Monday Roundup #212

Concert announcements:

Brodie West's New Double Bass Quintet [Brodie West/Patrick O'Reilly/Josh Cole/Rob Clutton/Nick Fraser] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2024-02-12 (Wednesday – early). $pwyc. [more info]

Makam Nights (feat. Gandhaar Amin / Mehdi Rostami) / The Tranzac (Living Room) 2025-02-20 (Thursday). $pwyc. [FB event]

PACKS (Triples / Romeo Romeo) / Monarch Tavern 2025-02-20 (Thursday). $28.25, 19+. [tickets + more info]

Tenebrae Of Good Friday [works by Tomás Luis de Victoria] (feat. The Tallis Choir) / St. Patrick's Church 2025-03-01 (Saturday). $30 General, $25 Seniors, $10 for Students (at the door). [FB event]

Sub-Sessions #9 (feat. Citizenry / Precious Jewel / Garden of Magic) / BSMT 254 2025-03-07 (Friday). $14.64 (early bird), $17.31 (general admission), all ages. [FB event]

Labyrinth Ontario presents: Fragmented Forms ["Fragmented Forms explores the possibilities of improvisation by utilizing both the microtonal aspect of Makam music and free improvisation, and how the two coalesce."] (feat. Araz Salek/Aysel Taghi-Zada/Cory Harper-Latkovich/Sara Constant/Yang Chen) / Annette Studios 2025-03-08 (Saturday). $27.96. [FB event]

Is your show missing from this list? Submit it via this form!

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Shows this week:

Track Could Bend #101 (feat. Allison Cameron / Kayla Milmine/Bob Vespaziani/Michael Lynn) / Wenona Lodge 2025-02-04 (Tuesday). $pwyc. [FB event]

Soundstreams Encounters: Poitu Varen ["an installation of four pianos each connected through a series of specialized speakers... composed by Toronto-based composer Kalaisan Kalaichelvan"] (feat. Chris Pruden/Walker Grimshaw/Zoe Markle) / Hugh’s Room 2025-02-05 (Wednesday). $free with reservation. [more info]

The Mike DeiCont Trio [Mike DeiCont/Leland Whitty/Eric West] / Sellers and Newell 2025-02-07 (Friday). $20 minimum donation. [more info]

undercommons collective presents: Sam Newsome's Straight Horn Magick Tour! (feat. Subspace Interception [Sam Newsome & Kayla Milmine] / Soprano Sax Quintet [Sam Newsome/Andrew Kay/Jonathan Kay/Bea Labikova/Kayla Milmine]) / Annette Studios 2025-02-07 (Friday). [FB event]

Fortunato Durutti Marinetti (Sara May / Giving) / The Cameron House (back room) 2025-02-07 (Friday). $15 adv / $20 door, 19+. [tickets + more info]

Roulette Intermedium × MG (feat. Allison Cameron & Madeline Stepien [fka pent] / John Kameel Farah) / The Music Gallery 2025-02-07 (Friday). 17.03/$22.20 PWYCA, all ages. [FB event]

Ministry of Phonic Services presents: a night of the serene (feat. OH GEE [Rob Campbell/Marilyn Yogarajah] / zoma / Denis Romanov / Woolworm, Ontario) / Agenda Cafe + Bar 2024-02-08 (Saturday). $pwyc. [more info]

Batuki Music Society presents (feat. Coup de Coeur [Sadio Sissokho/Assane Seck/Seydina Ndiaye/ILAM/Pape Ndiaye/Carlo Birri]) / Alliance Française 2025-02-08 (Saturday). $14.11/$20.50 (advance). [FB event]

Sam Newsome's Straight Horn Magick Tour! (feat. Sam Newsome/Nick Fraser/Marilyn Lerner/Jonathan Kay/Kayla Milmine) / The Rex 2025-02-09–10 (Sunday–Monday). [FB event]

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It happened this week...

• ...on February 6, 2016 at CineCycle.

