The future is noisy
Far beyond Richmond Row in
the humble Old East end of town,
the underbelly of London's music
scene once again reared its ugly
head at the Town and Country
Saloon (765 Dundas St. E.).
Upon entry, one would not think that this is the type of place where one would expect a noise show to happen. The front of the bar typically hosts a mildly entertaining karaoke night where aspiring Old East community members take to the relatively empty stage and show off their singing chops. Common folk tune in, enjoy a beer or so, and maybe try their hand at pool. Nothing out of this ordinary for this type of place. However, in the past month, The Saloon has become a venue where London's small but very dedicated noise scene can find an environment to enjoy themselves in.
On September 18, the efforts of the individuals in this unique scene came together to host an interesting three band bill that included the harsh noise act Suangi, hardcore trio Curb, and the Texas-based experimental rock group Spray Paint.
Suangi opened the event, utilizing his mixer, cassette tape player, and bass amplifier to flood the room in a barrage of microphone feedback and all around noise pollution. As most acts of this type are, he remained extremely focused on his next “wave” of sound and was constantly turning knobs and fiddling with the equipment on stage to progress his composition. His set lasted roughly 10 minutes and ended ever so abruptly as his feedback and warbling bass assault faded out to silence.
After the audience showed their respect for Suangi, Curb immediately acquired the stage. The group is formed out of three members, John and Jacob from London's notorious hardcore band The Syndrome and drummer/Fanshawe graduate Dave Cereghini from the chaotic grindcore act Disleksick. Such a mix inevitably creates the strange but captivating monstrosity that is Curb.
After 15 or so minutes of their face-busting music and Cereghini's witty remarks, Austin natives Spray Paint unraveled their gear and plugged in the strings to a couple of towering Sunn amplifiers. Their drummer sprinted at an upbeat rock tempo and the dissonant reverb-drenched guitar arrangements were complemented by two haunting vocals that sang very close together in a way that it almost sounded like a conversation to the people on the floor in attendance. They played incredibly tightly and drew in a good-sized crowd by the time they wrapped up.
The Town and Country performances were like most that happen in the London far underground: short and to the point. Unlike some other types of shows that go well into the night, these folks prefer to get things over with quickly. As a frequent performer myself, I find this method works incredibly well. When a set is shorter, the audience takes in only a snippet of the music, which inclines them to go pick up a CD on their way out or go home and download their music. With longer sets, the music may be good, but the performance grows stale and it makes the audience less inclined to listen any further.
Often, noise characteristics are incredibly diverse. Some acts use the mellow hums of electronics to create an unearthly ambient setting while others prefer to use dissonance and feedback to make the audience's ears quiver. Watching a noise set preformed live as opposed to listening to a cassette, I find is usually the most exciting way to embrace the music as you get to witness the used and abused equipment of each set. After each show, the artist typically changes or alters their stage setup, giving the next performance a different experience.
As far as media go, noise is equally diverse. You'll find artists releasing music on tapes, CDs, records, and various other obscure types that you may not expect. Cassettes are especially a part of their releases but also a part of their compositions, which I believe makes noise important to the recent cassette tape revival that has sprung up in the past decade or so. But noise doesn't stop short in a realm of obscurity. Its crossover into hardcore has become much more prominent and is exemplified in some acts from Hamilton such as Snake Charmer, who had a noise performance open for them. Many other bands today utilize feedback and walls of sound in their sonic output, creating a burst of sound that catches your breath.
Noise is a type of music that takes a while to figure out. It experiments with the sounds that normally are unsettling to us and enthusiastically takes up challenges that very few artists are willing to do. Southwestern Ontario's noise network has performed all over the place, from empty rooms to forests. They surprisingly use minimal electronics and instead rely on the small modifications that they make to their equipment to create a nerve racking ambience.
Noise is the kind of music that thrives underneath of what we see in front of us, and it is the kind of music that expects no more than that. So while its ugly head occasionally rears itself in the most unlikely places, it does so in a manner of pristine attitude that we rarely see in music today.
