A day of performance and interactive installations taking place in the heart of Toronto at Yonge-Dundas Square from 2-10pm. Robert Everett Green of the Globe and Mail describes the event as “a marathon of sound in the middle of traffic.”

ABSOLUTELY FREE with CONTACT (http://absolutelyfree.ca / http://www.contactcontemporarymusic.org)

Toronto kraut inspired trio Absolutely Free collaborate with contemporary classical ensemble Contact in this rare live performance. Contact has been pushing the boundaries of contemporary classical music, reaching out into the avant-garde, rock & jazz worlds. Having recently released a recording of Brian Eno's "Discreet Music", as well as Toronto composer Allison Cameron's "A Gossamer Bit", this collaboration is an obvious next step. Absolutely Free, mutating their minimalist informed krautrock structures into a large ensemble format with Contact is something not to be missed. Expect dips into deep repetitions, swirling subdued textures hovering in the air, hidden layers of sound bubbling to the surface. Prog constructs take a relaxing trip in space where they spread their languid limbs. Flourishes of more confronting drum & guitar collaborations exist in pockets rising & falling into synth lines & bleeping electronic patterns. Synthesized pulses coarse through organic structures that ebb & flow like distant currents.

IMAGINARY FLESH (facebook.com/imaginaryflesh)

Brainchild of cellist/bassist Cory Latkovich, Imaginary Flesh is birthed from the half alive corpse of Clarinet Panic, featuring percussionist D. Alex Meeks (Hooded Fang, Holiday Rambler), saxophonist Karen Ng, guitarist Rob Greve and Andrew Collins on synth. Densely packed revolving forms reminiscent of krautrock, but also tapping into modern minimalist composition, Imaginary Flesh picks up where Clarinet Panic left off. Brutally engineered, free wheeling abstractions, clusters of structure in constant battle amongst caterwauling texture. A seriously heavy ensemble of minimalist shred kraut!

KYLE BRENDERS' ENSEMBLE (http//:mechanicalforestsound.blogspot.ca/2016/03/recording-kyle-brenders-ensemble.html)

Saxophonist & composer Kyle Brenders bring his large format electro acoustic ensemble out for another run after their jaw dropping set at this years Somewhere There Festival. Featuring a real who's who line up of Toronto's avant whatever scene, including Ben Grossman (hurdy gurdy, electronics), Germain Liu (percussion), Peter Lutek (clarinet, electronics), Karen Ng (alto sax), Cheldon Paterson (turntables), Nicole Rampersaud (trumpet), Nick Storring (cello, electronics), Brandon Valdivia (drums), Doug Van Nort (electronics), and Brenders himself (saxophones). Kyle weaves this group through humble melodic phases amidst unsettling drones, minimalist distortion & electronic noise. Diving deep into a murky swamp like environment of low hums and buzzing electronics like flies, Brenders conjures a world full of ominous movement. On the other side of the spectrum screeching reeds almost mimic their electronic counter parts in anticipation for a cacophonous burst.

GATES (http://gatesritual.bandcamp.com/)

Bryan Bray's ever mutating drone / doom / sludge / metaphysical ensemble Gates creates slow building soundscapes that seem to swallow everything they encounter. Guitar drones swell, riffs becomes static noise, growling electronics. Percussion clatters in a relentless chamber of dissonance. Haunting strings cut through the clouded walls of feedback, only to build their own. Bass notes ripple like corrugated metal. The creation of a true behemoth, but not without beauty. This performance will include an expanded ensemble featuring Karen Ng, Nick Buligan, Raphael Weinroth-Browne, Heather Sita Black, and James Beardmore.

THE VISIT (http://thevisit1.bandcamp.com/)

Ottawa cello & voice duo juxtapose sparse foreboding landscapes with rich minimalist influenced romantic phrasing. Their aural ranges interact like dancers in the throes of an intense performance. This music is cautious, but adventurous. Heather;s vocals soar but never to far out of reach for Raphael's bowed cello notes, that weave & hum in her presence. Don't miss out on what is sure to be a beautiful performance in an apt environment.

MICHAEL SNOW & MANI MAZINANI (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Snow / www.manimazinani.net)

Both Snow (Wavelength, New York Eye & Ear Control, CCMC, etc.) & Mazinani (Gravitons) come from a visual arts and music background, having worked with countless materials, approaches, and forms, they perform together both playing CAT synthesizers. This abrasive yet entrancing duo creates a new language as they dance with each other in what feels like a sonic battle. The grand scope & versatility of synthesis is reduced as both improvisors have all the same tools. The focus becomes their own capacity to create and engage in what often seems like a caustic storm of notes, morphing in mid air.

BRIAN RURYK

Toronto avant garde anti-legend Brian Ruryk is easily one of the cities best kept secrets, Ruryk has been manipulating the concepts of sound since the 80’s. Free jangled guitar notes spray over a live collage of junk percussion & chaos. Tape samples squeal out amongst herky jerky clatter of Ruryk’s eclectic set up. Much like the coming together of puzzle pieces in a way in which they do not fit, then experiencing the process in which the puzzler, instead of sorting the pieces, just cuts & mangles them to create a new image.

ELLIOTT FIENBERG'S SOUND SPAGHETTI (http://blog.ocad.ca/wordpress/df-dt/elliott-fienberg/)

Sound Spaghetti was created to help younger audiences learn about the fundamentals of synthesis by encouraging free play. Using a tactile interface, users experiment by plugging in various waveforms and seeing how these combinations change the shape on the oscilloscope. The system was created as a capstone project for OCAD University's Digital Futures program, where it was an audience favourite at the school's graduate showcase. It aims to be the first cardboard synthesizer which is open source and hackable. Elliott Fienberg’s interests sit at the intersection between new media and sound art. Through his projects and initiatives, he aims to bring awareness to the importance of sound in our everyday lives.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/286311088395139/

This event would not be possible without support from Wellington Brewery, Pisphon, NAISA, Toronto Arts Council, Canada Council For The Arts, FACTOR, SOCAN Foundation, The City of Toronto, and Yonge Dundas Square.