240 Northern

Vi An Diep

Performers:
Dàn tranh: Vi An Diep
Percussion: Greg Samek 

Recorded: December 16th & 18th, 2022

1. Mother Earth 
2. Fire
3. Air
4. Water

Mother Earth & Amalgamation (Fire, Air, Water)

The way breath travels through air, to how tear drops cascade down a face grieving, from child to a Mother passing.  As the fingertips do carefully, intently produce tones and rhythms upon strings or wooden blocks.  An unfathomable symphony of self harmonizing, self organizing array of notes and beats, to soothe every aching heart into spontaneous surrender, and complete bliss…  These pieces are co-creations, dedicated to the ever evolving musical expressions within our collective human and environmental experiences, ultimately incorporating technologies to carry our imaginations towards impossible new heights! 

Uzume Taiko

Performers:
Bonnie Soon, Jason Overy, Jordy Riley, Boyd Seiichi Grealy, Naomi Kajiwara

Recorded: March 10-12, 2023

1. Nails
2. Fast Life on a Lazy Susan 
3. Arcs & Fury
4. Uzume Matsuri Taiko

Uzume Taiko is West Coast Canada’s premiere professional taiko drumming group. We are a loud fusion of Pacific West Coast, North American, Asian, and European sensibilities with a flair for the dramatic! We make our music using Taiko drums, percussion instruments and flutes and find interesting ways to combine them with modern instruments and voices to create music that is an expression of our desire to see harmony and peace in the world.

Nails features both solo and unison drum playing styles and is played only on the barrel drums. Uzume Taiko’s Arcs & Fury requires a strenuous low stance to play the drums at a horizontal angle. This drum style originates from the Japanese island of Miyake. Matsuri means festival in Japanese. This is a famous song that almost every taiko group plays and this is Uzume Taiko’s version. Fast Life on a Lazy Susan is about cooking and eating good food. The choreography is inspired by the twirling table often found in Chinese restaurants. Uzume Taiko has self-produced seven music CD’s and one concert DVD available on Bandcamp through their web site: uzume.com.

Gamelan Turtle Bliss

Performers:
Gender: Michael O’Neill, I Putu Swaryandana, Wendy Chen, Kaia Stoesz
Gongs: Ann Hepper
Cello: Finn Manniche

Recorded: March 31st – April 2nd, 2023 

1. Mound
2. Oceanic
3. On Land I
4. On Land II

Wallace Line, a shadowplay (study)
Music composed by Michael O’Neill Myskow
Contemporary wayang (puppets) by David Prentice and Eko Purnomo
Wayang choreography/manipulation, vocal and suling, by Mark Parlett

During his travels in the late 1850’s – early ’60’s, British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace spent eight years near what is now known as ‘Wallace Line’. It is a faunal boundary line delineating South East Asian and Australian fauna. On the Asian side, leaf monkeys and ponderous-beaked hornbills. On the Australian side, wallabies, spiny anteaters, tree kangaroos and gliding possums. Underlying this division are two continental shelves (Sunda and Sahul) which at present create a deep channel in the ocean. Wallace Line runs through Indonesia, between the islands of Borneo and Sulawesi, and between the islands of Bali and Lombok. It was during his visits to Bali and Lombok (separated by a mere 35 km) that Wallace became aware of the dividing line between Asian and Australian biological regions. Further north but still near the Line (North Maluku), while in a malarial fit, Wallace wrote a paper proposing a theory of natural selection, thus making him an agent in the development of a theory of evolution.

Wallace Line will eventually become episode I of GTB’s evolution-themed intercultural shadowplay Show on Earth—premièring in 2024.

Acknowledgements: 

I Nyoman Wenten, I Made Gerindem, I Ketut Agus Partha, GroundSwell (Winnipeg)–’Mound’ commission (Canada Council for the Arts), Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra–’Wallace Line’ commission (CCA), Vancouver Moving Theatre, Jim Munro, Nikolai Korndorf.

VLDH

Dancers: Victor Tran, Samuelle Auclair, Deanna Peters, Luca 
Music: Greg Samek
Recorded: May 26-28th, 2023

1. Silkwaves
2. Ruminate
3. Kogue
4. Embark

VLDH! It might sound like the joyful babble of a dancing infant. Hustle/street dancers Savage & Samuelle, accompanied by their one-year-old son Luca, teamed up with dance artist Deanna Peters/Mutable Subject. Together, they orchestrated a unique choreographic journey for each track, composed by Greg Samek. Through a collaborative process using a variety of improvisational tools, they delved into the visions sparked by each composition, allowing different members to take the lead.

Silkwaves presents an improvised duet performed by Savage & Samuelle.

Ruminate embodies the sensation of endless ladders led by Deanna Peters.

Kogue affectionately known as “dinotail,” unfolds as an improvisational dance led by Luca Tran, Savage & Samuelle’s adorable one year old.

Embark captures the essence of buoyant motion guided by Deanna Peters.

Guardia Nueva

Performers:
Vibraphone : Gael Chabot-Leclerc
Piano: Andrea Tremblay
Violin: Samuel Milner
Double Bass: Yefeng Yin

Recorded: August 15 & 16th, 2023 

1. La Cumparsita 
2. Gallo Ciego
3. B.B
4. Nocturna 
5. Flor de lino

Guardia Nueva is a captivating tango band that redefines the traditional genre through their innovative arrangements and dynamic performances.Their collective prowess has given rise to a distinctive approach where tango classics find new life through inventive arrangements. The quartet’s interpretations seamlessly fuse the heart and soul of tango with contemporary harmonies, captivating audiences in the process. Their debut album, “Buenos Aires 9480km” garnered critical acclaim for its audacious reinventions of tango standards. They are also the founders of the “Festival Tang-aux-foins”, a tango festival based in St-Fulgence, Quebec, that promotes Argentina in all its glory.