A poignant but celebratory chapter-closing season-ender at Audiopollination, with the community coming out to celebrate founding host Mike Lynn's last night at the helm. Lynn chose to close out the night by alongside someone who had played at the very first Audiopollination, the pair using all parts of their instruments to share a friendly moment of communication.
You can also check out the archived livestream from the night over on youtube:
[It's important to note that Audiopollination will continue, under enterprising new hands! In fact, the sign-up sheet for the fall run of shows (September through December) is already posted and starting to fill up, so now's the time to add yourself to the musical conversation!]
A poignant but celebratory chapter-closing season-ender at Audiopollination, with the community coming out to celebrate founding host Mike Lynn's last night at the helm. Two sets of effected vocals here, tied together by some synths and tape loops.
You can also check out the archived livestream from the night over on youtube:
[It's important to note that Audiopollination will continue, under enterprising new hands! In fact, the sign-up sheet for the fall run of shows (September through December) is already posted and starting to fill up, so now's the time to add yourself to the musical conversation!]
A poignant but celebratory chapter-closing season-ender at Audiopollination, with the community coming out to celebrate founding host Mike Lynn's last night at the helm. Playing acoustically and without pedals this time out, cellist cheryl o was flanked by a pair of synthesists, even picking up her instrument to speak into the sound chamber.
You can also check out the archived livestream from the night over on youtube:
[It's important to note that Audiopollination will continue, under enterprising new hands! In fact, the sign-up sheet for the fall run of shows (September through December) is already posted and starting to fill up, so now's the time to add yourself to the musical conversation!]
A poignant but celebratory chapter-closing season-ender at Audiopollination, with the community coming out to celebrate founding host Mike Lynn's last night at the helm. The night opened with this excellent trio, with three different soundworlds (guzheng, suitcase o' percussion, and laptop granulation, respectively) mixing together really well.
You can also check out the archived livestream from the night over on youtube:
[It's important to note that Audiopollination will continue, under enterprising new hands! In fact, the sign-up sheet for the fall run of shows (September through December) is already posted and starting to fill up, so now's the time to add yourself to the musical conversation!]
Holger Schoorl's ongoing public embrace of the shreddier side of his guitar craft continues to dazzle, with some postpunk kachunk rolling along to Mark Zurawinski's rattles.
[Holger Schoorl will be showing off a different facet of his sounds at Array Space next Wednesday (May 28th) with a performance of his opera Dinner Party, where he'll be joined by Liz Lima, Scott Gabriel, and Randi Helmers. Audiopollination is back at Array Space on June 13th with sets by David Sait/Marilyn Yogarajah/Magick, cheryl o + Neil Wiernik, Heraclitus Akimbo/Laura Swankey/Judy Zhu and Mickle32 + Rod Campbell. It'll also be the last show hosted by Michael Lynn before handing things over to new hosts Marylin and Yasmine, so please come down to help celebrate the thirteen years he has been running the series.]
An unexpected solo set while bringing out the now-infrequently seen no-input mixer made this into something like a tendencyitis throwback set. Although there were some harsh edges to the feedback bursts, it was more interesting how much melody and rhythmic nimbleness there was taking over the centre of the sound.
[Audiopollination is back at Array Space on June 13th with sets by David Sait/Marilyn Yogarajah/Magick, cheryl o + Neil Wiernik, Heraclitus Akimbo/Laura Swankey/Judy Zhu and Mickle32 + Rod Campbell. It'll also be the last show hosted by Michael Lynn before handing things over to new hosts Marylin and Yasmine, so please come down to help celebrate the thirteen years he has been running the series.]
With an unusual number of no-shows from the self-curated sign-up sheet thinning out the ranks of the evening's musicians, host Michael Lynn took up the challenge to fill in with a short solo set for double bass. Using paper towel rolls as preparations added to his repertoire of muted clonks and squirks.
[Audiopollination is back at Array Space on June 13th with sets by David Sait/Marilyn Yogarajah/Magick, cheryl o + Neil Wiernik, Heraclitus Akimbo/Laura Swankey/Judy Zhu and Mickle32 + Rod Campbell. It'll also be the last show hosted by Michael Lynn before handing things over to new hosts Marylin and Yasmine, so please come down to help celebrate the thirteen years he has been running the series.]
It'd been a good spell since I've been able to make an Audiopollination, so it was a prize to be able to slip back into the vibe with a classic "instant combo" like this one, with the three musicians playing confidently and listening intently. Michael Palumbo's modular synth mostly held down the high-end here ringing and buzzing above Diane Roblin's piano and Pierre Mongeon's trumpet/melodica.
