#mfs15 playlist: Luca Capone

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 Luca Capone.

Hello there!
Luca Capone here, producer and host of The Night Shift, a weird and warm community radio program that airs across different cities in Canada and the US.
I had the great privilege of participating in celebrating the 6th anniversary of Mechanical Forest Sound back in 2015, and so, when Joe demanded that I participate in celebrating the 15th anniversary, I was overjoyed, but a little worried.
There's such an infinite amount of great music and musicians that Joe has supported over the years, and my mind was struggling to sift through all the possibilities.
Who would I choose? WHO!?!?? SO MUCH PRESSURE ARGGHHHHSDHASDH MY KNEES!!!!!!!!!!!!
This past Sunday, in a state of confusion, hunger and my mind still muddled as fuck, I doused a plate of my father's bbq ribs with a large amount of his friend Frank Carnevale's Mom's special chili powder, a substance that is said to possess intense psychedelic properties.
I was hoping this experience would unfog my mind, however, I was not prepared for the consequences... The combination of chili powder, plus the Italian mountain-troll crafted digestif that I had dranken previously sent me on a cosmic voyage into another dimension...... THE ALTERNATE WOODBRIDGE-X3 REALM.
It was an environment extremely similar to our own, except for slight differences.
It was there I met my alternate version, Dante Pietrangelo, who in that world, actually shared a work space with Joe Strutt's alternate: John Stratt.
They ran a communal barber shop/greasy spoon called Fiorentina Turner's.
Kind of like a combination of Vesta Lunch and Joseph's Hairstyling For Men, where musicians and artists could eat and get their hair cut for free (though, not at the same time; nobody wants clumps of their own hair in their curry rice. I know I don't!)
I explained my quandary to Dante, and invited them to peruse the Mechanical Forest Sound website (My phone still was connecting with info from my dimension).
They went way back, and coincidentally, landed on classic performances from musicians near and dear to my heart.
Even across alternate dimensions, I guess musical tastes still hit the same, and phenomenal community music archives are still essential.
I applaud Joe with everything I have, and I wish him and MFS all the best for the future.

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The Owle Bird - Jewelled Beasts

Recorded at the Silver Dollar Room, June 30, 2009.

Bruce Peninsula - Steamroller

Recorded at the eye Weekly Music Tent, Word on the Street Festival, September 27, 2009.

Ohbijou - Cliff Jumps

Recorded at Third Floor Session, December 5, 2009.

Ostrich Tuning - Gender Trouble (Bodies That Matter)

Recorded at The Garrison, April 10, 2010.

Witch Prophet - Funeral For a Killer

Recorded at The Great Hall's Conversation Room (Long Winter 4.5 – Night 2), March 18, 2016.

Eiyn Sof - Heavy Low

Recorded at The Tranzac (Main Hall), June 24, 2018.

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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.

#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.

#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.

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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

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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.

#mfs15 playlist: Nick Fraser

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 Nick Fraser.

Thanks for all you do, Joe! 🙂

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Drumheller - Nguyen Ngoc Loan

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), January 28, 2014.

Oh Boy. A piece that I ended up feeling was unsuitable for Drumheller, but that survives somehow. Also, this piece never turned out to feel more suitable for anything else.

Nick Fraser/Bryan Qu/Alex Fournier - Jupiter

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), August 16, 2016.

You know, I just entered names in to the Mechanical Forest Sound search bar, and when I entered my own, things came up. I had forgotten that some of these had ever happened. But I like it all!

You know... when I started thinking about it (and searching), it seemed (seems) to me that all of the MFS recordings are worth sharing. So here are some of "mine." (searches of "nick fraser")

And here are searches for "drumheller"

[Ed. note: you can also click the tags for "Nick Fraser" and "Drumheller"!]

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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.

#mfs15 playlist: Mira Martin-Gray

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 Mira Martin-Gray.

