Richard Marsella “Good evening and welcome to the Friendly Rich Show. My name is Friendly Rich. Thank you. And I’ll be your loyal host this evening. Behind me, my mystery-meat orchestra, the Lollipop People. No need to clap, kids. Tonight’s show is full of the good stuff. We got dirty crank[...] Read more

Featured Article Matthew Pioro Issue 107

Panayiotis Kokoras’ Viper Snake Electronic music composers and pit viper snakes both create dramatic sounds that remind the listener of something that is not actually there. The Western Diamondback, the most common rattlesnake in Texas, can sound like a swarm of insects—or car radio static or steam escaping from a[...] Read more

Sound Bite Jennie Punter Issue 154

Inside The National Music Centre The Original New Timbral Orchestra, known simply as TONTO, has been called “a synthesizer the size of Nebraska.” The appearance of this electronic monolith makes an immediate impression. Housed in a twenty-foot semicircle of six-foot-tall wooden cabinets with knobs, keyboards,[...] Read more

Featured Article Jesse Locke Issue 128

Christine Duncan Unleashes the Elements IT ALL CAME BACK SO FAST: the Whip, the Punch, the Elements. All those gestures unlocked my voice and made it respond exactly as it was supposed to—even after a five-year absence.   Late last year, I embedded myself with the Element Choir, the world’s leading[...] Read more

Featured Article Jonathan Bunce Issue 124

Mystery & Wonder Records: Extending the Sound A striking musical and visual aesthetic distinguishes Mystery & Wonder Records from other artist-curated labels. The recordings are concise yet complete musical statements. High-definition sound with a lively, in-your-face feel results from microphones placed very close to the[...] Read more

Sound Notes Lawrence Joseph Issue 134

SlowPitchSound and the Universe Between the Grooves When it comes to picking the defining factors of a musical practice, some artists view their work as a single, continuous process, homing in on a specific vision and returning to it repeatedly. Others are the opposite—traversing a multitude of styles and sounds as they launch[...] Read more

Featured Article Sara Constant Issue 144

Phivos-Angelos Kollias' Nostophiliac AI Third place in the 2022 Musicworks Electronic Music Composition Contest was awarded to  Phivos-Angelos Kollias for video-music piece "Nostophiliac AI."   “We interact daily with algorithms that emulate human perception and collective[...] Read more

Featured Article STAFF

Qikiqtaaluk, Nunavut Mount Thor   Sometimes the Arctic sun never goes down, never rises. Today though, in the middle of the Akshayuk Pass, I wake up just before the sunrays reach the thin layer of ice on my tent. It is early, dark, and cold. The wind is tirelessly beating against everything that[...] Read more

Sound Notes Bea Labikova Issue 135

Julie Andreyev and Simon Lysander Overstall’s Biophilia November, some might say, is not the ideal time to visit the wild West Coast. The days are short, the leaves are down. In any normal year, monsoon season will have kicked in, producing alternating bands of drizzle and downpour, both equally grey and almost equally wet. But when the[...] Read more

Visions of sound Alexander Varty Issue 129

Vanese "VJ" Smith is Right on Time Vanese (pronounced va-NIECE) “VJ” Smith and I are on the Spadina streetcar, chatting like old friends. Just minutes earlier we met for the first time. I arrived from up North (aka Thornhill) in a state of winter-blues petulance, but when I saw her bright smile and waving arm from[...] Read more

Profile Chaka V. Grier Issue 130