Recording: The Silt

Artist: The Silt

Songs: Waltzing Around + Mistakes

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), January 2, 2026.

The Silt - Waltzing Around

The Silt - Mistakes

Having theoretically wrapped things up for the avant-Philly Soul/alt-country unit The Silt back in 2010, Doug Tielli, Ryan Driver, and Marcus Quin have been allowing the band a stately and dignified postlife, with some occasional shows, and (as on this night) celebrating the return to circulation of One Last Thing, an odds-and-sods collection originally released on CRr at the band's "last" show. All of those retrospective leanings were given some qualifications, however, with the inclusion of some new songs in the mix (including the latter selection here from Ryan Driver). The silt, so to speak, may not have settled on the riverbed after all — keep an eye out to see if anything else gets shaken up.

Recording: Bateman/West/Dann

Artist: Victor Bateman/Brodie West/Nico Dann (and Doug Tielli)

Songs: Rhythm-A-Ning [composer: Thelonious Monk] + I'm Getting Sentimental Over You [composers: Ned Washington/George Bassman]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Tania Gill presents), January 2, 2026.

Victor Bateman/Brodie West/Nico Dann - Rhythm-A-Ning

Victor Bateman/Brodie West/Nico Dann/Doug Tielli - I'm Getting Sentimental Over You

An evening with the Tania Gill Quartet became something more ad hoc with the leader feeling under the weather and wisely staying at home. That left Victor Bateman (electric 5-string bass), Brodie West (alto sax) and Nico Dann (drumkit) to wing it — no charts, no fakebooks, just combing through their mental databases for some tunes that everyone would be prepared to have a go with. It also gave the trio, and especially the rhythm section, some extra time to stretch out and dig into the pieces. In the second set, the band called up Doug Tielli (who was on hand for the later show) to join in on trombone for a couple tunes.

Recording: Agnes

Artist: Agnes

Songs: Sjawm [excerpt] [composer: Rob Clutton] + [set 2 improvisation excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), December 16, 2025.

Agnes - Sjawm [excerpt]

Agnes - [set 2 improvisation excerpt]

I last saw this group in their proof-of-concept phase, before they had a name or a Tranzac residency. The formalized unit brings together Mark Zurawinski (percussion), Rob Clutton (double bass), Mira Martin-Gray (guitar, electronics), Kevin Turcotte (trumpet, flugelhorn), and Doug Tielli (trombone, saw) (as well as saxophonist Bea Labikova, absent on this night), exploring both members' compositions as well as abstract improvisational space. At times channeling the sounds of rustling detritus, with everyone scraping, twisting and boinging, the group moved through some wide-ranging dynamics, from quietly-brushed cymbals to organized horn-riffs, often held together by Rob Clutton's bass and Mira Martin-Gray's prepared guitar and electronic noise.

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

[Agnes will be back at The Tranzac next Tuesday (January 20th).]

Monday Roundup #226

Contest reminder (+ festival reminder!):

• Just a quick reminder that you have one last day to get your name in to win a pair of tickets to What Is: Rebound, on Friday night. Curated by Tad Michalak, the show is East End United Church’s sunken basketball court and presenting a night of avant-percussion from Sarah Hennies and Tristan Kasten-Krause plus the Imaginary Percussion Ensemble. Draw is tomorrow (Tuesday the 13th) at noon! Go here to enter! And check out all the programming (on- and off-site) that the MG has as past of the Festival Tuesday to Saturday!

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Concert announcements:

Jim Lewis Quartet [Jim Lewis/Harley Card/Dan Fortin/Ethan Ardelli] / The Rex 2025-05-20 (Tuesday – 5:30 p.m.). $10. [more info]

Blunt Object [Jay Hay/Ben Dietschi/Gordon Hyland/Jesse Malone/Teppei Kamei/Heather Saumer/Robin Jessome/Josh Bird/Tania Gill/Victor Batemen/Eric West] / The Rex 2025-05-24 (Saturday – 2 p.m.). $10/$15. [FB event]

Retrievals: New Music for Old Tech ["new works for violin and electronics by Tsz Long Yu and James Lowrie alongside Alvin Lucier's "Clocker". Expect 90s living room vibes, static, street lights indoors, an ice-fishing camera shaped like a fish, and very much more."] (feat. Arlan Vriens / Tim Roth) / Canadian Music Centre 2025-05-24 (Saturday). $free. [FB event]

