On Saturday, February 19 at Alix Goolden Performance Hall, the Garden City Electronic Music Society—producers of the BC Day weekend “Wonderment Festival”—will present a evening showcase of ambient electronic and electro-acoustic music that will provide a taste of its festival offerings.
The show includes:
Desert Bloom (Montreal): Montreal-based musician Rachel Nam makes intricate and ethereal synth-based music that draws on her twin passions of classical piano and electronic music. Rachel will be accompanied by drummer Austin Tufts, best known as part of Montreal art rock band Braids.
Casey Koyczan (Winnipeg): Casey Koyczan is a Tlicho Dene interdisciplinary artist from Yellowknife, NT, who works with various mediums to communicate how culture and technology coincide with political, economic and environmental challenges in the world. Inspired by sci-fi and the future, he implements techniques such as interactivity, audio-video and the engagement of the bodily senses within his creations.
Doug Blackley (Qualicum Beach): Doug Blackley presents the Spectrum Piano, which uses a basic force of nature to make the strings of a piano vibrate. Electromagnetic flux, not hammers, drives the unique sound of the instrument. The Spectrum Piano can create many different sounds at the same time. The name Spectrum Piano comes from the ability to directly access the sounds of the natural harmonics, or “spectrum” of the piano strings.
Prince Shima (Victoria): Bradley Kurushima is a multi-instrumentalist based on Vancouver Island. His music explores otherness by blending analog and digital instrumentation to create lush otherworldly pop compositions.
Tickets for the showcase are $25 from the Victoria Conservatory of Music box office.
Earlier that afternoon, join GCEMS and the Victoria Conservatory of Music for a “Synth Petting Zoo” event, featuring free talks by VCM faculty and an opportunity for a hands-on experience with vintage and modular synthesizers.
More info at: wonderment.ca