Recording: Fan Wu

Artist: Fan Wu

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Burdock Music Hall, February 8, 2026.

Fan Wu - [excerpt]

Fan Wu's performance art can be music-based but that's often just one container for an ongoing series of explorations that encompass both pop glam and weltvernichtungsdenken (or, perhaps, ego-indulgence and ego-death), delivered with a veneer of gleeful homoeroticism. The arc of this set saw him crawling (blindly and robe-covered) to the stage to reveal himself like a plague-fearing penitent, uncloaking and turning his back to the crowd to self-flagellate with a string of bells jingling merrily to each meaty thud against flesh. With whatever sins or fears thusly released, the set closed with a dance party (or fetish party) with some air-violin playing. The whole thing was excellently abetted by Kieran Adams, sitting behind a table of electronics and closely-mic'ed percussion implements.

Recording: Adams/Ganesh/Ng/Stadhouders

Artist: Kieran Adams/Ananya Ganesh/Karen Ng/Jasper Stadhouders

Songs: [2nd set, 1st piece, in two parts]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Karen Ng presents), February 23, 2023.

Kieran Adams/Ananya Ganesh/Karen Ng/Jasper Stadhouders - [2nd set, 1st piece, part 1]

Kieran Adams/Ananya Ganesh/Karen Ng/Jasper Stadhouders - [2nd set, 1st piece, part 2]

A rollicking night at Karen Ng's Tranzac residency, featuring a couple musicians newly-connected in different ways to the local scene. I'd caught guitarist/bassist Jasper Stadhouders already that week (and more to come!), so the real discovery here was pianist/vocalist Ananya Ganesh, recently relocated from NYC to T.O. for the next few months. (And also a delight to hear Kieran Adams behind the kit, craftily sneaking in some electronic percussion flourishes to bump things along.)

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: Joseph Shabason

Artist: Joseph Shabason

Song: Treat it Like a Wine Bar

Recorded at Array Space (Invocation Presents), January 10, 2019.

Joseph Shabason - Treat it Like a Wine Bar

Joseph Shabason's Anne can be viewed as more a development in continuity with his previous Aytche album, but there are still striking developments here. Foremost among those (and in addition to its ample technical merits) is its deeper and more personal emotional palette, weaving in fragments of interviews with his mother (the titular Anne) on the subjects of family, identity and "perfection" in the face of a degenerative illness. This special release show gained poignancy with Anne's presence, getting a chance to see her son presenting this intricate and beautiful music to a packed house.

Shabason's backing band for his hometown shows can expand and contract depending on who's available, and this night saw him being joined by Hugh Marsh (violin), Nicole Rampersaud (trumpet), Thom Gill (guitar/synth/piano), Phil Melanson (percussion), Kieran Adams (samples) and Bram Gielan (synth/bass/piano). That talented and deeply flexible group allowed a lush presentation of the material that rivalled the album's intricate arrangements. The selection here (which closed out the set as it does the album) was presented as a "placid sendoff", a gentle reminder that sometimes our difficulties can be ameliorated by looking at things in the best light.

[Joseph Shabason will be opening for Laraaji at the Toronto Spiritualist Temple on Friday, April 12th.]

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: Joseph Shabason

Artist: Joseph Shabason

Song: November^*

Recorded at The Garrison (Wavelength Winter Festival 18 – Night 3), February 18, 2018.

Joseph Shabason - November

This year's Wavelength birthday celebration was more restrained than usual, sticking to one venue for three nights and having no extra daytime activities. That left the work to transforming the events to something more than just a "regular" night at a show to scene-setters like General Chaos and Roxanne Ignatius. The festival's final night was the most musically eclectic, the acts connected by an exploratory thread.

Anyone who showed up late missed the festival's best set, with Joseph Shabason bringing another edition of his ever-shifting backup collective to the stage for some embracing ambient atmospherics. (This time out saw him backed by Nicole Rampersaud on trumpet, Thom Gill on keys, Phil Melanson on percussion, Bram Gielen on fretless bass and Kieran Adams on Octapad. These are all top-notch local musicians who you should be investigating if you don't already know their other work.) This new piece is based on a keyboard loop by Italian composer Gigi Masin.

