Recording: Vividness Trio

Artist: Vividness Trio

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at Wenona Lodge (Track Could Bend #112), January 6, 2026.

Vividness Trio - unknown

Laura Gillis has been crafting songs as Vividness for quite some time now, though this evolution is a slightly more recent development. Joined by Michelangelo Iaffaldano the mysterious Hildegard von Bingo on guitar and Lorne Shapiro on viola de gamba, the goal here was as much to explore textures and interactions as to deliver songs.

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

[Track Could Bend is back at Wenona on Tuesday (February 2nd) with sets from OH GEE (Marilyn Yogarajah & Rod Campbell) and Ryan Kinney.]

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

Recording: No One Receiving Duo

Artist: No One Receiving Duo

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Gerrard Art Space (Eclec~Tic~Toc Fest, Vol. 1 – Night 2), July 15, 2017.

No One Receiving Duo - [excerpt]

Ever since washing up on our shores, Neal D. Retke (who performs as {AN} Eel) has been spreading joy and preaching the benefits of D.I.Y. co-operation. A busy member of the international home-taping circuit known for his many collaborative projects, this festival arose from a desire to bring together some of the different musicians he's encountered here so far, mixing together songs and noises over two days in the G.A.S.'s cozy east-end space.

No One Receiving was one of Lorne Shapiro's active projects when he was based in Montréal. Since coming to Toronto, there's fewer opportunities to gather, but one could sense an instant connection sparking his gamba playing when Michal Seta (guitar, electronics) was on hand, with strings swelling into clouds of electronic interference. ("Moveable" member Hiroya Miura was virtually present in some of Seta's samples.)

Recording: Lorne Shapiro & Brian Abbott

Artist: Lorne Shapiro & Brian Abbott

Song: Sparkling Liver Spots in the Moonlit Thunderdome (or, Three-legged Short Pants for a Severed Octopus) [excerpt]

Recorded at Gerrard Art Space (Eclec~Tic~Toc Fest, Vol. 1 – Night 1), July 14, 2017.

Lorne Shapiro & Brian Abbott - Sparkling Liver Spots in the Moonlit Thunderdome (or, Three-legged Short Pants for a Severed Octopus) [excerpt]

Ever since washing up on our shores, Neal D. Retke (who performs as {AN} Eel) has been spreading joy and preaching the benefits of D.I.Y. co-operation. A busy member of the international home-taping circuit known for his many collaborative projects, this festival arose from a desire to bring together some of the different musicians he's encountered here so far, mixing together songs and noises over two days in the G.A.S.'s cozy east-end space.

I'd seen this pair improvise together in this very same space, and was impressed with their mix of technique, pedal manipulations and a sense of not-taking-things-too seriously. This set had all of that again, with plenty of beautiful stretches that belied their casually-tossed-off titles.

Recording: Brian Abbott & Lorne Shapiro

Artist: Brian Abbott & Lorne Shapiro

Song: [excerpt from first piece, in two parts]

Recorded at Gerrard Art Space (Faster Presents: Spring Sounds), March 25, 2017.

Brian Abbott & Lorne Shapiro - [excerpt from first piece, part 1]

Brian Abbott & Lorne Shapiro - [excerpt from first piece, part 2]

Originally planned as a chance for Faster to share a new composition in the midst of some electronic improvisation, a last-minute cancellation saw things shifting to this improvised set with Faster's Brian Abbott (on electric guitar + pedals) sharing the stage with Lorne Shapiro (on viola da gamba). Shapiro was also rocking some cool effects to stretch and manipulate his sound, so although things would later get to plinky-plunky splatter burstin', this stretch focuses on a more sedately-drifting portion of the proceedings.

[The next Faster Presents show at G.A.S. is on Saturday, May 20th and includes a make-up for the Faster set that was postponed at this show alongside a solo outing from Matt Miller and an appearance by the Four Shadows Quartet (Zach Clark/Paul Newman/Brian Abbott/Kayla Milmine).]

Recording: Lorne Shapiro & Mike Lynn

Artist: Lorne Shapiro & Mike Lynn

Song: [edited excerpt]

Recorded at Array Space (Audiopollination #48.2), November 12, 2016.

Lorne Shapiro & Mike Lynn - [edited excerpt]

Audiopollination's fourth anniversary was celebrated in typical fashion — that's to say with an eclectic mix of musicians playing together in ad hoc small combos. Very nice textures here from Lynn (on double bass) and Shapiro (on viola de gamba) — my favourite moments included some lovely small and subtle interactions that were just too quiet for my equipment to capture. But there's still lots to dig in the parts where the volume picked up a bit.

[There are two Audiopollination events left before the end of the year: a special event on Sunday (December 18th) featuring electro-acousticians Sound of the Mountain, and an improv session with cellist Rémy Bélanger de Beauport on December 22nd.]