Masami Akita, a.k.a. Merzbow, is a pioneer in the field of extreme noise. For all the fans of intense experiences, four recent CDs are now available through electrocd.com. Fantail, published in early 2003 by the small Canadian label C3R, contains a live September 2002 recording in Toronto (Ontario). The same publisher just released Yoshinotsune, featuring more rythmic compositions. Also available, the 5th Merzbow album released by the Alien8 Recordings label, Animal Magnetism, which features more prominent guitar works. Lastly, the Victo label released a unique collaboration between Merzbow and Pan Sonic, [victo_089], recorded live in May 2002.

Ce qu’a vu le vent d’Est by Annette Vande Gorne won the 2nd prize at the 4th Pierre Schaeffer Computer Music Competition (Pescara, Italy, 2003). Sju by John Young won the 3rd prize ex-aequo.

Robert Normandeau is one of the selected finalist for the international acousmatic music competition Métamorphoses d’Orphée. His composition, Hamlet-Machine with Actors was commissioned by Vancouver New Music and premiered on October 11, 2003 during the “Electric City” event. Young Montréal composer Martin Bédard was also selected for his work Check-point. The final will be held October 20, 2004 in Brussels (Belgium).

Montréal label Intr_version is now available via electrocd.com. Discover the delicate music of Vitaminsforyou, the syncopated beats of Ghislain Poirier, the disconcerting granular synthesis of Désormais alongside many other new actors of the electronica scene.

The double CD Radio Roadmovies is an acoustic tour within the Canadian soundscape. Composed by Christian Calon in collaboration with Chantal Dumas, the project gathers two compositions, Le petit homme dans l’oreille and Documents de surface.

For the “Monde parallèle Montréal 45°N//” event, organized by Lille — Cultural Capital of Europe, label empreintes DIGITALes presented a portrait of Montréal’s electroacoustic creation since 1971 through 24 works by 21 Montréal composers: Serge Arcuri, Yves Beaupré, Christian Bouchard, Ned Bouhalassa, Christian Calon, Micheline Coulombe Saint-Marcoux, Yves Daoust, Francis Dhomont, Paul Dolden, Louis Dufort, Gilles Gobeil, Monique Jean, René Lussier, Robert Normandeau, Arturo Parra, Mario Rodrigue, Stéphane Roy, Alain Thibault, Jacques Tremblay, Marc Tremblay, Roxanne Turcotte. Electroacoustic label empreintes DIGITALes, new media and electronic art festivals Elektra and Mutek with the collaboration of the Society for arts and technology (SAT) all teamed up to present the best of Montréal’s electronic music and video.