Mechanical Forest Sound

Monday, October 12, 2026

Monday Roundup #300

Community notes:

Sad news from Telephone Explosion, announcing they will be ceasing operations at the end of the year. "After 19 years and 149 releases, we’ve decided to close Telephone Explosion Records and its affiliated labels, effective Dec 31, 2026." Early on, TE was a bit more niche, serving as a delivery system for Teenager's output and more-closely related bands. But as they grew more eclectic and moved past genre limitations, they hit their stride in releasing some of the city's best forward-thinking music. To dig through their releases is to feel humbled at the depth of talent and passion assembled. The label always loved vinyl, so do note that there's currently a 25% off sale of their remaining physical inventory. Keep an eye out for a banger of a farewell party, hopefully.

Contest reminder:

This is your last chance to enter to win a Festial Pass to this week's X Avant festival! Details here! Draw is tomorrow! (Tuesday, October 13th)

Concert announcements:

An eve (songs of ours played with this beautiful band) [songs by Ryan Driver & Maggie Keogh] (feat. Ryan Driver/Maggie Keogh/Max Donaldson/Jaron Freeman-Fox/Harry Bartlett/Maxwell Stover/Blake Howard) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-10-20 (Tuesday – early). $pwyc. [more info]

Intersection Music & Arts presents ["an evening-length multidisciplinary production"] (feat. Les Gents Qui Partent / Andrew Noseworthy) / Canadian Music Centre 2026-10-20 (Tuesday). $pwyc. [more info + RSVP]

Music Hosted by Karen Ng ["five alto saxophonists ... play a 30 minute piece of multiphonics by German improviser and composer Frank Gratkowski"] (feat. Patrick O'Reilly [solo] / Bea Labikova/Nicola Miller/Karen Ng/Ben Rositsan/Brodie West) / Wenona Lodge 2026-10-20 (Tuesday). $pwyc. [more info]

Ministry of Phonic Services presents (feat. Sweet Lips / Bag) / United Unlimited 2026-10-21 (Wednesday). $15 or pwyc, all ages. [more info]

ESP Free Jazz Thursdays (feat. Brent Tanemura/Lauchlin Wood/Rob Clutton/Aidan Miller) / Water to Wine 2026-10-22 (Thursday). $pwyc. [more info]

Labyrinth Ontario presents: Makam Nights (feat. Ali Rostamian / Soheil Sadeghi) / The Tranzac (Living Room) 2026-10-22 (Thursday). $pwyc. [FB event]

Karen Ng presents (feat. Fleshtone Aura / Alex Moskos/John Brennan/Hank Bull) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-10-22 (Thursday). $pwyc. [FB event]

lightsweetcrude presents: An Evening of Visual Music (feat. Rob Clutton / Michael Kaler) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-10-29 (Thursday). $pwyc. [FB event]

Fiver with the Fiver Trois / Dina's Tavern 2026-11-28 (Saturday). $21.97, 19+. [tickets + more info]

Is your show missing from this list? Submit it via this form!

Shows this week:

TEMOM [Toronto Electronic Music Open Mic] (feat. GG and the MIx / CorianderSound / Musique D'ameublement / Gary Duke / Rob Cruikshank / Antibes / Jaded James / Jonthan Kirby / Didgital Analogs / Dre / Miko / Broken Pink Umbrella / Giant Floating Head / Synth Gravy / A/K/C) / Handlebar 2026-10-12 (Monday). [more info]

Jazz Rat Mondays (feat. Patrick Smith Quartet [Patrick Smith/Sylvia Escoba/Ethan Ardelli/Jay Yoo ) / Dina's Tevern 2026-10-12 (Monday). $no cover. [more info]

Idée Fixe Records 15 (feat. Jennifer Castle / Isla Craig / Cormac Culkeen with Michael Cloud Duguay / Alex Lukashevsky / Kyla Marlena / Potions / Roy / Joseph Shabason / Bry Webb) / St. Stephen-in-the-Fields 2026-10-13 (Tuesday). $26.93. [tickets + more info]

