Jean-François Blouin. Lieues de résonances. Montreal-based composer Jean-François Blouin delivers fifty-five minutes of rich sound mass at the crossroads of instrumental and musique concrète. In Lieues de résonances, his 2016 release, we are immersed in a bass heavy assemblage of stringed instruments, stereo[...] Read more

Recordings Pierre-Luc Senécal

Ana Sokolovic and Ensemble Transmission. Folklore Imaginaire. This Canadian Music Centre release in Naxos’ Canadian Classics series offers sixty minutes of Ana Sokolovic’s ever-fascinating chamber music. Ensemble Transmission is heard in a variety of configurations, including solo works, and the startling rendition of Vez for solo cello,[...] Read more

Recordings Cecilia Livingston

Quatuor Bozzini. Aldo Clementi: Momento. The press release for Quatuor Bozzini’s new Aldo Clementi portrait disc alludes, in the form of a quote from the composer, to a peculiar sort of metamusical morbidity that was allegedly integral to his thinking. While his eldritch outlook is documented elsewhere as well, what is[...] Read more

Recordings Nick Storring

Ensemble SuperMusique. Les accords intuitifs. Les accords intuitifs is the fifth CD by Ensemble SuperMusique, a large Montreal-based group that performs compositions that are conceptual explorations. The core group consists of reed-players Jean Derome and Joane Hétu, guitarist Bernard Falaise, and percussionist Danielle Palardy[...] Read more

Recordings Stuart Broomer

Michael Blake. Fulfillment. Program music that’s more music than program, New York-based Canadian saxophonist Michael Blake’s eight-part suite Fulfillment is a reimagining of 1914’s Komagata Maru incident, when Canada’s exclusionary racial laws wouldn’t allow a ship carrying several[...] Read more

Recordings Ken Waxman

Jonathan Adjemian and Mike Smith. Transcombobulation. Even though it’s likely that analogue synthesizers are even more popular now than in their supposed heyday, it’s still difficult not to associate their sound with another era. Fortunately, the Toronto synth duo of Mike Smith and Jonathan Adjemian don’t let that get in the[...] Read more

Recordings Nick Storring

François Carrier / Steve Beresford / John Edwards / Michel Lambert. Outgoing. Like a peripatetic Old West gunslinger, Montreal alto saxophonist François Carrier roams extensively to challenge himself alongside the planet’s best improvisers, and so far has gone head-to-head with players from Poland, Russia, France, and the United States. Now it’s the[...] Read more

Recordings Ken Waxman

In the Sea. Henry Crabapple Dissappear. Vinyl releases are almost the norm now, as artists strive for added-value alternatives to free downloads or cheap streaming. But audiocassettes? The degree to which that trend might catch on remains to be seen, but in the meantime some excellent music is being released in that format[...] Read more

Recordings Lawrence Joseph Issue 124

Hanoi New Music Festival Ensemble 2013. Being Together. Although Hanoi is more closely associated in North American minds with 1960s Vietnam War designators like the Ho Chi Minh trail and the Hanoi Hilton, the city now has an improvised music scene, and this disc celebrates Hanoi’s first-ever New Music Festival. Being Together, a three-part[...] Read more

Recordings Ken Waxman Issue 124

Thanos Chrysakis. Above The Hidden Track An Endless Blaze. Electronic musician (and, elsewhere, pianist) Thanos Chrysakis’ newest release is dominated by dense continuous textures that throng the sonic field. It’s an undeniably intense listening experience, with less breath and fewer blatant contrasts than some of his other solo work.[...] Read more

Recordings Nick Storring Issue 124

Philippe Battikha. Invisible Backgrounds. Balance and variety are the keys to Montreal trumpet player Philippe Battikha’s latest release, on which he avoids the flashy displays of technical virtuosity evident on many solo instrumental albums. Best known for his work in noisy ensembles such as La Part Maudite and Corse and as a[...] Read more

Recordings Lawrence Joseph Issue 124