Recording: Flake

Artist: Flake

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at Houndstooth, November 30, 2023.

Flake - unknown

I don't have much information for this new-ish combo — playing, I believe, only their second gig. Neil Rankin (bass) and Jude (guitar) were familiar faces to me, both musicians I was once used to seeing up front as the focus of attention in their own bands, Here, they were flanking the stage and, by all appearances, haveing a ball in more of a supporting role. The drummer and vocalist/guitarist (Erika and Hannah, according to the band's instagram) pushed the sounds away from the directions the others' past bands might suggest. Things got a little groovy (and stretched out a couple times in most satisfying ways), and with some slide guitar early on there were even hints of a Bush Tetras-esque no wave thing going on. Keep an eye out for further developments.

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

Recording: Botanicals

Artist: Botanicals

Song: [second section]

Recorded at Handlebar (The AMBiENT PiNG), May 9, 2018.

Botanicals - [second section]

A pleasant night out at the Ping saw some new sound experiments from familiar faces, including this experimental pairing of Neil Rankin and Kirsten Nolan (who are currently and formerly of Germaphobes, now known as Goosebump). Mixing electronics, keyboards, cassette concrète, bass and vintage drum machine, the pair made some sonic explorations in the same style as their concurrent demo recordings, slowly transforming from mechanical rumbles to new age drift.

Recording: New Positions

Artist: New Positions

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Dundas Video (Track Could Bend #22), January 3, 2017.

New Positions - [excerpt]

This noisy project from Neil Rankin and HSY's C. Jude has been gradually morphing for a couple years now. Last heard with doom-y drum-machine pulses and punishing volume, the project has shifted again with the addition of Bile Sister's Julie Reich as a third member. I suspect in a room with a bigger sound system this would rise more to the industrial thrum we've heard before, but for this set there was a sense of restraint that was really fascinating — we'll see how that's integrated when the band gets back to their volume-pummelling ways.

[Track Could Bend returns once more to Dundas Video on February 7th, with sets from Bachelard, Upanishads and organballoon.]

Recording: New Positions

Artist: New Positions

Song: [excerpt, in three parts]

Recorded at Toronto Public Library – Parkdale Branch (SHHHH – Day 2), May 7, 2016.

New Positions - [excerpt, part 1]

New Positions - [excerpt, part 2]

New Positions - [excerpt, part 3]

So many things I like here, wrapped up in one package. Not only was this a celebration of an awesome new initiative from the Toronto Public Library where anyone with a library card can borrow a musical instrument, it was celebrated with a couple shows in the program's home branch. I didn't make it out on the Friday where the event's co-organizer Kyle Knapp played a quieter show with his Deliluh project, alongside solo efforts from Dorothea Paas and Dave from Soupcans (a new solo endeavour called Stucco). But Sunday afternoon (a free!, all ages!, afternoon! show — which for me is like seeing a row of cherries come up on the slot machine) moved things down to the Parkdale library's mysterious basement — home, it turns out, to an auditorium that awesomely looks like it was last redecorated c. 1985. This show got pretty loud, though apparently the bunker-like building is soundproofed enough that that didn't disturb the patrons above. I would love to see more shows like this — the mind reels at the possibilities of the communities that could be brought together in this space.

Other projects have kept this pairing on the down-low for awhile, so I was pleased to hear from Neil Rankin that he and C. Jude were getting back together to reactivate New Positions. From radio static-scapes to industrial beat knife-fights, they've tackled a fair range of sounds (and issued a kick-ass tape a couple years back). Rankin didn't bring his sax or boombox this time out, focusing on staggering bass lurches while Jude similarly added some guitar noise. You can hear some distorted vocals here, and later on the doom-y drum-machine pulses would drive things to a conclusion. Looks like the boys are back in town.

[New Positions will be opening things up at what should be a fantastic/loud Invocation show alongside BIG|BRAVE and Fresh Snow, Saturday, June 4th at Soybomb.]

Recording: Neil Rankin/{AN} eel/Michael Kaler/Glen Hall

Artist: Neil Rankin/{AN} eel/Michael Kaler/Glen Hall

Song: [excerpt from first piece]

Recorded at Dundas Video ("Track Could Bend #13"), April 5, 2016.

Neil Rankin/{AN} eel/Michael Kaler/Glen Hall - [excerpt from first piece]

To my great surprise and delight, Track Could Bend has survived and thrived for a full year. To celebrate, I invited everyone who played the series' first twelve months (more than seventy people!) back for a birthday party. In the end, the night consisted of twenty-seven musicians collaborating over eight short sets, most of which were spontaneous "bands from a hat", drawn by lot before the set started. Given the wide range of musical practices and backgrounds, it was quite exciting to see how much coherence and excellence resulted.

This quartet fell right into an off-kilter groove, presenting a spontaneous no-wave prog-suite driven by grooves from bassist Michael Kaler (part of Alaniaris at TCB#6) and saxophonist Glen Hall (who had performed as part of Rub Out The Word at TCB#9). Neil Rankin (who had left a trail of Slime at TCB#5) crouched in front of the stage, using a radio and some pedals to add some sonic textures while Neal Retke (a.k.a {AN} Eel, featured pop stylist at TCB#10) tied everything together with his presence and vocal babblebursts.

[The next Track Could Bend will be at Dundas Video on Tuesday, May 3rd, featuring Kosher Dill Spears, Terms Of Venery (Mike Smith, solo electronics) and Glamour Nails (Lina Allemano + Justin Haynes).]

Recording: Slime

Artist: Slime

Song: [second piece]

Recorded at Dundas Video ("Track Could Bend #5"), August 4, 2015.

Slime - [second piece]

A man of many projects (currently including Bert Sugar and Germaphobes), Neil Rankin slathered on the slime to step back into this sax-and-radio project, strolling the length of the room (and even briefly out onto the street) to bring himself — and his coating — close to the crowd.

Recording: Slime

Artist: Slime

Song: [excerpt from second piece]

Recorded at Ratio ("Wavelength 653"), March 27, 2015.

Slime - [excerpt from second piece]

A mix of solo sax skronk and radio noisescapes, Neil Rankin's New Positions started off something like this before HSY's Jude pushed things in a more rock/industrial direction. Performing while being covered in a dripping layer of personal lubricant, however, is a new twist that gives this project its name.

Recording: Doomsquad

Artist: Doomsquad (feat. Slime)

Song: The Cools

Recorded at Jam Factory ("Feast in the East 44"), January 3, 2015.

Doomsquad - The Cools

The first weekend after New Year's Eve is often a deadzone for gigs, a gap that Feast In The East has been filling for a couple years now. As the night's best gig in town, this drew a full room to the other side of the DVP, offering a very tasty Dutch meal and a quartet of bands you'd want to stand up and move a little to.

As they get ready to head down to New Mexico to record their second album, Doomsquad started off the new year with a look at what they've achieved so far. The long, grooving tracks in their headlining set drew on last year's Kalaboogie, but also reached back to their first EP for their set closer. The core trio was joined, once again, by percussionist Brandon Valdivia throughout, and also for this one by FITE co-founder Neil Rankin (in his Slime guise) on sax.

[Doomsquad will be playing "a plugged down set with trance and harmony" on Saturday, January 31st out on the Island, as part of the IMBOLC celebrations. Meanwhile, the next Feast in the East, on Saturday, February 7th, is more of a mellow affair, but offers a no-less-impressive lineup including EONS, Matthew "Doc" Dunn, Jooj (Sook-Yin Lee & Adam Litovitz) and Alex Lukashevsky.]