DIMETAPP [Mike DeiCont/Mackenzie Longpré/Kae Murphy/Luan Phung] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-10-13 (Tuesday) [more info]

X Avant XXI: Memory Mannnnn, Night 1: Ghost Grain (feat. Ava Mendoza / Andrew Noseworthy & Grace Scheele) / First Unitarian Church 2026-10-14 (Wednesday). $22.14/$27.29/$33.47. [tickets + more info]

Altered States Artist Showcase (feat. Alex Lukashevsky) / Water to Wine 2026-10-14 (Wednesday). $pwyc. [more info]

Funz Mini-tour/Ur Audio-Visual label showcase (feat. M. Mucci / Bird City / The Golden Funz) / The Keating Channel Pub & Grill 2026-10-14 (Wednesday). $pwyc. [FB event]

X Avant XXI: Memory Mannnnn, Night 2: Flashback (feat. Sonic Bikes / Bilal Nasser & Ensemble) / First Unitarian Church 2026-10-15 (Thursday). $22.14/$27.29/$33.47. [tickets + more info]

ESP Free Jazz Thursdays (feat. Brent Tanemura/Lauchlin Wood/Kae Murphy/Mateos Labbé-Phelan) / Water to Wine 2026-10-15 (Thursday). $pwyc. [more info]

X Avant XXI: Memory Mannnnn, Night 3: Ancient Circuitry (feat. Mani Mazinani's Solar Organ Ensemble / For The Youth: Reilluminated) / First Unitarian Church 2026-10-16 (Friday). $22.14/$27.29/$33.47. [tickets + more info]

Diane Roblin’s Life Force (Diane Roblin/George Koller/Tim Shia/Kevin Turcotte/John Johnson/Colleen Allen) / The Rex 2026-10-17 (Saturday – 2 p.m.). $pwyc. [more info]

Thiante: Spiritual Senegal (feat. Ibrahima Diop / Seydina Ndiaye / Talla Kane) / Trinity-St. Paul's Centre 2026-10-17 (Saturday). $25 (advanced)/$30 (doors), all ages. [FB event]

It happened this week...

Speaking of X Avant, let's look back XIII years to MMXIII for some sounds from X Avant VIII...

...on October 12, 2013 at The Music Gallery (X Avant VIII).

Flux Quartet - Morton Feldman's String Quartet No. 2 [excerpt 4]

...on October 17, 2013 at The Music Gallery (X Avant VIII).

Not The Wind, Not The Flag + William Parker - [coda]

[Do remember that you can click on the tags below to go back and find the original posts (and often, more stuff) from these artists.]

Wednesday, October 7, 2026

Contest: X Avant XXI

X Avant XXI: Memory Mannnnn

October 14-16, 2026 @ First Unitarian Church

The Music Gallery is always in the process of becoming something else, so it's not entirely unusual to note that this year's X Avant Festival comes in a time of transition for the institution. While we wait for new Artistic Director Sara Constant's programming to come online, X Avant comes as retrospectively futuristic, with atrists approaching "effects pedals as inquiry and play, utilizing live processing to expand the sonic palette." (Something close to this blog's heart!)

I've heard excitement expressed by artists and the MG staff towards this year's venue, in Oakwood Village (and a ten-minute walk from Oakwood Station on the new Line 5). Tad Michalak curates the first night, featuring guitar wizardry from Ava Mendoza plus a cool duo from Andrew Noseworthy & Grace Scheele. Night 2 brings Sonic Bikes (" a bespoke ensemble of improvising percussionists will make use of reassembled and sonified bike parts to animate a familiar soundworld of gears, spokes, and pedals") plus Bilal Nasser playing solo and with a cool ensemble. The Festival wraps with Alexis Nanibush-Pamajewong's light and sound installation "For The Youth: Reilluminated" plus Mani Mazinani's Solar Organ Ensemble, which is filled up with a bunch of this blog's fave locals.

Recorded at Collective Arts (Burn Down The Capital presents), November 3, 2024.

