THE OCEAN RECEDES INTO THE DISTANCE, awash in thick bands of golden-purple sunset hues. Its surface ripples in loose synchronization with a burbling synthesizer score. Suddenly, a shimmering plane materializes and obliquely bisects the scene; the plane spins and the textures of the two surfaces soak into one another. The projection of these abstract seascapesContinue reading “The Retro Aesthetic of Le Révélateur”
Author Archives: Musicworks
The Expanding Universe of Yamantaka // Sonic Titan
I HAD BEEN GRIPING TO ALASKA B, cofounder of the creative ensemble YAMANTAKA // SONIC TITAN, that Bloordale didn’t have any decent pizza. I’d recently transplanted myself to the Toronto neighbourhood, one of her stomping grounds, and found it discomfiting to not know where to find a sublime slice nearby. She suggested, of all places,Continue reading “The Expanding Universe of Yamantaka // Sonic Titan”
Friendly Exchanges: Musicworks Fall 2015
The title of this post is borrowed from Toronto percussionist Germaine Liu. You’ll have to read Mary Dickie’s lovely story in the Fall 2015 issue to see how Germaine uses the words. You’ll find an entirely different spin on the notion of friendly exchanges in Greg J. Smith’s Visions of Sound centrespread piece on Montreal’sContinue reading “Friendly Exchanges: Musicworks Fall 2015”
The Unsung Songbooks of Dave Burrell
TO SAY THAT PIANIST, COMPOSER, AND—AT THIS POINT—JAZZ ELDER DAVE BURRELL WAS NOT made for these times is a bit of a shortsighted claim. Burrell is a jazz classicist preceded by a reputation for free improvisation. He was present for the fabled Parisian Summer of 1969, when he and other players of free jazz found aContinue reading “The Unsung Songbooks of Dave Burrell”
Jay Crocker Navigates the Music of Obstacles
“THEY WERE EXPECTING TO HAVE A swinging kind of jazz party, but we were doing nothing of the sort that night.” Percussionist Chris Dadge is recalling a particularly memorable gig at the Beat Niq Jazz & Social Club—a trad jazz club in downtown Calgary—during which he, guitarist Jay Crocker, saxophonist Dan Michael, and pianist Mark LimacherContinue reading “Jay Crocker Navigates the Music of Obstacles”
The Avian is the Message
Songbirds have a secret language. This is something I did not fully appreciate until recently, when I became immersed in their world. What may be music to our ears is bird-speak—a mating call, an aural fence, or simple prattle to stay in touch. There are people who can understand bird speak, who can instantly discernContinue reading “The Avian is the Message”
Allison Cameron’s Rarefied Soundworld
“I NEVER THOUGHT I WAS DOING ANYTHING DIFFERENT THAN ANYBODY ELSE—I just thought, I’m doing what anybody else would write,” states Allison Cameron, matter-of-factly. Anyone familiar with her music—or her characteristic wry humour—could read this particular remark as either amusing or evasive, disarmingly so. But, as I gradually realize, it’s actually rather telling of herContinue reading “Allison Cameron’s Rarefied Soundworld”
Beautiful Contraptions
On a breezy afternoon in early May, I met composer Allison Cameron and photographer Claire Harvie in the cheery little garden oasis behind Trinity St. Paul’s United Church in downtown Toronto. Allison’s compact studio is in the building, so she fetched her banjo, as well as an assortment of tiny, cool-looking amplifiers and transistor radios,Continue reading “Beautiful Contraptions”
Andrew Staniland accelerates toward the next idea
IN 2013, NASA CONFIRMED THAT the Voyager 1 probe had become the first manmade object to cross the heliopause, leaving the bounds of our solar system and entering interstellar space. In addition to its scientific instruments, Voyager 1 was famously carrying a Golden Record entitled The Sounds of Earth. Put together by a committee led by notedContinue reading “Andrew Staniland accelerates toward the next idea”
Musicworks’ Summer 2015 issue (#122)
Settle into your porch swing, deck chair, or beach blanket, then dig in to our Summer 2015 issue. Read, listen, and don’t forget to look! Eye-catching images (including original photography, score excerpts, and weird gear images) will enliven your initial flipping, while the companion CD will enhance your concentrated reading with a stellar playlist showcasing allContinue reading “Musicworks’ Summer 2015 issue (#122)”