[Audiopollination is back at Array Space on June 13th with sets by David Sait/Marilyn Yogarajah/Magick, cheryl o + Neil Wiernik, Heraclitus Akimbo/Laura Swankey/Judy Zhu and Mickle32 + Rod Campbell. It'll also be the last show hosted by Michael Lynn before handing things over to new hosts Marylin and Yasmine, so please come down to help celebrate the thirteen years he has been running the series.]
Following on some group drones, this Tranzac edition of the Audiopollination series was a nice opportunity was to gather together with friends for some end-of-the-year festivities. The evening closed with these joyful sounds, mixing a couple flavours of percussion with trumpet and piano.
You can check out some back-of-the-room footage of this full set over on youtube:
[Audiopollination is back at Array Space on Friday (January 12), with self-curated sets from Kayla Milmine/Daria Morgacheva/Isaiah Farahbakhsh, Max Donaldson & Nate Robertson, Zack Goldstein/Danny Alexander/Kalina Nedelcheva, and Rod Campbell/Nour Symon/%%30%30.]
Following on some group drones, this Tranzac edition of the Audiopollination series was a nice opportunity was to gather together with friends for some end-of-the-year festivities. Some truly excellent work in this middle set with three performers finding a sympathetic meeting place right off the bat. Jamie Eriksen's sax and Zoë Alexis-Abrams' cello wove together nicely while Victor O's percussion put a bow on things.
You can check out some back-of-the-room footage of this full set over on youtube:
[Audiopollination is back at Array Space on Friday (January 12), with self-curated sets from Kayla Milmine/Daria Morgacheva/Isaiah Farahbakhsh, Max Donaldson & Nate Robertson, Zack Goldstein/Danny Alexander/Kalina Nedelcheva, and Rod Campbell/Nour Symon/%%30%30.]
Following on some group drones, this Tranzac edition of the Audiopollination series was a nice opportunity was to gather together with friends for some end-of-the-year festivities. This opening set had some sweet electronic drones, fabulous gong action as well as tape loops and, uh, performative candy eating.
You can check out some back-of-the-room footage of this full set over on youtube:
[Audiopollination is back at Array Space on Friday (January 12), with self-curated sets from Kayla Milmine/Daria Morgacheva/Isaiah Farahbakhsh, Max Donaldson & Nate Robertson, Zack Goldstein/Danny Alexander/Kalina Nedelcheva, and Rod Campbell/Nour Symon/%%30%30.]
A classic Audiopollination combo here, electroacoustically mixing piano, acoustic bass and modular synth — and in this stretch finding some really sweet atmospherics.
The night's closing curated set saw series host Mike Lynn making his debut on amplifed tap board. Besides running the contact mic on his tap board through his own array of effects, the signal was shared with synthesist Heraclitus Akimbo, who did some more signal bending while fuZzy Nibesh (guitar, oscillatorss, effects) added some indpendent sympathetic sounds. If not quite the smell of napalm in the morning, a tappin' trip into the sonic heart of darkness.
As usual, Audiopollination did an excellent job at documenting the show, so you can watch some high-quality footage of this whole set over on youtube:
[Audiopollination is back at Array Space on Friday (May 12th) with sets from Diane Roblin/Andrew Kay/FuZzy, Adam Golding/Kyle Skillman/Saba Saneinejad, Patrick O’Reilly/Paul Newman/Jaz Tsui, and Tegan Dietsch & Annie Elgie.]
A low-key guitar meetup with introspective timbres pushed outward as James Lowrie turned to the piano for sonic variation while Ryan Kinney pulled out his ping pong balls and other preparations.
As usual, Audiopollination did an excellent job at documenting the show, so you can watch some high-quality footage of this whole set over on youtube:
[Audiopollination is back at Array Space on Friday (May 12th) with sets from Diane Roblin/Andrew Kay/FuZzy, Adam Golding/Kyle Skillman/Saba Saneinejad, Patrick O’Reilly/Paul Newman/Jaz Tsui, and Tegan Dietsch & Annie Elgie.]
As is sometimes the case at Audiopollination, there can be last-minute lineup changes and substitutions, so it was no surprise to surpise on the faces of James Bailey (amplified crutch) and Susanne Farkas (bells, kalimba, snare, flute, voice) as Marilyn Yogarajah sat down at the piano at the set's beginning. Turns out her subtle playing provided the glue that really held things together and buoyed this set up.
As usual, Audiopollination did an excellent job at documenting the show, so you can watch some high-quality footage of this whole set over on youtube:
[Audiopollination is back at Array Space on Friday (May 12th) with sets from Diane Roblin/Andrew Kay/FuZzy, Adam Golding/Kyle Skillman/Saba Saneinejad, Patrick O’Reilly/Paul Newman/Jaz Tsui, and Tegan Dietsch & Annie Elgie.]