More Noise Please Presents: An Evening of Relentless Noise (feat. Worth / Pain Appendix / Taskmaster / Jute / Toanche Dwelling) / The No No Room at The Dock Ellis 2025-05-24 (Saturday). $15/pwyc. [FB event]

Sympathetic String Band's Last Sundays Residency (feat. The Sympathetic String Band / Alex Lukashevsky / JOYSHAPE) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2025-05-25 (Sunday – early) [FB event]

Jim Lewis Quartet [Jim Lewis/Harley Card/Dan Fortin/Ethan Ardelli] / The Rex 2025-05-27 (Tuesday – 5:30 p.m.). $10. [more info]

In The Round (feat. Char Aragoza / Casey Mecija / Louie Sanchez) / Burdock Music Hall 2025-05-27 (Tuesday). $16.95, all-ages. [tickets + more info]

Exit Points #60 (feat. Benson Lee/Stella Turcica/Adam Tindale/Stephanie Chua/Katherine Semchuk / Chibuzr/Dafydd Hughes/amielangonline/Lance Keizer/Michael Palumbo / Switchemups) / Array Space 2025-05-30 (Friday). $15 Early Bird/$20 Advanced/$25 General Admission. [FB event]

Do West Fest (feat. ZONES / Noble Rot / Edmund Stay / Art D’ecco) / Transmit Stage 2025-06-06 (Friday). $free, outdoors, family-friendly. [more info]

Do West Fest (feat. Macaroni Birthday / Heaven For Real / Tijuana Bibles / Jay Feelbender / Orbital Ensemble / The Royal Family / Sam Jr. / Shiv & The Carvers / Prostitute / Fucked Up) / Transmit Stage 2025-06-07 (Saturday). $free, outdoors, family-friendly. [more info]

Do West Fest (feat. Huxlii / Twist / Dumb Crush / Fanclubwallet / cootie catcher / PONY) / Transmit Stage 2025-06-08 (Sunday). $free, outdoors, family-friendly. [more info]

Jessica Ackerley / Sellers & Newel 2025-06-18 (Wednesday). $20. [FB event]

Open Thread [Peggy Lee/Julien Wilson/Theo Carbo/Dylan van der Schyff] / Sellers & Newel 2025-06-19 (Thursday). $20. [FB event]

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

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Shows this week:

Toronto Electronic Music Open Mic (feat. Timothy 1105 / Chin Beats / Giant Floating Head / Tyrek / Ben Green / Alissa Vox Raw / Inchoate / naw / Puppies in Submarines / Extinction on Schedule / Samuel Lozano / Gruve Collective) / Handlebar 2025-05-12 (Monday) [more info]

Jim Lewis Quartet [Jim Lewis/Harley Card/Dan Fortin/Ethan Ardelli] / The Rex 2025-05-13 (Tuesday – 5:30 p.m.). $10. [more info]

The Music Gallery presents What Is: heart(break) – 1:11 moonwatching (feat. Jenna Geen & Zoma / Aidan McConnell / Gary Kirkham) / The Music Gallery 2025-05-13 (Tuesday). $10 [MG members], PWYC $15/$20/$25; $45 fest pass [MG members], $70 fest pass [non-MG members], all-ages. [more info]

May Residency (feat. Roy) / The Cameron House 2025-05-14 (Wednesday – 6 p.m.) [more info]

Brodie West Double Basses Quintet [Brodie West/Rob Clutton/Josh Cole/Patrick O'Reilly/Aidan McConnell] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2024-05-14 (Wednesday – early)

The Music Gallery presents What Is: heart(break) – Resurrection (feat. 8ULENTINA / Patrick Perez / Hagop Ohannessian) / Standard Time 2025-05-14 (Wednesday). $10 [MG members], PWYC $15/$20/$25; $45 fest pass [MG members], $70 fest pass [non-MG members], all-ages. [more info]

Ministry of Phonic Services presents (feat. Nikki Huang / Colby Richardson / Bag) / "a playground somewhere in Toronto" 2025-05-14 (Wednesday). $pwyc. [more info]

Ladyfinger [Diane Roblin & Kayla Milmine] / Sellers and Newel 2025-05-14 (Wednesday). $20 minimum donation. [more info]

