Artist: Toronto Improvisers Orchestra
Song: Word Building
Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), July 12, 2026.
Toronto Improvisers Orchestra - Word Building
There was the usual range of approaches in this TIO session — conducted pieces, freely-played pieces, three-bar loops, approximations of jazz. And also, from noted lexophile Del Stephen, a couple word-game pieces, including this one, which starts off like a round of free improv Password.
Founded as a blog about one curmudgeon's love affair with the em dash, Mechanical Forest Sound has grown to become a community-based archive of local musical culture. Assuming that "independent music" isn't just boys with guitars and "culture" isn't just some sort of pageant, MFS is an investigation of a wide range of artists, reflecting on concerts as shared experiences, acts of citizenship and a chance to get down — fuzzy photographs and clear-sounding original live recordings a specialty.
Current manifestations of this project include Track Could Bend, a monthly concert series featuring "improvised music and weird rock offshoots", presented in a casual environment.
At one point I wrote full-on concert reviews, and for longer I thought I would catch up and write about shows in the past. But these days, because of, y'know, life, do not expect much in the way of full show reviews — but live recordings with blurbs will be posted as quickly after the fact as is feasible.
Check out my original live recordings from many of the gigs discussed here.
You can also check out full sets uploaded to the Live Music Archive. [not currently active]
N.B.: All recordings should be available & playable. If you come across any broken links, invisible or non-functioning players, etc, please leave a comment and I will tend to it ASAP.
ALSO N.B.: I'm perpetually on the lookout for a new place to stash my MP3's online. If you know of any place that allows a couple gigs of stuff to be openly linked to for streaming, drop me a line!
All comments are welcome, or you can reach me at mechanicalforestsound@gmail.com.
All MP3's on this blog are audience recordings shared as a reminder of the excitement of seeing live music. If you are an artist who doesn't want their music shared in this way, please contact me and I shall remove it forthwith.
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Is your show missing from this list? Submit it via this form!
Toronto Electronic Music Open Mic (feat. Ibrahim / Jades James / Ben Green / Chin Beats / gaussian_acid / Todd MacDonald / A/K/C / Inchoate / Jonah Gryfe / Phurniture / Broken Pink Umbrella / Big Steve / mylesofdude / Gruve Collective) / Handlebar 2026-08-10 (Monday) [more info]
Harry Vetro and Friends [Harrison Argatoff/Jay Yoo/Jack Johnston/Harry Vetro] / The Emmet Ray 2026-08-10 (Monday). $20. [more info]
new works for improvising musicians (feat. Josh Cole/Lina Allemano/Jaron Freeman-Fox/Nick Storring/Owen Kurtz) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-08-10 (Monday). $10/notaflof
Rondo Projects (feat. Ehsan Sadigh & Dhaivat Jani) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-08-11 (Tuesday). $pwyc. [more info]
Kiwi Jr. / Sonic Boom Records 2026-08-12 (Wednesday – 6 p.m.). $free, all-ages. [FB event]
Brodie West presents (feat. Brodie West Double Basses Quintet [Brodie West/Patrick O'Reiily/Nick Fraser/Josh Cole/Rob Clutton]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-08-12 (Wednesday – early). $pwyc
Joyshape (Mira Martin-Gray) / Houndstooth 2025-08-12 (Wednesday). $15/PWYC
Never Was [Brandon Davis/Bea Labikova/Racha Moukalled/Patrick O'Reilly/Adrian Russouw/Joe Sorbara] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-08-12 (Wednesday). [more info]
