Recording: Processor

Artist: Processor

Song: Sea Side

Recorded at Handlebar (Nite Comfort 60), October 7, 2018.

Processor - Sea Side

Celebrating the release of their new Sea Side album, M. Joakim and Lorenz Peter played the whole thing front to back, including a track or two that won't be in their regular live sets. The album explores their chosen terrain from different perspectives — from noisy winter storms to pleasant summer excursions.

Nite Comfort will be back at Handlebar on Sunday, December 2nd, celebrating an album release from deep sludge-drone explorers Northumbria (plus a set from Subterranea as well).

Recording: Saturn City

Artist: Saturn City

Song: Shepherd

Recorded at Wenona Lodge (Track Could Bend #42), September 4, 2018.

Saturn City - Shepherd

While I've been familiar with her work in Processor (and that excellent tape she made with Castle If's Jess Forrest) for a while now, I've been a huge fan of M. Joakim's Saturn City project since hearing the Korg Etudes set she put out early this year. I was bummed when I missed her performance of that material at Nite Comfort earlier this year, so what better way to make up for it than an invite to TCB? All expectations were exceeded when that lead to the release of a new EP of material inspired by Saturn's sixth largest moon, moving from ring reflections to an edge-of-the-solar-system dance party.

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

Recording: Processor

Artist: Processor

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at The Steady Café (Track Could Bend #27), June 6, 2017.

Processor - unknown

Though I've recently seen M. Joakim and Lorenz Peter in full-on rock mode and more restrained reflection, I was expecting something a bit different, having invited the pair to TCB with an offer to do something outside their "regular" sets. That turned out to mean leaving the bass at home for a dual synth lineup on this night, and the pair played a series of beautifully-glacial pieces, repeating minimalist riffs providing a framework for samples and mutating oscillations. A real treat.

[Track Could Bend is back at The Steady on Tuesday (July 4th), with Montréal's Sound of the Mountain as well as Ami Spears' solo project Blue Light and Body of Waste (Adam from Retired).]

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

Recording: Processor

Artist: Processor

Song: Sombre Beach

Recorded at Ratio (Decreation – Night 2), June 3, 2017.

Processor - Sombre Beach

Given the internal and external pressures that come to bear, it's no surprise that no DIY space lasts forever. It still made it a sad occasion to learn that Ratio was winding down its active presence, news leavened slightly with the corresponding announcement of a series of farewell shows, with many artists making a final return to the space. Catching the night's retrospective vibe, Lorenz Peter and M. Joakim revisited their first album, playing a set consisting of its five songs. Suiting the living-room-sized space, this cut brings a more meditative vibe than the wall-shaking bass rumbles the band brings in its fully-cranked-up incarnation.

Recording: Processor

Artist: Processor

Song: Ghost Factory

Recorded at The Baby G, March 15, 2017.

Processor - Ghost Factory

A late addition to this show's bill, Processor — always a band that sounds at its best on a PA with ample low end — felt quite immense in the Baby G's subs. So much so, that they even managed to literally shake loose some bits of the ceiling with their bass rumbulations.

Recording: Processor

Artist: Processor

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at The Piston, May 19, 2016.

Processor - unknown

The Piston remains a very nice-sounding room, and turned out to be a good spot to listen in on this pairing of Lorenz Peter (synth, drum machine) and Melissa Joakim (bass) — especially with the subs pushing out some low-end vibrations. Their short-ish set tackled three pieces; the middle one menaced with a thrumming drumbeat while this closer leaned a bit more abstract. This works okay as a field recording, but this is really best as body-envelopment music experienced in situ.

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