Recording: Wenderly Park feat. members of Stargoon

Artist: Wenderly Park feat. members of Stargoon

Songs: [excerpt, in two parts]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), March 25, 2023.

Wenderly Park feat. members of Stargoon - [excerpt, part 1]

Wenderly Park feat. members of Stargoon - [excerpt, part 2]

What has two harmonica players, a lap steel, and isn't a country band? The answer is not Stargoon, but also not Wenderly Park — although this one-off recombination included members of both, oscillating between dense drones and something more chaotic.

You can also check out footage of the full set over on youtube:

Bumping into... Jakob Rehlinger

Bumping Into... is a series of mini-chats with a variety of peeps that you might run into in some of our local music communities. (There's a bit of an intro and my thoughts behind the series here.)

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How are you? Where are you?

How am I? Ha! I feel like I’m emerging from one of those machines at like Home Depot that mixes the paint by vigorously shaking it. Anyhow, I’m at home, of course, on my couch watching YouTube videos with the kid. Weird to run into you here. Why are you in my house? WE’RE IN THE RED ZONE DON’T YOU KNOW?

What have you been up to since March or so?

Just being a homemaker. I’ve done some freelance graphic design work. I’ve recorded and released a few Heavy Moon albums, I guess. I always forget I did that.

Have you found any new ways to do old things? How are you feeling about the shifts in how music is being made/shared/listened to?

I’m still enjoying not feeling guilty about missing shows. There’s been no change in the way I make or consume music.

Any works of art that have been a light for you in these times? Anything that's just been a good diversion?

Ezra Furman’s song “Every Feeling” reduced me to a blubbering mess the other day. So there’s that.

How are you feeling about 2021?

It’s promising to be a very significant year in my life. So I’m pretty optimistically apprehensive about that.

Anything else we'd chat about if we bumped into each other?

I imagine Stargoon would come up. I’d make my rote joke about my lifestyle only changing about 10% during the pandemic and I’d suspiciously oversell how well I’m coping.

Recording: Jakob Rehlinger

Artist: Jakob Rehlinger

Song: [excerpt from first section]

Recorded at Wenona Lodge (Appetite for Deconstruction #1), February 27, 2020.

Jakob Rehlinger - [excerpt from first section]

Another new electronic improvised music series, this one hosted by synthesist and sound designer Mike Barber. His concept, as implied by the series' title, was to record the sets by the evening's guests and use that as the source material for his own set. Jakob Rehlinger lead things off with a BABEL-esque set, with the synth noodles heard here later giving way to some guitar treatments, including tapped-string percussive knocks and ebow slidesounds.

[Stay tuned, once the need for social distancing has eased, for word of the continuation of this series!]

Recording: Stargoon

Artist: Stargoon

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Array Space, February 13, 2020.

Stargoon - [excerpt]

Stargoon is always an experiment and work in progress, so no surprise here to see Matthew Fava finding out in real time how some violin sounds in the midst of the maelstrom. The mix is a bit janky here, but one can still appreciate Kayla Milmine's sax grooves over the always-percolatin' rhythm section of Luca Capone and Jakob Rehlinger.

Recording: The BABEL Ensemble

Artist: The BABEL Ensemble

Song: Release of the Spirit [excerpt]

Recorded at Array Space (Remembering Arachnidiscs), January 19, 2020.

The BABEL Ensemble - Release of the Spirit [excerpt]

Jakob Rehlinger needed only some moderate prodding to put together an event celebrating the winding down his Arachnidiscs label after a twenty-year run — though once he was committed, he ran with the idea, turning the event into a proper funeral, complete with wreath and memory book. He also had the idea of combining some of the label's alumni into one-off ensembles for this show.

