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

Internationales Minimal Music Festival, Third Edition. Kassel, Germany. October 6–9, 2011. Every five years since 1955, the small German city of Kassel hosts documenta, Europe’s preeminent contemporary visual-arts exhibition. documenta attracts over one million curious viewers to Kassel, including world-renowned artists, cultural critics, academics, and international media.[...] Read more

Concerts and Events W. Mark Sutherland Issue 112

CLAEM Festival: un gol de media cancha [a midfield goal]. Buenos Aires, Argentina. June 17–24, 2011. Edited by Meg Sheppard.    One of the best contemporary music festivals I have attended took place in Buenos Aires from June 17–24, with symphonic concerts at the Belgrano Auditorium, and chamber music and electroacoustic music concerts at the Centro Cultural Borges.[...] Read more

Concerts and Events alcides lanza Issue 112

Chris Watson and Marcus Davidson. Cross-Pollination. Of all earthly creatures, insects come the closest to resembling aliens: exoskeletons, multifaceted eyes, barbed legs, and an impenetrable collectiveness. Their sonic world is highlighted on Cross-Pollination. Central to the two tracks on this CD are recordings of insects by Chris Watson,[...] Read more

Recordings René van Peer Issue 112

Chris Watson. El tren fantasma. Sound recordist Chris Watson’s latest CD is a homage to the sounds of trains, sounds that until ten years ago travelled the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of Mexico. The ten pieces on El tren fantasma abound with the screeching and the rhythms of steel wheels rolling over the tracks,[...] Read more

Recordings René van Peer Issue 112

Nick Storring. Rife. Remarkably, the sound for Artifacts, the first of three compositions that make up Rife, is entirely sourced from a small, broken violin that was a childhood gift to Storring from his grandmother. From these initial sound samples, Storring builds a piece of music that is incredibly engaging[...] Read more

Recordings Chris Kennedy Issue 112

Aki Onda. Diary and First Thought Best Thought. Cassette tapes have been one of the more unlikely sound devices to have a resurgence in popularity these last few years. Vinyl can at least by claim to high sound fidelity, but what’s the motive for making space on the shelf for a new wave of cassette releases—let alone for[...] Read more

Recordings Chris Kennedy Issue 112

NINA. Place Where the Trees Stand in the Water. This ten-inch record documents a live performance of NINA—Chris Cogburn, Bonnie Jones, and Liz Tonne—at the 2009 Fusebox Festival in Austin, Texas. The trio explores their converging timbres—Cogburn on bowed and scraped percussion, Jones on electronics, and Tonne on voice[...] Read more

Recordings Chris Kennedy Issue 112