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TODTNAUBERG: a closer listen compilation v. 1
After much delay, we are pleased to announce the release of A CLOSER LISTEN’s debut compilation, TODTNAUBERG. (If you are wondering, the title does indeed come from the poem by Paul Celan.) Volume 2 should be out in the spring, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Thank you to all the artists and labels,…
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Interview: Sparkle in Grey
This interview was conducted in late 2008, and first published by the now defunct The Silent Ballet on February 7, 2009. Since then I’ve gone on to interview many Italian artists, curate 2 compilations of contemporary Italian music, and inaugurate a research project exploring the links between Mail Art and Cassette Culture. It also introduced…
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Sound Propositions 05: Pete Swanson
Originally published at A CLOSER LISTEN Pete Swanson is perhaps best known as half of the pioneering American west coast Noise duo Yellow Swans, along with Gabriel Mindel Saloman. Yellow Swans disbanded in 2008, and Swanson kept a relatively low profile at first, self-releasing a few tapes and small-run LPs while the reputation of the…
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AIPS Collective ~ Postcards from Italy
This essay is included in the collected edition of Gianmarco del Re’s Postcards from Italy, originally published by Fluid-Radio and available for download as a PDF here. Postcards from Italy, the album, is the inaugural release from Oak editions, an independent music art label owned and managed by the ambient artists Francesco Giannico & Alessio…
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Interview with composer Rhys Chatham
First published at A CLOSER LISTENCome summer Montreal becomes a parade of constant festivals. Suoni per il Popolo (Sounds for the People) remains my favorite festival because it’s really an anti-festival; it’s a well-curated concert series that rewards attention and reflection. The way that the taste of a good scotch unfolds on your palette, the…
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Montreal Band Esmerine Talk Turkey
Interview with Rebecca Foon of Esmerine This article was commissioned by CultMTL to run the day of the Dalmak record release concert, however it was published the next week due to problems with the web host the day of the show. The version below is a slightly more in depth version. Esmerine released a pair…
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Pop Montreal 2010 review: Swans @ Le National
Originally published by SSG Music Swans @ Le National | October 1 Earlier this year Michael Gira announced that he was restarting Swans, refusing to label this reformation as a reunion. The temptation is of course to compare this latest beast with the now legendary group, particularly those of us who were too young to…
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A Closer Look: Mutek 2013
Originally published by A CLOSER LISTEN Mutek It’s been over a month now since the last late night at the SAT, the last long walk up St. Laurent in the early morning, and I’ve let it all sink in and decompress a bit. Any festival can be overwhelming, particularly when the emphasis is on dancing…
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What Montreal Can Learn from Cairo
Originally published by Cult Mtl. Sam Shalabi and Stefan Christoff Rodina is a series of piano and oud duets between Stefan Christoff and Sam Shalabi that draw on free-form jazz and the makam tradition of Arabic music. (Listen to the record’s opening track here.) Though the title refers to a Slavic concept of motherland, it’s not…
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On the Return of Godspeed You! Black Emperor
A short piece I wrote regarding the return of Godspeed, originally published by SSG Music in February of 2011. The Events of the Student Strike, and the sudden release of a new LP by the group in the fall of last year make this interesting for me to look at again, in retrospect. Godspeed You!…
Sound Propositions 