Never Was [Brandon Davis/Bea Labikova/Racha Moukalled/Patrick O'Reilly/Adrian Russouw/Joe Sorbara] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2024-05-14 (Wednesday). [more info]

Ronley Teper’s Lipliners [Ronley Teper/Tim Posgate/Dafydd Hughes] / The Rex 2025-05-15 (Thursday – 5:30 p.m.). $10. [more info]

Playscape Emporium: Arcade-palooza (feat. Render File / Jason Leaver PuzzSoft) / Array Space 2024-05-15 (Thursday). $20.00 (or Pay What You Wish) / Livestream: $10.00 (or Pay What You Wish). [more info]

The Music Gallery presents What Is: heart(break) – Scentimental ["aromatic curator Sandro Petrillo will infuse the conservatory with hand-rolled incense"] (feat. Mas Aya / Sandro Petrillo / billie raphael) / The Music Gallery 2025-05-15 (Thursday). $10 [MG members], PWYC $15/$20/$25; $45 fest pass [MG members], $70 fest pass [non-MG members], all-ages. [more info]

Makam Nights (feat. Canan Sezgin-Geylan & Yahya Geylan) / The Tranzac (Living Room) 2025-05-15 (Thursday). $pwyc, notaflof. [more info]

Above Top Secret [Record Release Show] (Sydanie) / The Cameron House (Back Room) 2025-05-15 (Thursday). $15, 19+. [more info/tickets]

Sub-Sessions #10 (feat. Pick A Piper / Essie Watts / Erik Masson / Blush) / BSMT 254 2025-05-15 (Thursday). $pwyc, $15 recommended. [FB event]

Spheres of Southworth (feat. John Southworth & The South Seas) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2025-05-16 (Friday – early) [more info]

The Music Gallery presents What Is: heart(break) – Rebound (feat. Sarah Hennies / Tristan-Kasten Krause / Imaginary Percussion Ensemble) / East End United Basketball Court 2025-05-16 (Friday). $10 [MG members], PWYC $15/$20/$25; $45 fest pass [MG members], $70 fest pass [non-MG members], all-ages. [more info]

The Music Gallery presents What Is: heart(break) – Empty It Out (feat. Secondsight / Empty-it-out Ensemble / Jade Blair / Khashayar Mohammadi) / The Music Gallery 2025-05-17 (Saturday). $10 [MG members], PWYC $15/$20/$25; $45 fest pass [MG members], $70 fest pass [non-MG members], all-ages. [more info]

Digital North No.1 — New Connections ["a brand new concert series in Toronto, Digital North supports new Canadian electroacoustic music from across the country by featuring both emerging Canadian composers as well as bringing new attention to historic and significant Canadian electroacoustic works", feat. works by Dominic Sambucco, Alison Hain, Mikael Meunier-Bisson, sylvi macCormac, Steven Webb, Matthew Ariaratnam, Norma Beecroft] / St. George by the Grange 2025-05-17 (Saturday). $25.00 (general admission), $18.00 (student/arts worker). [FB event]

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It happened this week...

• ...on May 12, 2016 at Ratio (Somewhere There Presents).

Xavier Charles + Éric Normand - [excerpt]

Heather Saumer + Doug Tielli - The Forsaken Mermaid

[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: Labikova/Turcotte/Tielli/Clutton/Zurawinski

Artist: Bea Labikova/Kevin Turcotte/Doug Tielli/Rob Clutton/Mark Zurawinski

Song: The Four Seasons: Autumn [composer: Mira Martin-Gray]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Clue Note presents), March 25, 2025.

Bea Labikova/Kevin Turcotte/Doug Tielli/Rob Clutton/Mark Zurawinski - The Four Seasons: Autumn

This ensemble was originally constructed to essay Mira Martin-Gray's "Four Seasons", a suite with four movements introduced by haiku. In Martin-Gray's absence, the group presented the piece — and with the evening's trivia portion postponed, ended up performing for two sets, improvising a bit and trying out a few pieces by members Clutton and Tielli.