Ava Mendoza - The Shadow Song

Recorded at Sankofa Square (Intersection 2025: Day 2: All Day Music Marathon, August 30, 2025.

Bilal Nasser - unknown

TICKETS + MORE INFO

Information for all shows and tickets are over at the MG's site. Tickets are available on a Pay What You Can Afford (PWYCA) sliding scale ($20-$30) and you can also grab a Festival Pass as well.

CONTEST

Thanks to the Music Gallery, I also have a Festival Pass to give away!

To enter, shoot me an email to mechanicalforestsound@gmail.com, with "contest" in the title and your name in the body. I'll randomly draw a winner on Tuesday, October 13th.

Monday, October 5, 2026

Monday Roundup #299

Community notes:

Venue watch: Rising from the ashes in Parkdale? News is that The Phoenix, whose current location is slated for development, is heading west. Probably still a lot of bureaucratic hurdles to overcome, but The Phoenix was relatively palatable for a larger venue, so hopefully that can be replicated in a different space.

Concert announcements:

DIMETAPP [Mike DeiCont/Mackenzie Longpré/Kae Murphy/Luan Phung] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-10-13 (Tuesday) [more info]

ESP Free Jazz Thursdays (feat. Brent Tanemura/Lauchlin Wood/Kae Murphy/William Hunt/Mateos Labbe-Phelan) / Water to Wine 2026-10-15 (Thursday). $pwyc. [more info]

A-side / B-side: Songs by Juliet Palmer ["songs set to a variety of Canadian poets, sitting between composed and improvised music. Featuring poetry by Ayesha Chatterjee, George Elliott Clarke, Antonia Facciponte, Keith Garebian, Luke Hathaway, Alisha Kaplan, Al Moritz, Mansour Noorbakhsh, Corrado Paina, Giovanna Riccio, Armand Garnet Ruffo, Richard Sanger, Yeshim Ternar, Eleni Zisimatos."] (feat. Ryan McDonald & Steven Philcox / Laura Swankey/Christine Duncan/Jackson Welchner/Tania Gill/Rob Clutton/Jake Oelrichs) / Canadian Music Centre 2026-10-16 (Friday). $17.31. [tickets + more info]

Abacus Cornet Quartet [Colin James Gibson/Ryan Kinney/Jonny Luke/Steve Vincent] / The Emmet Ray 2026-10-21 (Wednesday). $15. [more info]

Halloween Spooktacular (feat. catl.) / The Bell & The Beacon 2026-10-31 (Saturday). $31.59, 19+. [tickets + more info]

Not Dead Yet's Day of the Dead (feat. Slash Need / Head Crack / The Mall) / 131 Mccormack Street 2026-11-01 (Sunday). $26.11, 19+. [tickets + more info]

Small World Music's Ishq Festival: An Evening of Qawwali and Khayaal (feat. The Saami Brothers) / Toronto Pavillion 2026-11-27 (Friday). $55.30 + up. [tickets + more info]

Is your show missing from this list? Submit it via this form!

Shows this week:

Chris Banks presnts (feat. Cheis Banks/Dafydd Hughes/Max Stover/Mateos Labbé-Phelan) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-10-05 (Monday). $pwyc

Steve Reich at 90! (feat. Soundstreams) / Koerner Hall 2026-10-06 (Tuesday). $35-$94.75. [more info]

Track Could Bend #121 (feat. Shawn Will / Benny Liquid / Victor O) / Wenona Lodge 2026-10-06 (Tuesday). $pwyc. [FB event]

Disarray 1 ["open experimentation at the intersection of sound art, performance art, and conceptual art"] (feat. Christof Migone / Tasman Richardson) / Array Space 2026-10-06 (Tuesday). $10.00 (or pay what you want). [more info]

Raybody (Jackie West / Luke Kuplowsky) / Dina's Tavern 2026-10-06 (Tuesday). [more info]

Peripheral Vision (Michael Davidson) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-10-06 (Tuesday) [more info]

Holy Oak Family Singers Present: Madonna (feat. TBA) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-10-07 (Wednesday – early). [more info]

