Recording: Toronto Improvisers Orchestra

Artist: Toronto Improvisers Orchestra

Songs: Non-pitched sounds/Rod's conduction

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), February 8, 2026.

Toronto Improvisers Orchestra - Non-pitched sounds

Toronto Improvisers Orchestra - Rod's conduction

February's version of the TIO required the wide-angle lens to capture, with a circle of seven musicians sharing sounds. These selections (which run directly one into another) show a couple of the techniques at play in their performances. At a suggestion from the group, the first part is an exploration of non-pitched sounds on everyone's instrument. Once that idea was poked at from all the different angles, Rod Campbell stood up to conduct a piece, nicely pulling all the sounds back together.

[The TIO are back in action in the Southern Cross at noon next Sunday (March 8th).]

Recording: OH GEE

Artist: OH GEE

Song: [1st piece, excerpt]

Recorded at Wenona Lodge (Track Could Bend #113), February 3, 2026.

OH GEE - [1st piece, excerpt]

This duo has only performed in public once previously, but there were meshing vibes aplenty from friends Marilyn Yogarajah and Rod Campbell. The partnership was deepened by the shared instrumentation, wth both bringing trumpet and a Yamaha CP Reface. That gave some shared sonic zones to start from, though Campbell also added some gentle feedback from a resonator unit. Often dreamy, sometimes chatty, and pausing along the way to consider what a strange turn of phrase "to hell in a handbasket" is.

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

[Track Could Bend is back at Wenona on Tuesday (March 3rd) with sets from Bill Gilliam, Scallions (Holger Schoorl + Mark Zurawinski) and Tap slap wind and light. Early start! Doors around 8:00, music at 8:30.]

Recording: Toronto Improvisers Orchestra

Artist: Toronto Improvisers Orchestra

Songs: [two pieces]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), January 11, 2026.

Toronto Improvisers Orchestra - [1st set, short piece]

Toronto Improvisers Orchestra - [2nd set, last piece]

I entered into the room with this set already in progress — which involved, in this case, Rod Campbell engaged in a discussion with his fellow musicians on possible ways to musically interpret a photograph of a snow-covered tree. Later, there would be some conduction (from Campbell as well as Susanne Farkas) which also involved discussion of how the group used their repertoire of hand signals. Otherwise, as with the second selection here, there were some freely-improvised sounds.

[The TIO is back in action tomorrow (Sunday, February 8th) starting at noon in the Southern Cross.]

Recording: Toronto Improvisors Orchestra

Artist: Toronto Improvisors Orchestra

Song: [2nd set excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Main Hall), July 13, 2025.

Toronto Improvisors Orchestra - [2nd set excerpt]

An air-conditioning failure sent the day's sets in the Southern Cross over into the Tranzac's Main Hall, giving some extra legroom for the TIO's monthly gathering. The crew were out eight-deep on this occasion, with a pair of saxophones adding embellishments to the proceedings, as Rod Campbell directed the proceedings. (He added some spoken word elements as well, which you can hear a little bit in the backgound here, though the microphones were more interested in the guitar and bass vi.)

[The TIO will be back in their usual Tranzac timeslot (and presumably back in the Southern Cross!) at noon on Sunday, August 10th.]

Recording: Mickle32 & Rod Campbell

Artist: Mickle32 & Rod Campbell

Song: [improvisation]

Recorded at Array Space (Audiopollination), June 13, 2025.

Mickle32 & Rod Campbell - [improvisation]

A poignant but celebratory chapter-closing season-ender at Audiopollination, with the community coming out to celebrate founding host Mike Lynn's last night at the helm. Lynn chose to close out the night by alongside someone who had played at the very first Audiopollination, the pair using all parts of their instruments to share a friendly moment of communication.

You can also check out the archived livestream from the night over on youtube:

[It's important to note that Audiopollination will continue, under enterprising new hands! In fact, the sign-up sheet for the fall run of shows (September through December) is already posted and starting to fill up, so now's the time to add yourself to the musical conversation!]

Recording: Toronto Improvisors Orchestra

Artist: Toronto Improvisors Orchestra

Song: [2nd set, 2nd piece excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), November 10, 2024.

Toronto Improvisors Orchestra - [2nd set, 2nd piece excerpt]

Although the TIO will play freely when the numbers are low (or when the mood otherwise strikes), when there's a larger group the use of conduction leads the sounds to interesting places. Here, Eugene Martynec was having some computer trouble and took a break from troubleshooting to wrangle the ensemble, pulling things together to move from long tones to pointillistic daubs.

Recording: Cosmic Homeostasis

Artist: Cosmic Homeostasis

Songs: Busking [two excerpt]

Recorded at The Bloor Annex BIA Stage, September 1, 2024.

Cosmic Homeostasis - Busking [excerpt 1]

Cosmic Homeostasis - Busking [excerpt 2]

Kudoes to the Bloor Annex BIA for animating the corner of Bloor and Brunswick this summer with their specially-constructed bucker stage — and special kudos to booker Sarah Greene who brought some variety to the space, including an unexpected turn from this drone ensemble. Often found down the street at The Tranzac, the group has played outside before, but a busy street corner is rather a different thing than a peaceful park. Here, cars passing by (and occasional planes from the airshow roaring past overhead) gave more of a gritty backdrop to the proceedings, but the assembled players still managed to embroider some fitting sounds into the landscape.

