For Vancouver’s Debby Friday, there’s something natural about music that sounds distinctly non-human. As both a producer and a fan of noise music, she’s drawn to the genre for the sense of humanity it expresses. “We’re using these electronic devices to make these electronic sounds that wouldn’t exist without machines…and I just feel like it […]
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OBEY XII: Eartheater
As Eartheater, New York multi-instrumentalist Alexandra Drewchin creates lavish experimental songs rich with influences, sounds and references. Her music can be endlessly—rewardingly—analyzed: Songs match beautiful, delicate tones with shrieks, electronic muttering, mysterious bubbling. Being undefinable has defined Eartheater’s glorious output, and IRISIRI, her 2018 album, is a study in the complexities of the human voice, […]
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OBEY XII: Tomoko Sauvage
Flutters, loops, scrapes, ripples, drips and bubbles create worlds of lush, meditative sound with the work of Tomoko Sauvage. Her compositions can agitate or calm, expand and pull focus. Born and raised in Yokohama, Sauvage moved to New York to study jazz piano and then to Paris, where she became interested in Indian music, specifically […]
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OBEY XII: Nick Schofield
Like so many creative rabbit holes, the idea behind Nick Schofield’s first ambient record, Water Sine, presented itself after dark. Schofield says Water Sine emerged out of a series of sleepless nights. Instead of battling his insomnia, Schofield embraced it—he wanted to harness the creative energy of the night and try a “more intuitive approach” […]
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The Remains of Leanne Hoffman
It doesn’t feel right calling the new release from Leanne Hoffman a debut album. Technically What Remains is her first solo recording, but Hoffman is a Halifax music veteran. She was part of the now-defunct duo Magnolia up until five years ago, and has kept busy providing backing vocals and keys with other musicians over […]
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The form and fun of Snotty Nose Rez Kids
Snotty Nose Rez Kids w/DJ Kookum, Lex Leosis Friday, May 24, 9pm Reflections Cabaret, 5187 Salter Street $15, showpass.com F rom the jump, Snotty Nose Rez Kids grab your ears and attention. Even the name of the British Columbia-based hip hop duo acts like a sharp finger-snap, making the listener confront their internalized racism the […]
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Between the light with shadow
After a long but gentle gestation, shadow—a five-piece band led by Bethany Fulde—is ready to release the fruits of its two-year labour: A double EP, one titled the dark and the other, fittingly, the dawn. “In the end, some of it was recorded between three studios,” says Fulde, laughing. The album travelled with Charles Austin’s Echo […]
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River of Diamonds’ Touch of life
River of Diamonds w/Stewart Legere Saturday, April 20, 7:30pm The Bus Stop Theatre, 2203 Gottingen Street, $15 In the middle of an otherwise steady conversation about their music, Michael Belyea and Michelle Elrick find themselves at a loss for words. Discussing their shares appreciation for the natural world, Belyea remembers last week’s ubiquitous unveiling of […]
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NEWFANGLED takes you behind the scores
NEWFANGLED w/Derek Charke Thursday, April 18, 7pm Paul O’Regan Hall at the Halifax Central Library 5440 Spring Garden Road free Pianist Barbara Pritchard and vocalist Janice Isabel Jackson form the duo NEWFANGLED and are bringing their 30-plus years of experience to perform some of Canada’s best contemporary works, free to the public at Paul O’Regan […]
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Tokyo Police Club, reinvigorated
Tokyo Police Club w/Sorrey Saturday, April 13, 8pm The Marquee Ballroom, 2037 Gottingen Street $20 Greg Alsop knows what burnout feels like. By 2016, he’d been doing the same job for years. He was sick of repetition, tired from overworking and unsure whether the path he was on was really right for the long haul. […]
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Adam Baldwin’s Wicked plan
Adam Baldwin Record Store Day Taz tour Saturday, April 13 Taz Records, 1239 Bedford Highway, noon 45 Portland Street, 2pm 1521 Grafton Street, 4pm Atrip to Taz Records is nothing new to Adam Baldwin, but what he’s doing for Record Store Day is a little unusual for a music lover: On April 13 he’s playing […]
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The energy of Jean-Michel Blais
Jean-Michel Blais w/Paper Beat Scissors Saturday, April 6, 7pm St. Matthew’s Church, 1479 Barrington Street $33 adv/$38 doors, sonicconcerts.com It’s early on a weekend morning and Jean-Michel Blais is already buzzing with energy. When Blais first picks up the phone, he’s in the middle of packing up boxes of merch for a jaunt from Montreal […]