You can check out the full Four Seasons and some more from this night over on youtube:

Monday Roundup #113

Concert announcements:

University of Toronto Percussion Ensemble [Director: Aiyun Huang, featuring works by Yike Zhang, Emmanuel Séjourné, Ivan Trevino, Thierry de Mey, Fish Yu, Andrew James Clark] / Walter Hall 2023-03-20 (Monday). $free. [FB event]

Parallax - Act 1 ["different mediums, industries and forms of expressions come together in a series of collective performances"] (feat. Melad Jajou/Jess Burgess/The Band / Gore Gloss/Lou Rose) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-03-22 (Wednesday). $pwyc/$20 suggested. [FB event]

Karen Ng presents (feat. Karen Ng, Lori Freedman and guests) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-03-23 (Thursday)

Cowbird Collective Presents: A Loose Grip on Reality Record Release Show (feat. Tone Cathedral [Sara Constant/Paul Newman/Andrew Furlong/Meghan Cheng/Brian Abbott] / Mun Mun C.F) / Array Space 2023-03-25 (Saturday) [FB event]

Ace of Wands [Desiring album release!] (Mad Ones / Zinnia) / Velvet Underground 2023-03-30 (Thursday). $23 advance. [FB event]

You In Mind presents (feat. Jasmyn / Camille Léon / Shn Shn) / The Music Gallery 2023-03-31 (Friday). $17.03, all ages. [FB event]

Exit Points #36 (feat. Michelle Breslin/Tegan Dietsch/Owen Kurtz/%%30%30 / Rudy Ray/Sina “Xina” Gilani/Nilan Perera/Adrian Russuow/Michael Palumbo / “Switchemups”) / Array Space 2023-03-31 (Friday). $20. [FB event]

Cots (Alex Lukashevsky) / Tibet Street Records 2023-04-06 (Thursday). $20.

CMC Presents (feat. Pursuit Grooves / Masahiro Takahashi) / Canadian Music Centre 2023-04-12 (Wednesday). $15 Advance / $20 at the door. [FB event]

TONE Presents (feat. Sun Ra Arkestra) / The Great Hall 2023-06-28 (Wednesday). $44.39 advance/$50 door, 19+. [FB event]

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Shows this week:

Smoking Songs (feat. Jelly Ear) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-03-13 (Monday) [FB event]

Dun-Dun Land (feat. Dun-Dun Man / Thom Gill) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-03-14 (Tuesday – early!)

Sarah Greene Presents (feat. Sarah Greene/Paul Kolinski/Dave Clark/Tania Gill / Dave Clark's Western Slang) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-03-15 (Wednesday – early!) [FB event]

University of Toronto Vocal Jazz Ensemble [Christine Duncan, director] / Walter Hall 2023-03-15 (Wednesday). $free. [FB event]

Idée Fixe & Ansible presents (feat. Evan Cartwright / Brodie West Quintet) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-03-16 (Thursday)

Ronley Teper & the Lipliners / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-03-17 (Friday – early!)

Beyond the Valley of the Guitars (feat. Brian Ruryk / Nilan Perera) / Sellers & Newel 2023-03-17 (Friday). Minimum donation $20. [more info]

Karla (Mesh System [Caleb Klager/Stefan Hegerat] / Magfoto) / Tibet Street Records 2023-03-17 (Friday). $20. [FB event]

Selkie Sessions (Urban Shores Edition) (feat. Andrew Patten / Ivy Mairi / Sean Donald / Isla Craig) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-03-18 (Saturday – early!). $PWYC. [FB event]

Burn Down The Capital presents (feat. Still House Plants / Oil Giant / Brian Ruryk) / Bar Orwell 2023-03-19 (Sunday). $12 Adv / $15 Door, NOTAFLOF. [FB event]

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It happened this week...

• ...on March 16, 2019 at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge).

Doug Tielli - Highwayside Weeds

• ...on March 16, 2019 at The Tranzac's Tiki Room (Cold Early Spring).

Hexzuul - [3rd piece, edit]

[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: Doug Tielli + Friends

Artist: Doug Tielli + Friends

Songs: With Body and Soul [Bill Monroe cover] + Hello Stranger [Carter Family cover]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Cosmic Country for Communists), February 9, 2023.

Doug Tielli + Friends - With Body and Soul

Doug Tielli + Friends - Hello Stranger

It's not bluegrass, the experts remind us, if there's a drumkit on stage, so let's maybe call this Cosmic Country for Communists one-off grouping bluegrass-adjacent. Doug Tielli brought a list of favourite songs to sing, backed by an ace band put together by series host Kurt Newman (here on dobro) that included Harry Bartlett (guit), Chris Adriaanse (double bass), Blake Howard (drums), and some coaxed-from-the-audience contributions from Logan McNeil (mandolin). Tielli's list of tunes drew from the bluegrass/country axis, but also extended to include Townes Van Zandt and Mary Margaret O'Hara.

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 #89

Contest reminder:

• There's still time to enter my FutureStops festival contest and win a pair of tickets to Friday night's show with Raven Chacon, Amina Claudine Myers, Sarah Svendsen and Rashaan Allwood at Roy Thomson Hall! The draw is tomorrow (Tuesday, September 27th) at noon. Click here for more details on the contest + info on the festival!

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Concert announcements:

Track Could Bend #72 (feat. Kayla Milmine/Mike Gennaro / Stranger Still [Mim Adams/Randi Helmers/Rob Clutton/Pete Johnston] / Jonas Olesen) / Wenona Lodge 2022-10-04 (Tuesday). $PWYC. [FB event]

Audiopollination (feat. Jessica Houghton/Kathryn Merriam / Patrick O’Reilly/Curtis Whittaker/Saba Saneinejad / Ryan Kinney/Mira Riselli / Bill Gilliam/Eugene Martynec/Bill McBirnie) / Array Space 2022-10-07 (Friday). $10 (cash or card) or PWYC. [FB event]

SynCirSundays (feat. Mike Hansen & Gary Barwin [where the angels once were: live sessions album release!] / Rob Clutton & Nilan Perera) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-10-09 (Sunday – early!) [FB event]

Imarhan / Revival 2022-10-15 (Saturday). $25. [FB event]

The Chills [Soft Bomb 30th Anniversary Tour] (Unwed Sailor) / Horseshoe Tavern 2022-10-18 (Tuesday). $ 41.34, 19+. [FB event]

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Shows this week:

Nick Fraser Presents (feat. Rob Clutton Trio) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-09-27 (Tuesday)

Erin Corbett (Animal Party / Output 1:1:1) / The Piston 2022-09-28 (Wednesday). $10 or PWYC. [FB event]

Patrick Smith Presents: Brotzmann's Machine Gun (feat. Patrick Smith/Naomi McCarroll-Butler/Colin Fisher/Mark Hundevad/Mike Gennaro/Harry Vetro/Mike DeiCont/Andrew Furlong) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-09-28 (Wednesday) [FB event]

FutureStops Festival (feat. Kali Malone / Thomas Mellan / Kara-Lis Coverdale) / Cathedral of St James 2021-09-29 (Thursday). $32.84 – $145.29. [more info]

Scott Hardware (Koza) / The Baby G 2022-09-29 (Thursday). $13.85, 19+. [FB event]

FutureStops Festival (feat. Raven Chacon / Sarah Svendsen / Rashaan Allwood / Amina Claudine Myers) / Roy Thomson Hall 2021-09-30 (Friday). $50.25. [more info]

Aurochs [Pete Johnston/Mike Smith/Robin Buckley/Kayla Milmine/Chris Pruden] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-09-30 (Friday – early!)

Kellarissa (Laura Barrett) / The Tranzac (Living Room) 2022-09-30 (Friday) [FB event]

The Ryan Driver Sextet / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-09-30 (Friday) [FB event]

FutureStops Festival (feat. Fuji|||||||||ta / Sandra Boss) / Roy Thomson Hall (lobby) 2021-10-01 (Saturday – 1 p.m.). $36.75. [more info]

FutureStops Festival (feat. Charlemagne Palestine / Matthew Larkin / Sarah Davachi) / Metropolitan United Church 2021-10-01 (Saturday). $32.84. [more info]

Heaven For Real [LP release!] (Sook-Yin Lee / Poolblood) / Monarch Tavern 2022-10-01 (Saturday). $15 advance, 19+. [FB event]

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It happened this week...

• ...on September 28, 2016 at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Piano Party).

Doug Tielli and Tania Gill - La flûte de Pan

• ...on September 28, 2016 at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Wolf's Nacho Wednesdays).

Determinist? - [last section]

[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.]

Monday Roundup #53

Someday this space might be mostly concert listings again, but for now Monday roundups might include a romp through the MFS archives, some bandcamp suggestions, nods to a few livestreams, and sundry community notes (email me if you have anything that needs broadcast in the latter category!).