I met the blogger behind this venerable operation in October 2017 at a show at the gone-but-not-forgotten Dupe Shop. But I first saw Joe about ten years earlier, at one rock club or another. Rancho Relaxo? Silver Dollar Room? Surely not The Reverb? I was an underage indie rocker sporting skinny jeans and oversized glasses gigging with my high school band, and often as not, that guy was in the crowd again, messenger bag in tow. Ah, 2007. Somehow all these years later Joe and I have found ourselves in the same-but-different music scene, and again, at least as often as not, we find ourselves at the same concerts – now friends and peers.

What a pleasure to dig through the Mechanical Forest Sound archive, a delicious mixture of nostalgia and discovery. I’ve chosen to focus on older stuff. Some of my selections represent cherished memories, and some offer glimpses of moments I wish I could have witnessed.

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Laura Barrett - Sorting Hat

Recorded at Rolly's Garage (Daps All-Ages & No Shame Afternoon Extravaganza), June 20, 2009.

It was June 2009, the Ossington strip was newly "happenin," and I was a couple months shy of 19. Hooded Fang’s Dan and April ran a much needed series of weekend afternoon all-ages shows, often showcasing young bands and cheap eats. I came to this particular gig to hear percussive powerhouse Pick a Piper, with whom I’d shared a bill at the PWYC Pitter Patter Festival the year before (with DAPS side project HUT, IIRC). I was also happy to hear surprise guests Spiral Beach, the ultimate art rock teen idols. But the performance that I remember most fondly was Laura Barrett’s, and it seems she was the highlight for Joe as well. Barrett’s songs were quirky, feminine, complex – just what I needed to hear as an androgynous wannabe-intellectual indie kid. Soon after, I went out and bought a kalimba at African Drums and Arts Crafts in Kensington Market, and carried it around in my messenger bag.

Weaves - unknown

Recorded at Clinton's Tavern, September 12, 2012.

I started working at the same restaurant as Jasmyn Burke about a year after this sparkling clip was recorded. She was so cool, I wasn’t, and we talked music in the dish pit. Sadly I never saw her perform as Weaves in solo project form, but later went on to catch the full band incarnation at Wavelength a few times, and proudly wore their T-shirt and pinback button. I even wrote a little blurb about their record for the dearly departed Weird Canada. Damn, they were good. They made rock cool again. But 2012 was very much the peak era of the solo loop pedal artist, and this version of Weaves is a shining example. Jasmyn’s voice just does things to you.

Les Mouches - Winter = Dead Time

Another one to file under local indie hero whose career skirts the weirder edge of things. I recently gushed about Owen’s first solo album on a podcast. Pallett’s music has been close to my heart since high school, but I hadn’t heard of this sui generis post-rock outfit until Orchid Tapes reissued their old Blocks Recording Club album. Sadly I didn’t hear about this show at the time, but based on the blog entry, it was an under the radar affair. Luckily the man with the recorder whom we all know and love was in attendance!

c_RL - [fourth piece]

Recorded at Ratio, May 8, 2015.

This is not the same c_RL show in my memory bank, but it’s close enough in the space-time continuum to stand in for it. It's a vivid memory because it was the first time I had ever seen free improv. In 2012 I was playing loop pedal-core in a guitar-drums duo. We had a gig at the Tranzac in the late slot and as we were loading in, I was lucky enough to witness Germaine Liu doing unspeakable things to a snare, shaking it like she was rousing the drum from a dream. It was almost certainly upside down at one point. I had no idea what was happening and it was wonderful. It took me several more years to rediscover the door to Narnia that is our local experimental music scene, but that was my first peek into another world.

Kyle Brenders Ensemble - Grasslands [4th mvt]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Main Hall (Somewhere There Creative Music Festival – Show 3), February 27, 2016.

