Le Quatuor de Jazz Libre du Québec. 1973. Le Quatuor de Jazz Libre du Québec was a free jazz ensemble that internalized the radicalism of the late ’60s and early ’70s into their actions and their music. Formed in 1967, they had by 1970 established an artists’ colony that had an affinity with Quebec[...] Read more

Recordings Chris Kennedy Issue 113

Lama. Oneiros. Based in Rotterdam, Lama offers an unusual mix of sensibilities, a trio of Portuguese and Canadian musicians that works at the intersections of film noir, cool jazz, electronica, and free improvisation. Gonçalo Almeida plays bass, effects, and loops, and is the principal composer;[...] Read more

Recordings Stuart Broomer Issue 113

Ion Zoo. Venus Looks Good. Vancouver-based Ion Zoo has released one previous CD, Set Free at the Cellar (on the NOW Orchestra label), a fine live performance that introduced the quartet, which comprises singer Carol Sawyer; Steve Bagnell on reeds, from baritone saxophone to clarinet, as well as percussion; Lisa[...] Read more

Recordings Stuart Broomer Issue 113

Eleanor Hovda. The Eleanor Hovda Collection. The music of Eleanor Hovda, (1940–2009), reflected her various concerns and interests in dance and movement and, by extension, space and breath. This is evidenced in The Eleanor Hovda Collection, with most of the recorded music stemming from the final twenty years of her career. Her[...] Read more

Recordings René van Peer Issue 113

Craig Hilton & Tomas Phillips. le gout de néant. This beautiful recording is largely sourced from a performance of Craig Hilton playing the guzheng. The first track, Sans Mouvement I, is a relatively untreated sound recording of Hilton bowing the guzheng, with a slight reverb applied—creating a blissfully full sound that envelops the[...] Read more

Recordings Chris Kennedy Issue 113

Eric Chenaux. Guitar & Voice. Guitar & Voice, Eric Chenaux’s fourth album for Constellation, is arguably his most comprehensively representative recording to date, unselfconsciously connecting disparate parts of his musical personality. In addition to placing his delicate songs into a nakedly intimate and[...] Read more

Recordings Nick Storring Issue 113

Tim Brady. 24 Frames—Scatter. Tim Brady’s 24 Frames series (this double CD and its companion 24 Frames—Trance, from 2010) is about precision and virtuosity. Billed as a larger project of “24 compositions . . .atmospheres . . . scenarios . . . [and] ways of playing guitar,[...] Read more

Recordings Chris Kennedy Issue 113

Christian Bouchard. Automacité. Automacité is firmly rooted in two sound worlds: Bouchard’s gestural language speaks of Montreal’s vital acousmatic scene, and the album’s silvery abstract dynamism recalls the later work of so-called IDM (intelligent dance music) pioneers Autechre.[...] Read more

Recordings Nick Storring Issue 113

Six Heads. Cardboard Oracle. William Davison and his five sous-chefs have been cooking up—yes, this disc is thoroughly cooked—their signature stews for over a decade now. This vinyl release documents their improvisatory web-toed amblings through the mutant sonic kitchen: each member chopping and dicing[...] Read more

Recordings Nick Storring Issue 112

Brandon LaBelle and Cládia Martinho, Editors. Site of Sound: Of Architecture and the Ear, Vol. 2. Site of Sound Volume 2 follows a decade after the first volume, a period in time that has seen an increase in the activity of artists working with both sound and architecture. As LaBelle points out in the preface, the decade has also seen more discussion about the idea of the public and of[...] Read more

Books Chris Kennedy Issue 112

Drip Audio. Violinist Jesse Zubot’s Drip Audio label has spent the last seven years releasing over thirty strongly produced records that have served as important documents of the improvised music scene in Vancouver. A dip into the back catalogue reveals a wildly interconnected scene—[...] Read more

Recordings Chris Kennedy Issue 112