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Community notes:

• It's all too easy to feel pessimism regarding the future of live music, especially in this increasingly-unaffordable city, so this piece of pragmatic utopianism from Tom Beedham might help to engender some consideration of brighter futures. (From the online New Feeling magazine, itself a product of ponderings on practical positivity that you should be keeping an eye on.)

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Livestream nation:

• Understory's first season concludes with one more "unclassifiable pan-Canadian remote collaboration". Two trios create improvisation-driven, "exquisite corpse"-style pieces employing music/ sound, scavenged footage, and more. The final instalment's two trios are: Bea Labikova/Brandon Auger/Jennifer Thiessen and Jing Xia/Leslie Ting/Nicole Rampersaud. It goes live online on Thursday (January 20th) at 8 p.m.

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In the mix:

• New drone mix like a sonic blanket for wintertime. Harp, harmonica, piano, clarinet — an orchestral electroacoustic zone? With tracks by Andrea Cortez, Elisa Thorn, Sachi Kobayashi, Michele Andreotti, Matthew Fava, John Snijders, Kaja Draksler & Eve Risser, Steve Reich and Musicians, Sascha Rosemarie Höfer, and Ann Southam.

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It happened this week...

• ...on January 22, 2014 at the Holy Oak Café. [remember how foggy the windows got during a show on a cold winter's night?]

Doug Tielli - Cow Worries

[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: Doug Tielli

Artist: Doug Tielli

Songs: Highwayside Weeds + Strange Echo

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), March 16, 2019.

Doug Tielli - Highwayside Weeds

Doug Tielli - Strange Echo

A night with some heavy vibes and a sense of absence in the room was a chance for community members to gather together and feel the balm of Doug Tielli's songs. This turned out to be one of those CD release shows where the CD's hadn't arrived yet, though that didn't feel like too much of an obstacle — what's a few more days when these were mostly songs that were, as Tielli noted, recorded about four years ago? (And some of them were in his live repertoire for some time before that, even.)

Joined by his full band, with Heather Saumer on trombone, Bea Labikova on sax, Chris Adriaanse on bass and Raphael Roter on drums (plus Tania Gill on piano for part of the set) there was an opportunity to replicate the album's off-kilter lushness — and, even more importantly, its vocal harmonies. Truth and Elseness is filled with lovely sounds and wise observations, wrapped up in a bit more of country-ish package (fans of groups like Royal City will find a lot to like here) — and this was made even before Tielli decamped from the city, so who knows what quiet backroads his songs will head down next?

Recording: The Silt

Artist: The Silt

Songs: No Twig + One Day Will Come + No One Can Say Too Well

Recorded at Array Space, March 29, 2018.

The Silt - No Twig

The Silt - One Day Will Come

The Silt - No One Can Say Too Well

This typical spring day (in the sense that spring is often cold and rainy) saw the reactivation of this Rat-Drifting era unit (that had only a single one-off show last year since their dissolution in 2010) playing "all the hits" over two sets. There was multi-tasking all around here — most notably from Marcus Quin, who spent most of the set playing drums and bass simultaneously, but Ryan Driver and Doug Tielli each swapped off on several instruments as well.

Mostly favouring a sort of bent-roots crunch (though with several diversions, such as to the prog crooning heard in the second song here) and plenty three-part falsetto harmonies, the group's unstable wobble puts them at the most "out" in a constellation of contemporaries like Royal City and Rock Plaza Central. I only saw this band play once, toward the end of their run, and I was somewhat ambiguous about them then, clearly lacking the context to totally "get" what they were doing. Now, this strikes me as excellent stuff — and this performance, feeling rough-around-the-edges in the best ways, didn't feel like the work of a band that had hardly played in seven years. They've already gotten one more show under their belt, so it looks like this might be back in the "active projects" docket.

Recording: Somewhere There Festival Trombone Quartet

Artist: Somewhere There Festival Trombone Quartet

Songs: Mobile [composer: Susanna Hood] + Fork [edit] [composer: Logan Mills] + 4 for 8 [version 2] [composer: Scott Thomson] + Untitled [composer: Doug Tielli]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Main Hall (Somewhere There Creative Music Festival – Show 4), February 25, 2018.