I wanted to choose a recording that reveals what I was missing out on before fully cluing in to the scene. This blog affords the rare opportunity to dig into ongoing history. Some of the players in this large group are now well-known to me, others I have only heard of, and a few names are totally unfamiliar. Calling to mind Otomo Yoshihide’s New Jazz Orchestra, I love this style of electroacoustical comprovisational big band music. It would be great to hear more of this kind of thing, but goodness knows it’s not always easy to get so many talented people in one place. It takes a special combination of creative vision and organizational skills, traits that don’t always arise as a pair. Thank goodness we now have Women From Space’s Big Bang to fill the void!

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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.

Download: "Selections, Vol. 2"

While thinking upon the blog's fifteenth anniversary, my mind went back to the last time I made a big deal of my blogiversary. To celebrate MFS' 10th, I put together a pair of shows, split into "rock" and "experimental" varieties.

The original idea was that each of those realms was also going to be represented by a tape compilation, in the style of my 5th anniversary tape. In that, my reach somewhat exceeded my grasp. The "experimental" tape, though I had a rough running order and permissions from the artists, never quite came together; the "rock" tape was at least a thing — I did a small run of hand-duped copies to give to artists and to have a few to sell at that 10th anniversary gig. The idea was that from there I'd get a proper run done at Duplication to put out into the world. For various reasons, that never happened, and the tape kinda slipped out of existence.

Well, it's just too damned good to languish like that. Besides containing some of the artists that meant a lot to me in the course of the blog's history, at five years further along, it feels like a poignant little piece of history. A lot of the spaces where the music was recorded are gone now, and while the people are still around (although quite a few have moved along from T.O.), a lot of the groups have wound down or gone quiet.

So let's celebrate and let them not be forgotten. Head on over to bandcamp and grab yourself a download or just listen to some rather excellent music.

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My deepest thanks to the artists who agreed to be a part of this five years ago!

#mfs15

Every year, as Family Day approaches, something twigs in the back of my mind, and I check back to this blog's first-ever post — and when the anniversary rolls around, I usually post a link to it and leave it at that. I am a sucker for the significant numbers, though, so there was no way I could let MFS' 15th blogiversary pass without... something.

Even in these more gently-paced times — for various reasons, I didn't make it out in January to any of the shows I wasn't putting on myself — I still feel like this is just part of what I do, so I guess it's not time to hang it up quite yet. Partially that's down to me being better at keeping going with things than with starting or ending them. But it's also down to that back-of-my-mind notion that the realization I had long ago — that having a "job" to do in my community, as well as a sense that I belong to a community to do it in — kept me and keeps me from stumbling through the world as a miserable sad-sack.

So: this.

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It's no fun to celebrate alone, and though I'm perfectly capable of tooting my own horn, I try and remember it's better to let others speak to whether I've had any sort of positive impact. So I've started asking some folks from the "MFS universe" to help out. For the next few days, expect to see some guest posts here, with mini-playlists pulled from the site's archives. There's so many stories to be told in the over five thousand (!) recordings posted that I'm thrilled there are folks out there willing to share 'em.

Monday Roundup #161

Community notes:

• Garage sale season starts early this year! The Tranzac is clearing out a lot of gear — both backline and instruments — at their equipment sale on Sunday.
• Speaking of the Tranzac, there is a newly-issued call for performance residencies, so you have until March 1st to submit your concept. Let's keep The Tranzac vibrant with new/weird ideas/sounds!

