Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Dr. Atif Kubursi - Is Economics Relevant?

A lecture from Dr. Atif Kubursi should prove to be a good travelling companion. I too like to commute with music, but sometimes talk is more productive.

Is Economics Relevant?

Thursday, March 20, 2008

new harbours music series 1 - Polmo Polpo / Orphx



now with myspace goodness:

www.myspace.com/newharbours

NEW HARBOURS ANNOUNCES SPRING CONCERTS IN HAMILTON, MICHAEL SNOW AMONG PERFORMERS

The New Harbours Music Series Demonstrates Significant Cultural Influence For The Newly Revitalized City Of Hamilton

HAMILTON, ON – Music fans in Hamilton have long been organizing events for contemporary music. Musical performances in warehouses, stores, basements, and vacant buildings have been significant happenings for those in contact with the musical underground. Now, a series of spring concerts will bring experimental music to the industrial city of Hamilton, Ontario in a more official capacity.

The New Harbours Music Series intends to showcase regional, national, and international artists and performers who engage in experimental musical practises. Presented by the Hamilton Artists Inc. and coordinated by a volunteer committee of local music fans and musicians, the series is dedicated to supporting a wide variety of experimental music.

The concerts will be part of the monthly James Street Art Crawls, and will feature performances from the internationally-renowned multi-disciplinary artist Michael Snow (Officer of the Order of Canada and a recipient of the first Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts), Polmo Polpo, and Slither, with local artists Orphx, Fossils, and Matthew Boughner.

“With the participation of Michael Snow, who ranks among the most significant and well-known artists in Canada, the New Harbours Music Series intends to bring attention to Hamilton’s art community,” says Quintin Hewlett, who is a member of the New Harbours organizing committee. “The James North art district is a jewel largely hidden to residents of Hamilton, who frequently look to Toronto for their culture. That city, great as it is, serves as a black hole sucking in everything from the surrounding cities. Meanwhile, I know people who have come to Hamilton from Europe and the southern U.S. to see shows here that they would not be able to see otherwise. People need to be made aware of what is occurring in their neighbourhood. Local artists like Orphx and Matthew Boughner have an international following. With New Harbours, we intend for Hamilton to experience its own event horizon.”

This series will occur April 11, May 9, and June 13, 2008 inside Christ's Church cathedral, which is located at 252 James Street North. In addition to the wonderful acoustic properties of the building, the cathedral was chosen as the inaugural venue for the music series as it is one of the most significant architectural and historical landmarks in Hamilton.

Furthermore, the downtown location of the cathedral allows this music series to be included in the James North Art Crawl, which is a monthly event currently gathering a national reputation for the increasingly influential output of the community which it fosters. The continued development of the art community in the James Street North gallery district is a prime indication of the rising economic and cultural influence of the revitalized city of Hamilton.

Culture needs to metastasize. we're already planning series for the fall of 2008, as well as spring 2009. New Harbours Music Series will continue to be an integral part of the cultural output of Southern Ontario.

April 11: Polmo Polpo + Orphx
www.cstrecords.com/bands_polmopolpo.html
www.myspace.com/orphx

May 9: Michael Snow + Matthew Boughner
www.actuellecd.com/bio.e/snow_mi.html
http://www.myspace.com/brownbirdcanread

June 13: Slither + Fossils
http://www.tastysoil.com/
www.myspace.com/fossilstrio

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If you would like more information about New Harbours Music Series or the James Street North gallery district, please contact Ian Jarvis (ian@hamiltonartistsinc.on.ca) or Quintin Hewlett (quintin.hewlett@gmail.com)

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Stars of the Lid -- And Their Refinement of the Decline


Stars of the Lid
And Their Refinement of the Decline
[Kranky, 2007]

The music of Stars of the Lid – Texas-based duo Brian McBride and Adam Wiltzie – can at worst be described as contemplative. Listening to a Stars of the Lid record is not unlike listening to Eno’s early ambient period or the chamber pieces of Arvo Pärt. While the instrumentation is quite varied and the atmospheric dronescapes frequently invoke the aesthetics of cinema, this is not music seeking cathartic release or narrative direction.

This is music that evolves rather slowly over long durations. One is intended to bathe in the textures and drone of each sound and engage in what can paradoxically be described as “situational transcendence”. Each sound is allowed space to be examined in detail. Naturally, the relative tranquillity of the affair can tend to provoke in listeners a degree of lethargy or rumination if one wishes to allow it.

Unlike a great deal of contemporary music of this sort, Stars of the Lid does not rely on generative compositional processes or purely electronic sound sources. For much of the album, live instrumentation is used not solely in opposition to the relative silence of the electronic drones, but to examine the manner in which the timbre of each instrument can serve to define an acoustic space. For example, album opener “Dungtitled (In A Major)” allows a complex harmonic interplay to develop between flugelhorn, cello, and violin as each instrument introduces a static tone which quickly decays into the electronic background, while the two-part piece “Articulate Silences” is notable for the use of a chamber orchestra.

The band started issuing albums in the mid-nineties, and in recent years have learned to be rather judicious in their release schedule. And Their Refinement of the Decline is the duo’s first album since 2001's monumental Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid. Fans of ironically-titled tracks will appreciate the allusions to the drug-induced states experienced by typical fanboys of ambient music. This nomenclature, here continued from previous albums, explains this album’s title.

While it does not achieve the brilliance of Tired Sounds, this new album demonstrates that McBride and Wiltzie are continuing to perfect their craft as they explore the inner depths of sound spaces. And Their Refinement of the Decline is an impressive release and well worth the acquisition. Stars of the Lid – accompanied by a string section and a 16mm film projectionist – will be playing at The Music Gallery in Toronto on April 28. Christopher Willits and Ken Reaume will also perform.

MP3: Stars of the Lid - The Daughters of Quiet Minds