Ach, und wenn der wirklich den Blues singt, dann in Tief-, Schief- und Schräglagen, von denen einem gar nicht bewusst war, dass sie auch den Blues haben. Todd Drootin mit einer Platte voller Oldschoolflavour in digitaler Neubearbeitung, voller tragischer Momente, die einen packen, leisen und leichten, überdimensioniert in Szene gesetzten Elementen, die mal HipHop, dann Breaks, dann irgendwie eher DIY-rockig, immer aber mit einem abwegig strangen Charme loskicken. Immer unterwegs und niemals verlegen um eine kleine Melodie zuviel, oder eine Passage, die langwierig abschweift, nur um einen dann stehen zu lassen als wäre einem gerade eine kleine Erleuchtung passiert. Laptopfolklore zwischen Freeflowpunk und Beatbox. 5/5

Åke Parmerud’s Jeu d’ombres provided a strong reminder to me that this independent Montréal label is not just the most significant producer of Canadian electroacoustic recordings, but also has the most important catalogue of international electroacoustic artists. Swedish composer Åke Parmerud has been working in the field since the 1970’s and is recognized as a master of the genre. This current disc, with offerings from 1986 through 1999, provides an excellent introduction to his work. Of particular note are the mixed works: Strings & Shadows for harp and tape with Sofia Asunción Claro and Retur with the Stockholm Saxophone Quartet. I also enjoyed comparing Parmerud’s 1988 Stringquartett, a tape composition based on the manipulation of recorded string sounds, with Canadian Yves Daoust’s earlier Quatuor, which uses many of the same techniques. This latter work is, of course, also available from empreintes DIGITALes, on Daoust’s Anecdotes.

Extreme composer from Saskatoon (SK), Holzkopf (Jake Hardy) just released his second album, This CD Is an Apology. He is currently transporting his peculiar blend of samples and distortion across Canada, catch him live January 30, 2004 in Winnipeg (MB), February 3 and 6 in Toronto (ON), February 7 in St Catharines (ON) and also February 15 in Montréal alongside Kevin M Krebs and [sic].

The University of Edinburgh (Scotland) presents its second Soundings… weekend of sonic art, taking place in the Reid Concert Hall from Friday February 6 to Sunday February 8, 2004. The Saturday concert will feature works by Åke Parmerud and Christian Calon as well as Jonty Harrison.