As frequently happens, this "self-curated" set brought the goods, producing a lovely mix of sounds from Martin van de Ven (clarinet), Saba Saneinejad (flute), and Brian Katz (classical guitar), the trio effortlessly finding some space to float together in.
As usual, Audiopollination did an excellent job at documenting the show, so you can watch some high-quality footage of this whole set over on youtube:
[Audiopollination is back at Array Space on Friday (May 12th) with sets from Diane Roblin/Andrew Kay/FuZzy, Adam Golding/Kyle Skillman/Saba Saneinejad, Patrick O’Reilly/Paul Newman/Jaz Tsui, and Tegan Dietsch & Annie Elgie.]
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.]
Founded as a blog about one curmudgeon's love affair with the em dash, Mechanical Forest Sound has grown to become a community-based archive of local musical culture. Assuming that "independent music" isn't just boys with guitars and "culture" isn't just some sort of pageant, MFS is an investigation of a wide range of artists, reflecting on concerts as shared experiences, acts of citizenship and a chance to get down — fuzzy photographs and clear-sounding original live recordings a specialty.
Current manifestations of this project include Track Could Bend, a monthly concert series featuring "improvised music and weird rock offshoots", presented in a casual environment.
At one point I wrote full-on concert reviews, and for longer I thought I would catch up and write about shows in the past. But these days, because of, y'know, life, do not expect much in the way of full show reviews — but live recordings with blurbs will be posted as quickly after the fact as is feasible.
You can also check out full sets uploaded to the Live Music Archive. [not currently active]
N.B.: All recordings should be available & playable. If you come across any broken links, invisible or non-functioning players, etc, please leave a comment and I will tend to it ASAP.
ALSO N.B.: I'm perpetually on the lookout for a new place to stash my MP3's online. If you know of any place that allows a couple gigs of stuff to be openly linked to for streaming, drop me a line!
All MP3's on this blog are audience recordings shared as a reminder of the excitement of seeing live music. If you are an artist who doesn't want their music shared in this way, please contact me and I shall remove it forthwith.
What Is: noncompliance: The inputted value is unusual [workshop & performance] (feat. Rrose / Auto Feeder / Parkdale Pirate Radio) / Sandbox 2025-05-07 (Thursday). $20/$25/$30 PWYCA. [more info]
Longing and Belonging: Music for Piano by Armenian Composers (feat. Eve Egoyan) / University of Toronto (Walter Hall) 2026-05-07 (Thursday). $free. [more info]
More Noise Please! presents: Cacophonyous Cataclysm (feat. V. Vecker / Unfeeling / THRTDSPLY / Jania K / Dept of Loss / Emergency Euphoria / Humbucker Music [Nick Storring/Jason Doell/Mira Martin-Gray/Colin Cudmore] / Del Stephen's Glib Trot Gleaning) / BSMT 254 2026-05-07 (Thursday). $15/PWYC. [FB event]
What Is: noncompliance: No memories available (feat. Qiujiang Levi Lu / Aliyah Aziz / Husna Farooqui) / Sandbox 2025-05-08 (Friday). $20/$25/$30 PWYCA. [more info]
Musica Universalis (feat. C'est la fête Large Ensemble [William Hunt/Adrian Rossouw/Mateos Labbes-Phelan/Maxwell Stover/Colin Fisher with special guests Karen Ng & Mark Hundevad) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-05-08 (Friday) [more info]
What Is: noncompliance: Confirm humanity [workshop & performance] (feat. Shara Lunon / Nidus / Christina Dovolis) / Sandbox 2025-05-09 (Saturday). $20/$25/$30 PWYCA. [more info]
Liquid Architecture (feat. Tomasz Krakowiak / Eric Paglia) / St. Matthew’s Clubhouse 2026-05-09 (Saturday). $10 (cash or e-transfer). [FB event]
Labyrinth Ontario with Efrén López / Aga Khan Museum 2026-05-09 (Saturday). $50 (regular)/$45 (friends of the museum)/$37.50 (students and seniors)/$20 (limited rush tickets). [FB event]
