan) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-05-08 (Sunday)

Mechanical Forest Sound@SynCirSundays (feat. David Parker / LordAUK) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-05-08 (Sunday)

Cosmic Country and Comedy for Communists (feat. Country Phasers / Nick Flanagan / Nour Hadidi) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-05-12 (Thursday)

TONE Presents (feat. LUGE / CLJ [Chris Pitsiokos/Luke Stewart//Jason Nazary] / Colin Fisher Trio) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-05-13 (Friday)

Cosmic Homeostasis XV / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-05-29 (Sunday)

TONE Festival (feat. Kee Avil / KARLA / Output 1:1:1) / Cinecycle 2022-06-10 (Friday)

Ayal Senior presents (feat. Ayal Senior & Kurt Newman / Jonathan Adjemian / Nick Flanagan) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-06-12 (Sunday)

SynCirSundays (feat. Luan Phung/Julian Anderson Bowes/Ian Wright / Nilan Perera/Alex Fournier/Rick Sacks) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-06-12 (Sunday)

Most Popular Mic Touching Sounds (feat. François Houle/Joe Sorbara/Tania Gill/Naomi McCarrol-Butler) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-06-14 (Tuesday)

Allison Cameron / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-06-15 (Wednesday)

Titus Abbott/Josh Cole/Nick Fraser/Marilyn Lerner / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-06-15 (Wednesday)

TONE Festival (feat. Sick Boss with Peggy Lee, JP Carter and Josh Zubot / members of Sick Boss with Tania Gill/Cheldon Patterson/Samuel Hall) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-06-16 (Thursday)

Ornate Presents: The Remembrancer album release show (feat. Patrick O'Reilly/Andrew Downing/Nick Fraser) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-06-21 (Tuesday)

Reverb (feat. Thin Edge New Music Collective) / 918 Bathurst 2022-06-23 (Thursday)

TONE Festival (feat. Gord Grdina's Nomad Trio / Brodie West Quintet / BLOOP) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2022-06-24 (Friday)

And With: a sound walk as dreamed up by Germaine Liu (feat. The Imaginary Percussion Ensemble & The Element Choir) / The Bentway 2022-06-25 (Saturday)

TONE Festival/The Music Gallery’s Departures Series (feat. Mary Halvorson's Code Girl / Bernice) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2022-06-26 (Sunday)

Naomi McCarroll-Butler: CHRYSALIS (feat. Anh Phung/Kae Murphy/Nebyu Yohannes/Colin Fisher/Naomi McCarroll-Butler/Aysel Taghi-Zada/Kel Mansaray/Amahl Arulanandam/Adrian Russouw/Roa Lee/Yang Chen/Racha Moukalled/Stefan Hegerat) / Toronto Jazz Festival, [corporate brand name] Main Stage - [corporate brand name] Grove 2022-07-02 (Saturday)

TONE Festival (feat. FIRE! / Völur / Brian Ruryk) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2022-07-03 (Sunday)

Track Could Bend #69 (feat. evelyn charlotte joe + friends / Bea Labikova & Vennie Tu) / Wenona Lodge 2022-07-05 (Tuesday)

Brittany Pitt & Dan Pitt (Madelein Ertel & Abbey Ertel) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-07-12 (Tuesday – early!)

Most Popular Mic Touching Sounds (feat. Prince Nifty with Colin Fisher) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-07-12 (Tuesday)

Departures Series (feat. Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp / Sam Shalabi) / The Music Gallery 2022-07-15 (Friday)

Lina Allemano/Dan Peter Sundland/Phil Malanson / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-07-19 (Tuesday)

Allison Cameron presents (feat. Wenderly Park) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-07-20 (Wednesday)

A Josh Cole Quartet [Brodie West/Andrew Zukerman/Phil Melanson/Josh Cole] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-07-20 (Wednesday)

Ornate Presents: Dark Matter Tapes double release celebration (feat. Michael Lynn / Kayla Milmine) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-07-22 (Friday)

Cots (Ways Lain) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-07-24 (Sunday)

Joyful Joyful (Joni Void / Hsien) / 918 Bathurst 2022-07-26 (Tuesday)