Somewhere There Festival Trombone Quartet - Mobile

Somewhere There Festival Trombone Quartet - Fork [edit]

Somewhere There Festival Trombone Quartet - 4 for 8 [version 2]

Somewhere There Festival Trombone Quartet - Untitled

Building on the tradition established with last year's saxophone quartet, the Somewhere There Festival once more showed its commitment to new music with a call for compositions — this time for trombone quartet. And once more the ensemble — consisting of Tom Richards, Heather Saumer, Doug Tielli and Nebyu Yohannes — preceded a concert of the commissioned works with an open rehearsal, giving non-players a window into the process of how a group and composer navigate the mutual discovery of how a new piece "works".

Of the three pieces chosen, Logan Mills' "Fork" was the most conventionally scored, although there was a lot of mathematically-intricate trickiness in a piece based on harmonic interrelationships he had been musing upon while working as a piano tuner. Susanna Hood's "Mobile", on the other hand, offered a procedurally-intricate text-based score that had the players spacialized (and spinning around) like the parts of a wind-tossed mobile. Scott Thomson's "4 for 8" was even more open ended with two sets of variables on a numbered line leading to a "rehearsal" that was as more of a negotiation over how to interpret the piece than a musical struggle. (Thomson, who was present, saw no need to impose any authorial wisdom on the players, who ultimately decided to play the piece following two separate rule-sets, leading to two rather different results.) The concert was closed out by this untitled miniature from Doug Tielli, which sounded not unlike street-corner Salavation Army band lullaby.

Recording: Heather Saumer + Doug Tielli

Artist: Heather Saumer + Doug Tielli

Songs: [two pieces]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Music By & For Ken Aldcroft, V), April 12, 2017.

Heather Saumer + Doug Tielli - [third piece]

Heather Saumer + Doug Tielli - [fourth piece]

This set of improvisations had some more reflective moments, such as the drone-y first selection here, but hewed mostly to the playful side, with two trombones jockeying for position and sputtering back and forth — the pieces sometimes ending with one of the musicians breaking into laughter.

[Stay tuned for more music by and for Ken Aldcroft on the second-Wednesday-of-the-month — the next one up will be June 14th.]

Recording: Lîla Ensemble

Artist: Lîla Ensemble

Songs: [two excerpts]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Main Hall (Somewhere There Creative Music Festival – Show 2), February 25, 2017.

Lîla Ensemble - [excerpt 1]

Lîla Ensemble - [excerpt 2]

The festival's first afternoon show was focused on improvisation in movement and its relationship to music. This set from the Lîla Ensemble was nestled between a solo dance from Amelia Ehrhardt and a panel discussion on the topic. Although co-inspired improvising collaborations between dance and music aren't uncommon, Lîla takes things further than most by dissolving the musician/dancer separation. With the exception of dancer Jessica Houghton, everyone else in the ensemble's participation moved back and forth between playing and moving, creating a fluid and shifting dynamic.

Recording: Doug Tielli

Artist: Doug Tielli

Songs: La plus que lente + La flûte de Pan (with Tania Gill) [composer: Claude Debussy]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Piano Party), September 28, 2016.

Doug Tielli - La plus que lente

Doug Tielli and Tania Gill - La flûte de Pan

As a breeze through the front window set the curtain gently dancing, Doug Tielli started and finished his set with some pieces by Debussy, joined by Tania Gill to play piano as he sang the Chansons de Bilitis. Along the way, he offered some reinterpretations — of tunes originally composed for Drumheller as well as of a song played by an ice cream truck. For a musician known to work with such a range of material and instruments, it was no surprise that everything in this set was handled with such nimble grace.

Recording: Heather Saumer + Doug Tielli

Artist: Heather Saumer + Doug Tielli

Songs: The Forlorn Stranger + The Forsaken Mermaid

Recorded at Ratio (Somewhere There Presents), May 12, 2016.

Heather Saumer + Doug Tielli - The Forlorn Stranger

Heather Saumer + Doug Tielli - The Forsaken Mermaid

"Forlorn & Forsaken" would be an excellent name for a folk duo, although in this case Heather Saumer and Doug Tielli seemed to be having too much fun to qualify for the moniker even as they dipped into some darker material from that ace songwriter Trad. Arr. (plus the likes of Hank Williams and Carla Bley). Each with their trombone and accentuated by autoharp, guitar and singing saw, the pair took turns singing — a revelation especially from Saumer. Casual and intimate, all this set was lacking was a veranda and a porch swing.

