#mfs15 playlist: Chris Trotter

MFS has turned fifteen! My introductory thoughts on this landmark can be found here, but long story short: I asked some folks from the MFS community to help me celebrate by picking some selections from the archives, and possibly sharing some thoughts or stories.

Today's list is from Chris Trotter.

Thank you for all the wonderful and good work that you put into this project!
It's astounding and amazing.
Here's some selections for the playlist.

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David Jones + APA - [excerpt]

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

wonderful space and sonic entanglement

Within - Balkan Song

Recorded at Holy Oak Café, July 2, 2015.

such a joy to have this moment captured

Cosmic Homeostasis XI - Out Among the Reeds [excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge, June 30, 2019.

amazingly delicate work by so much interplay

iderdown + abigail trotsky - unknown

Recorded at The Steady Café (Track Could Bend #31), October 3, 2017.

Greatful for the archive of such a fun night!

Cares - [excerpt]

Recorded at 1161 Dundas St W. (Endless City: Invoking The Spirit), January 31, 2016.

carried off on a dark fractal

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You can always click on the tags below to look for more stuff from these artists. Has there been five or so songs posted here that made an impact on you? If you'd like to get in on the action and make a list, feel free to send me an email: mechanicalforestsound@gmail.com.

Recording: Within

Artist: Within

Song: Jacob

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), August 6, 2023.

Within - Jacob

This folky project from Judith Muster and Chris Trotter has been around for a few years now, with a couple different bassists filling out the trio. That chair is now occupied by Stefan Hegerat, showing off a different skill-set to those who have only seen him working behind the drumkit. The flow here is through rivers and trapdoors, the songs given space to meander and bloom rather than being plucked right away.

Recording: Within

Artist: Within

Song: Balkan Song^*

Recorded at Holy Oak Café, July 2, 2015.

Within - Balkan Song

I didn't know anything about this band before hearing them play, and the sight of a familiar face at hand — Fresh Snow's Tim Condon — didn't provide any clues, given the different musical space he was operating in here. Offering up minimalist folk tunes delivered with Judith Muster's clear vocals, the band showed a sly propensity for both stretching out their silences and finding moments to insert a bit of subtle abrasiveness.

[Showing that this show's comfort with performing alongside more abstract, ambient sounds was no one-off, Within will be playing with FAVX (and Montréal's happymovie) on Saturday (July 18th) at the Monarch.]

^* Thanks to Tim for passing along the title to this one.