Mark Segger/Aretha Tillotson/Karen Ng / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-07-31 (Sunday)

Cosmic Homeostasis XVI / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-07-31 (Sunday)

Track Could Bend #70 (feat. Dan Pitt / Matt Nish-Lapidus) / Wenona Lodge 2022-08-02 (Tuesday)

Birthday Bash! (feat. Greydini / Man Made Hill / Bbomit / Sourpussy / Banananananana) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2022-08-06 (Saturday)

Musica Universalis (feat. Colin Fisher Quartet [Mark Hundevad/Naomi McCarroll-Butler/Andrew Furlong/Colin Fisher]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-08-12 (Friday)

Toronto Improvisor's Orchestra / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-08-14 (Sunday)

Ayal Senior and Friends (feat. Kurt Newman / Nick Flanagan / bUDi) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-08-14 (Sunday)

Audiopollination presents Sandy Ewen (feat. Wenderly Park / Sandy Ewen/Kurt Newman/Kieran Maraj / Sandy Ewen/Allison Cameron) / Array Space 2022-08-14 (Sunday)

Dark Matter presents (feat. Naomi McCarroll-Butler / Wenderly Park) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-08-23 (Tuesday)

Music By Harry and Furlong (feat. Kurt Newman/Karen Ng/Andrew Furlong/Mark Hundevad) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-08-24 (Wednesday)

Karen Ng presents / (feat. Double Double Teams / Jeremy Young / Colin Fisher) / 2022-08-11 (Thursday)

The Ryan Driver Sextet / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-08-26 (Friday)

Del Stephen's New Moon Unit (The Northern Arm) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-08-27 (Saturday)

Estonian Music Week presents (feat. Kristjan Kannukene / Christine Duncan & Patrick O'Reilly / Fuzzy Nibesh/Bea Labikova/Heraclitus Akimbo) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-08-31 (Wednesday)

Intersection Festival: A More Beautiful Journey Launch Event (feat. Nick Storring & Allison Cameron / Debashis Sinha / Brodie West/Naomi McCarroll-Butler/Patrick O'Reilly / Kind Mind / Felipe Sena) / Humber Loop 2022-09-01 (Thursday)

Intersection Festival: Marathon Concert and Marketplace Event (feat. The Dead Are Those Who Have Died / Kristina Guison / Nihilist Spasm Band / Marc Edwards & Colin Fisher / Joyfultalk / BPD Trio [Steve Baczkowski/Ravi Padmanabha/Brian DeJesus] / Joseph Shabason / Labyrinth Ensemble) / Yonge-Dundas Square 2022-09-03 (Saturday)

Track Could Bend #71 (feat. Jelly Ear / Tania Gill & Victor Bateman) / Wenona Lodge 2022-09-06 (Tuesday)

Ghostlight / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-09-07 (Wednesday)

Cosmic Country For Communists (feat. Janet MacPherson/Kurt Newman/Blake Howard/Chris Adriaanse / Nick Flanagan / Cassie Cao) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-09-08 (Thursday)

Musica Universalis (feat. Colin Fisher/Mike Gennaro / Patrick Smith/Andrew Furlong) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-09-09 (Friday)

Ayal Senior presents (feat. Ayal Senior & Kurt Newman / The Sympathetic String Band / Nick Flanagan / Floatation Device) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-09-11 (Sunday)

Richard Laviolette (Rich Burnett) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-09-11 (Sunday)

SynCirSundays (feat. Alex Fournier/Nilan Perera/Rick Sacks / Robin Buckley/Jay Hay/Alex Fournier/Nilan Perera) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-09-11 (Sunday)

Icterus / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-09-11 (Sunday)

Josh Cole presents (feat. Dun-Dun Band) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-09-21 (Wednesday)

Karen Ng Presents (feat. LCON / Isla Craig) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-09-22 (Thursday)

FutureStops Festival (feat. Charlemagne Palestine / Matthew Larkin / Sarah Davachi) / Metropolitan United Church 2021-10-01 (Saturday)

Track Could Bend #72 (feat. Kayla Milmine/Mike Gennaro / Stranger Still / Jonas Olesen) / Wenona Lodge 2022-10-04 (Tuesday)

Toronto Improvisor's Orchestra / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-10-09 (Sunday)

Ayal Senior's monthly (feat. Country Phasers / Nick Flanagan / Electroacoustic Autumn Ensemble) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-10-09 (Sunday)

SynCirSundays (feat. Mike Hansen/Gary Barwin/Connor Bennett/Chris Palmer / Rob Clutton & Nilan Perera) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-10-09 (Sunday)

Holy Oak Family Singers (Isla Craig / Eliza Neimi) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-10-09 (Sunday)

PiNG POP-UP PiCNiC 3 (feat. synþ / Heraclitus Akimbo) / Earlscourt Park 2022-10-23 (Sunday)

Karen Ng Presents: Many People (feat. Mark Ballyk/Ted Crosby/Madeleine Ertel/Colin Fisher/Andrew Furlong/Naomi McCarroll-Butler/Kaelin Murphy/Karen Ng/Jay Hay) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-10-27 (Thursday)

Cosmic Homeostasis XVII / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-11-30 (Sunday)

Track Could Bend #73: Splendid Industries Presents (feat. Erin Corbett/Michael Palumbo/Sinéad Bermingham/Tyson Headon/Paul Geldart/Curtis Whittaker) / Wenona Lodge 2022-11-01 (Tuesday)

Cosmic Country for Communists (feat. WaPaMaKu / Sima Sepehri) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-11-10 (Thursday)

Joy Guidry (Chivengi) / The Music Gallery 2021-11-12 (Saturday)

Ayal Senior & Friends (feat. Ayal Senior/Kurt Newman/Andrew Furlong / NEWOLD GROUP / Nick Flanagan) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-11-13 (Sunday)

SynCirSundays (feat. Jeff Burke/Mira Martin-Gray/Ben Grossman/ Tilman Lewis/Nilan Perera/Rick Sacks) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-11-13 (Sunday)

Today Versions presents: Last Place (feat. Del Stephen / Defne / Garden of Magic / Del Stephen & The Heart Loft Group) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-11-13 (Sunday)

Isla Craig (Sarah Good & The Bads) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2022-11-15 (Tuesday)

Audiopollination (feat. Isabelle Clermont/mkl32/Bea Labikova / Mira-Martin Gray/Fahmid Nibesh/Bea Labikova / Raphael Roter/Del Stephen/Piers Oolvai / Heraclitus Akimbo/William Davison/Daria Morgacheva / Victor O and friends) / Array Space 2021-11-25 (Friday)

Nick Fraser Presents (feat. Imaginary Brass Band) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-11-29 (Tuesday)

Audiopollination 10th Anniversary Bash (feat. Jessica Houghton/Kathryn Merriam / Bob Vespaziani/Brian Abbott / Diane Roblin/Ryan Kinney/James Erickson / Sarah Peebles/David Story/Saba Saneinejad / Killer Quartet / Double Group Continuous Improvisation / Cosmic Homeostasis) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-12-04 (Sunday)

Track Could Bend #74 (feat. Mad's Happy Music / Ecotone) / Wenona Lodge 2021-12-06 (Tuesday)

DMA Recital: Patrick O'Reilly (feat. Patrick O'Reilly/Annie Elgie/Laura Swankey/Madeleine Ertel/Bea Labikova/Mira Martin‐Gray/Joe Strutt/Andrew Furlong/Joe Sorbara) / Walter Hall 2022-12-08 (Thursday)

SynCirSundays (feat. The Electronoise Orchestra [Connor Bennett/William Davison/Mike Hansen/Heraclitus Akimbo]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-12-11 (Sunday)

Nidus (Wenderly Park) / The Tranzac (Living Room) 2022-12-20 (Tuesday)

A Josh Cole Quartet [Lina Allemano/Rob Clutton/Josh Cole/Blake Howard] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-12-21 (Wednesday)

Aurochs with special guest Kurt Newman / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-12-30 (Friday)

The Ryan Driver Quintet / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-12-30 (Friday)

Recording: Cosmic Homeostasis

Artist: Cosmic Homeostasis

Song: Ode to Audiopollination [excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Audiopollination 10th Anniversary Bash: Double Group Continuous Improvisation), December 4, 2022.