O Sacrum Convivium, Music for Corpus Christi (feat. The Tallis Choir) / St. Patrick's Church 2026-05-09 (Saturday). $35 (general), $30 (seniors), $15 (students). [FB event]
Girma Woldemichael [Nafqoté CD release concert] / The Redwood Theatre 2026-05-09 (Saturday). $20, all-ages. [FB event]
Toronto Improvisers Orchestra / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-05-10 (Sunday – noon)
Ayal Senior & Friends (feat. Ayal Senior & Kurt Newman / JOYSHAPE / Ryan Dugre / Nick Flanagan) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-05-10 (Sunday – 2:30 p.m.) [FB event]
Wolf Eyes (Knurl / Ayal Senior) / The Baby G 2026-05-10 (Sunday). $33.18, 19+. [FB event]
Jazz Rat Monday (feat. Patrick Smith/Nancy Walker/Eric West/Mark Godfrey) / Dina's Tavern 2026-05-11 (Monday). $pwyc. [more info]
New Works for Improvising Musicians (feat. Nick Fraser's Special Topics [Nick Fraser/Josh Cole/Max Stover/Kae Murphy]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-05-11 (Monday)
Not Dead Yet presents (feat. One Leg One Eye / Efrim Menuck) / St. Stephen-In-The-Fields 2025-05-13 (Wednesday). $26.67, all-ages. [FB event]
Never Was [Brandon Davis/Bea Labikova/Patrick O’Reilly/Joe Sorbara] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-05-13 (Wednesday)
TONE Presents (feat. Eric Chenaux & Ryan Driver / Rafael Toral / Masahiro Takahashi & Brodie West) / Standard Time 2025-05-14 (Thursday). $33.64 advance/$35 door, all-ages. [FB event]
Night Owls (feat. Bob Wiseman / Lily Frost) / Hugh's Room 2026-05-14 (Thursday). $42.85 (General Admission), $27.27 (Student / Arts Worker / Underemployed). [FB event]
AMRITA [debut album release!] [Anita Katakkar & Kayla Milmine with special guests: Jonathan Kay & Zaynab Wilson] (Zaynab Wilson) / Array Space 2025-05-14 (Thursday). $30 [includes a copy of the new CD and a drink]. [FB event]
The Dan Pitt Trio [Dan Pitt/Alex Fournier/Nick Fraser] / Sellers & Newel 2026-05-17 (Sunday). $20 minimum donation. [more info]
Jazz Rat Monday (feat. Patrick Smith/Rebecca Hennessy/Max Simpson/Trevor Falls) / Dina's Tavern 2026-05-18 (Monday). $pwyc. [more info]
Playscape Emporium: Paint, Play ["The audience will witness the creation of various painted works, following the story of a painting as told by the brush."] (feat. Duo Cichorium / Constant Yen / Rowan Campbell / Charli/Fahmid/Joe/Mira) / Array Space 2026-05-21 (Thursday). $25.00 (or Pay What You Want); livestream: $12.00 (or Pay What You Want). [more info]
By Divine Right (Casper Skulls / The Will Powers) / Dina's Tavern 2026-05-22 (Friday)
Burn Down The Capital presents (feat. Cole Pulice / SpeariNg [Karen Ng & Charles Spearin] / Grace Scheele) / Collective Arts 2026-05-23 (Saturday). $22.89, 19+. [FB event]
Parade [Stefan Hegerat/Chris Pruden/Patrick O’Reilly/Laura Swankey] (Joyshape) / Burdock Music Hall 2026-05-23 (Saturday). $16.95. [more info]
Jazz Rat Monday (feat. Patrick Smith/Nancy Walker/Eric West/Mark Godfrey) / Dina's Tavern 2026-05-25 (Monday). $pwyc. [more info]
Geordie Gordon [River Round release celebration, full band with horn section!] (José Contreras) / Burdock Music Hall 2026-05-27 (Wednesday). $20.34. [more info]
Sook-Yin Lee with Dylan Gamble [72RHR release celebration] / Sonic Boom 2026-05-29 (Friday). $free, all ages
Battute e Pizzicato: Celebrating the 17th-Century Guitar (feat, Musicians of the Egg) / Church of the Redeemer 2026-05-31 (Sunday). $30 (general admission), $20 (students/arts workers). [FB event]
TONE presents: Double LP Release (feat. Glissandro 70 / Khôra & Mas Aya / Sweet Lips) / Standard Time 2025-06-04 (Thursday). $28.27, all ages. [FB event]
The Mike DeiCont Trio [Mike DeiCont/Leland Whitty/Eric West] / Sellers & Newel 2026-06-07 (Sunday). $20 minimum donation. [more info]
Not Dead Yet presents (feat. Fuji||||||||||ta / Evicshen) / The Garrison 2025-06-10 (Wednesday). $30.14, 19+. [FB event]
TONE & Not Dead Yet present (feat. Afrorack / Phèdre / Arc & Texture) / BSMT 254 2025-06-16 (Tuesday). $34.49, 19+. [FB event]
Posts
