Recording: mdbm

Artist: mdbm

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), December 10, 2025.

mdbm - unknown

Presenting the sort of experimental, drifting take on folk that you would have once heard at the Holy Oak, this quartet is working out their sounds in the course of a Tranzac residency. Featuring Michael White (trumpet), Maggie Keogh (vocals), Don Rooke (guitar, lap steel) and Blake Howard (percussion), the group moved from abstract, soundtrack-y pieces to more song-like forms (as heard here).

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

[mdbm will be back in the Southern Cross on Wednesday (January 14th).]

Recording: Holy Oak Family Singers

Artist: Justin Orok & Maggie Keogh / Holy Oak Family Singers

Songs: Summer's End [John Prine cover] + Ever New [Beverly Glenn-Copeland cover]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), August 2, 2023.

Justin Orok & Maggie Keogh - Summer's End

Holy Oak Family Singers - Ever New

Celebrating "The Songs of Summer", this evening with the rotating cast of H.O.F.S. guests and regulars essayed, as usual, a mix of hits and deep cuts, stripping things back to their essential songerwriterly cores. (And proving, once more, that no songs are too uncool to be reclaimed, as Ben Gunning showed on an astoundingly-refreshing take on Don Henley's "The Boys of Summer".) Nursing a broken arm and unable to play guitar, host Luke Kuplowsky played some one-handed piano in a spare setting of the McGarrigle's "Saratoga Summer Song", but also pulled together an impromptu ensemble for a couple set-closing pieces, including this Beverly Glenn-Copeland song with backing from Evan Cartwright, Justin Orok and Ted Crosby.

[Maggie Keogh and Justin Orok are half of Andrew Downing's Utopia Ontario, who will be playing The Rex next Monday (August 28th). The Holy Oak Family Singers will be back on at the Tranzac on Wednesday, September 6th.]

Recording: Newman/Pitt/Keogh

Artist: Paul Newman/Dan Pitt/Maggie Keogh

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Array Space (Audiopollination 80), February 8, 2020.

Paul Newman/Dan Pitt/Maggie Keogh - [excerpt]

Some quieter explorations from this trio, with Pitt's nylon-string guitar, Keogh's vocals and piano and Newman's tenor sax layering together in a really complementary way.

You can also check out some visual documentation of this set over on the Audiopollination youtube channel:

[Paul Newman will be launching a new duo album with Brian Abbott at The Tranzac on Saturday, March 14th. Audiopollination returns to Array Space on Saturday, March 14th with another self-curated night including sounds from Rick Sacks/John Oswald/David Sait, Nicholas Cooper/Del Stephen/Kalia Lenaghan, Ryan Kinney and Avant-Gardeners, and Tiina Kiik/David Story/styrofoamNosebleedPrincess.]

Recording: Cosmic Homeostasis XIII

Artist: Cosmic Homeostasis XIII

Song: I Can't Find My Phone [excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), December 29, 2019.

Cosmic Homeostasis XIII - I Can't Find My Phone [excerpt]

To my surprise and delight, in the midst of that muddled and busy holiday week after xmas we managed to muster a baker's dozen soundmakers to mindmeld into some electroacoustic drift. Maybe folks just needed a calm zone away from the holiday hurlyburly. In any case, an excellent bit of preparation for the collective's first formal recording session — of which, more news soon!

The group on this day consisted of:

• Scott M2 (Animoog Borderlands)
• Paul Newman (tenor saxophone)
• Matt Wells (cymbal)
• Dame Cook (electronics)
• Patrick O'Reilly (Bliptronic 5000 and guitar)
• strofoamNosebleedPrincess (bass guitar and objects)
• Michael Lynn (bass guitar and things, namer-of-things)
• Maggie Keogh (Omnichord)
• Del Stephen (synth, piano, tape, fx)
• NilanX (prepared guitar and fx)
• Mira Martin-Grey (prepared/broken autoharp)
• Stefan Powell (duochord with magnetic wheels)
• Victor O (shakers + noisemakers)
• Heraclitus Akimbo (tapes and electronics)

You can also listen to the full set over on Bandcamp: