Recording: Not The Wind, Not The Flag

Artist: Not The Wind, Not The Flag

Song: [guitar excerpt]

Recorded at Le Monde, May 17, 2025.

Not The Wind, Not The Flag - [guitar excerpt]

Friendships, when measured over decades, rarely can be represented as a continuous or straight line. But that means time adds its own wrinkles and peculiarities that make it unique. So, too, for bands that exist over decades — and Not The Wind, Not the Flag are surely both. Brandon Valdivia and Colin Fisher don't get as many chances to perform together as they used to, but their deep sonic connection is definitely intact. Playing outside of the limits of a bar/gig-type set allowed that to really shine, as the pair had time to let several zones unfold — including an extended percussion duo to start things off. From there, Fisher moved between saxophones and guitar while Valdivia had a lot of kit on hand to thunder along or provide quiet sympathetic textures as required. Word on the street is that the duo have plans to make a long-awaited new studio recording this year, so keep an ear out for further appearances.

You can check out the full set over on youtube:

Recording: Not The Wind, Not The Flag

Artist: Not The Wind, Not The Flag

Song: [part 3]

Recorded at Collective Arts (Burn Down The Capital presents), November 3, 2024.

Not The Wind, Not The Flag - [part 3]

The autumn has brought a welcome cluster of shows from Tad Michalak's Burn Down The Capital promotional arm, mixing touring artists (many with a long relationship with BDtC) with local legends and emerging artists, many of them taking place in the cozy basement space at Collective Arts' taproom. (Important note: there's one last show in this burst coming up this Saturday.)

So it was no surprise to see a (these days somewhat-rare) appearance from Not The Wind, Not The Flag to open up this night, giving Brandon Valdivia and Colin Fisher a slightly-abbreviated slot to enable their musical mindmeld, sharing a pulse with the former's percussion and the latter moving from guitar to saxophone (as heard in this extract). Fully satisfying to hear these friends palying together, still fully in sync even when playing less together.

Recording: Mas Aya

Artist: Mas Aya

Song: Tú y Yo

Recorded at The Tranzac's Main Hall (TONE Festival), June 16, 2024.

Mas Aya - Tú y Yo

This night out at the TONE Festival reached back for some strong Healing Power vibes: not only had that scene/label issued some essential music (together and individually) from the night's co-headliners, but it was also a treat to hear HP co-principal DJ SlightBreezy (aka Wolf Nessel) slingin' and manipulating tunes between sets.

And as with his co-headliner, Brandon Valdivia's "solo" spotlight was anything but, bringing in family and friends to celebrate the sounds of Coming And Going. Leaning less on popsong frameworks than vibe-heavy compositional savvy, Valdicia served as the director on stage, co-ordinating the sonic inputs from rhythm compadres Reimundo Sosa (percussion) and Josh Cole (double bass, electric bass, bass synth) plus rotating guests including Colin Fisher and Isla Craig. And most heartwarming was the family band angle that saw vocals from Lido Pimienta (highlighted on this track) as well as the pair's daughter Martina Valdivia, whose presence was a joyful highlight.

Recording: Lido Pimienta

Artist: Lido Pimienta

Song: No Pude

Recorded at The Music Gallery (X AVANT XIV: Forward – Night 2), October 18, 2019.

Lido Pimienta - No Pude

A full-on Big Night at the X Avant Festival saw returning headliner Lido Pimienta (now an international recording star instead of a local phenom) previewing the songs from her forthcoming Miss Colombia album — but with a special twist. With arrangements by longtime collaborator Robert Drisdelle, the songs were reconfigured for an eight-piece wind ensemble, pulling back the electronics and beats to get to the songs' street-party hearts. (You can hear the electricity of the album arrangement in the just-released video for this tune.)

As a show this was full of energy and imbued with Pimienta's boundless confidence. But in a hometown show it also allowed her to express her vulnerability as well, and stretch things out with banter and stories that might get contained in a touring environment. These songs are going to be bangers with whatever production they're released with, but it felt pretty special to hear them this way, especially the set-closing resistance anthem that turned into a full-on marching band tune.