SPOILS - What Pink Cheek

• ...on February 7, 2016 at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge).

c_RL - [excerpt from set 1, first piece]

[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.]

#mfs15 playlist: Mira Martin-Gray

MFS has turned fifteen! My introductory thoughts on this landmark can be found here, but long story short: I asked some folks from the MFS community to help me celebrate by picking some selections from the archives, and possibly sharing some thoughts or stories.

Today's list is from Mira Martin-Gray.

I met the blogger behind this venerable operation in October 2017 at a show at the gone-but-not-forgotten Dupe Shop. But I first saw Joe about ten years earlier, at one rock club or another. Rancho Relaxo? Silver Dollar Room? Surely not The Reverb? I was an underage indie rocker sporting skinny jeans and oversized glasses gigging with my high school band, and often as not, that guy was in the crowd again, messenger bag in tow. Ah, 2007. Somehow all these years later Joe and I have found ourselves in the same-but-different music scene, and again, at least as often as not, we find ourselves at the same concerts – now friends and peers.

What a pleasure to dig through the Mechanical Forest Sound archive, a delicious mixture of nostalgia and discovery. I’ve chosen to focus on older stuff. Some of my selections represent cherished memories, and some offer glimpses of moments I wish I could have witnessed.

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Laura Barrett - Sorting Hat

Recorded at Rolly's Garage (Daps All-Ages & No Shame Afternoon Extravaganza), June 20, 2009.

It was June 2009, the Ossington strip was newly "happenin," and I was a couple months shy of 19. Hooded Fang’s Dan and April ran a much needed series of weekend afternoon all-ages shows, often showcasing young bands and cheap eats. I came to this particular gig to hear percussive powerhouse Pick a Piper, with whom I’d shared a bill at the PWYC Pitter Patter Festival the year before (with DAPS side project HUT, IIRC). I was also happy to hear surprise guests Spiral Beach, the ultimate art rock teen idols. But the performance that I remember most fondly was Laura Barrett’s, and it seems she was the highlight for Joe as well. Barrett’s songs were quirky, feminine, complex – just what I needed to hear as an androgynous wannabe-intellectual indie kid. Soon after, I went out and bought a kalimba at African Drums and Arts Crafts in Kensington Market, and carried it around in my messenger bag.

Weaves - unknown

Recorded at Clinton's Tavern, September 12, 2012.

I started working at the same restaurant as Jasmyn Burke about a year after this sparkling clip was recorded. She was so cool, I wasn’t, and we talked music in the dish pit. Sadly I never saw her perform as Weaves in solo project form, but later went on to catch the full band incarnation at Wavelength a few times, and proudly wore their T-shirt and pinback button. I even wrote a little blurb about their record for the dearly departed Weird Canada. Damn, they were good. They made rock cool again. But 2012 was very much the peak era of the solo loop pedal artist, and this version of Weaves is a shining example. Jasmyn’s voice just does things to you.

Les Mouches - Winter = Dead Time

Another one to file under local indie hero whose career skirts the weirder edge of things. I recently gushed about Owen’s first solo album on a podcast. Pallett’s music has been close to my heart since high school, but I hadn’t heard of this sui generis post-rock outfit until Orchid Tapes reissued their old Blocks Recording Club album. Sadly I didn’t hear about this show at the time, but based on the blog entry, it was an under the radar affair. Luckily the man with the recorder whom we all know and love was in attendance!

c_RL - [fourth piece]

Recorded at Ratio, May 8, 2015.

This is not the same c_RL show in my memory bank, but it’s close enough in the space-time continuum to stand in for it. It's a vivid memory because it was the first time I had ever seen free improv. In 2012 I was playing loop pedal-core in a guitar-drums duo. We had a gig at the Tranzac in the late slot and as we were loading in, I was lucky enough to witness Germaine Liu doing unspeakable things to a snare, shaking it like she was rousing the drum from a dream. It was almost certainly upside down at one point. I had no idea what was happening and it was wonderful. It took me several more years to rediscover the door to Narnia that is our local experimental music scene, but that was my first peek into another world.