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Concert announcements:

Moodset [album release show] [Jacqueline Teh/Alexa Belgrave/Madeleine Ertel/Caleb Klager/Mackenzie Read] / Annette Studios 2024-03-01 (Friday). $15 advance, $20 door. [FB event]

Coward Patrol and More Noise Please present (feat. The Nausea / Compactor / Andrew Nolan / Death Kneel) / See-Scape 2024-04-04 (Thursday). $15. [FB event]

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

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Shows this week:

TEMOM (Toronto Electronic Music Open Mic) / Handlebar 2024-02-12 (Monday)

a Josh Cole trio+ strings [Lina Allemano/Aline Homzy/Nick Storring/Josh Cole/Blake Howard] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2024-02-13 (Tuesday). $10/pwyc [FB event]

The Brodie West Quintet [Brodie West/Tania Gill/Josh Cole/Nick Fraser/Evan Cartwright] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2024-02-14 (Wednesday – early) [more info]

Never Was [Brandon Davis/Madeleine Ertel/Kelvin Mansaray/Racha Moukalled/Patrick O'Reilly/Adrian Russouw/Joe Sorbara] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2024-02-14 (Wednesday)

Makam Nights [performance and workshop: "Bring your instruments, questions, ideas and curiosity!"] (feat. Araz Salek / Soheil Sadeghi) / The Tranzac (Living Room) 2024-02-15 (Thursday). $pwyc. [FB event]

Theo Vandenhoff (Cinder / Memorex) / The Baby G 2024-02-15 (Thursday). $23.57, 19+. [FB event]

Computer Age (feat. Escote / Greydini / Tommy Tone) / Tallboys 2024-02-15 (Thursday). $11.98, 19+. postponed!

Cluttertones / Array Space 2024-02-16 (Friday) [FB event]

Hope Street [John Millard/Rob Clutton/Chris Pruden] / Sellers & Newel 2024-02-17 (Saturday). $20 minimum donation. [more info]

DIG presents (feat. Hot Garbage [Precious Dream record release] / Mother Tongues / Luge) / Lee's Palace 2022-02-17 (Saturday). $22.12, 19+. [FB event]

Michael Palumbo’s Friends #2: A Free-Improvisation Joint [Jaz Tsui/Chibuzr/Ron Johnston/Donovan Locke/John Kameel Farah/Uuxe/Michael Palumbo) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2024-02-17 (Saturday). $pwyc. [FB event]

Moonbliss [Julian Anderson-Bowes/Chris Pruden/Leland Whitty/Eric West] (Folding Trio [Steven Noronha/Keon Narinesingh/Aiden McConnell]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2024-02-18 (Sunday) [more info]

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It happened this week...

• ...on February 12, 2012 at Halo Halo Village (Medusa YEAR 2 Showcase).

Steve Gunn - 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.]

Monday Roundup #160

Community notes:

• There's some pretty good (if not comforting) stuff here on the implausibility of kinder, gentler property development models being viable to support spaces for culture-making in the midst of the ongoing real estate insanity we're living through: Magical/Market Thinking: Reflecting on the Rise and Fall of Artscape.

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Concert announcements:

a Josh Cole trio+ strings [Lina Allemano/Aline Homzy/Nick Storring/Josh Cole/Blake Howard] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2024-02-13 (Tuesday). $10/pwyc [FB event]

Computer Age (feat. Escote / Greydini / Tommy Tone) / Tallboys 2024-02-15 (Thursday). $11.98, 19+. [tickets + more info]

Hope Street [John Millard/Rob Clutton/Chris Pruden] / Sellers & Newel 2024-02-17 (Saturday). $20 minimum donation. [more info]

Michael Palumbo’s Friends #2: A Free-Improvisation Joint [Jaz Tsui/Chibuzr/Ron Johnston/Donovan Locke/John Kameel Farah/Uuxe/Michael Palumbo) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2024-02-17 (Saturday). $pwyc. [FB event]

Exit Points 46: 4th anniversary concert (feat. Marz/Prince/Robbie Ahmed/Kasey Pocius/Paul Stillwell / R. Flex/Saba Zameni/Maneli Jamal/Gabrielle Couillard/Michael Palumbo / Switchemups!) / Array Space 2024-02-23 (Friday). $20 at the door, cash/card/mobile. [FB event]

Batuki Music Society presents (feat. Alpha Yaya Diallo and Bafing) / Spadina Theatre @ Alliance Française 2024-02-24 (Saturday). $20.50. [FB event]