Cosmic Homeostasis - Ode to Audiopollination [excerpt]

A round number anniversary is always worth celebrating, and more so for this labour of love devoted to creative expression and community building. Kudos to Mike Lynn for putting in the work to keep Audiopollination going for a decade — definitely worth celebrating with a slice of pie and a crowded room in the Southern Cross.

After the "regular" Audiopollination sets, Lynn turned the remainder of the afternoon over to collaborators exploring parallel paths in community cacophony, the day closing with an all-in ensemble version of Cosmic Homeostasis. The group, which aspires to build a shared zone for listening and droning, was open to anyone in the room and ended up with nearly thirty people weaving in some sounds to create a three-dimensional drift. This recording, with mics to both sides of the room, still only manages to capture a fraction of the environment. To give a sense of the range of ingredients in this sonic stew, consider this list of participants and their implements:

• Christina Bowie - harmonica
• Will Grello - banjo
• Lorne Gould - soprano sax
• Suzanne Farkas - flute + voice
• Saba Saneijad - flute
• Sable Peters - guquin
• Rob Cruickshank - electronics
• Sophie Jaworski - singing bowls, rain stick
• Yasmine El-M - tambourine, thunder
• Marilyn Yogarajah - trumpet, singing bowl
• Roshanak Ash - singing bowls
• Dame Cook - electronics/noise
• Victor O - triangle + delay pedal
• Tyson Headon - bass
• Emjay Wright - cymbals + objects
• James Bailey - The Crutch
• Hilary Martin - acoustic guitar
• Mike Moufette - bass + birds
• Owen Kurtz - tapes + contact mic
• Connor Kurtz - empty cassette player
• David Parker - slide guitar
• Sarah Peebles - shō + mixing bowl with silver candy balls + dan moi
• Del Stephen - piano
• Andrew Finlay-Stewart - violin + kalimba
• Al Watson - folk rockabilly
• Patrick O'Reilly - Game Boy
• Heraclitus Akimbo - electronics

[Cosmic Homeostasis will return to the Southern Cross in its slightly more streamlined format on Sunday, January 29th.]

Recording: Double Group Continuous Improvisation

Artist: styrofoamNosebleedPrincess/Mira Martin-Gray/David Parker/Andrew Finlay Stewart + Del Stephen/Patrick O'Reilly/James Bailey/Tyson Headon

Songs: [two excerpts]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Audiopollination 10th Anniversary Bash: Double Group Continuous Improvisation), December 4, 2022.

styrofoamNosebleedPrincess/Mira Martin-Gray/David Parker/Andrew Finlay Stewart - [first group excerpt]

Del Stephen/Patrick O'Reilly/James Bailey/Tyson Headon - [second group excerpt]

A round number anniversary is always worth celebrating, and more so for this labour of love devoted to creative expression and community building. Kudos to Mike Lynn for putting in the work to keep Audiopollination going for a decade — definitely worth celebrating with a slice of pie and a crowded room in the Southern Cross.

After the "regular" Audiopollination sets, Lynn turned the remainder of the afternoon over to collaborators exploring parallel paths in community cacophony. This portion brought back a concept that Del Stephen has been deploying [del-ploying?] and tweaking for a while now, under a couple different names: basically inviting a large group of musicians, and then making a random draw to sort them into small ensembles — in this case, eight musicians playing as two quartets. The "continuous" element came in the transition when the players picked their moments one-by-one to depart/enter the stage at the halfway mark. The first group here (styrofoamNosebleedPrincess, amplified objects; Mira Martin-Gray, guitar; David Parker, guitar; Andrew Finlay Stewart, violin) explored some aggressive jangling while the second (Del Stephen, octapad; Patrick O'Reilly, Game Boy and pedals; James Bailey, trumpet and crutch; Tyson Headon, bass) casually backed into a sort of bitcrushed Bitches Brew vibe.

You can check out some footage from this set over on the Audiopollination youtube channel:

Recording: Killer Quartet

Artist: Killer Quartet

Song: [excerpt from an improvisation]

Recorded December 4, 2022 at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Audiopollination 10th Anniversary Bash).

