Recording: Dun-Dun Band

Artist: Dun-Dun Band

Song: Pandemo 3^*

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Dun-Dun Land: Slight Return), April 9, 2024.

Dun-Dun Band - unknown

Essentially a warm-up show for the forthcoming full-on album release celebration (see details below), this night saw most of the Dun-Dun Band gathered together (but with "only" two sax players). Digging into tracks from Pita Parka, Pt. I (as well as its in-the-can sequel) the players were in sync through Craig Dunsmuir's fragment-suites, moving from rollicking lockgroove tumbles to some considered stately rumbles.

[That release celebration will be happening in The Tranzac's Main Hall next week (Thursday, May 16th), with an opening set from Allison Cameron, Mira Martin-Gray and Josh Cole.]

^* Thanks to Josh for passing along the title to this one!

#mfs15 playlist: styrofoamNosebleedPrincess

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 styrofoamNosebleedPrincess.

For the past decade and a half, one of Toronto’s most devoted music fans has been extremely busy organising and documenting more than a few metric fucktonnes of concerts. It is in this latter capacity that we now celebrate the hard work of the one and only Joe Strutt. It was after his recording a performance of Alison Cameron playing solo at a Quiet Bedrooms show that I first met Joe. Before long, I’d see him at many more concerts. From freak folk to modern composition to chimurenga, Joe’s taste in music is highly eclectic. Since I also enjoy a wide range of musical styles, Joe’s always been an interesting person to talk with about music, to attend concerts curated by, and to use as a yardstick. To wit, if you’re at a concert and you see him there, you know you’re in for a treat. Meeting people at a Joe-show is also often a good time in its own right. So here are five recordings from Mechanical Forest Sound which stand out to me. Keeping it down to so few was no simple challenge, with the abundant wealth of his collection.

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Spires That In The Sunset Rise - unknown

Recorded at The White House (Burn Down the Capital presents), April 25, 2013.

Craig Dunsmuir and Dun-Dun Band - Untitled (12→13→14→15→16→12→21)

Recorded at The Great Hall (Long Winter 4.4), February 19, 2016.

Thomas Mapfumo & The Blacks Unlimited - Nhamo

Recorded at Afrofest (Queen's Park), July 10, 2011.

Brodie West/Naomi McCarroll-Butler/Patrick O'Reilly - unknown

Recorded at Humber Loop (A More Beautiful Journey Launch Event), September 1, 2022.

Sarah Hennies & Germaine Liu - Sisters [excerpt]

Recorded at Sheppard West Station (Intersection Day 1: Music For Subways), August 29, 2019.

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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: Dun-Dun Band

Artist: Dun-Dun Band

Song: Triplet C

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Josh Cole presents), September 21, 2022

Dun-Dun Band - Triplet C

There are visible signs of forward progress with Craig Dunsmuir's beloved precision groove bigglyup band — rumours of intense rehearsal schedules, plus whispers of recording and mixing sessions — all of which has culminated in a three-month takeover of Josh Cole's Tranzac residency. This night saw a possibly-unprecedented turonout (on stage) with ten musicians on hand. (There's a certain flexibility in the lineup given that any of these busy musicians could be unavailable on any given day.) There's also a sense that the jams are being formalized into "songs" — where once they were identified by strings of numbered fragments, now titles are taking their place (even if some are perhaps still just placeholders, often taking a name from the venue where the piece was first performed).

The full lineup for this night was:

• Craig Dunsmuir
• Mike Smith
• Blake Howard
• Jay Anderson
• Josh Cole
• Kurt Newman
• Ted Crosby
• Karen Ng
• Colin Fisher
• Brodie West

[The Dun-Dun Band will be completing their three-month stay at The Tranzac next Wednesday (October 19th) in the late slot.]

Monday Roundup #19

In the absence of concert listings, my regular Monday dispatches have fallen off. After bringing some life to the blog with the "bumping into" series, I figure I should get back in the groove. I'm guessing that this will be a bit like what used to get shoved into the end of the post when I was doing listings — some bandcamp suggestions, nods to a few livestreams, and sundry community notes (email me if you have anything that needs broadcast in the latter category!). Plus maybe a look back through the MFS archives.

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Community notes:

• Saturday is Drone Day, so feel free to make like a cicada and buzz at your favourite resonant frequency. The Drone Day website has a list with plenty of events, local and worldwide, that you can check into if you're not droning in your own way.

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Livestream nation:

• Soundstreams has given Robin Dann a chance to curate a concert, and for her Quiet Time event (coming in August) she's bring along Allison Cameron and Matthew Pencer to make some (presumably quiet) sounds. To explore the event's headspace, Soundstreams is presenting an online "town hall" to give a sneak peek that includes an exploration of mindfulness with Jeremy Finkelstein and a performance from ASMR artist Aayushi, along with Dann and Cameron being on hand for a chat. The event is this Wednesday (May 26th) and is free with registration.

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It happened this week...

• ... on May 24, 2016 at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge.

Craig Dunsmuir and Dun-Dun Band - unknown

• ...on May 28, 2019 at Wenona Lodge for Furniture Music.

The Lady and The Tramp - Medley: Tea for Two/Fly Me to The Moon/Chicago (That Toddlin' Town)/I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face

[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.]

Recording: Dun-Dun Band

Artist: Dun-Dun Band

Song: No. 7 (Nilan)^*

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), December 8, 2019.