Leap Year [Andrew Pacheco/Lowell Whitty/Karen Ng/Kae Murphy] / Sellers & Newel 2024-02-29 (Thursday). $15 minimum donation. [more info]

A Breeze From Kurdish Mountains (feat. Kazim Boran & Shahriyar Jamshidi) / Canadian Music Centre 2024-03-01 (Friday). $22.63. [FB event]

Freesound and Arraymusic co-present [solo piano works by Rodney Sharman, Cris Derksen and Jocelyn Morlock] (feat. Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa) / Array Space 2024-03-03 (Sunday – 2 p.m.). $pwyc. [more info]

Reunion Reunion! (feat. Reunion [Alex Samaras/Jillian Sauerteig/Steven Noronha/Dan Fortin/Aidan McConnell] / Monsters Inc [Robin Dann & Philippe Melanson]) / house show 2024-03-03 (Sunday) [FB event]

Rob Clutton & Lina Allemano / Sellers & Newel 2024-03-14 (Thursday). $20 minimum donation. [more info]

Dan Pitt [solo guitar] / Sellers & Newel 2024-03-22 (Friday). $15 minimum donation. [more info]

Corpusse / Sellers & Newel 2024-04-06 (Saturday). $20 minimum donation. [more info]

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

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Shows this week:

Charles James presents: An evening of improvised minimalism (feat. Michael Davidson/Naoko Tsujita/Aline Homzy/Bryan Holt/Charles James/Graham Campbell/Robbie Grunwald) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2024-02-05 (Monday) [more info]

Justin Orok Presents (feat. Felicity Williams/Maggie Keogh/Patrick Dilkie/Samuel Laramee) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2024-02-06 (Tuesday – early) [more info]

Track Could Bend #88 (feat. Écureuil [Kayla Milmine/Liz Lima] / Garden of Magic) / Wenona Lodge 2024-02-06 (Tuesday). $pwyc. [FB event]

Peripheral Vision Trio (C'est la Fête) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2024-02-06 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Ben Shemie (Carl Didur / Blue Light) / The Baby G 2024-02-07 (Wednesday). $23.57, 19+.[FB event]

Ducks Ltd. [Harm's Way Album Release Show] (Only God Forgives / Cootie Catcher) / Sonic Boom Records 2024-02-08 (Thursday). $21. [more info]

Behaviours II: Play (feat. Duo Cichorium / Joyce To / Tyler Cunningham / Julie Zhu) / Array Space 2024-02-08 (Thursday). $20 (or PWYW), livestream $10 (or PWYW). [more info]

The Coltrane Sutras [Andrew Kay/Jonathan Kay/Pat LaBarbera/Roberto Occhipinti/Adam Teixeira/Dhaivat Jani] / Hirut Cafe 2024-02-08–09 (Thursday–Friday) [FB event]

Ichi-Bons (Daddy Long Legs / catl.) / Lee's Palace 2024-02-09 (Friday). $23.75, 19+. [FB event]

Audiopollination (feat. Jamie Eriksen/Jake Laur/Marlena Nova / Yoshi Maclear Wall/Rabia Agha/Veda Hingert-McDonald / Ryan Kinney/Patrick O’Reilly/Jake Parker Scott / Sara Constant & Mickle32) / Array Space 2024-02-09 (Friday). $10 or PWYC. [FB event]

Musica Universalis (feat. Diane Roblin/George Koller/Jeff Luciani/Colin Fisher) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2024-02-09 (Friday). $10 suggested donation

Moonlady Quartet [Ralph Alessi/Nick Fraser/Kayla Milmine/Patrick O'Reilly] / Annette Studios 2024-02-10 (Saturday). $20. [FB event]

Ayal Senior & Friends (feat. Ayal Senior & Kurt Newman / Eiyn Sof / Colin Fisher / Nick Flanagan) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2024-02-11 (Sunday – 2:30 p.m.) [FB event]