Recording: The Draperies

Artist: The Draperies

Song: [second piece]

Recorded at Ratio, July 13, 2015.

The Draperies - [second piece]

This quickly-assembled evening came together to take advantage of expatriate Eric Chenaux's presence in town, continuing this project's recent pace of annual-ish concerts. Mixing Chenaux's masterful guitar abstractions with Ryan Diver's analog synth and Doug Tielli's trombone, this one actually saw Tielli eschew his horn to kneel beside the exposed piano frame at the back of the room, singing wordlessly and plucking on the strings as if it were an especially metallic-sounding harp. Chenaux added little swells of feedback while Driver waited, listening for a spell before adding some subtle zworps.

Recording: Nick Fraser + Doug Tielli

Artist: Nick Fraser + Doug Tielli

Song: Nick Fraser + Doug Tielli - [excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), May 26, 2015.

Nick Fraser + Doug Tielli - [excerpt]

Although this night's "Nick Fraser presents" slot was mostly given over to Titanium Riot, there was still time for a quick opening set split between percussionist Fraser and Doug Tielli (piano, voice, trombone) which had some quieter, gentle moments, as well as this more ripping bit from the middle of a long improvisation.

Six years/Six pack: Allison Cameron

MFS has turned six! My introductory thoughts on this landmark can be found here, but long story short: I asked some folks to pick some of their favourites to help me celebrate. Thought we were done? Not quite yet!

Today's list is from Allison Cameron — composer, improviser and sound-maker with "small amplified objects". She is the ringleader of "No Angels Dancing", one my favourite monthly shows. Come hang out at the Tranzac 1 to 3 p.m. on the first Sunday of every month.

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When Joe Strutt asked me to contribute to the six-packs I had no idea how difficult it was going to be. I mean choosing only six. There could be six hundred! Joe's blog is an incredible testament to Toronto's creative music scene. Thank you Joe for MFS! Hope you have sixty more years... ;)

Nick Kuepfer - unknown [excerpt]

Nick is a super good musician/composer probably a bit too under the radar at the moment. This Wavelength performance is one of the best live compositions period. Features some awesome work with old fashioned reel to reel tape players. Kudos to Joe for picking this one up (I had to miss the show unfortunately).

Thin Edge New Music Collective - Doors

Also couldn't make this one but what a nice collaboration with lots of good young musician-composers involved, including Nick Storring who curated it.

Doug Tielli - Riversea

This live in-store was great. I love Doug's singing and gnarly guitar solos. One of the great singer-songwriters we are lucky to have in Toronto. Great band too with Ryan Driver, Nick Fraser and Scott Peterson.

A Ryan Driver Quintet - I Never Knew

And speaking of Ryan Driver here is the exceptional RD xtet with the music of Toronto's one and only Stephen Parkinson (who also contributed to the evening with swooning wah-wah melodica solos). Lots of fave musicians in this band: Brodie West and Martin Arnold (not present this night), Michael Davison, Rob Clutton, and Blake Howard.

Brass Knuckle Sandwich - [excerpt from first piece]

Holy smokes this was a good duo! Brilliant idea from the folks at the Somewhere There Festival to put together Nicole Rampersaud (trumpet) and Marilyn Lerner (piano) for a wonderful improvised music set. Great musicians! Great Festival!

Cluttertones - Webbed

Can't say enough about the recent music of Rob Clutton! Excellent compositions for the Cluttertones and more recently with Randi Helmers (Rob's partner) giving us some stunning new songs for soprano and banjo. (I hope these will get posted!) Webbed is a slightly more ethereal tune from Rob in this offering also featuring the talents of Lina Allemano, Tim Postgate and Ryan Driver a.k.a. Cluttertones.

plus bonus baseball cap and glove:

THOMAS - unknown

Joe was right on about this one - a nice chance to see (and hear) Thom flashing his guitar skills!

No Angels Dancing - [excerpt from start of second set]

Crazy No Angels Dancing surrogate band with Germaine Liu, Chris Banks and Stephen Parkinson!

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You can always click on the tags below to look for more stuff from these artists. Has there been a half-dozen 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.