Laraaji, Forever Expanding in Experimental Directions New Age legend Laraaji has soared through a five-decade artistic voyage, propelled by the fiery spirit of positivity that’s represented by his trademark orange clothes. The seventy-six-year-old African-American visionary, who continues to joyfully record, perform, and present laughter-[...] Read more

Featured Article Jesse Locke Issue 134

The Musical Lightness of Éric Normand The world of improvised music has spawned a core of musician–organizers who have built scenes and networks and record labels to support and extend the music. Few, however, have achieved what Éric Normand has, creating a hotbed of free improvisation in the relatively isolated[...] Read more

Featured Article Stuart Broomer Issue 126

Thierry Gauthier FULL-TEXT AVAILABLE IN PRINT EDITION ONLY   “My artistic evolution,” Thierry Gauthier writes, “has been characterized by the intensity of impulse, immediacy, and the urgency to create; the quest for a paroxysm and the absolute; the same sense of urgency as[...] Read more

Sound Bite Richard Simas Issue 106

Olivia Block FULL-TEXT AVAILABLE IN PRINT EDITION ONLY     The sound of a clarinet passage emerges from a quiet section and is punctuated by a series of minute electronic tones. Accompanying the clarinet is a recording of the wind, but the sound is more than just that of a rush of wind; it is[...] Read more

Featured Article Chris Kennedy Issue 112

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[...] Read more

Featured Article Zack Kotzer Issue 123

Rocío Cano Valiño’s Intortus The title of Intortus, a recent electronic composition by Rocío Cano Valiño, is a word used for a kind of cirrus cloud with twisted, seemingly entangled filaments. Even casual cloudwatchers know that these painterly wisps are shapeshifting storytellers; they may start out[...] Read more

Sound Bite Jennie Punter Issue 151

Tristan Perich’s 1-Bit Symphony Tristan Perich’s 1-Bit Symphony (2009–10) is an electronic composition in five movements on a single microchip housed in a CD jewel case. 1-Bit Symphony is not a recording in the traditional sense; it is a complete electronic circuit that literally performs its music once it is[...] Read more

Visions of sound Tristan Perich Issue 109

Jean Derome’s Reflections of Joy Over the past four decades, Jean Derome’s musical interests have spanned everything from standards to skronk. He has composed graphic scores for large ensembles, created multimedia works for string quartets, and devised music for dance, theatre, and cinema works. But what Derome is[...] Read more

Featured Article Lawrence Joseph Issue 121

Meet the Winners of the 2024 Musicworks Electronic Music Composition Contest TORONTO, CANADA, May 29, 2025:   Musicworks is pleased to announce that Lyon-based composer Rocío Cano Valiño (photo by © Deni Ríos) has won first prize in the 2024 Musicworks Electronic Music Composition Contest for her stereo electroacoustic[...] Read more

Featured Article STAFF

The Complex Stillness of Mark Ellestad “For me, there is a kind of stillness in music that comes from a generous and welcoming place. It has nothing to do with speed or style or tradition or school. It can come from dark or light, from any shade of intensity. It doesn’t need to express anything at all. I love it when[...] Read more

Profile Julian Cowley Issue 142