Killer Quartet - [excerpt]

A round number anniversary is always worth celebrating, and more so for this labour of love devoted to creative expression and community building. Kudos to Mike Lynn for putting in the work to keep Audiopollination going for a decade — definitely worth celebrating with a slice of pie and a crowded room in the Southern Cross.

Lynn closed out the first part of the afternoon with this group that saw him joined by Audiopollination Guelph founder Emjay Wright (on drumkit) as well as Kai Grant (vocalisations) and Erin Corbett (synth), exploring dark alleys and uncertain emotional terrain.

You can check out some footage from this set over on the Audiopollination youtube channel:

[Audiopollination is back at Array Space on Friday, January 13th with sets by Mike Barber/Daisy Betlej/Tegan Dietsch / Kousha Nakhaei/Owen Kurtz / Jamie Eriksen/Adrian Russouw/Bri Clarke and Kimberly Ivany/Katheryn Merriam.]

Recording: Peebles/Story/Saneinejad

Artist: Sarah Peebles/David Story/Saba Saneinejad

Song: [excerpt from an improvisation]

Recorded December 4, 2022 at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Audiopollination 10th Anniversary Bash).

Sarah Peebles/David Story/Saba Saneinejad - [excerpt]

A round number anniversary is always worth celebrating, and more so for this labour of love devoted to creative expression and community building. Kudos to Mike Lynn for putting in the work to keep Audiopollination going for a decade — definitely worth celebrating with a slice of pie and a crowded room in the Southern Cross.

David Story (keyb) and Saba Saneinejad (flute) provided the vibes here, while Sarah Peebles first ran interference on a resonator bowl before gliding in on shō.

You can check out some footage from this set over on the Audiopollination youtube channel:

[Audiopollination is back at Array Space on Friday, January 13th with sets by Mike Barber/Daisy Betlej/Tegan Dietsch / Kousha Nakhaei/Owen Kurtz / Jamie Eriksen/Adrian Russouw/Bri Clarke and Kimberly Ivany/Katheryn Merriam.]

Recording: Roblin/Kinney/Erickson

Artist: Diane Roblin/Ryan Kinney/James Erickson

Song: [excerpt from an improvisation]

Recorded December 4, 2022 at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Audiopollination 10th Anniversary Bash).

Diane Roblin/Ryan Kinney/James Erickson - [excerpt]

A round number anniversary is always worth celebrating, and more so for this labour of love devoted to creative expression and community building. Kudos to Mike Lynn for putting in the work to keep Audiopollination going for a decade — definitely worth celebrating with a slice of pie and a crowded room in the Southern Cross.

A nicely even-handed trio here, with Diane Roblin (piano/synth), Ryan Kinney (guitar), and James Erickson (sax/clarinet) collaborating on some well-woven textures.

You can check out some footage from this set over on the Audiopollination youtube channel:

[Audiopollination is back at Array Space on Friday, January 13th with sets by Mike Barber/Daisy Betlej/Tegan Dietsch / Kousha Nakhaei/Owen Kurtz / Jamie Eriksen/Adrian Russouw/Bri Clarke and Kimberly Ivany/Katheryn Merriam.]

Recording: Bob Vespaziani & Brian Abbott

Artist: Bob Vespaziani & Brian Abbott

Song: [excerpt from an improvisation]

Recorded December 4, 2022 at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Audiopollination 10th Anniversary Bash).

Bob Vespaziani & Brian Abbott - [excerpt]

A round number anniversary is always worth celebrating, and more so for this labour of love devoted to creative expression and community building. Kudos to Mike Lynn for putting in the work to keep Audiopollination going for a decade — definitely worth celebrating with a slice of pie and a crowded room in the Southern Cross.

Late fill-in Brian Abbott offered up some old-fashioned many-styles stop-start guit-wrangling to accompany Bob Vespaziani's wavedrum clatter. The set started like a sack of bells being tossed down a staircase and kept moving from there.

You can check out some footage from this set over on the Audiopollination youtube channel:

[Audiopollination is back at Array Space on Friday, January 13th with sets by Mike Barber/Daisy Betlej/Tegan Dietsch / Kousha Nakhaei/Owen Kurtz / Jamie Eriksen/Adrian Russouw/Bri Clarke and Kimberly Ivany/Katheryn Merriam.]

Recording: Jessica Houghton & Kathryn Merriam

Artist: Jessica Houghton & Kathryn Merriam

Song: [excerpt from an improvisation]

Recorded December 4, 2022 at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Audiopollination 10th Anniversary Bash).

Jessica Houghton & Kathryn Merriam - [excerpt]

A round number anniversary is always worth celebrating, and more so for this labour of love devoted to creative expression and community building. Kudos to Mike Lynn for putting in the work to keep Audiopollination going for a decade — definitely worth celebrating with a slice of pie and a crowded room in the Southern Cross.

The afternoon opened with a pairing of Jessica Houghton (movement) and Kathryn Merriam (harp). Houghton used the thin strip of space at the front of the stage area (and, later, gained some height on the piano bench) to reflect Merriam's lush notes and reverse delay sweeps.

You can check out some footage from this set over on the Audiopollination youtube channel:

[Audiopollination is back at Array Space on Friday, January 13th with sets by Mike Barber/Daisy Betlej/Tegan Dietsch / Kousha Nakhaei/Owen Kurtz / Jamie Eriksen/Adrian Russouw/Bri Clarke and Kimberly Ivany/Katheryn Merriam.]

Recording: The Imaginary Brass Band

Artist: The Imaginary Brass Band

Songs: Let It Roll + Saunter One

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), November 29, 2022.

The Imaginary Brass Band - Let It Roll

The Imaginary Brass Band - Saunter One

Rat-drifting meets marching band — although nominally a trio (Doug Tielli, Heather Saumer, Nick Fraser) on their just-released album, in the flesh the group expanded with Tania Gill, Charles Spearin, Emily Farrell and Colin Couch (and with Tom Richards sitting in for the bulk of the first set, to boot). A couple of Nick Fraser's sketches were essayed, but most of the material here is from Doug Tielli, showing off the most recent evidence of the contrasts and continuities with his "songwriter" work. There was some of the expected brass band brio at hand, but also, as the second piece here indicates, a willingness to explore melancholy beauty as well.

Monday Roundup #102

Community notes:

• I'd heard this being discussed, but official confirmation in the most recent Tranzac newsletter: "Please note that starting January 3 the Southern Cross will have new, slightly earlier time slots Monday - Friday: 7 pm - 9 pm and 9:30 pm - 11:30 pm; weekends will be similar to the current Sunday schedule. More info coming soon, please stay tuned!

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Video hits:

• Some dance moves at dawn from an undisclosed location in the Hammertown zone:

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Concert announcements:

Ayal Senior & Friends (feat. Ayal Senior/Kurt Newman/Andrew Furlong/Blake Howard / Family Ravine / Aaron Knight / Nick Flanagan / Bruce Lee's Sister) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-01-08 (Sunday – 2:30 p.m.). @pwyc. [FB event]

Audiopollination (feat. Mike Barber/Daisy Betlej/Tegan Dietsch Kousha Nakhaei/Owen Kurtz / Jamie Eriksen/Adrian Russouw/Bri Clarke / Kimberly Ivany/Katheryn Merriam) / Arraymusic 2023-01-13 (Friday). $10 or PWYC. [FB event]

Ingredient [album release show!] (Uh Huh [f.k.a. Teenanger]) / BSMT 254 2023-01-27 (Friday). $16.93. [FB event]

The Tawoos Initiative and Small World Music present (feat. Fareed Ayaz & Abu Muhammad Qawwali) / St. Andrew's Church 2023-05-20 (Saturday). $43.93. [FB event]

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Shows this week:

Music by Harry and Furlong (feat. Brittany Pitt/Dan Pitt/Harry Vetro) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-12-27 (Tuesday – early!)