Andrew Downing Quintet [Andrew Downing/Michael Davidson/Nick Fraser/Aline Homzy/Ted Crosby] / The Rex 2026-10-07–10 (Wednesday–Saturday). $20. [more info]

ESP Free Jazz Thursdays (feat. Brent Tanemura/Lauchlin Wood/Kae Murphy/William Hunt/Mateos Labbé-Phelan) / Water to Wine 2026-10-08 (Thursday). $pwyc. [more info]

Diane Roblin/Rob Clutton/Mark Zurawinski / Sellers and Newel 2026-10-09 (Friday). $20 minimum donation. [more info]

Funz Mini-tour/Ur Audio-Visual label showcase (feat. Eiyn Sof / lostworldsounds / The Black Funz) / St Matthew's Clubhouse 2026-10-09 (Friday). $pwyc. [FB event]

2nd Fridays (feat. Cameron Esquega / Josh Cole string trio + 2 [Laura Swankey/Jarron Freeman-Fox/Nick Storring/Josh Cole] / Rainer Wiens) / Canadian Music Centre 2026-10-09 (Friday). $17.31. [tickets + more info]

Audiopollination (feat. DEMYTRA/YO/Lifia / Jamie Eriksen/Felix Sun/Andrew Li / Ryan Kinney/Hannahxyx/Vic / The Not Michael Lynns + Kalina Nedelcheva) / Array Space 2026-10-09 (Friday). $10/pwyc, livestream available. [FB event]

Musica Universalis (feat. Not the Wind, Not the Flag) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-10-09 (Friday). [more info]

Severe Exposure Volume 1: Toronto's New Noise Festival (feat. Vomir / Lea Bertucci / Hermit / Mound of of Glass /Professor A / Zilmrah / Rob Michalchuk / Receiving Device / Brigitte Bardon't) / It's OK Studios 2026-10-10 (Saturday). $38.61 (early bird), $43.93 (general admission), 19+. [FB event]

FemBots (Jenny Omnichord) / Burdock Music Hall 2026-10-10 (Saturday). $22.60. [tickets + more info]

Stefin (Output 1:1:1 / Atonal) / Collective Arts 2026-10-10 (Saturday). $17.55. [tickets + more info]

Toronto Improvisers Orchestra / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-10-11 (Sunday – noon). $pwyc. [more info]

Ayal Senior & Friends presents: Yutori & Friends (feat. Ayal Senior/Kurt Newman/Jay Anderson/Blake Howard / Nick Flanagan / Ø Gravity) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-10-11 (Sunday – 2:30 p.m.) [FB event]

Funz Mini-tour/Ur Audio-Visual label showcase: Sean Travis Ramsay Memorial (feat. Heraclitus Akimbo / Percy Bangs / The Blue Funz) / Sun Room @ 918 Bathurst 2026-10-11 (Sunday). $pwyc. [FB event]

Dorothea Paas (Andre Ethier / Ruby of Thanks) / Dina's Tavern 2026-10-11 (Sunday). $15/pwyc. [more info]

It happened this week...

...on October 7, 2016 at The Tranzac's Main Hall (Tribute to the Life of Ken Aldcroft).

The Woodshed Orchestra & friends - You Ain't Gonna Know Me ('Cause You Think You Know Me)

...on October 11, 2016 at Handlebar (The AMBiENT PiNG).

Valiska - unknown

[Do remember that you can click on the tags below to go back and find the original posts (and often, more stuff) from these artists.]

Saturday, October 3, 2026

Recording: Cosmic Homeostasis

Artist: Cosmic Homeostasis

Song: Overstimulated Cumulus [excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), August 30, 2026.

Cosmic Homeostasis - Overstimulated Cumulus [excerpt]

A variety of sounds emerging from across the length of the Southern Cross at this edition of Cosmic Homeostasis, with some rhythmic skeletons threatening to emerge.

