Recording: Toronto Improvisers Orchestra

Artist: Toronto Improvisers Orchestra

Songs: Non-pitched sounds/Rod's conduction

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), February 8, 2026.

Toronto Improvisers Orchestra - Non-pitched sounds

Toronto Improvisers Orchestra - Rod's conduction

February's version of the TIO required the wide-angle lens to capture, with a circle of seven musicians sharing sounds. These selections (which run directly one into another) show a couple of the techniques at play in their performances. At a suggestion from the group, the first part is an exploration of non-pitched sounds on everyone's instrument. Once that idea was poked at from all the different angles, Rod Campbell stood up to conduct a piece, nicely pulling all the sounds back together.

[The TIO are back in action in the Southern Cross at noon next Sunday (March 8th).]

Recording: Toronto Improvisors Orchestra

Artist: Toronto Improvisors Orchestra

Song: [2nd set excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Main Hall), July 13, 2025.

Toronto Improvisors Orchestra - [2nd set excerpt]

An air-conditioning failure sent the day's sets in the Southern Cross over into the Tranzac's Main Hall, giving some extra legroom for the TIO's monthly gathering. The crew were out eight-deep on this occasion, with a pair of saxophones adding embellishments to the proceedings, as Rod Campbell directed the proceedings. (He added some spoken word elements as well, which you can hear a little bit in the backgound here, though the microphones were more interested in the guitar and bass vi.)

[The TIO will be back in their usual Tranzac timeslot (and presumably back in the Southern Cross!) at noon on Sunday, August 10th.]

Recording: Cosmic Homeostasis XXVII

Artist: Cosmic Homeostasis XXVII

Song: Helium [excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), March 23, 2025.

Cosmic Homeostasis XXVII - Helium [excerpt]

Returning to the Southern Cross for teh first residency appearance of 2025, Cosmic Homeostasis was shifted from its traditional fifth-Sunday-of-the-month but still had a robust turnout to generate some drifting space-drones.

You can listen to the full session over on Bandcamp:

The ensemble for this performance consisted of:

• Dan Friedman - Sonicware Liven XFM, Korg NTS-1, Hmong mouth organ, namer-of-things
• Philip Hamilton - oscillators
• %%30%30 - percussion
• Jim Davis - bass sans fret, vox
• Jonny Luke - cornet
• Eric Cinnesealach - clarinet, recorders, whistles
• Eliza Cinnesealach - clarinet, recorders, whistles
• Rob Cruickshank - electronics
• Sarah Peebles - shō
• Del Stephen - radios, tapes, synthesizer, whistles
• Scott M2 - Roland S-1
• Paul Newman - tenor saxophone
• Ian McPhedran - kalimba, pedals
• Sterling McPhedran - kalimba, pedals
• Elliott Chapin - flute
• Patrick O'Reilly - piano (set 2 only)
• Heraclitus Akimbo - Roland S-1, effects

Recording: Cosmic Homeostasis XXVI

Artist: Cosmic Homeostasis XXVI

Song: I'm Not Bruce [excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), December 29, 2024.

Cosmic Homeostasis XXVI - I'm Not Bruce [excerpt]

Closing out a busy and productive year (with shows in The Tranzac, in church, and outside) this afternoon saw a record number of homeostasisists gathering together to gently listen and make sounds. A real joy to be in the middle of, with so many strands that one could follow along, until something else grabs one's attention. And as always, you can hear the whole afternoon's worth of sounds over on bandcamp:

The participants this time around were:

• Jim Davis - bass + effects, namer-of-things
• Johan S. - sunvox ipad / UPI sketch
• Mike Filippov - wave drum
• %%30%30 - percussion
• Rosalind Saunders - violin
• Trevor Ablett - guitar
• Christina + Wesley Ablett - wave drum
• Jonny Luke - cornet
• Scott M2 - S-1
• Paul Newman - tenor saxophone
• Mira Martin-Gray - laptop
• Matt Collins - guitar
• yasmine - synth, shakers
• apple - shakers
• Sterling McPhedran - guitar
• Ian McPhedran - banjo-uke
• Elliott Chapin - flute
• Dame Cook - digital synthesis
• Dan Friedman - Moog Mavis, Korg NTS1, flute
• Philip Hamilton - oscillators, contact mic
• Victor O - Yamaha CP Reface
• Mickle32 - clarinet
• Heraclitus Akimbo - lap steel

Mike Filippov shot some really beautiful abstracted video on the day that really captures the spirit of the music. It doesn't look to be embeddable, so I recommend you click here and go watch it!

Recording: Cosmic Homeostasis XXIV

Artist: Cosmic Homeostasis XXIV

Songs: 100,000,000,000,000.1 Neutrinos [excerpt] + Elegy for Monstera [excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), June 30, 2023.

Cosmic Homeostasis XXIV - 100,000,000,000,000.1 Neutrinos [excerpt]

Cosmic Homeostasis XXIV - Elegy for Monstera [excerpt]

Once again, the Cosmic Homeostasis crew gathered on a fifth Sunday of the month for some expansive space-drift. Playing on an unusual Canada Day long weekend, when the city felt a little emptied-out, saw a slightly smaller than usual crew in attendance — but with ten performers on hand, "small" is relative, and there was still plenty of sounds and plenty of spaces between sounds.

The performers this time around were:

• Phil Johnston - tape loop + 1-string guitar, namer-of-things
• Jonny Luke - cornet
• Michael Lynn - bass/clarinet
• Rob Cruickshank - electronics
• Sterling McPhedran - guitar
• Ian McPhedran - uke/banjo
• Eric Cinnesealach - clarinets/percussion
• Scott M2 - Animoog
• Jon Kereliuk - piano
• Heraclitus Akimbo - Medo + Bastl synths

As always, the full session is available as a name-your price album on Bandcamp:

Plus, you can also check out both sets (and some informative space facts) over on youtube: