Dapper Toronto imprint All-Set! Editions may be a newcomer to the subterranean ecosystem of experimental music distribution, but it already has a clearer sense of self than other more established labels. It’s spearheaded by a trio of composer-players, multi-instrumentalist Mike Smith, bassist Pete Johnston and pianist Ali Berkok. Its identity can’t easily be articulated inContinue reading “All-Set! Editions: Essentially Not Jazz”
Author Archives: Musicworks
MUSICWORKS UNVEILS 2016 CONTEST WINNERS
MUSICWORKS UNVEILS 2016 CONTEST WINNERS Vancouver musician Craig Aalders and B.C. poet Tom Wayman win top marks in Musicworks’ 2016 Electronic Music Composition and Sonic Geography Writing Contests For the first time in Musicworks contest history, both top prizes go to British Columbia artists. For immediate release: TORONTO, CANADA, February 14, 2017—Musicworks is thrilled toContinue reading “MUSICWORKS UNVEILS 2016 CONTEST WINNERS”
Plumes Deconstructs Grimes
Many Visions: Plumes Deconstructs the Music of Grimes is a genre-spanning music collaboration that seeks to explore and ultimately blur the lines between classical and pop. Thirteen contemporary classical composers have been asked to reimagine and rework the thirteen tracks on Grimes’ 2012 album Visions in, as it were, their own vision. The new works—byContinue reading “Plumes Deconstructs Grimes”
Between Folklore and the Future: The Music of Heidi Chan
Heidi Chan began combining her passions for arranging, technology, and traditional instruments when her father gave her a demo version of the music software program Cakewalk. “Because it was a demo version, I couldn’t save anything,” she recalls. “So I had to leave the computer on for, like, months and months to keep working onContinue reading “Between Folklore and the Future: The Music of Heidi Chan”
Michael Red’s Low Indigo
Michael Red has been an in-demand DJ and producer since the 1990s, when he was a key instigator of Vancouver’s jungle and drum-and-bass scenes. He presented hugely popular underground events featuring beats you couldn’t hear elsewhere. He became a regular on Western Canada’s electronic-music festival scene, and still spends summers away from his Vancouver homeContinue reading “Michael Red’s Low Indigo”
The Musical Worldview of Nick Dourado
IT’S A DREARY WINTER NIGHT IN TORONTO. It’s already super late—the last of four bands has already played, and the makeshift bar within the makeshift venue has been closed for a good half hour. Although things are winding down, a healthy crowd is hanging out, chatting, and enjoying the warm, dry indoors. Suddenly, there’s aContinue reading “The Musical Worldview of Nick Dourado”
The Sound Future of Virtual Reality
I HEAR A PERCUSSIVE THUD. SOMETHING IS HITTING THE FLOOR IN FRONT OF ME REPEATEDLY. It’s reverberating (I’m in a large room, I guess) and the rhythm is punctuated by frenzied bursts of high-pitched squeaks nearby. In the distance, I hear shuffling and the murmur of voices. I open my eyes. I’m standing in aContinue reading “The Sound Future of Virtual Reality”
Carmen Braden Raises the Volume on the Subarctic
“I’M JUST GOING TO TOUCH IT ON THE TOP,” SAYS CARMEN BRADEN, LOOKING AT A BLACKENED PORCUPINE-LIKE LUMP OF ICE. “WHAT I THINK WILL HAPPEN: IT’S JUST GOING TO FALL APART. READY?” It’s May 2014, and she’s talking to a camera. Her now-husband, Eli Purchase, is filming her on the banks of the Mackenzie RiverContinue reading “Carmen Braden Raises the Volume on the Subarctic”
The Material Soundscapes of Roarke Menzies
On a Sunday afternoon this past June I visited Outlet Fine Art, one of many independent galleries and performance spaces that have popped up in and around the Brooklyn neighbourhood of Bushwick in recent years. I was there to attend a performance by sound artist Roarke Menzies, the second in his series of appearances inContinue reading “The Material Soundscapes of Roarke Menzies”
The Musical Lightness of Éric Normand
The world of improvised music has spawned a core of musician–organizers who have built scenes and networks and record labels to support and extend the music. Few, however, have achieved what Éric Normand has, creating a hotbed of free improvisation in the relatively isolated little city of Rimouski, more than 500 kilometres northeast of MontrealContinue reading “The Musical Lightness of Éric Normand”