Kyle Brenders Ensemble - Grasslands [4th mvt]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Main Hall (Somewhere There Creative Music Festival – Show 3), February 27, 2016.

I wanted to choose a recording that reveals what I was missing out on before fully cluing in to the scene. This blog affords the rare opportunity to dig into ongoing history. Some of the players in this large group are now well-known to me, others I have only heard of, and a few names are totally unfamiliar. Calling to mind Otomo Yoshihide’s New Jazz Orchestra, I love this style of electroacoustical comprovisational big band music. It would be great to hear more of this kind of thing, but goodness knows it’s not always easy to get so many talented people in one place. It takes a special combination of creative vision and organizational skills, traits that don’t always arise as a pair. Thank goodness we now have Women From Space’s Big Bang to fill the void!

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You can always click on the tags below to look for more stuff from these artists. Has there been five or so songs posted here that made an impact on you? If you'd like to get in on the action and make a list, feel free to send me an email: mechanicalforestsound@gmail.com.

Recording: c_RL with Wenderly Park

Artist: c_RL with Wenderly Park

Song: [excerpt from 1st piece]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Living Room), May 26, 2023.

c_RL with Wenderly Park - [excerpt from 1st piece]

With Nicole Rampersaud in town, there was a rare opportunity for the members of c_RL to convene for a set — and to warm things up for the main trio convergence they joined forces with Wenderly Park for some extra hums, scrapes and loops.

You can check out some more from this set over on youtube:

Recording: c_RL

Artist: c_RL

Songs: [excerpt from 1st piece] + [3rd piece]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Living Room), May 26, 2023.

c_RL - [excerpt from 1st piece]

c_RL - [3rd piece]

With Nicole Rampersaud in town, there was a rare opportunity for the members of c_RL to convene for a set, exploring the friendship/chemistry that had made its debut in this very room nearly a decade ago.

You can check out some more from this set over on youtube:

Monday Roundup #97

Concert announcements:

Music Hosted by Karen Ng (feat. Allison Cameron [solo] / Mark Ballyk/Raphael Foisy-Couture/Andrew Furlong/Karen Ng) / Wenona Lodge 2021-11-29 (Tuesday). [FB event]

Track Could Bend #74 (feat. Mad's Happy Music [Madeleine Ertel/Aline Homzy/Beth Silver/Alexa Belgrave] / Ecotone [S. Brothers/M. Mucci]) / Wenona Lodge 2021-12-06 (Tuesday). $pwyc. [FB event]

Audiopollination 10th Anniversary Bash (feat. Jessica Houghton/Kathryn Merriam / Bob Vespaziani/Kayla Milmine/Tegan Dietsch / Diane Roblin/Ryan Kinney/Julian A M.P. / Sarah Peebles/David Story/Saba Saneinejad / Killer Quartet [Emjay Wright/Kai Grant/Erin Corbett/Mickle32] / Double Group Continuous Improvisation [Del Stephen/Patrick O’Reilly/James Bailey/Mira Martin-Gray/Andrew Finlay Stewart/David Parker/Tyson Headon] / Cosmic Homeostasis) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-12-10 (Saturday – noon to 4:30 p.m.) [FB event]

SynCirSundays (feat. The Electronoise Orchestra [Connor Bennett/William Davison/Mira Martin-Gray/Mike Hansen/Heraclitus Akimbo]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-12-11 (Sunday – early!). $10/pwyc [FB event]

Gillian Stone [Spirit Photographs EP release] (Picastro / Funeral Lakes) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2022-12-16 (Friday). $16.93. [FB event]

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Shows this week:

Madeleine Ertel/Michael Davidson/Dan Fortin / The Emmet Ray 2022-11-22 (Tuesday). $10. [FB event]

Dan Pitt/Mike DeiCont/Robert Diack / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-11-22 (Tuesday – early!). $10/pwyc. [FB event]

Ornate Presents (feat. Racha Moukalled/Connor Moe / Money House [Patrick O'Reilly/Stefan Hegerat/Alex Fournier]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-11-22 (Tuesday)

Brodie West Quintet / The Rex 2021-11-23 (Wednesday – 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.)

Improvised and Experimental Music (feat. Colin Fisher/Mike Gennaro/Andrew Furlong / Fuzzy Nibesh/%%30%30%30) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-11-23 (Wednesday). $10/PWYC. [FB event]

Sense of Place: An Evening of Music by Pouya Hamidi (feat. Zorana Sadiq/Michael Bridge/Geoffrey Conquer/Beth Silver/Aysel Taghi-Zada/Aline Homzy/Laurence Schaufele/Daniel Morphy/Peter F. Stoll/Bahar Tavassoli/Padideh Ahrarnejad) / The Music Gallery 2022-11-24 (Thursday). $22.20 / $17.03 [students, music gallery members, arts workers], all ages. [FB event]

CCMC Array Residency (feat. Paul Dutton/John Oswald/Allison Cameron/Bob Wiseman) / Array Space 2021-11-24 (Thursday). $free (donations gratefully accepted), livestream available. [more info]

Psychic Weapons (Ohmno / Dark Tapes) / See-Scape 2022-11-24 (Thursday). $10. [FB event]

Praises [LP Release!] (Bonnie Trash / Roach) / The Garrison 2021-11-24 (Thursday) [FB event]

Karen Ng presents (feat. Markus Floats / skin t0ne / Karen Ng [solo]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-11-24 (Thursday) [FB event]

Audiopollination (feat. 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). $10 or PWYC (or free if you can't). [FB event]

Aurochs OG [Ali Berkok/Jake Oelrichs/Pete Johnston/Mike Smith] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-11-25 (Friday – early!). $pwyc. [FB event]

The Ryan Driver Quintet / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-11-25 (Friday). $pwyw. [FB event]

Emergents series (feat. Joyce To / Architek x Vitalija Glovacktye) / The Music Gallery 2022-11-26 (Saturday). $10, all ages. [FB event]

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It happened this week...

• ...on November 21, 2018 at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge).

Shotgun Jimmie - Sorry, We're Closed

• ...on November 24, 2018 at Array Space (Allison Cameron Mini-Festival, Night 2).

c_RL - [4th piece]

[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: c_RL with Raven Chacon

Artist: c_RL with Raven Chacon

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at The Music Gallery @ 918 Bathurst (Raven Chacon mini-fest – Night 2), April 13, 2019.

c_RL with Raven Chacon - [excerpt]

Three nights examining the work of composer/musician Raven Chacon from different angles served as an interesting mirror to the X Avant festival earlier in the season. I wasn't able to make the first night, with the Array Ensemble surveying some of Chacon's chamber pieces, but I was eager for this night. Geographic dispersion has meant that c_RL is not performing together much right now, and the special occasion-ness of this reunion was enhanced with the trio's first (as far as I know) collaborative set. Their soundscape of noises and buzz-bursts was a friendly terrain for Chacon to add some guitar-sounds and cassette crackles.

At this posting, the archived livestream of the full concert is still available online:

Recording: c_RL

Artist: c_RL

Songs: [trio piece for keyboards] [composer: Allison Cameron] + [excerpt from 1st piece] + Stick a Mic In It + [4th piece]

Recorded at Array Space (Allison Cameron Mini-Festival, Night 2), November 24, 2018.

c_RL - [trio piece for keyboards]

c_RL - [excerpt from 1st piece]

c_RL - Stick a Mic In It

c_RL - [4th piece]

How do you generate a sense of occasion for a band that's often as informal as c_RL? Some of this show's extra grandeur came simply from the venue, with Allison Cameron able to haul out some rarely-deployed gear from her studio at Array Space. That certainly informed her night-opening solo set, where she sat between two tables in a V formation filled with a selection of musical implements — and that extra gear came in handy as Nicole Ramersaud and Germaine Liu were called up to close out the opening half by playing a scored piece for keyboards (including melodica and toy accordion).

