Most music fans in Winnipeg have seen plenty of Ashley Au playing bass in recent years in a wide range of idioms—Americana, hip-hop, jazz, and sludge metal. Pausing to tally current projects, Au counts in blinks before saying, “I’m in an open relationship with maybe seven or eight different ensembles right now, constantly negotiating theContinue reading “Ashley Au Is Stretching Out”
Author Archives: Musicworks
Cold Wave
A sad-looking polar bear drifts on a shrinking ice sheet in a vast, deep-blue sea under a bright, blue sky. Scenes like this have long been used to illustrate climate change, and they are more than symbolic. Polar regions are warming at more than twice the rate of the rest of the world. The meltingContinue reading “Cold Wave”
Scrap Arts Music: Dr. Seuss meets steampunk
Scrap Arts Music is a joyous collision of creativity, experimental sound, and energetic movement, with percussion pieces performed on reborn hunks of junk. It’s challenging to describe and impossible to ignore. Since 1998, when he founded Scrap Arts Music in Vancouver with his wife Justine Murdy, composer and performer Gregory Kozak has built more thanContinue reading “Scrap Arts Music: Dr. Seuss meets steampunk”
Musicworks Announces 2020 Electronic Music Composition Contest Winners
TORONTO, CANADA, August 30, 2021. For immediate release: After a four-month delay due to challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic, Musicworks is thrilled to announce the winners of its 2020 Electronic Music Composition Contest. We thank the 2020 entrants for their patience. Argentinian composer Rocío Cano Valiño (left) has won first prize with her composition Okno. TheContinue reading “Musicworks Announces 2020 Electronic Music Composition Contest Winners”
Patricia Martinez: Del cuadro a la postergación
Listen to Del cuadro a la postergación (1994, acousmatic, stereo) Composed by Patricia Martinez Composer notes Del cuadro a la postergación was part of the diptych Espejos de tiempo / Mirrors of time. It is based on a work by the German artist Günther Uecker called The nail on the paint. The work is aContinue reading “Patricia Martinez: Del cuadro a la postergación”
Anoush Moazzeni Weaves a New Narrative
In Anoush Moazzeni’s The drops of the rain become one with me, small mechanisms move inside and above an open grand piano. Wooden structures glide across the piano strings of their own accord, hammering and pressing the instrument with mallets, while microphones pick up sounds that are then processed digitally on a computer. Moazzeni, seatedContinue reading “Anoush Moazzeni Weaves a New Narrative”
Silent Season: Intrinsically Connected to Nature
While living in Union Bay in 2007, Jamie McCue spent his downtime hiking, camping, and fishing in Vancouver Island’s abundant forests and rivers. Deeply moved by the symphonic rhythms of wildlife, blowing winds, and flowing water, he imagined meditative soundtracks that complemented his lush surroundings. That year he launched the electronic-music label Silent Season, whichContinue reading “Silent Season: Intrinsically Connected to Nature”
Sounds of an Unfolding Emergency
“we have no power or wifi/internet” “we still have power but no water” “still no power also, using the car as a heater and to charge my phone” “no power but doing okay” “keep an eye out for a boil water notice” “are there any gas stations in Brownsville without a 2Continue reading “Sounds of an Unfolding Emergency”
Suddenly Listen Expands its Chamber Space
Trust. Vulnerability. Flexibility. Holistic listening. Non-hierarchical cooperation. Embrace of the unknown. Sense of adventure. These are some of the themes that arise when considering improvised music. If you have ever attended a concert of free-improvised music, you might have experienced that terrifying and exhilarating feeling of unpredictability and risk that stems from listening to musicContinue reading “Suddenly Listen Expands its Chamber Space”
What’s Inside Musicworks 139?
ON THE COVER: Evensong (2018) by Lou Sheppard, who recently made the 2021 long list for the prestigious Sobey Art Award. Congratulations Lou! This issue contains a special 30-page section that explores climate emergency through the stories of nine sound and music artists, whose creative work expands our understanding of ecological loss and its environmental and emotional impact.Continue reading “What’s Inside Musicworks 139?”