^* Thanks to J.S. for passing along the title to this one.

[The next Wavelength Festival is already on the distant horizon, with Camp Wavelength once more contained to the mainland and landing at Garrison Common on August 18th and 19th. Meanwhile, the next few monthly shows, co-productions (as well as a cool Toronto Post-Punk in the Early ‘80s Music Talk) are all announced.]

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: Joseph Shabason

Artist: Joseph Shabason

Song: Neil McCauley

Recorded at Monarch Tavern, October 17, 2017.

Joseph Shabason - Neil McCauley

This evening of ambient pop was conceived by Riparian Acoustics (Nick Storring's post-Ratio vehicle for show curation) and given logistical support by Burn Down the Capital and packed the Monarch Tavern with a fairly mixed crowd. It was, in fact, at Ratio that I had seen this project in a nascent form. Now reverted back to Shabason's own name, that set a year ago, this set and the recordings on the wonderful Aytche album draw from an overlapping pool of musicians from Shabason's band DIANA and adjacent T.O. crews. On this night, the band was a true all-star unit featuring Joseph Shabason (sax, effects, keyb), Matt Smith (samples, keyb), Hugh Marsh (electric violin), Kieran Adams (percussion) and Bram Gielen (bass). As beautiful as the textures on the album are, it's even more impressive to hear it done live with the group offering studio lushness without sounding the least bit stiff or pre-programmed. The vibe that this piece aims at can be gleamed from the fact that it's named for Robert De Niro's character in Michael Mann's Heat. This live version stretches out with beautiful ambiance from March and Gielan before pulling in the rest of the players.

Recording: DIANA

Artist: DIANA

Song: Confession

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

DIANA - Confession

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.

Rolling a half-dozen members deep, there's a lot of moving parts to get set up quickly for this group to play a festival set. And though there were a few points where it looked like several of the members were adjusting and fixing things on the fly, their lush, layered sound cruised like a smooth oiled machine. Only backing vocalist Gary Beals wasn't on hand from when I last saw this expanded lineup, but that left more room for Ivy Mairi to dance and support Carmen Elle's vocals.

Recording: The Cosmic Range

Artist: The Cosmic Range

Songs: Kowboy + [fourth section]

Recorded at The Great Hall, January 19, 2017.

The Cosmic Range - Kowboy

The Cosmic Range - [fourth section]

This was my first time out to The Great Hall since their long-in-the-works refurbishment was completed. Not only was it a treat to experience the new, spacious bathrooms, but the main space was also opened up with the removal of the large lighting rig that was suspended from the sides of the balconies. There was a new PA as well, and this was a good night for it, rendering the eight-piece band with clarity.

Flanking the stage there were keyboards left and right (for Matt "Doc" Dunn and Jonathan Adjemian, respectively), two percussion stations at the back (for Brandon Valdivia and Kieran Adams), Mike Smith (bass) and Isla Craig (vox) over on the right and lots of room in the middle for Max "Slim Twig" Turnbull (guit) and Andy Haas (saxophone). Alternating between funky blasts and pastoral drifts (and here's one of each for comparison's sake) the set tapped into the Sun Ra-dappled bliss that was captured so well on the New Latitudes album. The night's purpose was, in fact, a slightly-belated launch celebration for the disc. Rather wonderfully executed, it's a real celebration whenever this entire crew can get together.

Recording: The Cosmic Range

Artist: The Cosmic Range

Song: Love II

Recorded at Christie Pits Park (Bloor Ossington Folk Festival – Day 2), September 18, 2016.

The Cosmic Range - Love II

Unsurprisingly, the fine sunny weather accompanying the festival's final day had the park feeling much more lively and animated with dog-walkers and playground patrons. The tent was also a lot busier from the get-go and as the warm sun held overhead, the rise of the hill beyond was soon filling as well. There was more of a poignant sad undertone to the day, with organizers, bands and audience members all dwelling a little more on the idea that this was the end of the line for the festival. But, as always, the music was a balm and a call to enjoy these moments while they last.

Interestingly, it looks like, for the time being, The Cosmic Range have had founder Matt "Doc" Dunn's name lopped off the marquee — perhaps to make things a bit more concise on a new release from esteemed local label Idée Fixe Records that drops next week. That doesn't change the sense of whose hand is on the tiller of this groove orchestra, who were out in full force on this day, with Dunn joined by Max "Slim Twig" Turnbull (guit), Jonathan Adjemian (synth), Andy Haas (sax), Mike Smith (bass), Isla Craig (vox), Brandon Valdivia (perc) and Kieran Adams (perc) — a groop so expansive that Dunn actually took his place off to the side of the stage. The set ran through the band's series of grooves combining heavy psych and Sun Ra astral projection with everything in blow-the-roof-off form.

Recording: Ben Gunning

Artist: Ben Gunning

Song: Destructive

Recorded at Smiling Buddha (Silent Shout Festival – Night 1), December 4, 2014.

Ben Gunning - Destructive

Although they'd stepped away from presenting live music, Silent Shout returned for a two-night celebration to mark their fifth anniversary. Taking over the Smiling Buddha for two nights gave the site's designer Roxanne Ignatius a chance to re-imagine the space, with a deconstructed disco ball twirling above clouds and webby fabric tendrils. Plus, downstairs there was a gallery of her consistently-excellent show posters, going right back to the series' beginning when it had to spell out its mandate of "EVIL DISCO / GLOOMY ELECTRO / DEATHLY SYNTHPOP". And though there was a retrospective element to the whole affair, the music was decisively forward-looking, including a couple bands making their debuts.

It was quite pleasing to see Ben Gunning's new Massive Love album being championed by Silent Shout. Though it undoubtedly includes some bum-wiggling grooves, its yacht rock sound arguably owes more to Steely Dan than The Knife. The recorded versions of the songs do indeed have some slick electronic undertones, though live that's subsumed somewhat into the smooth sounds of Gunning's all-star backing band, which includes DIANA's Kieran Adams (drums) and Joseph Shabason (sax) plus Bram Gielen (bass), Thom Gill (synth) and Michael Davidson (vibes) plus Robin Dann and Alanna Stuart (backing vox). Playing after a lot of the crowd split following the headlining set, there was room on the dancefloor for those who stuck behind to see this rather astonishing band in action.

Recording: Doc Dunn & The Cosmic Range

Artist: Doc Dunn & The Cosmic Range

Song: New Latitudes

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (HPR presents), May 27, 2015.

Doc Dunn & The Cosmic Range - New Latitudes

A (late) night of lovely music at this monthly Healing Power jam, with an extra-special appearance by a different ensemble from Matt "Doc" Dunn than I'd seen recently. As always, though, there was an all-star cast here, with Dunn on keyboard, piano and percussion joined by Isla Craig (vox), Jonathan Adjemian (synth), Kieran Adams (drums), Brandon Valdivia (percussion), Mike Smith (synth, percussion) and Max Turnbull (guitar). With plenty rhythm and Dunn's languid keyb work, at times this sounded like a stoned out Fela Kuti secretly recording a blaxploitation soundtrack.

Recording: Swiss Dice

Artist: Swiss Dice

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at Mercer Union ("PLATFORM: Music at Mercer"), May 30, 2014.

Swiss Dice - unknown

Full review to follow. In Switzerland they had brotherly love – they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? Swiss Dice. Of course there they just call them "dice".

I confess going into this gig I hadn't done any research on the opening band, so I was most pleased to see some familiar faces (Kieran Adams, Bram Gielen, Ben Gunning, Blair Johnsrude) taking the stage. Pitched somewhere between Mannerisms' "fuzak" and I Am Robot and Proud's techno-optimistic synth jingles, Swiss Dice brought some precisely-ordered instrumental funk squiggles. Their mighty proficiency and total commitment on stage showed that tackling a genre with a slightly cheeze-y taint to it was done so joyfully as to make it irresistible. [You can check out a couple tunes on their soundcloud.]

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