Check out the noise bands mentioned in this article at their Bandcamp pages: squeek.bandcamp.com/track/iii, curb.bandcamp.com and spraypaint.bandcamp.com.
Upon entry, one would not think that this is the type of place where one would expect a noise show to happen. The front of the bar typically hosts a mildly entertaining karaoke night where aspiring Old East community members take to the relatively empty stage and show off their singing chops. Common folk tune in, enjoy a beer or so, and maybe try their hand at pool. Nothing out of this ordinary for this type of place. However, in the past month, The Saloon has become a venue where London's small but very dedicated noise scene can find an environment to enjoy themselves in.
On September 18, the efforts of the individuals in this unique scene came together to host an interesting three band bill that included the harsh noise act Suangi, hardcore trio Curb, and the Texas-based experimental rock group Spray Paint.
Suangi opened the event, utilizing his mixer, cassette tape player, and bass amplifier to flood the room in a barrage of microphone feedback and all around noise pollution. As most acts of this type are, he remained extremely focused on his next “wave” of sound and was constantly turning knobs and fiddling with the equipment on stage to progress his composition. His set lasted roughly 10 minutes and ended ever so abruptly as his feedback and warbling bass assault faded out to silence.
After the audience showed their respect for Suangi, Curb immediately acquired the stage. The group is formed out of three members, John and Jacob from London's notorious hardcore band The Syndrome and drummer/Fanshawe graduate Dave Cereghini from the chaotic grindcore act Disleksick. Such a mix inevitably creates the strange but captivating monstrosity that is Curb.
After 15 or so minutes of their face-busting music and Cereghini's witty remarks, Austin natives Spray Paint unraveled their gear and plugged in the strings to a couple of towering Sunn amplifiers. Their drummer sprinted at an upbeat rock tempo and the dissonant reverb-drenched guitar arrangements were complemented by two haunting vocals that sang very close together in a way that it almost sounded like a conversation to the people on the floor in attendance. They played incredibly tightly and drew in a good-sized crowd by the time they wrapped up.
The Town and Country performances were like most that happen in the London far underground: short and to the point. Unlike some other types of shows that go well into the night, these folks prefer to get things over with quickly. As a frequent performer myself, I find this method works incredibly well. When a set is shorter, the audience takes in only a snippet of the music, which inclines them to go pick up a CD on their way out or go home and download their music. With longer sets, the music may be good, but the performance grows stale and it makes the audience less inclined to listen any further.
Often, noise characteristics are incredibly diverse. Some acts use the mellow hums of electronics to create an unearthly ambient setting while others prefer to use dissonance and feedback to make the audience's ears quiver. Watching a noise set preformed live as opposed to listening to a cassette, I find is usually the most exciting way to embrace the music as you get to witness the used and abused equipment of each set. After each show, the artist typically changes or alters their stage setup, giving the next performance a different experience.
As far as media go, noise is equally diverse. You'll find artists releasing music on tapes, CDs, records, and various other obscure types that you may not expect. Cassettes are especially a part of their releases but also a part of their compositions, which I believe makes noise important to the recent cassette tape revival that has sprung up in the past decade or so. But noise doesn't stop short in a realm of obscurity. Its crossover into hardcore has become much more prominent and is exemplified in some acts from Hamilton such as Snake Charmer, who had a noise performance open for them. Many other bands today utilize feedback and walls of sound in their sonic output, creating a burst of sound that catches your breath.
Noise is a type of music that takes a while to figure out. It experiments with the sounds that normally are unsettling to us and enthusiastically takes up challenges that very few artists are willing to do. Southwestern Ontario's noise network has performed all over the place, from empty rooms to forests. They surprisingly use minimal electronics and instead rely on the small modifications that they make to their equipment to create a nerve racking ambience.
Noise is the kind of music that thrives underneath of what we see in front of us, and it is the kind of music that expects no more than that. So while its ugly head occasionally rears itself in the most unlikely places, it does so in a manner of pristine attitude that we rarely see in music today.
Check out the noise bands mentioned in this article at their Bandcamp pages: squeek.bandcamp.com/track/iii, curb.bandcamp.com and spraypaint.bandcamp.com.