The performers at this event were:

• styrofoamNosebleedPrincess - tanpura
• Mira Martin-Gray - Bastl Kastle
• Sterling McPhedran - guitar
• Ian McPhedran - uke/banjo
• Fahmid Nibesh - mandolin, lyre, percussion, cellphone synth + amp
• Rob Cruickshank - electronics
• Michael Lynn - double bass
• Mike Filippov - ocean drum
• Rod Campbell - trumpet
• Heraclitus Akimbo - EWI, lyre, Donner MEDO

You can hear some extended edits from the day's field recordings over at Bandcamp. Three recorders in play capturing this action, so most of the instruments are audible. Did some work to trim out the worst of the wind-on-mics sounds:

[Cosmic Homeostasis will be bringing their regular fifth-Sunday-of-the-month gathering to The Tranzac on Sunday, September 29th. Also, stay tuned for an announcement of an exciting unoffical Nuit Blanche event!]

Recording: Toronto Improvisors Orchestra

Artist: Toronto Improvisors Orchestra

Song: [2nd set, 2nd piece excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), June 11, 2023.

Toronto Improvisors Orchestra - [2nd set, 2nd piece excerpt]

Out in nonet strength this time, the TIO alternated between free group playing, duos/trios, and conducted pieces — here with Ryan Kinney guiding the ensemble.

[The TIO will be back in the Southern Cross on Sunday (July 9th) in their usual noon to two p.m. timeslot.]

Recording: Palumbo/Campbell/Biazar

Artist: Michael Palumbo/Rod Campbell/Roya Biazar

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Array Space (Audiopollination), June 9, 2023.

Michael Palumbo/Rod Campbell/Roya Biazar - [excerpt]

A classic Audiopollination combo here, electroacoustically mixing piano, acoustic bass and modular synth — and in this stretch finding some really sweet atmospherics.

[You can check out the full set on the archived livestream over at Audiopollination's youtube playlist.]

[Audiopollination is on summer break right now — it'll be back in September, and there are still some open slots in the self-curation sign-up sheet.]

Recording: Toronto Improvisors Orchestra

Artist: Toronto Improvisors Orchestra

Songs: [two excerpts rom the 2nd set]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), March 12, 2023.

Toronto Improvisors Orchestra - [set 2, 1st piece excerpt]

Toronto Improvisors Orchestra - [set 2, 2nd piece]

Operating as a sextet (and with a legit horn section!), the TIO broke down into sub-groupings for the first piece here, working around the circle of musicians for a rotating series of duos and trios; the second is an open group piece with some nice textures, held together by Rod Campbell's piano work.

Recording: Cosmic Homeostasis XVIII

Artist: Cosmic Homeostasis XVIII

Songs: The Ways We Unravel [excerpt] + Space [edited excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), January 29, 2023.

Cosmic Homeostasis XVIII - The Ways We Unravel [excerpt]

Cosmic Homeostasis XVIII - Space [edited excerpt]

The year's first Cosmic Homeostasis gathering (which happens when there's a fifth Sunday in a month) brought out a robust crowd, with twenty (or so) musicians taking over the perimeter of the Southern Cross and generating some sonic drift zones. A real nice mix of acoutic and electronic sounds, and ranging from some louder zones into quieter interplay.

The participants this time out were:

• Marilyn - various percussion, singing bowls, namer-of-things
• Philip Hamilton - guitar, box w/ a string and llama toenails
• Ron Blake - ipad apps
• Scott M2 - Animoog
• Mira Martin-Gray - mini synth, mini theremin
• Yasmine E - pocket piano, various percussion, rainmaker
• Adrian Russouw - violin
• Del Stephen - keyboard synth + cassettes
• Sophie Jaworski - wooden frog
• Paul Newman - tenor saxophone
• Patrick O'Reilly - Volca FM/effects
• Rod Campbell - trumpet
• Todd Macdonald - mandolin/Mood
• Hilary Martin - singing bowl
• Myfawny Ashmore - singing bowl
• Michael Lynn - bass + stuff
• Sterling + Ian - Atari junk console
• Rob Cruickshank - electronics + resonator
• Heraclitus Akimbo - synths, etc.

It's tough to get that many folks in the frame, but most of them make an appearance in this footage you can see over on youtube:

And, of course, you can also listen to the whole performance over on bandcamp (and, if you'd like, support the collective's future works with a purchase!):

Recording: Campbell/FuZzy/%%30%30

Artist: Rod Campbell/FuZzy/%%30%30

Song: [excerpt from 2nd piece]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), January 24, 2023.

Rod Campbell/FuZzy/%%30%30 - [excerpt from 2nd piece]

This cross-generational trio, which came together as an ephemeral emergence at Audiopollination in December enjoyed playing together enough to set up a second encounter. Rod Campbell (trumpet/voice) was joined by Fahmid "Fuzzy" Nibesh (percussion, electronics) as well as percussionist Colin C., known by the browser-breaking moniker %%30%30. The latter has been making his mark for the past while as an avid listener at local improvised shows, and has lately been slipping into more performances. He added some found percussive objects (bicycle rim, air pump, metal rod, etc.) to most of a deconstructed drumkit as the trio found some space to drift and rattle eogether.

You can check out some footage from this set over on youtube as well: