Recording: Cosmic Homeostasis XXXII

Artist: Cosmic Homeostasis XXXII

Song: Stemcell [excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Living Room), May 17, 2026.

Cosmic Homeostasis XXXII - Stemcell [excerpt]

Circumstances shifted this gathering from its usual fifth-Sunday-of-the month — and also across the hall into the Living Room. But there was still plenty of room to drift along.

The full ensemble this time out was:

• Broken Pink Umbrella - theremin + effects
• Dan Friedman - EQ feedback, west pest, kastl drum, bamboo flute
• Del Stephen - keyboard synthesizer
• Heraclitus Akimbo - lyre, synth, tapes
• Hilary Martin - pedals
• Ian McPhedran - guitar
• Jim Davis - bass
• Patrick O'Reilly - Pluto
• Paul Newman - tenor saxophone
• Scott M2 - S-1
• Peter G. + Brian G. - namers-of-things

As always, you can listen to the full session over on bandcamp:

Recording: Cosmic Homeostasis XXX

Artist: Cosmic Homeostasis XXX

Song: A Gracious Limestone [excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), November 30, 2025.

Cosmic Homeostasis XXX - A Gracious Limestone [excerpt]

Joining together at the Tranzac for the thirtieth time, this session marked the end of a productive year for the C.H. collective, meeting inside and outdoors to create come drones and community vibes. Keep an eye out in 2026 for a new "studio" album and more gatherings.

The homeostasis crew on this occasion included:

• Chris Trotter - radio, pedals, namer-of-things
• Dan Friedman - virtual line hum, flute
• Del Stephen - keyboard synthesizer & keys
• Fahmid Nibesh - contact mic/amp/guitar/pedals/metals
• Heraclitus Akimbo - chimes, Roland S-1, pedals
• Ian McPhedran - guitar
• James Bailey - cümbüş, rattle
• Jim Davis - fretless bass gtr
• Jonny Luke - cornet + fx
• Mira Martin-Gray - synthesizer/resonator
• Niamh Girling - tanpura
• Paul Newman - tenor saxophone
• Rob Cruickshank - synth/pedals
• Scott M2 - Roland S-1
• Sterling McPhedran - banjo-ukulele

You can check out some more from this afternoon over on youtube:

And, as always, you hear the whole session over on bandcamp:

Recording: Cosmic Homeostasis

Artist: Cosmic Homeostasis

Songs: Split Infinitive [excerpt] + Urdu Amphitheatre [excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), August 31, 2025.

Cosmic Homeostasis - Split Infinitive [excerpt]

Cosmic Homeostasis - Urdu Amphitheatre [excerpt]

A vibrant showing for a long weekend with fifteen homeostasisists joining in. An unusually-robust turnout of guitarists gave a unique flavour to the proceedings and a bit of structure for the drift over two sets.

The homeostasis crew on this occasion included:

• Nilan Perera - guitar + preparations, namer-of-things
• Broken Pink Umbrella - Intellijel Vascadia + effects
• Dan Friedman - Wire Hum, real and imaginary
• Fahmid Nibesh - Tranzac house guitar, ebow, vox
• Hilary Martin - pedals
• Jim Davis - bass
• Leslie Partridge - classical guitar
• Matt Collins - guitar
• Mira Martin-Gray - laptop, voice
• Patrick O'Reilly - piano + SK-1
• Paul Newman - tenor sax
• Rob Cruickshank - synth/electronics
• Scott M2 - Roland S-1
• Zack Berwick - OP-1 + effects
• Heraclitus Akimbo - tape loops, Zoia

And, as always, you can check out the complete proceedings from the afternoon over on bandcamp:

[Cosmic Homeostasis will be closing out the year's activities at The Tranzac on Sunday, November 30th at 2:30 p.m.]

Recording: Cosmic Homeostasis XXVIII

Artist: Cosmic Homeostasis XXVIII

Song: Cancel the Wedding [excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), June 29, 2025.

Cosmic Homeostasis XXVIII - Cancel the Wedding [excerpt]

A fine summer afternoon saw a robust group of space-droners out to chill in some cosmic sounds. As usual, there was a mix of acoustic and electronic sounds, new faces and old.

The ensemble for this session included:

• Ian McPhedran - guitar, namer-of-things
• Sterling McPhedran - banjo-ukulele
• Dan Friedman - recorder, Organism 8, Skrewell, Crackle + Dust
• Mira Martin-Gray - vocals, tone generator, kazoo
• Zack Berwick - guitar
• Scott M2 - Roland S-1
• Grant Smales - Buddha Machine
• Andrew Finlay Stewart - violin, kalimba, pedals, celtic whistle, whistling
• Rob Cruickshank - electronics
• Broken Pink Umbrella - Intellijel Cascadia synthesizer
• Phil Johnston - tape + fx
• Paul Newman - tenor saxophone
• Ariadna Ortega - cello (#2 only)
• Patrick O'Reilly - Game Boy
• Dame Cook - laptop
• Del Stephen - synth, piano
• Heraclitus Akimbo - Roland S-1, Bastl Wizard, radio

As usual, both full sets are available over on bandcamp:

And as well, you can check out some the day's full proceedings over on youtube:

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:

Recording: Cosmic Homeostasis XXIII

Artist: Cosmic Homeostasis XXIII

Songs: Moving [excerpt] + Top of the Mountain [excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), March 31, 2023.

Cosmic Homeostasis XXIII - Moving [excerpt]

Cosmic Homeostasis XXIII - Top of the Mountain [excerpt]

With the calendar withholding a fifth Sunday of the month until March, this was the first manifestation of this ever shifting/growing collective in the calendar year, but even competing calls of Easter weekend couldn't stop a robust group of droners from gathering together. With birthday celebrant Diane Roblin considering the names of the pieces, there was a nice mix of gentle clatter and spacy drift over these two selections.

The full ensemble this time out was:

• Diane Roblin - Yamaha Reface, melodica, namer-of-things
• Scott M2 - Animoog
• Carly H - voice
• Dame Cook - plastic, cup, laptop
• Eric Cinnesealach - bass clarinet, percussion
• Mira Martin-Gray - tone generator, voice
• Mike Filippov - percussion
• Victor O - melodica, salt packets
• Marilyn Yogarajah - trumpet, piano
• Jesse Clark - percussion
• Phil - static apparition
• Paul Newman - tenor saxophone
• Mickle32 - bass
• Heraclitus Akimbo - Roland J-6, Bastl Kastle, radio, lyre

And as always, you can hear/download the entire performance over at bandcamp:

#mfs15 playlist: core

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 core.

please accept this quiet drifting ode to the incomparable JOE STRUTT - citizen, writer, listener, maker, musician, fan, devotee and enthusiast, group drone organizer, promoter of improvised offshoots, and possibly the nicest most generous inclusive person in the whole modern tkaronto/toronto music scene. also, in the running for best name award.

---

Scott M2-kat estacio-Heraclitus Akimbo - [excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Cosmic Homeostasis & Audiopollination: Pre-NYE gathering + celebration), December 30, 2023.

a recent show by some local favourites that i missed but was delighted to listen to safely from home

Germaine Liu/Mira Martin-Gray/Karen Ng - [first piece, part 3]

Recorded at Wenona Lodge (Music Hosted by Karen Ng), September 17, 2019.

playful dynamic experimentations on full display

Cosmic Homeostasis - She Sells Moondust Down by The Sea of Tranquility [excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Cosmic Homeostasis VIII), September 30, 2018.

shout out to the cosmic homeostasis crew, this afternoon was memorable for the guest appearance of my friends' kids, wolfgang and annika whose improvised vocal contributions can be heard in the mix xo

Abigail Trotsky/Chris Trotter/Mike Spears - [excerpt]

Recorded at Array Space (Audiopollination #53.1), April 8, 2017.

a rare and treasured collaboration with my longtime partner and our longtime friend xo

Brigitte Bardon't + SlowPitchSound - Sylvia Anne Virginia [forest noise scene redux] [excerpt]

Recorded at Double Double Land (NASA – Noise Against Sexual Assault), July 10, 2016.

with thanks for creating a soundtrack to safer spaces through solidarity and digital noise forests

thanks for everything,
corinne aka core aka abigail trotsky aka lane/louise

---

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: Scott M2/kat estacio/Heraclitus Akimbo

Artist: Scott M2/kat estacio/Heraclitus Akimbo

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Cosmic Homeostasis & Audiopollination: Pre-NYE gathering + celebration), December 30, 2023.

Scott M2-kat estacio-Heraclitus Akimbo - [excerpt]

Following on some group drones, this Tranzac edition of the Audiopollination series was a nice opportunity was to gather together with friends for some end-of-the-year festivities. This opening set had some sweet electronic drones, fabulous gong action as well as tape loops and, uh, performative candy eating.

You can check out some back-of-the-room footage of this full set over on youtube:

[Audiopollination is back at Array Space on Friday (January 12), with self-curated sets from Kayla Milmine/Daria Morgacheva/Isaiah Farahbakhsh, Max Donaldson & Nate Robertson, Zack Goldstein/Danny Alexander/Kalina Nedelcheva, and Rod Campbell/Nour Symon/%%30%30.]

Recording: Cosmic Homeostasis XXII

Artist: Cosmic Homeostasis XXII

Song: Stimulant Sister Comedown Cowboy [excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Cosmic Homeostasis & Audiopollination: Pre-NYE gathering + celebration), December 30, 2023.

Cosmic Homeostasis XXII - Stimulant Sister Comedown Cowboy [excerpt]

With the regular fifth-Sunday-of-the-month afternoon timeslot reserved for NYE prep, Cosmic Homeostasis took over the Southern Cross for a rare evening drone meetup. That might have brought on some slightly more rambunctious zones, but things were still relatively contained, with a really nice mix of acoustic and electronic sounds. Rather a pleasant way to gather with friends and celebate the turning of the year.

The participants this time out were:

• Hallelujah Daisy Bettlej - piano, namer-of-things
• Dame Cook - laptop noise
• Scott M2 - Animoog
• Sable - dong xao
• Berrett E. Lediard - Refraction
• kat estacio - kulintang, electronics
• Diane Roblin - Yamaha Reface electric keyboard
• Eric Kinsella - percussion, bass clarinet
• Victor O - malfunctioning keyboard
• Del Stephen - FM synthesizer keyboard, pedalboard
• Paul Newman - tenor saxophone
• Elliott Chapin - flute
• Mira Martin-Gray - Bastl Kastle
• Grant & Gertie - bowls
• Heraclitus Akimbo - iPad synths, shortwave radio, Zoia

As always, the full session is preserved over on Bandcamp:

Plus, you can check out some footage of the full first set over on youtube:

photo by Vincent C.

Recording: Cosmic Homeostasis XXI

Artist: Cosmic Homeostasis XXI

Song: Low-pressure Supercollider Sounds [excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), October 29, 2023.

Cosmic Homeostasis XXI - Low-pressure Supercollider Sounds [excerpt]

A special day for the Cosmic Homeostasis collective, celebrating the release of a pair of recordings as a new album. Both birthed in a period when gathering at The Tranzac was unfeasible, "Broken Telephone" was a lockdown-era initiative where members of the group built layer upon layer of sounds as the recording passed from one person to the next. "Christie's Transmission" emerged from a period of tentative returning to gathering — in this case, outside on a couple occasions in late summer of '21 in Christie Pits. The latter recordings were beautifully collaged together by Jeffrey Sinibaldi, who also released these sounds on a tape from Vacancy Recordings.

Meanwhile, it was business as usual for the musicians who gathered to make some sounds together, with electronic sounds mixing with horns, percussion and even some tap dancing percussion. As usual, the full session is available over on bandcamp:

The participants this time around were:

• Paul Newman - tenor saxophone
• Rob Cruickshank - electronics
• Michelangelo Iaffaldano - voice, guitar, software synthesis
• Eric Kinsella - bass clarinet + percussion
• Scott M2 - Animoog
• James Bailey - Roland SE-02 with radios
• Victor O - Casio
• Christina Muratore - harmonica
• Michael Lynn - tap + clarinet
• Maebh Clark/Dame Cook - hauntological experiments
• Shelodyn - improvidence
• Philip - clip mic + oscillator
• Ian + Sterling McPhedran - radio
• Patrick O'Reilly - circuit bent Casio SK-1
• Heraclitus Akimbo - Kaossilator + Zoia
• Jeffrey Sinibaldi - namer-of-things

[Cosmic Homeostasis will close out the year with a special non-afternoon, non-Sunday event, taking over the Southern Cross on Saturday, December 30th in an evening that will be shared with Audiopollination for a special pre-NYE celebration.]

Recording: Cosmic Homeostasis XX

Artist: Cosmic Homeostasis XX

Song: Music for Ted Phillips [excerpt]

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

Cosmic Homeostasis XX - Music for Ted Phillips [excerpt]

A moment for somber reflection on this fifth-Sunday-of-the-month, with the ensemble gathering to remember the recently-passed Ted Phillips. Ted was a regular at CH's early performances, and not only do I have fond memories of the time he brought along a radio (a feat I replicated in tribute) but also that he was in fact one of the players in the very first CH ensemble, which was a constructed group of a slightly different sort of thing before the concept evolved into its present form. But importantly, with old and new members playing together, this was also an occasion to be present for and with the folks who are present to us, which is what we need to do whenever we can.

The participants this time around were:

• Michael Lynn - stylophone + iphone
• Jonathan Luke - cornet
• Ron Blake - spacecraft app, etc.
• Del Stephen - tapes + tape players
• Paul Newman - tenor saxophone
• Phil Johnson - one-string guitar + pedals
• Mira Martin-Gray - tone generator, voice + fx
• Scott M2 - Animoog + abcdefg
• Maebh Clark - drones/effects
• Eric Kinsella - bass clarinet + percussion
• Elliott Chapin - flute
• Sheldon - small drum
• Sterling McPhedran - electric ukulele + looper
• Ian McPhedran - electric ukulele + looper
• Philip Hamilton - static apparition + piano
• styrofoamNosebleedPrincess - processed bird songs
• Heraclitus Akimbo - radio, pedals, monotron, namer-of-things

As usual, the whole session has been preserved over on bandcamp:

Recording: Cosmic Homeostasis XIX

Artist: Cosmic Homeostasis XIX

Songs: Disco Whispers [excerpt] + Zero Gravity Bird Ceremony [excerpt]

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

Cosmic Homeostasis XIX - Disco Whispers [excerpt]

Cosmic Homeostasis XIX - Zero Gravity Bird Ceremony [excerpt]

Another fifth-Sunday-of-the-month drone meetup brought out a mid-sized group (a dozen people) for some space-drift, spreading out around the Southern Cross.

The ensemble this time around was:

• Paul Newman - tenor saxophone
• Philip Hamilton - oscillator, contact mic
• fuzzy - guitar, pedals
• Patrick O'Reilly - circuit bent SK-1, piano
• Nilan Perera - prepared guitar + slicer pedal
• Ian McPhedran - guitar + pedals
• Sterling McPhedran - guitar + pedals
• Scott M2 - Animoog
• Ron Blake - iOS apps
• Sheldon - percussion+
• Victor O - toy keyboard + mixer
• Heraclitus Akimbo - synths

And as usual, you can stream/download the full session over on bandcamp:

[Cosmic Homeostasis will be back in the Southern Cross on the afternoon of the fifth Sunday of July — that is to say on July 30th, 2023.]

Recording: Cosmic Homeostasis XVIII

Artist: Cosmic Homeostasis XVIII

Songs: The Ways We Unravel [excerpt] + Space [edited excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), January 29, 2023.

Cosmic Homeostasis XVIII - The Ways We Unravel [excerpt]

Cosmic Homeostasis XVIII - Space [edited excerpt]

The year's first Cosmic Homeostasis gathering (which happens when there's a fifth Sunday in a month) brought out a robust crowd, with twenty (or so) musicians taking over the perimeter of the Southern Cross and generating some sonic drift zones. A real nice mix of acoutic and electronic sounds, and ranging from some louder zones into quieter interplay.

The participants this time out were:

• Marilyn - various percussion, singing bowls, namer-of-things
• Philip Hamilton - guitar, box w/ a string and llama toenails
• Ron Blake - ipad apps
• Scott M2 - Animoog
• Mira Martin-Gray - mini synth, mini theremin
• Yasmine E - pocket piano, various percussion, rainmaker
• Adrian Russouw - violin
• Del Stephen - keyboard synth + cassettes
• Sophie Jaworski - wooden frog
• Paul Newman - tenor saxophone
• Patrick O'Reilly - Volca FM/effects
• Rod Campbell - trumpet
• Todd Macdonald - mandolin/Mood
• Hilary Martin - singing bowl
• Myfawny Ashmore - singing bowl
• Michael Lynn - bass + stuff
• Sterling + Ian - Atari junk console
• Rob Cruickshank - electronics + resonator
• Heraclitus Akimbo - synths, etc.

It's tough to get that many folks in the frame, but most of them make an appearance in this footage you can see over on youtube:

And, of course, you can also listen to the whole performance over on bandcamp (and, if you'd like, support the collective's future works with a purchase!):

Recording: Cosmic Homeostasis XVII

Artist: Cosmic Homeostasis XVII

Songs: Well, it is my birthday [excerpt] + Disco for Hallowe'en [excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), October 30, 2022.

Cosmic Homeostasis XVII - Well, it is my birthday [excerpt]

Cosmic Homeostasis XVII - Disco for Hallowe'en [excerpt]

Once more the Cosmic Homeostasis crew convened for some Sunday afternoon drones, mixing some fine acoustic anchors (Michael Lynn's double bass, Del Stephen's piano) with a surround-sound zone of electronic hums and whispers. The crew this time out was:

• Scott M2 - Animoog
• Ron Blake - iOS apps
• beard closet - guitar
• Del Stephen - piano, notebook, tambourine
• Mickle46 - le contrabasse, namer-of-things
• Heraclitus Akimbo - Casio, ZOIA
• Mira Martin Gray - percussion (set 2)
• strofoamNosebleedPrincess - water glass + gloves (set 2)

You can check out the whole session over on Bandcamp:

Recording: Cosmic Homeostasis

Artist: Cosmic Homeostasis XV

Song: Blah, Blah, Blah [two excerpts]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), May 29, 2022.

