Cozy up with the Winter 2022–23 issue and discover new pathways of sonic connectivity! ON THE COVER: SLOWPITCHSOUND With roots in turntablism that extend into the likes of classical composition, sound design, and theatre, Toronto-based artist and musician Cheldon Paterson—aka SlowPitchSound—is an artist whose music is difficult to define. In an interview with Musicworks contributing editorContinue reading “What’s Inside Musicworks 144?”
Genre Archives
Tess Roby. Ideas of Space.
Montreal dream-pop composer and songwriter Tess Roby follows her promising 2018 debut with a perceptive self-produced LP, the first on her new label SSURROUNDSS. Ideas of Space is a pristine collection of songs about envelopment—by architecture, by colour, by emotion—that tempers its subject matter with a vivid yet restrained sonic sensibility. In this environment, Roby’sContinue reading “Tess Roby. Ideas of Space.”
claire rousay. A Softer Focus.
Over the past while, prolific and multifaceted Canadian-American artist claire rousay has managed to find visibility and acclaim while maintaining a firm commitment to creative restlessness and sonic ambiguity. Recent outings have tended to showcase an evocative blurred-Polaroid approach that weaves verité audio and brittle, ASMR-like, found-object manipulation, but her varied discography also encompasses sturdyContinue reading “claire rousay. A Softer Focus.”
Naoto Kawate. Three Guitar Tunes.
The faintest hints of the 1960s hit parade radiate off these three beautiful instrumental pieces for electric guitar by the Japanese composer Naoto Kawate. We are reminded, at arm’s length, of the optimistic twang of the Ventures or the crisp strummed chords of the Archies. But there is no hewing to antique formula here. TheseContinue reading “Naoto Kawate. Three Guitar Tunes.”
Leanne Betasamosake Simpson. Theory of Ice.
Leanne Betasamosake Simpson is a prodigiously talented Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg singer-songwriter, teacher, and author who explores decolonization and Indigenous resurgence in her fiction and nonfiction books, poetry, and music. For her fourth album, Theory of Ice, Simpson reworked some of her poems into songs, collaborating on the music with bandmates Ansley Simpson and Nick FerrioContinue reading “Leanne Betasamosake Simpson. Theory of Ice.”
Terry Uyarak. Nunarjua Isulinginniani.
Terry Uyarak made headlines earlier this year when he and a friend set out from their Igloolik, Nunavut, home on a traditional Inuit polar-bear hunt, travelling into the wild for ten days on dog sleds without GPS or phones. The self-taught musician has shown that same level of intrepid dedication to his artistic craft throughoutContinue reading “Terry Uyarak. Nunarjua Isulinginniani.”
Dominique Fils-Aimé. Three Little Words.
In 2018 Montreal-based jazz artist Dominique Fils–Aimé released the first album of a trilogy exploring the shifting genres and experiences of African-American history and culture. The blues-inspired Nameless explored African sounds that morphed into the blues during enslavement. The Juno Award-nominated Stay Tuned! (2019) addressed racial violence and injustice, along with Black empowerment and upliftContinue reading “Dominique Fils-Aimé. Three Little Words.”
Matthew Cardinal’s Asterisms
Asterisms, Matthew Cardinal’s debut solo album, creates audial desire paths, not necessarily conjuring anything concrete in my mind’s eye but moving like a current—or a river—that I’m compelled to be swept up in. Asterisms is a pleasure to listen to, and I’ve found it to be a welcome companion in ever-shifting contexts. Cardinal is basedContinue reading “Matthew Cardinal’s Asterisms”
LAL. Meteors Could Come Down.
Since the release of their 2000 debut record Corners, Toronto-based electronic duo LAL have become known both for their songs celebrating resistance and community and for their unwillingness to be placed in a neat box by the mainstream Canadian music industry. While these same notions loom large on singer Rosina Kazi and producer Nicholas Murray’sContinue reading “LAL. Meteors Could Come Down.”
DEBBY FRIDAY’S ENERGY POTENTIAL
Across the first few minutes of Bare Bones, the short-film debut by Vancouver artist Debby Friday, a growing, skittering sound unsettles an otherwise pastoral scene. In the film, Friday, a splash of presence in a white tulle dress, kneels riverside amid a verdant landscape. This moment might feel serene were it not for its soundtrack:Continue reading “DEBBY FRIDAY’S ENERGY POTENTIAL”