Exit Points #33 ["this performance includes a 5-channel speaker array for surround sound"] (feat. Marilyn Yogarajah/Sara Constant/Alexander Vincent/Michael Palumbo / Zoma/Behnoosh Behnamnia/Kousha Nakhaei/Donovan Locke) / Array Space 2022-12-28 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Boxing Week Special (feat. OMBIIGIZI / Scarlett Rose / Una Rose) / The Garrison 2022-12-28 (Wednesday). $13.85, 19+. [FB event]

Boxing Week Special (feat. Happy99 / Accelerant / Dermabrasion) / The Baby G 2022-12-28 (Wednesday). $13.85, 19+. [FB event]

Nomad [Simon Millerd/Mike Bjella/Ted Crosby/Ben Dwyer/Jake Wiens/Kai Basanta] (Nomad Chamber Trio [Ted Crosby/Mike Bjella/Jake Wiens]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-12-28 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Boxing Week Special (feat. Rapport / Spirale Parfait / Scott Hardware) / The Baby G 2021-12-29 (Thursday). $13.85, 19+. [FB event]

Boxing Week Special (feat. Heaven For Real / Clothesline From Hell / The Crime Family) / The Garrison 2022-12-29 (Thursday). $13.85, 19+. [FB event]

Ancient Egypt [Holger Schoorl/Scott Thomson/Pete Johnston] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-12-29 (Thursday). $pwyc.

Aurochs with special guest Kurt Newman / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-12-30 (Friday – early!). $pwyc.

The Ryan Driver Sextet / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-12-30 (Friday). $pwyw.

Tranzac New Year’s Eve (feat. Eucalyptus / Owen Pallett / Bernice / LAL / Phèdre / José Contreras / Chiquitamagic) / The Tranzac 2021-12-31 (Saturday). $25 in advance, $30 at the door. [FB event]

New Year's Eve (feat. Mouth Congress / Martian Crisis Unit / Pat Ronan / Noah Maloney) / Bar Orwell 2021-12-31 (Saturday). $31.97. [FB event]

Hollowfest NYE Party ["an immersive art + music experience in collaboration with "Psychedelics: The Experiential Exhibition""] (feat. Possum / Nyssa / ZONES [full band!]) / Lithuanian Banquet Halls 2022-12-31 (Saturday). $35. [FB event]

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It happened this week...

• ...on December 30, 2012 at The Drake Underground (What's in the Box – Night 5).

The Skeletones Four - Trap Door

• ...on December 31, 2012 at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge).

Ronley Teper's Lipliners - Party!

[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: Victor O and Friends

Artist: Victor O and Friends

Song: [excerpt from an improvisation]

Recorded at Array Space (Audiopollination), November 25, 2022.

Victor O and Friends - [excerpt]

The night's closing curated set saw bassist Victor O leaning in and focusing on echos and microloops while being surrounded by plinks and scratches from Marilyn Yogarajah (synth, piano, trumpet) and Zoë Alexis-Abrams (cello).

You can also check out the video from this set over on Audiopollination's youtube page:

[Audiopollination will be back at Array Space on Friday, January 13th, with performances from Mike Barber/Daisy Betlej/Tegan Dietsch / Kousha Nakhaei/Owen Kurtz / Jamie Eriksen/Adrian Russouw/Bri Clarke and Kimberly Ivany/Katheryn Merriam.]

Recording: Heraclitus Akimbo/Davison/Morgacheva

Artist: Heraclitus Akimbo/William Davison/Daria Morgacheva

Song: [excerpt from an improvisation]

Recorded at Array Space (Audiopollination), November 25, 2022.

Heraclitus Akimbo/William Davison/Daria Morgacheva - [excerpt]

Excellent work here from Daria Morgacheva (also known for her synth skills) providing some elegant piano structures for the more abstract sounds from William Davison (amplified objects) and Heraclitus Akimbo (lyre, oscillators, effects).

You can also check out the video from this set over on Audiopollination's youtube page:

[Audiopollination will be back at Array Space on Friday, January 13th, with performances from Mike Barber/Daisy Betlej/Tegan Dietsch / Kousha Nakhaei/Owen Kurtz / Jamie Eriksen/Adrian Russouw/Bri Clarke and Kimberly Ivany/Katheryn Merriam.]

[photo by Fahmid Nibesh]