That also hinted at a running theme of seeing divergent strands, like parellel universe versions of c_RL playing chamber music or, a bit later on, rocking out like a noise band in "Stick a Mic in It", a no-wave tune dedicated to The Reveries. (There was also an unexpected and joyful tribute to trumpeter Lina Allemano as well.) The set covered a lot of ground, from Santana featuring Rob Thomas all the way to The Police. Er, no, wait, those were just snatches of Q107 being picked up by an amplifier. But they fit in as well, with the trio's eerie sounds engraved like a palimpsest over the monoculture.

Recording: Array Ensemble

Artist: Array Ensemble (with Nicole Rampersaud and Germaine Liu)

Song: Kid Baltan [excerpt] [composer: Allison Cameron]

Recorded at Array Space (Allison Cameron Mini-Festival, Night 1), November 23, 2018.

Array Ensemble - Kid Baltan [excerpt]

This season's presentations from Array reflect the interests of (now former) Artistic Director Martin Arnold, so along with the return of the Rat-Drifting music series, it was no surprise to see this two-night celebration of Allison Cameron. The pair of shows were constructed to let various faucets of Cameron's work play off each other, so this night of compositions and graphic scores for chamber ensemble also incorporated her bandmates in c_RL for some of the pieces. They were perhaps most prominent in "Momentum", a newly-commissioned piece, but also contributed to this one as well. "Kid Baltan" had made its debut at the Music Gallery's Gaudeamus Deconstructed event a few years ago and bears a dedication to Louis Andreissen, whose influence can be especially felt in the opening section of percussive exclamation-point jolts before settling down a little into the bricolage heard here.

As of this posting, the whole night's proceedings, including a pre-show artist talk can be seen on the archived livestream of the event:

[Image screencapped from the archived livestream.]

Recording: c_RL

Artist: c_RL

Songs: [excerpt from set 1, 1st piece] + [edited excerpt from set 2, 2nd piece]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), September 19, 2018.

c_RL - [excerpt from set 1, 1st piece]

c_RL - [edited excerpt from set 2, 2nd piece]

Just a l'il potato chip party to celebrate the transition of this group from being a "Toronto trio" to a "Canadian trio" with trumpeter Nicole Rampersaud preparing to decamp to the East Coast. The always-casual Southern Cross vibes (with the occasional repeated instruction from a hypnotist bleeding through from the Main Hall) revealed a band that's really on top of their game, telepathy-wise.

With Germaine Liu off to one side, dressed in white behind her drumkit and Allison Cameron and Rampersaud clad in black (and with no shortage of strange devices strewn aboot them) it looked like some Spy vs. Spy schemes were about to unfold. "You're upside down... you're upside down," the hypnotist intones as the music falls suddenly quiet, right before the ringing chimes of metal bells and bowls and the toy accordion seep back up.

[Canadian trio c_RL will take the stage as part of an Allison Cameron mini-festival taking place at Array Space on November 23rd and 24th. The first night will feature "a major new work by Cameron commissioned by Array, written for our ensemble combined with... Germaine Liu and Nicole Rampersaud" while the second night will have some AC solo and c_RL trio action.]

Recording: c_RL

Artist: c_RL

Song: [set 1, first piece]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), September 21, 2016.

c_RL - [set 1, first piece]

With its mournful banjo licks, Allison Cameron lead off this elegiac piece that Nicole Rampersaud (trumpet) and Germain Liu (percussion) slowly twisted away from its from its first forays as a folk ramble. From there, Cameron would turn to her keyboard, contact mics and Honeytone amps as the trio essayed small-scale feedback, bent triumphal hopedrones and other twisting, plucking excursions. This might have been the trio's seventh anniversary of first playing together — as with many of the exact particulars of their music, that was left open to argument and interpretation.