Phil Albert Group [Phil Albert/Alison Au/Ted Crosby/Bjorn Kriel/Mack Longpre] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2024-02-11 (Sunday). $pwyc. [more info]

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In the mix:

• New ambient mix! Requiems + tributes, mostly acoustic instruments and various forms of chamber music. Sounds from Ryuichi Sakamoto and Phill Niblock to say farewell, as well as Randi and Rob, Bram Gielen, Simon McCorry, Black Elk (Duet), Ives Ensemble playing Morton Feldman, Jakob Rehlinger, Jason Doell, Lejsovka & Freund, Vijay Iyer & Hafez Modirzadeh, Joe McPhee and Olivia Block.

Recording: Swanherds

Artist: Swanherds

Song: Somewhere on an Unnamed Mining Road Near Kaslo

Recorded at 918 Bathurst (The Sun Room), January 23, 2024.

Swanherds - Somewhere on an Unnamed Mining Road Near Kaslo

Some things take longer than expected. Four years (to the day!) after debuting her Swanherds band — a show that was intended to be the lead-up to the group recording together — rebecca bruton was back in the city from out West to finally undertake the project, with this solo performance a pleasant byproduct. Filtering and refracting country music tropes into something more personal, the songs explored mountain and prairie terrains, trees and birds. Keep an eye out for the group recordings to eventually make their way out into the world.

You can check out the full set over on youtube:

Recording: Kurt Newman

Artist: Kurt Newman

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at 918 Bathurst (The Sun Room), January 23, 2024.

Kurt Newman - [excerpt]

This solo pedal steel outing from Kurt Newman was neither country phasing nor evoking Nashville minimalism, choosing instead to play some games with a new glou-glou Loupé. That lead to some lush abstractions, microloops of pedal steel sound chirping and blipping alongside occasional triggered percussive taps. Mezmerising stuff which promises to get even more intruiging as this sonic wormhole is more deeply mined.

You can check out the full set over on youtube:

Monday Roundup #159

Community notes:

• Big workshop action at The Music Gallery on Thursday (February 1). Improvisation in Art and Life is a "multi-disciplinary practice in improvisation with Nilan Perera" that "explores ways that various mediums can be improvisational". More than just music, it's a way of life, and this is someone that can point you in some positive directions. Free with RSVP!

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Concert announcements:

Peripheral Vision Trio (C'est la Fête) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2024-02-06 (Tuesday) [FB event]

The Coltrane Sutras [Andrew Kay/Jonathan Kay/Pat LaBarbera/Roberto Occhipinti/Adam Teixeira/Dhaivat Jani] / Hirut Cafe 2024-02-08–09 (Thursday–Friday) [FB event]

Audiopollination (feat. Jamie Eriksen/Jake Laur/Marlena Nova / Yoshi Maclear Wall/Rabia Agha/Veda Hingert-McDonald / Ryan Kinney/Patrick O’Reilly/Jake Parker Scott / Sara Constant & Mickle32) / Array Space 2024-02-09 (Friday). $10 or PWYC. [FB event]

Moonlady Quartet [Ralph Alessi/Nick Fraser/Kayla Milmine/Patrick O'Reilly] / Annette Studios 2024-02-10 (Saturday). $20. [FB event]

Ayal Senior & Friends (feat. Ayal Senior & Kurt Newman / Eiyn Sof / Colin Fisher / Nick Flanagan) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2024-02-11 (Sunday – 2:30 p.m.) [FB event]

Theo Vandenhoff (Cinder / Memorex) / The Baby G 2024-02-15 (Thursday). $23.57, 19+. [FB event]

Experimental Link (feat. Niloufar Shiri / Caleb Klager) / Small World Centre 2024-02-23 (Friday). $19.56. [FB event]

Richard Lloyd Group / Bovine Sex Club 2024-03-29 (Friday) [FB event]

