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THE AMBiENT PiNG http://www.theambientping.com Wednesdays @ HACiENDA - 794 Bathurst Street at Bloor (directly across from the Bathurst subway station) - Toronto Doors open at 9pm - 1st set at 9:30 - PayWhatYouCan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . This Wednesday May 25th - Mahogany Frog and Ben Grossman Ben Grossman will open the night with his amphibious hurdy gurdy stylings. He'll be setting a marsh-like scene with a combination of improvisation, spontaneous composition, live-looping and insect protein. http://www.macrophone.org Mahogany Frog is a four-piece band originally from Saskatoon but currently based in Winnipeg. Performing at venues since 1998, Mahogany Frog has developed a sound that could be described as "electro lounge-rock". Executed with an extensive collection of analogue synthesizers and keyboards, effects-saturated guitars, horns, samplers and percussion instruments, their music touches upon ambient & experimental electronica, jazz & space/progressive rock. Mahogany Frog's meticulous compositions are juxtaposed by sections of free-form improvisation, resulting in on-edge performances which can be both satisfying and challenging to the listener. Catchy melodies evolve and orchestrate into warm, lush, synth-happy soundscapes, only to be demolished by explosions of grinding, feedback-ridden guitars. The Frog is touring in support of their most recent album "Mahogany Frog on Blue", available on both CD and clear blue vinyl through Vancouver's Scratch Distribution. www.mahoganyfrog.ca Between Sets CD - "More Music For Films" by Brian Eno Eno's latest release consists of tracks taken from the rare, vinyl-only compilations "Music for Films Directors' Edition" and "Music for Films Volume 2" and represents the first time that about half of these pieces have ever been released on CD. http://www.enoweb.co.uk/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Coming Wed. June 1st - Thinkbox http://www.thinkbox.ca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ||: IN THE LOOP :|| by Luna Tek THE AMBiENT PiNG presented RADiO iN AMBiENCE Part 2 on Wednesday May 18th. The evening featured Montreal sound & radio artist Anna Friz and composer Allison Cameron with Stephen Parkinson on electric guitar. As a "small noise improv" artist, Allison uses contact mics to amplify small instruments, toys and objects. For RADiO iN AMBiENCE Part 2, she and Stephen Parkinson created quirky soundscapes that worked incredibly well with the video art donated to the PiNG by Self Service Visuals (Jakob Thiesen and Rebecca McClennan) earlier this year. Playing on either side of the stage, the images moved across the screens in synch with Allison & Stephen's quiet improv. According to Allison, serendipity is often part of her creative process: on occasion, she has performed with objects that she's never used before - the live improv is the 1st time she's heard the sound it makes. Stephen's non-tonal, "in between the cracks" guitar work emphasized the textural elements of Allison's experimental sound art. Anna Friz is the artist-in-residence for the Deep Wireless festival at the Drake Hotel this month. She presents installation and performance works incorporating low-watt FM transmission in North America & Europe. Anna pulls samples off live radio during her performances, but for tonight's show she also had to pre-record some samples because of unreliable shortwave reception. All of the prerecorded samples used in this performance were "authentic Toronto radio" recorded on the street and imported onstage. With one hand playing the theramin and the other on the radio dial, Anna created the effect of duelling short waves - as though she was controlling the radio frequency with the theramin. Toward the end of her set, she played the harmonica over a gently throbbing drone, evoking memories of road trips down deserted highways & nights spent listening to a transistor radio under the covers. RADiO iN AMBiENCE Part 2 continues the Deep Wireless festival held in Toronto throughout the month of May. During tonight's shows, our nostalgia for radio surfaced and the audience was reminded of the vital role radio can play in our lives. For more information: Deep Wireless - http://www.deepwireless.ca Allison Cameron - http://composers21.com/compdocs/camerona.htm Anna Friz - http://www.soundscape-fm.net/userinfo.php?id=41 Luna Tek - luna@theambientping.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . rik maclean's *ping things* CD Reviews "My Little Fire-Filled Heart" by Tara VanFlower Fans of Tara VanFlower will no doubt be thrilled by the release of her second solo disc "My Little Fire-Filled Heart". With this disc Tara has created a diverse collection of songs all of which wonderfully showcase not only her writing and vocal skills but also her eclectic and unique approach to music. The disc is an impressive collection of pieces utilizing a variety of vocal styles and techniques showcasing the range of Tara's skill alternating between spoken word narratives to effected looping vocal collages to more traditional styles of singing. The disc often features doubled and tripled vocal lines that give the suggestion of a chorus of Taras, sometimes singing together as one voice, other times as individuals each with their own unique and distinct personality. Minimal ambient elements and drones play throughout the disc, quiet and irregular, providing an excellent accompaniment to Tara's voice, adding to the atmosphere but never distracting from the magic she's created. Lyrically "My Little Fire-Filled Heart" shines with surreal turns of phrase and captivating imagery. Throughout the disc Tara strings words together that evoke a childlike wonder filled with discoveries, magic moments and dark corners. It's a collection of beautiful fragments of emotion, sometimes blindingly happy, other times unsettling and anxious, but always perfectly captured in crystaline clarity. To be sure, "My Little Fire-Filled Heart" is a beguiling release, the work of a fearless artist who is able to capture some of the magic that exists around her and make it into something others can share. With this release Tara has solidified her status as an unmistakeable and singular talent in modern music and proves that she deserves attention and recognition for the wonders she is creating on disc. rik maclean - rik@pingthings.com http://www.pingthings.com = ambient + electronic + chill things Send an e-mail to pingthings-subscribe@yahoogroups.com for updates on *all* the latest releases on sale at ping things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE AMBiENT PiNG is a social sound/art event presenting live performances by Toronto's finest ambient, chillout, improv and experimental music artists plus performers from across the continent, every Wednesday evening at HACiENDA - 794 Bathurst Street at Bloor. http://www.theambientping.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Please forward this e-mail to any friends who may be interested in live ambient, chillout and experimental music performances or to any of your appropriate newsgroups. Thanks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .