over breakfast, writing in my head, i can’t hear the words land—they’re swallowed back down the chute they come from—thud of molars as they chew buttered toast which slides, with a slick suck, into the whirlpool of digestive juices—outside, rain is rivetting itself to the ground, a seamless crackle all around tacks maple leaf toContinue reading “Kitchen Chorus”
Article Type Archives
Cléo Palacio-Quintin
“My work as a composer is eminently solitary. I feel like an island, but each island is a world, and in turn I am composed of these many worlds.” This is how Montreal composer, hyper-flute inventor, and performer Cléo Palacio-Quintin describes her work. Introspective and speaking in metaphor, she appears more apt to read aloudContinue reading “Cléo Palacio-Quintin”
Matt Rogalsky
It’s supposed to be beautiful, but I can’t shake the feeling of there being something ominous about this. Imagine you’re approaching an installation by Matt Rogalsky, and down the hall you hear whispers of . . . what? something you recognize—or do you?—only to turn the corner and be greeted by the choir, like Children of theContinue reading “Matt Rogalsky”
Kyle Brenders
It’s 1999. The millennium is approaching, and Kyle Brenders, teenage saxophonist, is living the small-town Ontario version of the jazz life. He’s a member of the Bill Sherry Big Band, playing vintage swing tunes for dancers in the St. Thomas municipal arena, decades-old tunes echoing around the rafters. Brenders, who will ten years later jokeContinue reading “Kyle Brenders”
G20
“Down with capitalism, up with socialism!” This distorted-megaphone message is heard against a backdrop of African drumming, French resistance songs, and the constant whirr of helicopters overhead. The rally organizers direct the crowd, “Please walk slowly and peacefully out of the park and west toward City Hall, where we will start our speeches.” It isContinue reading “G20”
Darsha Hewitt
Following the work of Darsha Hewitt is like feeling your way through the inside of an electronic circuit. It is tactile, visceral. Her trial-and-error approach comes from a truly experimental place, and during my conversation with her, I suggest that I have imagined her jotting down observations on a clipboard while wearing a white labContinue reading “Darsha Hewitt”
St. John’s, Newfoundland
It’s July 2001 in St. John’s, Newfoundland—the one-hundredth anniversary of Marconi’s successful reception of transatlantic wireless transmissions on Signal Hill. In town on a visit, I decide to pay homage to the event by hiking up the Harbour Trail to Signal Hill. The trail possesses a variety of physical and aural features that define bothContinue reading “St. John’s, Newfoundland”
Debashis Sinha
“La montaña. El cuervo. Cada mota de polvo elevada por mis pasos alberga incontables palabras,” intones the deeply resonant voice, as the rhythmic sound of footsteps fades up and a single gong-stroke repeats slowly. This is Kailash, a radiophonic work by Toronto’s Debashis Sinha, commissioned from him in 2009 by Centro para la Difusión deContinue reading “Debashis Sinha”