Moon King [Roses album release party] (Lee Paradise) / Monarch Tavern 2024-04-25 (Thursday). $19.56, 19+. [FB event]

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

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Shows this week:

Nick Fraser presents (feat. BLOOP / Titanium Riot) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2024-01-30 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Holger Schoorl/Liz Lima/Scott Gabriel / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2024-01-31 (Wednesday – early) [FB event]

CMC Presents: Problematica (feat. India Gailey) / Canadian Music Centre 2024-01-31 (Wednesday). $15 Advance, $20 at the door; CMC Members and Arts Workers: $12 Advance, $15 at the door; Students. $10 anytime. [FB event]

J. Moone/Hymns57/Brian Abbott/Michael Palumbo ["solo, duets, trios and as a quartet"] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2024-01-31 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Array Ensemble III: New Encounters [curated by Bruce A. Russell, featuring four World and Canadian Premiere performances of works by Russell, Hanna Benn, Anthony R. Green and Kathryn Patricia Cobbler] (feat. Array Ensemble) / Array Space 2024-02-01 (Thursday). $20 (or PWYW), livestream $10 (or PWYW). [FB event]

The Music of Paul Motian (feat. Patrick Smith/Lowell Whitty/Dan Pitt) / Sellers & Newel 2024-02-02 (Friday). $20 Minimum donation. [more info]

Tania Gill Quartet [Tania Gill/Lina Allemano/Rob Clutton/Nico Dann] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2024-02-02 (Friday – early) [FB event]

Lina Allemano Four / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2024-02-03 (Saturday – early) [FB event]

University of Toronto Percussion Ensemble [performing "Seven Pillars" by Andy Akiho (Canadian Premiere)] / Walter Hall 2024-02-04 (Sunday). $free. [FB event]

Adjacent Spheres [Michael Davidson/Jack Johnston/David Hodgson] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2024-02-04 (Sunday). $pwyc. [more info]

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Bandcamp corner:

• Bandcamp Friday is back this week! A good time to support the musicians you dig! Here's some stuff I'll be grabbing:

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It happened this week...

• ...on February 1, 2013 at The Music Gallery (Emergents III).

MALOO - Fanatic Love

• ...on February 1, 2013 at Double Double Land.

Fan Fiction - Dust2Dust

[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 Roundup #158

Concert announcements:

Ducks Ltd. [Harm's Way Album Release Show] (Only God Forgives / Cootie Catcher) / Sonic Boom Records 2024-02-08 (Thursday). $21. [more info]

Women From Space Festival: Night 1 (feat. Bloop / Morgan-Paige / BIG BANG! plays Björk) / 918 Bathurst 2024-03-08 (Friday). $15 advance, $20 at the door; early-bird passes $30, regular passes $38. [more info]

Women From Space Festival: Night 2 (feat. Grace Scheele / MOCH / Mali Obomsawin) / 918 Bathurst 2024-03-09 (Saturday). $15 advance, $20 at the door; early-bird passes $30, regular passes $38. [more info]

Women From Space Festival: Night 3 (feat. Anh Phung/chiquitamagic/Emjay Wright / Val Jeanty & Nickeshia Garrick / Matana Roberts/Germaine Liu/Nicole Rampersaud) / 918 Bathurst 2024-03-10 (Sunday). $15 advance, $20 at the door; early-bird passes $30, regular passes $38. [more info]

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

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Shows this week:

Swanherds [rebecca bruton solo] (Kurt Newman) / 918 Bathurst – The Sun Room 2024-01-23 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Ronley Teper & The Lipliners / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2024-01-24 (Wednesday). $pwyc. [more info]

Lina Allemano Standards Quartet [Lina Allemano/Michael Davidson/Andrew Downing/Nick Fraser] / The Rex 2024-01-24–27 (Wednesday–Saturday). $16 and up. [FB event]

CCMC [Paul Dutton/Al Mattes/John Kamevaar/John Oswald/Casey Sokol plus Guest: TBA] / Array Space 2024-01-25 (Thursday). @pwyw, livestream available.

