Recording: Labikova/Albert/Armin/Norton

Artist: Bea Labikova/Phil Albert/Adele Armin/Cassie Norton

Song: [excerpt from an improvisation]

Recorded at Array Space ("Audiopollination 30.1"), May 12, 2015.

Bea Labikova/Phil Albert/Adele Armin/Cassie Norton - [excerpt from an improvisation]

This night at Audiopollination saw Karen Ng, Germaine Liu and Bea Labikova play together (as KGB) and separately in a trio of opening sets. Labikova (on sax) led off in this first set alongside Phil Albert (double bass) and Adele Armin and Cassie Norton (violins). Despite the numbers, the sound was quite spare, often sounding more like contemporary chamber music than rollicking improvisation.

[As always, you can listen to the full recording of the night over at Audiopollination's bandcamp. The next Audiopollination, with a whole new mix of instant ensembles, will take place on Tuesday, June 9th at Array Space.]

Recording: Parmela Attariwala

Artist: Parmela Attariwala & Adele Armin / Parmela Attariwala/Branko Dzinovic/Robert Aitken / Parmela Attariwala/Jeff Burke/Casey Sokol / Parmela Attariwala + Shahriyar Jamshidi

Songs: [excerpts from improvisations]

Recorded at Array Space (Audiopollination 28.2), March 10, 2015.

Parmela Attariwala & Adele Armin - [excerpt from an improvisation]

Attariwala-Dzinovic-Aitken - [excerpt from an improvisation]

Attariwala-Burke-Sokol - [edited excerpt from an improvisation]

Parmela Attariwala + Shahriyar Jamshidi - [excerpt from an improvisation]

This Audiopollination kept Parmela Attariwala busy all night long in four sets that saw her pitted against a variety of different sounds. A quiet duet with Adele Armin (violin) hinted at classical austerity, and a trio alongside Branko Dzinovic (accordion) and Robert Aitken (flute) felt like formalized fragments from a folksong, here being subverted by Attariwala skrtching at her strings with a block of styrofoam. Another trio with Casel Sokol (piano and prepared piano) and Jeff Burke (bassoon, theremin) took things on an abstract rocketship ride. A closing duet with Audiopollination favourite Shahriyar Jamshidi (kamanche) was a satisfying close to the night. Kudos once more to Audiopollination for putting such a wide range of sounds together.

[These field recordings, especially the first couple, are a little on the lo-fi side. You'll get a nicer sound if you check out the full recordings over at Audiopollination's bandcamp page.]