YEARN ["a powerful one-hour work for solo piano by Dutch composer Lieke van der Voort"] (feat. Cheryl Duvall) / Canadian Music Centre 2026-08-13 (Thursday). $20 General Admission, $15 Arts Workers
Free Improvisation Thursdays (feat. Brent Tanemura/Lauchlin Wood/Mason Wallington/Nick Fraser) / Water to Wine 2025-08-13 (Thursday). $pwyc. [more info]
Kurt Newman presents (feat. The Binoculars) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-08-13 (Thursday). $pwyc
Constellating (feat. Mas Aya & Khôra) / Capsules Artist Resources 2026-08-14 (Friday). $11.98. [tickets + more info]
Shaaane (Battle Milk / Sound Effects / Dame Cook) / The Tranzac (Living Room) 2025-08-14 (Friday). $10, 19+. [more info]
Diane Roblin’s Life Force [Diane Roblin/George Koller/Tim Shia/John Johnson/Alex Dean/John MacLeod] / The Rex 2026-08-15 (Saturday – 2 p.m.). $pwyc. [more info]
Re:Stacks (feat. Stacks) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-08-15 (Saturday). [FB event]
Summer Music in the Garden: Persian Psychedelia (feat. Neda Mohamadpour with Chris Pruden/Caleb Klager/Mack Longpre) / Toronto Music Garden 2025-08-20 (Thursday). $free, outdoors, all ages + family-friendly. [more info]
Free Improvisation Thursdays (feat. Brent Tanemura/Tania Gill/Lauchlin Wood/Aidan Miller) / Water to Wine 2026-08-20 (Thursday). $pwyc. [more info]
4 Weeks for Sonny Rollins (feat. Mark Hundevad Quartet [Shawn Nykwist/Chris Pruden/James Thompson/Mark Hundevad]) / CONTXT by Trane 2026-08-22 (Saturday). $30.79 advance, $40 door. [FB event]
Partitions illimitées / Unlimited Scores (feat. Julie Lassonde/Sonia Leung/Sully Malaeb Proulx/Marilyn Yogarajah) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-08-23 (Sunday – 12:30 p.m.). $pwyc (sugg. $10-$20). [more info]
The AMBiENT PiNG & Imaginary North present: 27 Years of Ambient Love! (feat. Cheryl O / Nanotopia / Jim Field) / Handlebar 2026-08-24 (Monday). $PWYC. [more info]
4 Weeks for Sonny Rollins (feat. The Bridge Quartet [Shawn Nykwist/Lee Wallace/Chris Banks/Mark Hundevad]) / CONTXT by Trane 2026-08-29 (Saturday). $30.79 advance, $40 door. [FB event]
Joni Void ["two sets of improvised electronics and sample-based soundscapes, merging into an exclusive collaborative finale between both acts"] (Liz Hysen) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-08-30 (Sunday – noon). [more info]
Cosmic Homeostasis XXXIII / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-08-30 (Sunday – 2:30 p.m.). $pwyc, all-ages + family-friendly. [FB event]
Track Could Bend #120 (feat. Dave Grenon's Indistinctive Gait w/ Ayesha Lye / Caution Wet Floor Signs) / Wenona Lodge 2026-09-01 (Tuesday). $pwyc. [FB event]
Shapeshifter [record launch!] [Brittany Pitt/Dan Pitt/Aidan McConnell] / Sellers and Newel 2026-09-04 (Friday). $20 minimum donation. [more info]
Mateos Labbe-Phelan/Max Stover/Ian Afif / Sellers and Newel 2026-09-05 (Saturday). $20 minimum donation. [more info]
Not Dead Yet presents (feat. Otto Benson / Potions) / Monarch Tavern 2026-09-08 (Tuesday). $27.82, 19+. [tickets + more info]
William Hunt [solo piano live recording] / Sellers and Newel 2026-09-12 (Saturday). $15 minimum donation. [more info]
Marker Starling (Tean Dream) / BSMT 254 2025-09-12 (Saturday). $22.84, 19+. [FB event]
Andrew Downing & Dan Pitt / Sellers and Newel 2025-09-17 (Thursday). $20 minimum donation. [more info]
The Mike Milligan Trio [Mike Milligan/Nick Fraser/Brodie West] / Sellers and Newel 2026-09-19 (Saturday). $25 minimum donation. [more info]
Ladyfinger [Diane Roblin & Kayla Milmine] / Sellers and Newel 2026-09-25 (Friday). $20 minimum donation. [more info]