Recording: Germaine Liu/Jonathan Adjemian/Matt Smith

Artist: Germaine Liu/Jonathan Adjemian/Matt Smith

Songs: [two excerpts]

Recorded at Dundas Video (Track Could Bend #16: unc_RLed), July 5, 2016.

Germaine Liu/Jonathan Adjemian/Matt Smith - [excerpt 1]

Germaine Liu/Jonathan Adjemian/Matt Smith - [excerpt 2]

In its continuing mission to find new ways to deconstruct and recombine various musical strands, this instalment of TCB saw the friends of local improvising aces c_RL split into its component parts, with each of the members invited to invite their choice of collaborators. This trio, convened by percussionist Germaine Liu, could have sounded like a lot of things, and in fact, though it quickly took shape, it didn't necessarily sound like what the participants themselves were expecting. Matt Smith brought his laptop and MIDI contollers, but actually spent more of the set playing guitar, grabbing a beer can to use as an impromptu slide. Both he and Jonathan Adjemian (on analog synth) also were moved to add some abstract vocals as well, giving a celebratory raga-ish edge to what turned into a junkshop groove like U.S. Maple gone prog.

[Track Could Bend #17 will be at Dundas Video on August 2nd, with Kapali Carsi, ZOË, and Professor Andy Dolgin and the Cereal Killers.]

Recording: Nicole Rampersaud + Colin Fisher

Artist: Nicole Rampersaud + Colin Fisher

Song: [first piece]

Recorded at Dundas Video (Track Could Bend #16: unc_RLed), July 5, 2016.

Nicole Rampersaud + Colin Fisher - [first piece]

In its continuing mission to find new ways to deconstruct and recombine various musical strands, this instalment of TCB saw the friends of local improvising aces c_RL split into its component parts, with each of the members invited to invite their choice of collaborators. Trumpeter Nicole Rampersaud opted to share the stage with Colin Fisher, who came armed with saxophones instead of guitars, leading to some powerful wind blowing from the stage. This was a case of two players competitively egging each other on — more of a friendly tussle than a cut-throat cutting contest, but fiercely-spirited stuff regardless. [Apologies are given for the technical imperfections in this recording — there's a bit of a percussive scuffing underneath the music throughout, the result of a member of the TCB technical crew forgetting to turn off a fan at the back of the stage.]

[Track Could Bend #17 will be at Dundas Video on August 2nd, with Kapali Carsi, ZOË, and Professor Andy Dolgin and the Cereal Killers.]

Recording: Allison Cameron/Jason Doell/Stephen Parkinson

Artist: Allison Cameron/Jason Doell/Stephen Parkinson

Songs: [excerpt, in two parts]

Recorded at Dundas Video (Track Could Bend #16: unc_RLed), July 5, 2016.

Allison Cameron/Jason Doell/Stephen Parkinson - [excerpt, part 1]

Allison Cameron/Jason Doell/Stephen Parkinson - [excerpt, part 2]

In its continuing mission to find new ways to deconstruct and recombine various musical strands, this instalment of TCB saw the friends of local improvising aces c_RL split into its component parts, with each of the members invited to invite their choice of collaborators. Allison Cameron's ukulele plucks and keyboard skritches split the sonic difference between fellow non-dancing Angel Stephen Parkinson (who brought his wah-wah melodica) and composer/plunderphonicist Jason Doell as this set settled into a zone that sounded like a steampunk version of a spaghetti western theme.

[Track Could Bend #17 will be at Dundas Video on August 2nd, with Kapali Carsi, ZOË, and Professor Andy Dolgin and the Cereal Killers.]

Recording: Octopus Curls

Artist: Octopus Curls

Songs: [various excerpts]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), May 29, 2016.