Karen Ng Presents (feat. Thom Gill/Blake Howard/Kae Murphy/Karen Ng) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2024-01-25 (Thursday) [more info]

Raphael Weinroth-Browne / Annette Studios 2024-01-25 (Thursday). $22.63. [FB event]

Not A Band (Output 1:1:1 / Animal Party) / BSMT254 2024-01-25 (Thursday). $pwyc, all ages. [more info]

All-Set! Presents (feat. Aurochs O.G. [Ali Berkok/Jake Oelrichs/Pete Johnston/Mike Smith]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2024-01-26 (Friday – early) [FB event]

Kamancello / Canadian Music Centre 2024-01-26 (Friday). $22.63 advance/$30 door. [FB event]

Exit Points 45 (feat. Doris Du/Behzad Danesh/Afraaz Mulji/Marlena Nova/James Hamilton Lowrie / Keisha Bell-Kovacs/Eye_Duh Kho/Gladys/Bill Gilliam/Michael Palumbo / Switchemups) / Array Space 2024-01-26 (Friday). $20. [FB event]

CMC Ontario Artist in Residence Showcase (feat. Backlined Quartet [Erich Barganier/Emmanuel Lacopo/Andrew Noseworthy/Patrick O’Reilly] / Paolo Griffin / Arie Verheul van de Ven) / 918 Bathurst 2024-01-26 (Friday). $free with RSVP. [FB event]

The Ryan Driver Sextet / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2024-01-26 (Friday). $pwyw. [more info]

Liquid Architecture: Moving Pictures ["live solo scores for strange and bizarre silent films"] (feat. Rod Campbell/Colin James Gibson/Ryan Kinney/Ambrose Pottie) / Mischief Makers 2024-01-27 (Saturday) [FB event]

Happy Sundays (feat. Hieronymus Harry / Picastro / Avalon T.) / The Baby G 2024-01-28 (Sunday). $free, 19+. [FB event]

Dan Pitt/Brittany Pitt/Stefan Hegaret / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2024-01-28 (Sunday) [more info]

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It happened this week...

• ...on January 22, 2020 at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge).

Ryōkan Blues Band - I Found a Coin in My Bag

• ...on January 22, 2020 at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Karen Ng Presents).

Ben Dwyer/Josh Cole/Emily Steinwall/Ewan Farncombe - untitled #2

Recording: battle milk

Artist: battle milk

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Wenona Lodge (Track Could Bend #87), January 2, 2024.

battle milk - [excerpt]

A new pairing with Brian Fog (recently making some waves at local noise shows) and Phil Hamilton (formerly operating as Beard Closet, currently performing solo as Density Creep), the former's drumkit clatter provided the latter with some structure and momentum to tear loose, exorcising some existential demons. Bracing stuff, served in a concentrated dose.

You can check out some footage of the full set over on youtube:

[TCB is back at Wenona on Tuesday, February 6th with sets from Écureuil (Kayla Milmine & Liz Lima) and Garden of Magic.]

Recording: Panties

Artist: Panties

Song: [full set]

Recorded at Wenona Lodge (Track Could Bend #87), January 2, 2024.

Panties - [full set]

Through the underground noise samizdat network, I was contacted by Halifax noise artist Panties, who was going to be in town just after the new year and was looking for a T.O. gig. Promising to set up, perform and tear down in a five-minute window, this was easy to add to the evening and everything was delivered as promosed. With a chain of feedbacking DS-1's, there were secretly some pleasing oscillations lurking under the howling chaos.

You can check out some footage of the full set over on youtube:

[TCB is back at Wenona on Tuesday, February 6th with sets from Écureuil (Kayla Milmine & Liz Lima) and Garden of Magic.]