The recordings on this CD were made at Radio Canada, under the guidance of Hélène Prevost who curates the Labo MTL program. Two of the three musicians may be well-known: turntablist Martin Tétreault and Kaffe Matthews (electronics) are both renowned players in the world of improvisation. Léon Lo is the unknown one. He plays violin and effects here. As you can imagine this is music from the department of ‘careful crackling’: the stylus of Tétreault hitting the surface, Matthews static sounds and gliding tones and the electronical treatments of Lo’s violin, it fits perfectly the traditions of new improvisation, where electronica and acoustica meet up. In that respect this is nothing new under the sun, but this trio of excellent, skilled improvisers perform their work with great care. The only objection I have, is that it’s all a bit too long for my taste. It requires some intense listening here and sometimes my concentration failed. A little bit shorter and a little more precise editing would have enhanced the CD even further.

In case you forgot: the Mariana Trench is located in the Pacific Ocean, near Japan and it’s the deepest location on Earth, created by plate tectonics (i.e. the crashing of earth plates against each-other). It’s also the title of a new work by David Kristian, the Canadian musician who always takes me by surprise. Many of his works play around with rhythm, but on this new CD, rhythm is entirely absent. Kristian recorded two lengthy improvisations during a snow storm, using a toy synthesizer and classic guitar effects, which were later on edited and processed further until the seven parts of this CD came together. A deep listening experience, but with a somewhat more raw touch than a standard ambient work, and that’s what I like about it. The rawness of the material, the sheer minimalist approach, the subtle variations. It is work to listen to in a darkened room, or at night with the curtains open, so you can watch some stars. The seven parts form a unity and this is a particular strong album. Maybe it will not appeal to Kristian’s rhythm posse, but it surely appealed to me.

Arturo Parra will give a concert of his new solo repertoire for guitar and vocal expressions on Friday May 20, 2005 at the Marie-Stéphane hall of Vincent-d’Indy music school (Montréal).

Barry Truax’s opera is now available as a double CD on the Cambridge Street Records label. Powers of Two, An Electroacoustic Opera is an electroacoustic opera for six singers, dancers, video and multitrack sound.

The No Type label will be well represented at the next edition of the Suoni Per Il Popolo festival (Sounds for the People) presented in Montréal in June 2005. On June 8, 2005, morceaux_de_machines and Esther B will play alongside Howard Stelzer and Bernhard Gal Intransitive Recordings label from Cambridge (USA). Then, two electronic superstars, Magali Babin and Jon Vaughn, will present an exclusive collaboration on June 18, 2005 for the Libératrices: créatrices night, dedicated to women in improvisation.

Two new releases from the Alien8 Recordings label are now available: [alien_50], a project of Michel F Côté with his band Mecha Fixes Clocks, and Par noussss touss les trous de vos crânes!, by psychedelic-pop “trash” band Et Sans.