The prize of the night was a release celebration for the label's swan song, Thirteen Exquisite Corpses by Rehlinger's ambitious (and rather beautiful) BABEL Ensemble project, where each of the participants "improvised to a series of minimal synthesizer drones provided by Rehlinger, unaware of each others' addition, which Rehlinger then edited into cohesive works." This live set assembled four musicians (M. Mucci, Matthew Fava, Dominic Marion and Kayla Milmine) who had participated, and were edited together on the project's first disc. The resultant piece, like the album, was entrancingly cohesive, and a worthy dirge to wrap things up.

[Jakob Rehlinger will be making some solo sounds at the first instalment of Appetite For Deconstruction, a new series convened by Mike Barber, next Thursday (February 27th) at Wenona Lodge.]

Recording: Stargoon

Artist: Stargoon

Song: Part 4

Recorded at Array Space, September 20, 2019.

Stargoon - Part 4

With The Side Eye celebrating a new Arachnidiscs album, they reached out to some labelmates in putting together a release show. Easy enough then to get Stargoon on board, seeing saxophonist Kayla Milmine is a member of both units. This Stargoon outing had a few less squawks with feedbackist Matthew Fava taking the night off, so your dogged documenter attempted to add some wrinkly textures in processing the sax sounds and deploying a drum synth pedal. As always, it's the rhythm section of Luca Capone and Jakob Rehlinger that really keep things simmering.

You can check out/download this full set over at Stargoon's bandcamp:

Images montaged from a video shot by Fahmid Nibesh.

Recording: Stargoon

Artist: Stargoon

Songs: [edited excerpt, in two parts]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Ayal Senior presents), August 11, 2019.

Stargoon - [edited excerpt, part 1]

Stargoon - [edited excerpt, part 2]

Ayal Senior asked me to guest-curate his Sunday afternoon slot, so this was a chance for Stargoon to gather for a family-friendly afternoon set. Saxophonist Kayla Milmine was away for this one, leaving more room for electronic squawks and rumbles, and a lot of deft rhythm section interplay between bassist Jakob Rehlinger and drummer Luca Capone.

Recording: Stargoon

Artist: Stargoon

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Monarch Tavern, June 26, 2019.

Stargoon - [excerpt]

Re-emerging after a couple seasons away from the stage, Stargoon brought not only a new tape but also return special guest performer Kayla Milmine, adding some soprano sax (dry and processed) to the proceedings.

You can also see a visual sample from this set over on Ayal Senior's youtube channel:

[Still from Ayal Senior's video.]

Recording: Rehlinger/Webber/O

Artist: Jakob Rehlinger/Georgia Webber/Victor O

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Array Space (Track Could Bend #49: Fourth Anniversary All-Star Spectacular!), April 2, 2019.

Jakob Rehlinger/Georgia Webber/Victor O - [excerpt]

For its fourth anniversary, Track Could Bend once more invited back all of the past year's performers to partake in some instant bands, with names being drawn from a hat before each set. A dozen musicians took up the challenge, divided into four trios. Unexpected connections emerged — there were more violins than usual, for example — and once more the results were highly satisfying. A trip into the drone zone here, with Jakob Rehlinger's synthscapes providing the backdrop for Georgia Webber's vocalizations/violin sounds and Victor O's percussion/piano counterpoints.

[Track Could Bend is back at its Wenona home base tonight (Tuesday, June 4th) offering sets from Mike Barber, Ashley Urquhart and Friends plus Pete Johnston's Bog Standards.]

Recording: Stargoon

Artist: Stargoon

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Array Space (Invocation Presents), October 12, 2018.

Stargoon - [excerpt]

Opening up an Invocation night that would winnow down into feedback and folky explorations, Stargoon's first show at a sit-down venue saw some granulated melodica and additional disco grooves added to the kosmische rumbles.

[Invocation's presentation of the Thalia Zedek Band has now been merged with Wavelength's Holiday Music/Comedy Fundraiser at The Baby G on Wednesday, December 12th.]

[photos by Peter Gough.]

Recording: Jakob Rehlinger

Artist: Jakob Rehlinger

Song: [track 2, edited excerpt]

Recorded at Wenona Lodge (Track Could Bend #43), October 2, 2018.