Burn Down The Capital presents (feat. Picastro [Double on Time album release] / Bernice / Granny Smith) / Gloves Up Boxing Gym 2026-09-26 (Saturday). $28.27, all ages. [FB event]
Maggie Keogh/Ryan Driver/Max Donaldson/Blake Howard / Sellers and Newel 2025-09-27 (Sunday). $20 minimum donation. [more info]
Jane Siberry / Sellers and Newel 2025-09-30 (Wednesday). $35 minimum donation. [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]
Steve Reich at 90! (feat. Soindstreams) / Koerner Hall 2026-10-06 (Tuesday). $35-$94.75. [more info]
Diane Roblin/Rob Clutton/Mark Zurawinski / Sellers and Newel 2025-10-09 (Friday). $20 minimum donation. [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]
Not Dead Yet presents (feat. Weird Nightmare [Hoopla record release shows]) / Osler Records 2025-11-18&19 (Wednesday & Thursday). $24.94, 19+. [tickets + more info]
2026 Gigs
Tania Gill presents (feat. Victor Bateman/Brodie West/Nico Dann) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-01-02 (Friday)
The Silt / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-01-02 (Friday)
Track Could Bend #112 (feat. Duo BEAK / Vividness Trio) / Wenona Lodge 2026-01-06 (Tuesday)
Toronto Improvisors Orchestra / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-01-11 (Sunday)
Ayal Senior & Friends (feat. Senior & Newman / Nick Flanagan / Aaron Knight / Azaria / Charter of the Forest) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-01-11 (Sunday)
ur audio visual presents (feat. Heraclitus Akimbo / Charter of the Forest) / The Sun Room @ 918 Bathurst 2026-01-18 (Sunday)
Track Could Bend #113 (feat. OH GEE / Ryan Kinney) / Wenona Lodge 2026-02-03 (Tuesday)
Toronto Improvisers Orchestra / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-02-08 (Sunday)
Ayal Senior & Friends (feat. Ayal Senior & Kurt Newman / Destroya / Nick Flanagan / Roya/Marilyn/Ayal / Ayal Senior) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-02-08 (Sunday)
Bad Baby and Mayme Joach (Fan Wu / Colleen Coco Collins) / Burdock Music Hall 2026-02-08 (Sunday)
Music Hosted by Karen Ng (feat. Max Stover/Mateos Labbé-Phelan/Andrew Furlong/Karen Ng) / Wenona Lodge 2026-02-17 (Tuesday)
Rapallo (Marker Starling) / Dina's Tavern 2025-02-21 (Saturday)
Earlobe fundraiser (feat. Many People) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-02-26 (Thursday)
coexisDance #113 (feat. New Chance / Rachana Joshi / Sid Eillers / Brandon Davis / Kayla Milmine / Brendan Swanson / Rowan-Muriel / Joel Lawrence) / Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre 2026-02-28 (Saturday)
Eliza Niemi (Shep. Treasure / Westelaken) / Dina's Tavern 2026-03-01 (Sunday)
Track Could Bend #114 (feat. Bill Gilliam / Scallions / Tap slap wind and light) / Wenona Lodge 2026-03-03 (Tuesday)
Ayal Senior & Friends (feat. Senior & Newman / Lostworldsounds / Nick Flanagan / Nocturnes / Ayal Senior) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2025-03-08 (Sunday)
International Women's Day (feat. Tania Gill/Aline Homzy/Karen Ng/Brittany Pitt/Mira Riselli) / Sellers & Newel 2026-03-08 (Sunday)
Ben Mike & The Beatles (Down Town) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2025-03-14 (Saturday)
Cosmic Homeostasis XXXI / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-03-29 (Sunday)
Track Could Bend #115 (feat. Brian Abbott & Paul Newman / Ben Mike & Owen Kurtz) / Wenona Lodge 2025-04-07 (Tuesday)
Kurt Newman presents Post-Bluegrass Bluegrass (feat. Isla & The Sorry Brothers) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2025-04-09 (Thursday)
Sonomadic Improv presents (feat. the clearing / Happy Apple) / Annette Studios 2025-04-12 (Sunday)
Josh Cole: new works for improvising musicians (feat. Aline Homzy/Nick Storring/John Oswald/Owen Kurtz/Josh Cole) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-04-13 (Monday)
Sympathetic String Band & Friends (feat. Sympathetic String Band / Gayle Young) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-04-26 (Sunday)
Not Dead Yet presents (feat. The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis / Yr Knives) / 918 Bathurst 2026-05-02 (Saturday)
Track Could Bend #116 (feat. the rest / Wobbly + John Oswald / Red Trillium) / Wenona Lodge 2026-05-05 (Tuesday)
Holy Oak Family Singers presents: Our Parents' Tapes (feat. Luka Kuplowsky/Tiffany Wu/Isla Craig/Justin Orok/Edwin De Goeij/Fan Wu/Aiden McConnell/Ivy Mairi/Carlyn Bezic/Robin Dann/Ben Gunning/Bram Gielen) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-05-06 (Wednesday)
Potions & Strings (Dun-Dun Man) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-05-06 (Wednesday)
Musica Universalis (feat. C'est la fête Large Ensemble) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-05-08 (Friday)
Ayal Senior & Friends (feat. Ayal Senior & Kurt Newman / JOYSHAPE / Ryan Dugre / Nick Flanagan) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-05-10 (Sunday)
Cosmic Homeostasis XXXII / The Tranzac (Living Room) 2026-05-17 (Sunday)]
Playscape Emporium: Paint, Play (feat. Duo Cichorium/Constant Yen/ Rowan Campbell/Charlee Wielgoz/Fahmid Nibesh/Joe Strutt/Mira Martin-Gray) / Array Space 2026-05-21 (Thursday)
Wenderly Park (Colin Fisher / Isla Craig) / Le Monde 2026-05-22 (Friday)
Ministry of Phonic Services presents (feat. Ben Rempel & Justin Gunter / Not the Wind, Not the Flag / Doug Tielli & Mike Gennaro) / Bickford Park 2026-05-24 (Sunday)
Life Drawing (feat. Cosmic Homeostasis) / Riverdale Park 2026-05-31 (Sunday)
Prepare the Ground Festival (feat. William Basinski) / Trinity-St. Paul's Centre 2026-05-31 (Sunday)
Track Could Bend #117 (feat. saucering / Colin Fisher/William Hunt/Jack Johnson/Cal Adam) / Wenona Lodge 2025-06-02 (Tuesday)
Ayal Senior & Friends (feat. Ayal Senior/Nathan Yell/Marilyn Yogarajah / David Sait / Nick Flanagan / Nathan Yell) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-06-14 (Sunday)
Caution Wet Floor Signs / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-06-28 (Sunday)
Andre Ethier (Cows in Rain / Eliza Niemi) / Dina's Tavern 2026-07-05 (Sunday)
Track Could Bend #118 (feat. Ubersuck / Mike Gennaro / Wilderness Adventure Ride) / Wenona Lodge 2026-07-07 (Tuesday)
Toronto Improvisers Orchestra / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-07-12 (Sunday)
Ayal Senior and Friends (feat. Country Phasers / Meggie Remy / Nick Flanagan / Heraclitus Akimbo) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-07-12 (Sunday)
Rebecca Hennessy's Singer-Songwriter Circle (feat. Rebecca Hennessy/Michael Herring/Felicity Williams/Patrick O'Reilly) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-07-19 (Sunday)
The Fiver Trois (Isla & The Sorry Brothers) / Dina's Tavern 2025-07-24 (Friday)
Jennifer Castle (Potions) / The Garrison 2025-07-25 (Saturday)
Heraclitus Akimbo (Hoover Party / Del Stephen / Hex-A-Decimal × Leucrocuta) / The Sun Room at 918 Bathurst 2025-07-26 (Sunday)
Kathryn Merriam with Bea Labikova/Raphael Roter/Heather Saumer / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-07-29 (Wednesday)
The Ryan Driver Sextet With Thom Gill As Ryan Driver / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-07-31 (Friday)
Track Could Bend #119: An Evening of Graphic Scores co-presented with Public Library (feat. Public Library with Roa Lee and Alison Melville) / Wenona Lodge 2026-08-04 (Tuesday)
Humbucker Music Residency (feat. Humbucker Music / Sandy Ewen) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-08-07 (Friday)
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