The full ensemble this time around included:

Broken Pink Umbrella - Make Noise Tape & Microsound Music Machine
Dan Friedman - flute, various AUv3
Del Stephen - bar, glassware, register, keyboard synthesizer
Heraclitus Akimbo - M-VAVE FM-1 synth
Hilary Martin - pedals
Huck Collins - electric guitar
John Swschkov - theremin
Matt Collins - acoustic guitar
Paul Newman - tenor saxophone
Rob Cruickshank - electronics
Zack Berwick - modular synth

As usual, you can check out the afternoon's entire proceedings over on bandcamp:

[Cosmic Homeostasis will be back at The Tranzac on Sunday, November 29th — but more immediately, CH will be convening tomorrow afternoon (Sunday, October 4th at 4 p.m.) at 918 Bathurst to celebrate the release of a new "studio" album.]

Friday, October 2, 2026

Recording: Joni Void/Liz Hysen/Charles Spearin

Artist: Joni Void/Liz Hysen/Charles Spearin

Song: [trio excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), August 30, 2026.

Joni Void/Liz Hysen/Charles Spearin - [trio excerpt]

While passing through town on a road trip, Montréal's Jean Néant dropped into The Tranzac for this afternoon meetup with a couple local pals. After a short set of lofi, cassette-sourced sampledelica he called up Liz Hysen (synth and piano) and Charles Spearin (Moog Prodigy), who came together very nicely on this organic piece.

Thursday, October 1, 2026

Recording: Cole/Storring/Allemano/Kurtz/Oswald

Artist: Josh Cole/Nick Storring/Lina Allemano/Owen Kurtz/John Oswald

Song: [set 1 excerpt] + [set 2 excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Josh Cole presents: new works for improvising musicians), August 10, 2026.

Josh Cole/Nick Storring/Lina Allemano/Owen Kurtz/John Oswald - [set 1 excerpt]

Josh Cole/Nick Storring/Lina Allemano/Owen Kurtz/John Oswald - [set 2 excerpt]

This evening was originally slated as a variation on Josh Cole's "and strings" concept, but things slid sideways a bit when a last-minute switch saw saxophonist John Oswald appearing in the place of scheduled violinist Jarron Freeman-Fox. But the real sonic centre here was Owen Kurtz, bringing some tasty realtime sample granulation. There was an inneresting feedback loop where Kurtz's skittering microloops encouraged the other players to respond with similarly small/repetitive gestures, although he left enough space that there was still room to appreciate some delicate playing from Nick Storring (cello) and Lina Allemano (trumpet) alongside Cole's bass.

You can check out both sets over on youtube:

Monday, September 28, 2026

Monday Roundup #298

Concert announcements:

Holy Oak Family Singers Present: Madonna (feat. TBA) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-10-07 (Wednesday – early). [more info]

ESP Free Jazz Thursdays (feat. Brent Tanemura/Lauchlin Wood/Kae Murphy/William Hunt/Mateos Labbé-Phelan) / Water to Wine 2026-10-08 (Thursday). $pwyc. [more info]

Andrew Downing Quintet [Andrew Downing/Michael Davidson/Nick Fraser/Aline Homzy/Ted Crosby] / The Rex 2026-10-07–10 (Wednesday–Saturday). $20. [more info]

Diane Roblin’s Life Force (Diane Roblin/George Koller/Tim Shia/Kevin Turcotte/John Johnson/Colleen Allen) / The Rex 2026-10-17 (Saturday – 2 p.m.). $pwyc. [more info]

Zoo Owl (Steve Shiffman & The Land of No / Aedon Bears) / Handlebar 2026-10-24 (Saturday). $pwyc. [FB event]

Burn Down The Capital presents (feat. Trevor Dunn/Karen Ng/Nick Fraser / Colin Fisher/Will Hunt/Jack Johnston/Cal Adam) / Standard Time 2026-10-29 (Thursday). $28.27, all ages. [FB event]

Kieran Daly/Dan Fortin/Philippe Melanson / The Rex 2026-10-31 (Saturday – 11 p.m.). $pwyc. [more info]

Is your show missing from this list? Submit it via this form!