Jakob Rehlinger - [track 2, edited excerpt]

Since retiring his BABEL moniker, Jakob Rehlinger's various bursts of "solo" activity have been accompanied by the emergence of this self-titled tendril for "kosmische synthesizer work as a solo musician". This reorganization (which includes, for those keeping track, the re-classification of some formerly-BABEL recordings) has so far resulted in the eponymous project's first "formal" release, as well as a split CD with Guelph's M. Mucci. This improvisation is of a kind with the latter, and the set also included a major new piece dedicated to the memory of Rehlinger's mother in her garden.

[Track Could Bend is back at Wenona Lodge on Tuesday (November 6th) with sets from Araz Salek & Colin Fisher, Julie Reich and Alex Fournier & Tara Kannangara.]

Recording: Moonwood

Artist: Moonwood

Song: Jupiter [edit]

Recorded at The Dupe Shop, August 25, 2018.

Moonwood - Jupiter [edit]

Claiming this to be "their final fuzzed-out spacerock performance before returning to their acid-folk roots", Moonwood was celebrating a cupboard-clearing cassette of kosmische jams. What that means for further excursions is currently unclear, but it probably won't be too long before some new sounds emerge.

[Three-quarters of Mooonwood will be switching things up as members of Stargoon, performing Friday (October 12th) at Array Space along with Kapali Carsi in support of Invocations' presentation of Charalambides.]

Recording: Stargoon

Artist: Stargoon

Song: [first section]

Recorded at The Garrison's front room, June 28, 2018.

Stargoon - [first section]

Bespoke feedback-crafter Matthew Fava had to sit this one out, so straight-horn theorist Kayla Milmine was drafted to add some soprano sax to this set. That gave a refreshing new twist to some older strategies, and a chance to explore dynamics in a different way than usual. This opening segment of the set shows how things things recombined enroute to achieving disco-kosmische escape velocity.

[No Stargoon-related escapades on the immediate horizon, but at always, Kayla Milmine will be all over the city making music. One noteworthy upcoming show is an appearance by Wow & Flutter (Kayla Milmine, Bea Labikova & Sarah Peebles) at the Music Gallery on Friday, September 21st, opening things up at the Brodie West Quintet's release celebration.]

Recording: Keith/Rehlinger/Renaud

Artist: Michael Keith/Jakob Rehlinger/Craig Renaud

Songs: [two excerpts]

Recorded at Array Space (Track Could Bend #37), April 3, 2018.

Michael Keith/Jakob Rehlinger/Craig Renaud - [excerpt 1]

Michael Keith/Jakob Rehlinger/Craig Renaud - [excerpt 2]

Continuing a series tradition, Track Could Bend marked its third anniversary by inviting back all of the previous year's performers for a celebration. That's enough of a crowd to warrant a larger stage, so for one rainy night, the action shifted over to Array Space. There ended up being sixteen players, all of whom put their names in a hat to be drawn to create spontaneous ensembles for a series of quick sets. To close the night, the hat provided this trio, each member of which has been known to create some rigourous drones in their own ways. No surprise, then, that they fell right together into a deep drift zone; but the twist here came from Michael Keith, whose deadpan comedic sensibility provided a slightly-surreal narrative throughline.

[TCB will be having a special extra-early show at The Baby G on Tuesday, June 5th, with sets from Barry Prophet, Nicole Rampersaud and Lisbon's Sal Grosso.]

Recording: Kardonne/Estacio/Jensen/Nish-Lapidus

Artist: Tova Kardonne/Kat Estacio/Katie Jensen/Matt Nish-Lapidus

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Array Space (Track Could Bend #37), April 3, 2018.