Recording: Man Forever

Artist: Man Forever

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Yonge-Dundas Square (Intersection Day 3), August 31, 2019.

Man Forever - [excerpt]

Once more, Tad Michalak's Burn Down the Capital brought a full day's worth of entertainment to the concrete canyon of Yonge-Dundas Square. Random passers-by would occasionally stop and regard the proceedings with curiosity, bemusement or disdain while in the background the thrum of the busker's amplification outside Eaton Centre seems to grow louder every year, sharing the sonic space with sirens and engine roars. Last time I caught John Colpitts (a.k.a. Kid Millions) he had a full ensemble with him, but this appearance saw him travelling only with a drone provider – no problem when he had plenty of a-list percussion pals to call upon. Colin Fisher, Brandon Valdivia, Germaine Liu and Moshe Rozenberg joined in for a whole lot of driving clatter that would alternate with some soothing drone walls.

Recording: The Cosmic Range

Artist: The Cosmic Range

Songs: The Observers + Let the Sunshine In [from the musical "Hair"]

Recorded at The Garrison, May 3, 2019.

The Cosmic Range - The Observers

The Cosmic Range - Let the Sunshine In

Celebrating the release of The Gratitude Principle, Doc Dunn and The Cosmic Range filled the stage at the Big G with the usual large complement (including Mike Smith providing all the basslines this time 'round on Moog rather than four-string). Moving from spiritual planetarium drift to full-on wah-wah soul funk, the night ended in a familiar place, with a cover that used to show up quite frequently in Isla Craig's solo repertoire.

Recording: The Cosmic Range

Artist: The Cosmic Range

Song: The Gratitude Principle

Recorded at Yonge-Dundas Square (Intersection Day 2), September 1, 2018.

The Cosmic Range - The Gratitude Principle

Another interesting day in Yonge-Dundas Square for Intersection, once again excellently curated by Burn Down the Capital's Tad Michalak. Mixing in some abrasive sounds with lots of accessible experimentation, there was a pleasing range of mostly-local talent spread out through the square, animated between sets by the whispersounds of Tina Pearson's installation piece. Capping things off was another bigglyup ensemble, breaking out something like a greatest-grooves set. Convener and head kowboy Doc Dunn was off to the side on organ, while a casual observer might have concluded that sax player Andy Haas — performing with joyful verve centre-stage — was the leader here. Fun stuff and a perfect way to end the day's takeover of that strange ad-bathed concrete space next to the centre of the city's shopping vortex. There is always culture seeping out through the cracks.

Recording: Mas Aya

Artist: Mas Aya

Song: Mapale^*

Recorded at Festival Main Stage (BIG on Bloor Festival), July 21, 2018.

Mas Aya - Mapale

I dipped into this busy street festival just long enough this year to see Brandon Valdivia ignite a conscious party. His flute/vox/electronics were accompanied throughout by percussionist Reimundo Sosa, and the spirit was further enlivened by a very-pregnant Lido Pimienta who not only provided the stage area's jubilant/pointed artwork installation ("Families Belong Together") but also came onstage to dance and add vocals to "Hoy" and "Masters". (Congratulations to the truth-to-power couple on that child's recent arrival!) With happy children dashing about and friends and passers-by stopping to dance it felt like a joyful and positive space — this is what our streets should be for, after all.

^* Thanks to Brandon for passing along the title to this one!

Recording: Josh Cole Quartet

Artist: Josh Cole Quartet

Songs: [two pieces]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), May 16, 2018.

Josh Cole Quartet - [first set, second piece]

Josh Cole Quartet - [second set, first piece]

Scheduled as a quintet date, the numbers here ended up being reduced by last-minute illness, but there were still plenty ideas flowing from Josh Cole (double bass), Karen Ng (clarinet and sax), Ryan Driver (piano) and Brandon Valdivia (percussion). With a freshly-recorded album in the can, the players were well in sync in a series of explorations. The first selection here revs up to speed with a push from Valdivia and Driver's clumpy clusters, while the second, coming after one of those cozy let's-hang-out between-set breaks, reconvened to a quieter room and after tossing and turning a bit settled into a sort of late-night sleepwalk through empty city streets.

