Recording: Joyce To

Artist: Joyce To

Song: Environment Study [edited excerpt]

Recorded in The Sun Room at 918 Bathurst (Ministry of Phonic Services presents), July 27, 2025.

Joyce To - Environment Study [edited excerpt]

Following some further outdoor excursions, Ministry of Phonic Services came inside for this afternoon of sonic explorations. Percussionist Joyce To provided this new work, which mixed genial ingenuity with DIY/Dollarama tools. A hanging block of ice provided an irregularly metronomic background patter while beans, tubes, and gongs were deployed in various combinations.

You can check out the full set over on youtube:

[Ministry of Phonic Services has just announced their second annual Back to School Field Trip, featuring "an entire month of strange sounds in strange spaces, all located outdoors. Join the festivities at the thirteen presentations taking place from September 5th to 27th, including four main shows with installations, collaborations with other local experimental presenters, and even some surprises."]

Recording: Exit Points Ensemble

Artist: Exit Points Ensemble

Song: [first section]

Recorded at Yonge-Dundas Square (Intersection – Day 2), September 2, 2023.

Exit Points Ensemble - [first section]

That particular Labour Day tradition returned once more this year — the Intersection Festival filling up the concrete plains of Yonge-Dundas Square with creative and adventurous music. As with last year's return from the pandemic pause, this was more stripped-back than in the "old days", with all of the music constrained to the big stage, which itself was a bit more cut off from the square by metal barricades. The square as a whole felt a little less, ah, pulsating than in the past — while there's still all sorts of random passers-by and carryings-on, the space felt a little more restrained overall. But on a mostly-beautiful day for standing around outside (with just one minor cloudburst to take the edge off the heat) the programming was mostly on-point, distracting a few people, chasing some away, and calling in a few in to take in the sounds.

The opening group was assembled by synthesist Michael Palumbo from the community he has gathered at his Exit Points monthly series — and if you were expecting an all-electronic jam then you might not have been following the series' evolutions, as here he was joined by Akim Angulo (shakuhachi flute), Joyce To (percussion), Behnoosh Behnamnia (kamancheh), and Yang Chen (percussion), allowing for a wide variety of textures and colours.