Tova Kardonne/Kat Estacio/Katie Jensen/Matt Nish-Lapidus - [excerpt]

Continuing a series tradition, Track Could Bend marked its third anniversary by inviting back all of the previous year's performers for a celebration. That's enough of a crowd to warrant a larger stage, so for one rainy night, the action shifted over to Array Space. There ended up being sixteen players, all of whom put their names in a hat to be drawn to create spontaneous ensembles for a series of quick sets. With drifting/buzzing electronics and keyboards sharing space with voice and gongs, this quartet discovered a sort of nonlinear dream-drift, mapping topographical subconscious terrains — intriguing but not necessarily calm landscapes.

[TCB will be having a special extra-early show at The Baby G on Tuesday, June 5th, with sets from Barry Prophet, Nicole Rampersaud and Lisbon's Sal Grosso.]

Recording: Stargoon

Artist: Stargoon

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Duggan's Brewery, March 30, 2018.

Stargoon - [excerpt]

The Stargoon crew returned with feedback and mildly-melodic zworping to warm up the crowd in this Parkdale basement.

[Stargoon will also be warming up the crowd for The Mean and Aus!Funkt at The Piston on Thursday, May 31st.]

Recording: Moonwood

Artist: Moonwood

Song: [last section]

Recorded at The Dupe Shop (Arachnidiscs Dual Release Show), November 19, 2017.

Moonwood - [last section]

What better place than The Dupe Shop to celebrate a couple new tapes emerging into the world? They say it takes a village to raise a child; more obscurely, they also say that it takes a bass player to adjust a toddler's headphones so they're not overwhelmed by sounds while slung on a keyboard player's back. After taking some time off for parental leave, this was Moonwood's first show back, with their newest associate in tow, adding an astounding and delightful layer of new complications to their live performance, including a mid-set slowdown when the drumkit looked like a very appealing thing to play with. In the end, things didn't go entirely to plan, but that made it a much more unique and endearing experience. Rock the daycare!

Recording: Stargoon

Artist: Stargoon

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at The Dupe Shop (Arachnidiscs Dual Release Show), November 19, 2017.

Stargoon - [excerpt]

What better place than The Dupe Shop to celebrate a couple new tapes emerging into the world? Launching the afternoon with a celebration of its first physical release, Stargoon was showing off the more expansive sound that has developed since its recording, with additional audio complications from Matthew Fava (SuperCollider and AUMI software plus manipulated human voice) joining mainstays Luca Capone (drums) and Joe Strutt (synth/pedals) and producer/permanent guest bassist Jakob Rehlinger. The recording here's a little over-saturated, but this seemed to cook nicely.

Photo by Andrika De Lanerolle.

Recording: Stargoon

Artist: Stargoon

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Somewhere Else, October 20, 2017.

Stargoon - [excerpt]

It was a pleasure to bring some Stargoon sounds to this informal living room show [full disclosure/caveat emptor: yours truly is a member of Stargoon] mixing a rock-solid rhythm section with treated sounds swirling from two separate directions. Oh, and also a cheap plastic Russian speak-and-spell spitting distorted phonemes in the background. Look for this as a future live document on the Stargoon bandcamp: in the meantime, our side of our new Arachnidiscs split tape is available for your perusal.

Photo by Andrika De Lanerolle.

Recording: Stargoon

Artist: Stargoon

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Handlebar (Nite Comfort 47), August 6, 2017.

Stargoon - [excerpt]

After a debut performance at one of Simcoe County's premiere hippie festivals, Stargoon returned to a more natural environment in the city. A quartet this time 'round, with drummer Luca Capone and synth/pedal troublemaker Joe Strutt joined by Moonwood's Jakob Rehlinger (producer of the band's forthcoming Arachnidiscs split tape) on bass as well as Matthew Fava on SuperCollider and AUMI software plus manipulated human voice. It felt satisfying up on stage, with a nice mix of simmering grooves and some more textured stretches. It even earned some scattered applause from the crowd. Further Stargoon adventures to follow, including the release of that aforementioned split tape with Moonwood.

You can check out the full recording of the set over on bandcamp:

[photo by Aaron Dawson.]