Shows this week:

Soundstreams Encounters: Nagoya Marimbas [featuring Steve Reich’s "Mallet Quartet" and "Nagoya Marimbas", plus works by Ann Southam and Juri Seo (feat. Kairos Percussion Quartet with Aerin Cho) / Hugh's Room 2026-09-29 (Tuesday). $free with reservation. [more info]

Nick Fraser presents (feat. Max Donaldson [solo] / Nick Fraser/Josh Cole/Nicola Miller) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-09-29 (Tuesday). [more info]

Altered States Artist Showcase (feat. Alex Lukashevsky) / Water to Wine 2026-09-30 (Wednesday). $pwyc. [more info]

Partitions illimitées / Unlimited Scores (feat. Bri Clarke / James Knott / Julie Lassonde / Pursuit Grooves) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-09-30 (Wednesday – early). $pwyc (suggested $10-$20). [more info]

Jane Siberry / Sellers and Newel 2026-09-30 (Wednesday). $35 minimum donation. [more info]

aRrHyThMiA [BridgeofSand/Ryan Kinney/Nilan Perera] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-09-30 (Wednesday). [FB event]

ESP Free Jazz Thursdays (feat. Brent Tanemura/Lauchlin Wood/Brodie West/Jake Bikay/Mateos Labbé-Phelan) / Water to Wine 2026-10-01 (Thursday). $pwyc. [more info]

Imaginary North and The AMBiENT PiNG present (feat. Cloud Circuit / Metric Time Ensemble / biG kNiFE) / Annette Studios 2026-10-01 (Thursday). $12.67 (advance) / $15 (door), all ages. [tickets + more info]

Project Nowhere × Burn Down The Capital presents (feat. Horse Lords / Common Earth Mineral / Stefana Fratila) / The Garrison 2026-10-01 (Thursday). $32.31, 19+. [FB event]

Tania Gill presents (feat. Rob Clutton Scrapples Quartet [Nicola Miller/Tania Gill/Rob Clutton/Mackenzie Longpré]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-10-02 (Friday – early) [more info]

Liquid Architecture: Guitar Night (feat. Lex Feathers / Aranya Khurana / Colin James Gibson / Ryan Kinney) / St. Matthew's Clubhouse 2026-10-03 (Saturday). $10 (cash or e-transfer). [FB event]

Lucid Lounge Saturdays (feat. Thom Gill/Matthew Pencer/Philippe Melanson/Edwin De Goeij) / Water to Wine 2026-10-03 (Saturday). $pwyc. [more info]

Live scoring: La passion de Jeanne d'Arc (feat. The New Symphony Orchestra) / The Citadel: Ross Centre for Dance 2026-10-03 (Saturday). $23.85 (advance), $25 (doors). [more info]

Shapeshifter [Brittany Pitt/Dan Pitt/Aidan McConnell] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-10-03 (Saturday). [FB event]

Cosmic Homeostasis [album release celebration] (Bea Labikova) / 918 Bathurst 2026-10-04 (Sunday – 4 p.m.). $pwyc. [FB event]

Axiomatic Heresy [Jonathan Kay/Kayla Milmine/Alex Fournier/Nick Fraser] / The Emmet Ray 2026-10-04 (Sunday – 5 p.m.). $12. [more info]

PORTALZ album release concert (feat. Marbyllia [Margaret Maria & Bill Gilliam] / Margaret Maria [solo]) / Array Space 2026-10-04 (Sunday). $30 (includes CD). [FB event]

Bandcamp corner:

It's back again! Support some artists you love on Bandcamp Friday, returning this week on October 2nd. Here's a couple things I'll be grabbing:

It happened this week...

...on October 4, 2014 at Smiling Buddha.

DAS RAD - Radiator

...on October 4, 2014 at Nuit Blanche @ TIFF Lightbox (Jazz Age Cinema).

The Ryan Driver Quintet - Mood Indigo

[Do remember that you can click on the tags below to go back and find the original posts (and often, more stuff) from these artists.]

Monday, September 21, 2026

Monday Roundup #297