Cosmic Homeostasis XV - Blah, Blah, Blah [excerpt 1]

Cosmic Homeostasis XV - Blah, Blah, Blah [excerpt 2]

Although there were a couple pleasant park encounters last summer, this was the first fifth-Sunday-of-the-month gathering for this amorphous drone collective since the beforetimes. Despite a surfeit of hands-on group-droning, the double-digit crew fell into healthy patterns of sonic restraint, sending out two sets of pleasant buzzes, scrapes and whispers.

The ensemble on this day consisted of:

• Ian McPhedran - the mass device
• Sterling McPhedran - the mass device/namer-of-things
• beard closet - oscillators
• Del Stephen - piano/keyboard synth
• Fahmid Nibesh - pedals (set 2)
• Mira Martin-Gray - Korg Monotron (set 1)
• styrofoamNosebleedPrincess - plastic bottle/Korg Monotron
• Paul Newman - tenor saxophone
• Scott M2 - Animoog
• Mickle32 - upright bass
• Heraclitus Akimbo - oscillator, synths, LFO's

Recording: Scott M2 + Raphael Roter

Artist: Scott M2 + Raphael Roter

Song: [improvisation]

Recorded at Hirut Restaurant (Exit Points #1), February 26, 2020.

Scott M2 + Raphael Roter - [improvisation]

This new series is an initiative by the collaboratively-minded Michael Palumbo, bringing some electronic experimentation to the east end. It was also a bit of a social experiment and a step "out"-ward for host Hirut Restaurant, but, at least for this initial outing, a successful one, drawing a nice crowd. A sign of the series' community orientation was given in the final set, which was treated as an open and informal jam, allowing musicians who played in the first two sets to recombine, along with any audience members who brought along something to play. Or, in this case, Scott McGregor Moore was enlisted to take a spin on Michael Palumbo's modular synth in this brief encounter with percussionist Raphael Roter, which resulted in some rather tasty accidental acid jazz.

[As with all things in these extraordinary times, upcoming shows are suspended in the exercise of social distancing. Keep an eye out on the series' FB page for news of its reappearance.]

Recording: Cosmic Homeostasis XIII

Artist: Cosmic Homeostasis XIII

Song: I Can't Find My Phone [excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), December 29, 2019.

Cosmic Homeostasis XIII - I Can't Find My Phone [excerpt]

To my surprise and delight, in the midst of that muddled and busy holiday week after xmas we managed to muster a baker's dozen soundmakers to mindmeld into some electroacoustic drift. Maybe folks just needed a calm zone away from the holiday hurlyburly. In any case, an excellent bit of preparation for the collective's first formal recording session — of which, more news soon!

The group on this day consisted of:

• Scott M2 (Animoog Borderlands)
• Paul Newman (tenor saxophone)
• Matt Wells (cymbal)
• Dame Cook (electronics)
• Patrick O'Reilly (Bliptronic 5000 and guitar)
• strofoamNosebleedPrincess (bass guitar and objects)
• Michael Lynn (bass guitar and things, namer-of-things)
• Maggie Keogh (Omnichord)
• Del Stephen (synth, piano, tape, fx)
• NilanX (prepared guitar and fx)
• Mira Martin-Grey (prepared/broken autoharp)
• Stefan Powell (duochord with magnetic wheels)
• Victor O (shakers + noisemakers)
• Heraclitus Akimbo (tapes and electronics)

You can also listen to the full set over on Bandcamp:

Recording: dreamSTATE

Artist: dreamSTATE

Song: National Drone Day - Afternoon Drone [excerpt]

Recorded at Ratio ("National Drone Day // Afternoon Drone"), May 9, 2015.

dreamSTATE - National Drone Day - Afternoon Drone [excerpt]

The second annual Drone Day saw a variety of local events come together. Sadly, I was only able to make it out for this afternoon set by the AMBiENT PiNG crew. (And also sadly, I only got to catch the end of Anomalous Disturbances' opening set.) Against General Chaos' swirling projections, the duo's hour-long set moved from New Age-y wisps to proggy geometric builds — but in the spirit of the day never resolved into the beat-driven zone that their sets would often arrive at. The whole thing left me quite pleasantly drowsy afterwards, and it took a while to get back into a more alert headspace, but it was a worthy administration of drone-doze.