In the spring of 2018, Chinese archeologists announced that they’d unearthed a four-thousand-year-old collection of jaw harps (kouxian in Chinese) at the Shimao ruins, a prehistoric site in Shenmu City in northwest China’s Shaanxi Province. These artifacts, which were carved from bone, are the oldest jaw harps ever discovered, but various historic versions of theContinue reading “Trauma of My Mouth”
Genre Archives
Amirtha Kidambi & the Elder Ones. From Untruth.
“Eat the rich or die starving.” Repeated mantra-like at the end of the first song on Amirtha Kidambi’s impressive new record with her band the Elder Ones, From Untruth, that sentiment somehow lands less as provocation than as simple statement of fact, a moment of clarity that throws the sonic maelstrom preceding it into relief.Continue reading “Amirtha Kidambi & the Elder Ones. From Untruth.”
Musicworks 133
The lively stories in the Spring 2019 issue are sure to spark conversations about the diverse ways that people develop creative ideas and potential. BUY THE ISSUE NOW! ON THE COVER: Montreal’s Dominique Fils-Aimé has moved from the mainstream spotlight to a more intimate creative space where many genres unite in her powerful, elegant, and soulful music. TorontoContinue reading “Musicworks 133”
Spring 2019
The Ever-Evolving Sounds of Thanya Iyer
The music of Thanya Iyer (the name of the musician–composer as well as of her band) is impossible to define—both for her fans and for herself. “I can’t really place the genre of the music that we’re trying to do,” acknowledges Iyer from her home in Montreal. “For us, it’s ever-evolving. We do a lotContinue reading “The Ever-Evolving Sounds of Thanya Iyer”
Overleaf. Overleaf.
The recently formed Overleaf assembles three of Toronto’s most distinct yet unsung voices in a compelling and elusive amalgam. Synthesist (and occasional bamboo flutist) Heidi Chan (aka Bachelard), saxophonist Kayla Milmine, and Mira Martin-Gray, who has an uncharacteristically acute grasp of mixer feedback, are indeed improvising, but this work trades many of the tropes of theContinue reading “Overleaf. Overleaf.”
Sarah Davachi. Gave in Rest.
Calgary-born and currently resident in Los Angeles, Sarah Davachi has quickly developed a significant reputation creating music that is ambient, minimalist, and highly compelling. She recently spent a summer in Europe exploring her fascination with the acoustic properties of ancient churches and the behaviour of early instruments, finding parallels to the latter in the behaviourContinue reading “Sarah Davachi. Gave in Rest.”
Musicworks 132
The final issue of Musicworks‘ 40th anniversary year features first-person stories, collaborative creativity, and a hint of chocolate. Buy it now! On the cover: Darcy Spidle Nova Scotia writer Darcy Spidle played in punk bands, ran the Divorce record label, and founded the annual OBEY Convention in Halifax. At the same time, he developed aContinue reading “Musicworks 132”
Who’s Telling the Story
This is Musicworks’ final issue of 2018, our fortieth-anniversary year. You will find no best-of or top-ten lists here, no reprints or “where are they now” pieces. The retrospective activity, both casual and curatorial, has largely taken place offline, so to speak, at gatherings where music-listening, story-swapping, and artifact-handling (old newsprint is delicate!) have broughtContinue reading “Who’s Telling the Story”