Recording: Ben Mike & The Beatles

Artist: Ben Mike & The Beatles

Song: "...the forest, the virgin forest, the life of a woodcutter" [middle section]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), March 14, 2026.

Ben Mike & The Beatles - "...the forest, the virgin forest, the life of a woodcutter" [middle section]

Catching these Beatles for the second time, I noted — given the consistency of the membership — that this was definitely more than a thrown-together jam. With only what looked like a photocopied page of notes for a score, the grounp moved together effortlessly through a variety of moods, from atmospheric drift to the rocking On The Corner-style funk heard here (and leaning back at the end to listen to some Cat Stevens). There was a wonderfully-mythic (though possibly apocryphal) origin story of sorts given at the start, but this is a unit built to carry some myths.

So far as I can tell (correct me if I'm wrong!) the full ensemble was:

• Ray Goudy, Josh Sparks, Dylan Burrett (Guitars)
• Maxwell Stover, Ben Rositsan, Zack Goldstein (Reeds and Woodwinds)
• Lauren Dillen (Vocals)
• Steven Noronha, Ben Mike, Will Hunt (Keyboards)
• Sara May (Violin)
• Aidan McConnell (Percussion)

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

[Ben Mike & The Beatles will be reassembling at Dina's Tavern Thursday, May 14th. Chris Ma is also on the bill.]

Recording: Double Trio

Artist: Double Trio

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded in the CNE Bandshell (Ministry of Phonic Services' Back to School Field Trip — Waterfront), September 23, 2025.

Double Trio - [excerpt]

This "waterfront" night out at the Field Trip festival was originally slated for Marilyn Bell Park, right on the shores of Lake Ontario. Rainy weather kept that from happening, but some organizational ingenuity meant the event still took place outside, and still lake-adjacent. Moving to the CNE Bandshell gave the night its own flavour, with performers and audience alike staying dry under the circular overhang, framing the performances from the opposite perspective one might expect. (And as an aside, let's note that this lovely heritage structure sits empty for most of the year, and ponder on what it would be like to live in a city where a really small allocation of resources could activate it in all kinds of inneresting ways.)

In a festival with its share of noisy and joyfully disruptive moments, it should be remembered that MPS' vision of experimental music includes quieter interludes as well, and this ensemble was well-placed to offer a deep listening experience. (the originally-scheduled lake sounds would have been a sweet enhancement, but as things were, the gentle backdrop of the rainy weather filled in that space nicely as well.) As the name implies, this group featured two trios, one of saxophones (Ben Rositsan, Garret Hildebrandt, and Maxwell Stover) and one of violins (Sara May, Kyla Marlena, and Audrey Mae) joining forces for some improvised chamber music.

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

Recording: Ben Mike & The Beatles

Artist: Ben Mike & The Beatles

Song: [excerpt]^*

Recorded at The Tranzac (Main Hall), May 25, 2025.

Ben Mike & The Beatles - [excerpt]

So, to get the obvious out of the way: no, they are not those Beatles. And while such a cheeky moniker (and the clear vibes that this was definitely a group of friends having a great time hanging out together) might connote an unseriousness of purpose, there was definitely something interesting going on here. (Also interesting was the fact that a large improvising ensemble playing mostly-drifty music filled up the Tranzac's Main Hall on a Sunday night!)

Perhaps more telling was that for the purposes of this show, the band was billed with "(Orchestra)" tagged to its name, and while Ben Mike, on keyb at the centre of everything, was mostly hidden behind pages of scores, only the other keyboardists were similarly encumbered and there was no obvious direction/conduction going on — though for all that, there was a definite sense of organization at hand, especially in the sense of restraint that was evident for most of the set (although there was some build-up bombast — in a Cage-ean minimalmist sense — as well).

Obviously these folks were familiar with each other as players — there was, for example, a heavy overlap with a different large improvising ensemble I had seen not long before this. And while this brought to mind some attempts to bring compositional order to rock'n'roll chaos I've seen from some similar local friend-orchestras in the past, it was really satisfying to see the physical and conceptual sprawl here (with hints of psych rock, spiritual jazz, and "Thursday Afternoon"-style Eno) expand at the seams yet remain able to contain itself. If you're not going out to the shows where the younger cadres are, you're missing out on something very cool emerging in our midst.

The full ensemble for this show was:

• Ray Goudy, Josh Sparks, Dylan Burrett (Guitars)
• Maxwell Stover, Ben Rositsan, Zack Goldstein (Reeds and Woodwinds)
• Lauren Dillen (Vocals)
• Steven Noronha, Ben Mike, Will Hunt (Keyboards)
• Sara May (Violin)
• Aidan McConnell (Percussion)

^* Does anyone know the title to this piece as a whole? Please leave a comment!