Octopus Curls - [set 1, first piece, excerpt 1]

Octopus Curls - [set 1, first piece, excerpt 2]

Octopus Curls - [set 1, second piece]

Octopus Curls - [set 2, excerpt]

This night saw a recombinant force of two of Allison Cameron's projects take the stage, mixing trumpeter Nicole Rampersaud (who plays with Cameron in c_RL) and guitarist Stephen Parkinson (part of the No Angels Dancing/No Octopus Dances continuum). Interestingly, those two had never played together before, but there was an easy and even-handed familiarity all around, with all the ukulele plucks, guitar taps, trumpet twists, Honeytone feedback, synth purps, and radio zworps that might be expected from these three players. The fourth musical force, which was quite palpable in the room, was the bleedthrough of a rehearsal of a musical theatre troupe from the Main Hall, which overpowered some of the quieter passages. But that notwithstanding, this was pretty fabulous stuff. I'd usually try to find a concise representation of an improvised set like this, but there was too much goodness to pick from, so here's a more generous allotment than usual to enjoy.

Recording: c_RL

Artist: c_RL

Song: [excerpt from set 1, first piece]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), February 7, 2016.

c_RL - [excerpt from set 1, first piece]

Holding down No Angels Dancing's first Sunday afternoon timeslot, Allison Cameron brought out Nicole Rampersaud and Germaine Liu to join her for a couple sets of improvisations from c_RL. Over five pieces, the trio explored a variety of sonic environments from electroacoustic banjo breakdowns to ambient buzzes to "Girl from Ipanema" deconstructions.

Double bonus! Here's a l'il video I took on my phone of a shred-y excursion, plus an overlap mix folding together a couple sections of a more textured excursion:

Recording: c_RL

Artist: c_RL

Song: [excerpt from first piece]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Main Hall), October 1, 2015.

c_RL - [excerpt from first piece]

It's not for nothing that this trio of Allison Cameron, Nicole Rampersaud and Germaine Liu has called their album Friends, given the easy interplay that one sees when they perform. But friends don't always have to be face-to-face, chattering away. This set saw the trio spread out in front of the stage in the Tranzac's Main Hall, each on their own little sound-island, seemingly doing their own thing in isolation — and yet the sounds curled into each other with a wonderful sort of effortless friction. The second piece even had one of those completely-unexpected perfect stops, where a sudden ending, the music landing just so, took all three by surprise with simultaneous suddenness. Playing with effortless authority, this unit is in a special zone right now and this set was so quietly persuasive it really seemed to shape the rest of the night's performances.

Recording: c_RL

Artist: c_RL

Song: [fourth piece]

Recorded at Ratio, May 8, 2015.

c_RL - [fourth piece]

Three years have elapsed since this trio (whose name is pronounced "curl") made the recordings that were being celebrated on this night as their first album, called Friends. In that time they'd eased off performing together, but as real-life friends there's an easy familiarity in their abstract electroacoustic interplay. There was also room for a variety of sonic approaches and inventions — Allison Cameron had her usual variety of small noise-making implements and mini-amps, Nicole Rampersaud brought her melodica to supplement her trumpet and percussionist Germaine Liu pulled out a recorder at one point. And on this piece, Cameron set the stage by playing a Cantopop tape while Rampersaud attached a contact mic to the bell of her horn, amplifying her valve-twiddling into little feedback-laden noisebursts.

Recording: c_RL

Artist: c_RL

Song: [edited excerpt from second piece]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Main Hall (Somewhere There Creative Music Festival – Show 2), February 20, 2015.

c_RL - [edited excerpt from second piece]

Allison Cameron led off the afternoon portion of the festival's second day with a talk about her musical career and conceptions as a composer and improviser, then showed her ideas in practice with the reactivation of this trio — which is pronounced "curl" — alongside Nicole Rampersaud (trumpet, melodica) and Germaine Liu (percussion). With Cameron's banjo, electronics, ribbon synth and thumb piano, they generated some restrained noisescapes with little wafts of feedback and static curling around the horn and drumclatter. This longstanding project hasn't played together much lately, but there's rumblings that an album will be on its way, so hopefully more shows will follow.