[In place of the quintet, Josh Cole will be presenting some different ensembles in the next couple months, including this Wednesday (July 18th) at The Tranzac, backing Isla Craig in a trio alongside Colin Fisher (who will also be playing a duo set with Spencer Cole).]

Recording: Not The Wind, Not The Flag + Nilan Perera

Artist: Not The Wind, Not The Flag + Nilan Perera

Song: [second set]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Main Hall (Somewhere There Creative Music Festival – Show 5), February 25, 2018.

Not The Wind, Not The Flag + Nilan Perera - [second set]

Brandon Valdivia and Colin Fisher's joint work as Not The Wind, Not the Flag is immensely open-ended and malleable, so it's no surprise that their occasional forays with bassists can pull them in rather different directions that reflect on their collaborators' soundworlds. That made it no surprise that this set had plenty of greasy blues, often acknowledged by Nilan Perera as the root of all his music. On bass he was a finger-shredding funk monster, giving a grounding for Fisher's guitar explorations. The one longer set and one shorter set was not enough to exhaust the possibilities here — call your MP, shaman, lover and/or connection and demand that they get to work to make sure that this collaboration happens again.

[This night was the first instalment of Synaptic Circus Sundays, a residency that will see Perera curating rather than playing in the Southern Cross on the last Sunday of the month. The series continues this Sunday (April 29th) with sets from Ilana Waniuk and Blunt Chunks.]

Recording: The Cosmic Range

Artist: The Cosmic Range

Song: The Shark (mid-sized version) [excerpt]^*

Recorded at Polish Combatants' Hall SPK (Long Winter 6.2), December 9, 2017.

The Cosmic Range - The Shark (mid-sized version) [excerpt]

I was sad to have missed this year's first Long Winter (at my home base of The Tranzac, no less!) but was pleased to see the series return to the SPK's mirrored bunker for another go-round. Using the downstairs dining room and the upper main hall, there was music back and forth all night — plus the usual mix of comedy, art and Vish Khanna's Long Night talk show. Not quite the petit version and not quite the full-on prowling carnivore, this mid-sized vehicle was still a reliable groove machine, powered by Mike Smith's basslines, embroidered by comandante Doc Dunn (organ), Jonathan Adjemian (synth) and Max Turnbull (guit/keyb) and propelled by the percussive embroidery of Grasshopper, Brandon Valdivia and Kieran Adams.

^* Thanks to a commenter for noting this was a section of "The Shark".

Recording: Sandy Ewen with Brandon Valdivia

Artist: Sandy Ewen with Brandon Valdivia

Song: [last section]

Recorded at 918 Bathurst (OPEN: an evening of sound interactions), November 8, 2017.

Sandy Ewen with Brandon Valdivia - [last section]

This pleasing night out, curated by Nick Storring's Riparian Acoustics, was a fundraiser for Musicworks Magazine. On the cusp of celebrating its 40th anniversary, MW has been pretty on-point lately, written about (and by!) some MFS faves, with spot-on examinations of weird sounds in the here-and-now plus savvy historical excavations. In the face of a last-minute cancellation, the organizers brought in Sandy Ewen (who had played a solo set the night before) to join forces with Brandon Valdivia (who was on hand for another collaborative set with Pursuit Grooves). Working from behind the drumkit, his roiling undercurrent provided some propulsion to nudge Ewen into a noisier zone than she'd explored on her own. This turned out to be an improvised addition to the night that really paid off.

Recording: Pursuit Grooves with Mas Aya

Artist: Pursuit Grooves with Mas Aya

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at 918 Bathurst (OPEN: an evening of sound interactions), November 8, 2017.

Pursuit Grooves with Mas Aya - unknown

This pleasing night out, curated by Nick Storring's Riparian Acoustics, was a fundraiser for Musicworks Magazine. On the cusp of celebrating its 40th anniversary, MW has been pretty on-point lately, written about (and by!) some MFS faves, with spot-on examinations of weird sounds in the here-and-now plus savvy historical excavations. After some solo piano from Thin Edge's Cheryl Duvall, things got grrovy with this collaborative set, augmenting Pursuit Grooves' space funk productions with percussion and other embellishments from Brandon Valdivia.

^* Does anyone know the title to this one? Please leave a comment!

Recording: U.S. Girls

Artist: U.S. Girls

Songs: 28 Days + Mad As Hell

Recorded at The Tranzac (Main Hall), October 27, 2017.

U.S. Girls - 28 Days

U.S. Girls - Mad As Hell

This astounding set teasing new material from the newly-expanded U.S. Girls featured a band composed mostly of Doc Dunn's Cosmic Range (as well as The Sulks' Chris Bezant on guit and backing vocalists Kassie Richardson and Basia Bulat) who offered an astoundingly full "studio" sound. Besides opening and closing with some of the tracks they played on from the forthcoming In a Poem Unlimited album they also reinterpreted a series of older songs. Meg Remy balanced the lushness of the ten-piece backing band with sample montages that hearkened back to the project's origins as well as hinting at the seething anger underneath the songs. But it's too easy to just label this as feminist rage (a word that's right there in the title of the Fiver song covered on the new album) — there's a consideration of things that justly evoke anger, but there's also joy in the music as well, from the reggae-ish lilt the band accorded to "28 Days" as well as the ebullient disco of "Mad As Hell".

Remy was in full command throughout — no banter or asides were on offer in the tightly-constructed set, and instead of an encore, all she gave the crowd was a hand-on-hip "didn't I just do that?" glare before leaving the stage. With the release of the album now confirmed for February, this was a tantalizing glimpse of an artist operating at a high level — and expanding their ambitions to ever-higher plateaus.

Recording: Not The Wind, Not The Flag

Artist: Not The Wind, Not The Flag

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), October 16, 2017.

Not The Wind, Not The Flag - [excerpt]

There are incremental differences to look for whenever Brandon Valdivia and Colin Fisher join together to play music, with different gear and different moods informing each other. This time 'round, Valdivia was a bit more restrained, gear-wise, forgoing his electronics to stay in a more traditional percussion zone. Fisher, meanwhile, had plenty of gear, and once again was layering and looping his sounds in fascinating ways. The mellow textures here build in a really subtle and elegant style — in fact, just after this extract ends the piece moves into a total shred-fest, but it gets there in a way that feels totally organic.

Recording: Lido Pimienta

Artist: Lido Pimienta

Song: Fornicarte Es Un Arte

Recorded at Artscape Daniels Spectrum (Venus Fest), September 30, 2017.

Lido Pimienta - Fornicarte Es Un Arte

The idea of a "feminist music festival" might bring to mind an earnest folkie gathering, maybe off in a forest somewhere, but this first annual event was nothing like that, using inclusive and intersectional ideals as guideposts to programming a day of wide-ranging musics. The brainchild of local musician Aerin Fogel, Venus Fest was an ambitious undertaking, presenting a dozen performances in Daniels Spectrum's spacious multi-purpose Regent Park digs. And it all came together quite wonderfully, highlighting a diverse slate of mostly local musicians and incorporating flourishes like Vanessa Rieger's live-mixed visuals. With this first festival completed, there's a new "sessions" series starting up, and lots of energy to build on the positive vibes this day released.

Playing her first big show after claiming the Polaris Prize, the crowd seemed to be evenly split between well-wishers and curiosity-seekers. There were clearly many in the audience who had never seen Pimienta performing before, and it wasn't long before it looked like a paparazzi event, with growing clumps of people moving to the front to grab an action shot. For Pimienta, meanwhile, it was both a celebration (with her son and mother in the crowd) and business as usual, mixing humour and empathy with her innate sense of righteous justice, taking no shit and making sure her voice is heard.

[Lido Pimienta will be performing alongside the likes of Weaves and Feist as part of the New Constellations Tour, which closes out in Toronto on Wednesday, December 20th at The Opera House.]

Recording: The Cosmic Range

Artist: The Cosmic Range

Song: The Shark [excerpt]

Recorded at Prairie Drive Park (Feast in the East 63), July 8, 2017.

The Cosmic Range - The Shark [excerpt]

A return to Prairie Drive Park after last year's initial excursion had another excellent lineup and even better weather. Free food for all gave locals and musical tourists a chance to mingle together and it was a real treat to hear music echoing through the well-used park. Essential city-building work from Toronto Arts Foundation's Arts in the Parks initiative — hopefully this will continue every summer.

The full Cosmic Range complement were out in force, with Matt "Doc" Dunn joined by Isla Craig (vox, percussion), Andy Haas (sax, electronics), Max "Slim Twig" Turnbull (guit), Jonathan Adjemian (synth), Mike Smith (bass), Jay Anderson (drums), Brandon Valdivia (percussion) and Derek and Iggy Madison (percussion). The set was given over to a sprawling new piece called "The Shark", which moved hungrily between mellow groove-simmers and teeth-baring rockouts.

Recording: Not The Wind, Not The Flag

Artist: Not The Wind, Not The Flag

Song: For Ratio [excerpt, in two parts]

Recorded at Ratio (Decreation – Night 3), June 4, 2017.

Not The Wind, Not The Flag - For Ratio [excerpt, part 1]

Not The Wind, Not The Flag - For Ratio [excerpt, part 2]

Given the internal and external pressures that come to bear, it's no surprise that no DIY space lasts forever. It still made it a sad occasion to learn that Ratio was winding down its active presence, news leavened slightly with the corresponding announcement of a series of farewell shows, with many artists making a final return to the space. The night closed with Brandon Valdivia and Colin Fisher giving their last respects to the space. Fisher had a clip-on mic for his sax, allowing easier access to run it through his pedal chain, creating all sorts of expanding sonic space. It also allowed him to loop a sax drone and leave it playing while he added dollops of guitar shredding on top. It's saying a lot given how much I've seen this band perform, but this was one of the best NTW,NTF sets I've even seen — there remain depths and depths for this pair to explore.

[Not The Wind, Not The Flag will be playing two sets of music (!) next week (Thursday, July 6) on Pamenar's back patio.]

Recording: Mas Aya

Artist: Mas Aya feat. Lido Pimienta

Song: Hoy

Recorded at Burdock Music Hall, May 12, 2017.

Mas Aya feat. Lido Pimienta - Hoy

Bringing together the night's earlier strands, Brandon Valdivia mixed raw percussion and street party vibes with technological tricks to present the songs from his brand new Nikan album, advancing the project from experimental beat tapes to avant-pop anthems. As with the album, he had some help from Lido Pimienta as well as his Not The Wind, Not The Flag bandmate Colin Fisher. Turning the Burdock into a sweaty dance zone, the proper celebratory vibe was achieved.

Recording: Not The Wind, Not The Flag

Artist: Not The Wind, Not The Flag - [first piece, part 1]

Song: [first piece, in two parts]

Recorded at Array Space (Music Gallery's Departures Series), April 16, 2017.

Not The Wind, Not The Flag - [first piece, part 1]

Not The Wind, Not The Flag - [first piece, part 2]

Brandon Valdivia and Colin Fisher pulled off their usually-phenomenal back-and-forth for percussion and sax, but they also started off their set with this electronic jam, mostly using their pedals. Fisher would occasionally rub or flick at his guitar strings but they were mostly just the sound source for his moogerfooger sonar bloops. Meanwhile, Valdivia added bass undercurrents and scissor-slice percussion with his rig. This made for a nice counterpart to the lo-fi electronics and analog blasting in the Sam Weinberg/Chris Welcome/Ben Bennett set that followed.

[The Music Gallery's Departures Series closes out its season on Thursday, June 15th at Burdock, with a night featuring DKV (Hamid Drake, Kent Kessler and Ken Vandermark), Icepick (a new trio of Nate Wooley, Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten and Chris Corsano), plus locals Invisible Out (Xuan Ye and Jason Doell). This show is also part of the TONE series' excellent ain't-a-jazz-festival programming.]