Dun Dun Band - No. 7 (Nilan)

The Dun-Dun Band ("rapidly becoming the Dun-Dun Symphonetta," commented host Nilan Perera) was rolling nine deep on this night, with composer/caller/guitarist Craig Dunsmuir being joined by a three-piece sax section (Ted Crosby, Karen Ng, and Colin Fisher) and a back-line rhythm factory composed of Mike Smith (synth), Blake Howard (percussion), Jay Anderson (synth percussion), Josh Cole (bass), and Kurt Newman (guitar). As always, the intricate pattern-pieces created a rich stereophonic soundfield and plenty deep groovin'.

^* Title updated! Thanks to Craig!

Recording: Dun-Dun Band

Artist: Dun-Dun Band

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at Yonge-Dundas Square (Intersection Day 2), September 1, 2018.

Dun-Dun Band - unknown

Another interesting day in Yonge-Dundas Square for Intersection, once again excellently curated by Burn Down the Capital's Tad Michalak. Mixing in some abrasive sounds with lots of accessible experimentation, there was a pleasing range of mostly-local talent spread out through the square, animated between sets by the whispersounds of Tina Pearson's installation piece. An outdoor festival is an ideal place to bust out some bigglyup¹ grooves, and Michalak obliged by programming two different sets over the course of the day. Featuring three saxophonists up front to entrance passers-by, creator and band leader Craig Dunsmuir was tucked off to the side, turned around from the crowd to stay in eye contact with bassist Josh Cole and the percussion section. Meanwhile, it was interesting to note that the group's overlapping polyrhythmic fragments have been formalized in a "book" (beautifully-designed by Mike Smith) so here's hoping there will be cause for the musicians to break it out again soon.

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^* Does anyone know the title to this one? Please leave a comment!

¹ Local scholar Kurt Newman was moved to ask, after this event, what the proper name was for "the unique instrumental groove based but experimental large group music that happens in Toronto with a lot of musicians in common", and he was informed by percussionist (and frequent participant in this phenomenon) Blake Howard that "bigglyup" is, indeed, the proper term.

Recording: Craig Dunsmuir and Dun-Dun Band

Artist: Craig Dunsmuir and Dun-Dun Band

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at The Tranzac's Main Hall (Somewhere There Creative Music Festival – Show 1), February 24, 2017.

Craig Dunsmuir and Dun-Dun Band - unknown

Once again, the Somewhere There Music Festival offered an oasis of local creativity, tightly bundled into five events over three days. Leading off, as always, with a community member's reflections, the first show featured a talk from David Dacks on building relationships and finding a project's true purpose while striving to program forward-looking music. Craig Dunsmuir's meticulously-patterned grooves once again were a standout, with the seven-piece band moving through a tasty set of polyrhythmic riffs. Brodie West was filling in on alto here for Karen Ng, adding a bit of his own sound to the mix.

^* Does anyone know the title to this one? Please leave a comment!

Recording: Dun-Dun Band

Artist: Dun-Dun Band

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at The Music Gallery (X Avant XI – Night 1), October 13, 2016.

Dun-Dun Band - unknown

It's always exciting to see Craig Dunsmuir bringing this all-star unit out for a show, meshing his pattern-based guitar pieces with the big band's grooves. With a music stand filled with small slips of paper he'd occasionally refer to, Dunsmuir sometimes looks like a a guy with a "scientific system" on his way to the track, eager to see if the patterns he'd abstracted will apply to real-world data. Meanwhile, Dunsmuir's guitar lines sound equally like they could have been transposed from guimbri riffs or sequencer loops, but in a band setting they unfold with a non-deterministic glee. There were the usual rollicking selections in this set, but I was especially taken by this slow-burning interval.

^* Does anyone know the title to this one? Please leave a comment!

Recording: Craig Dunsmuir and Dun-Dun Band

Artist: Craig Dunsmuir and Dun-Dun Band

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), May 24, 2016.

Craig Dunsmuir and Dun-Dun Band - unknown

After sharing some solo pieces for guitar and drumpad, Craig Dunsmuir called up his band to explore some further dynamics. Following closely on the repeating loops of Dunsmuir's guitar and Josh Cole's bass, Jay Anderson added rhythmic drumpad accents while on the outer wings Colin Fisher and Karen Ng had some room to snake their sax melodies around the musical latticework. Following on Dunsmuir's occasional commands, the group would segue from riff to riff over the course of a couple long pieces.

^* Does anyone know the title to this one? Please leave a comment!

Recording: Craig Dunsmuir and Dun-Dun Band

Artist: Craig Dunsmuir and Dun-Dun Band

Song: Untitled (12→13→14→15→16→12→21)^*

Recorded at The Great Hall (Long Winter 4.4), February 19, 2016.

Craig Dunsmuir and Dun-Dun Band - Untitled (12→13→14→15→16→12→21)

File under: Awesome Tapes From Toronto. Under the leadership of Craig Dunsmuir (Kanada 70, Guitarkestra, etc.) this new unit made its debut leading off the night on the main stage. There were a whole bunch of excellent local groove merchants on hand: Mike Smith (synth), Blake Howard (percussion), Jay Anderson (drumpad + percussion), Josh Cole (bass), Colin Fisher (sax), Karen Ng (sax). Although one could glean hints of Dunsmuir's compositional m.o. here, that was sublimated to the snaky ouroboros rhythms, not unlike Joshua Abrams' work with his Natural Information Society. Sometimes the best moments of Long Winter come early on before the crowds arrive!

[This season's Long Winter will conclude over two nights at The Great Hall on March 18th and 19th, 2016. Craig Dunsmuir will be playing a solo guitar set to open things up for Jonah Parzen-Johnson and Dave Miller at a Somewhere There gig at Ratio on Wednesday, March 30th.]

^* Craig has suggested this as a temporary title.