Arometis
Tuesday December 20th 2011, 5:15 pm
Filed under: music,portfolio,type and typography

Vision Diversité came to us looking for a visual design for their musical project Arometis that would embody the diversity of the 17 Montreal musicians and composers that collaborated on the album.

Looking to move away from the stereotypes and clichés of the world music genre, we used scans of old wood type lettering, ink splatters and a unique colour palette to reflect the vibrancy of the music, paired with restrained and nuanced supporting typography. The art direction of the CD packaging has been extended across all platforms, giving a cohesive identity to this unique project that weaves musical styles, and musicians, together.

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Howl IV with Julia Kent, les Momies de Palermes and Jen Reimer
Friday November 11th 2011, 7:02 pm
Filed under: events,music,portfolio


Painting by Lindsay Foran

The next concert in the Howl series features Vancouver-born, NYC-based cellist Julia Kent, and local artists les momies de palmeres and Jen Reimer.

Having worked with such artists as Antony and the Johnsons, Angels of Light, Devendra Banhart, and William Parker, amongst many others, Julia Kent has recently released her second full-length solo album Green and Grey, “a new solo record of looped cello, field recordings, and electronics inspired by the intersections between the natural world and the human-created world.” Her music has been described as “cinematographic, melancholy and luminous”, “emotive, up-close and personal”, and we are very honoured to bring her to Montreal, a city which could share these same descriptives.

The concert takes place two Thursdays from now, Nov. 24th at the Sala Rossa, and is co-presented by the amazing 2110 Centre for Gender Advocacy.

More information and RSVP on facebook here.



Artists Against Apartheid XVII with Eric Drooker
Monday October 17th 2011, 9:13 pm
Filed under: events,music,portfolio

In light of the occupations/demonstrations happening around the world, we’re honoured to present a very special series of events this weekend featuring celebrated political artist Eric Drooker. Since I first started becoming interested in political art and design, Drooker has been a consistent reference, up there with the likes of Barbara Kruger, Jenny Holzer, and Gran Fury. His work draws on a long tradition of political illustration while expressing an aesthetic vision that is uniquely his own. From his many cover illustrations for the New Yorker to the iconic street graphics he has designed for countless social movements, Drooker’s body of work is infused with a sense of urgent humanism balanced by a healthy dose of celebratory menace.

The first event, Artists Against Apartheid XVII takes place this Friday at Sala Rossa, where Drooker will present a musical storytelling performance accompagnied by projections of his work. This event brings together so many great organisations; including Howl Arts!, the Mile End Poets Festival and Tadamon, in support of the Palestinian people’s continuing struggle for self-determination, and in solidarity with the popular uprisings happening across the globe.

>> Facebook event

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Howl III
Sunday September 04th 2011, 4:25 pm
Filed under: events,music,portfolio

We’re very excited to announce the third edition of the Howl concert series, Thursday September 15th at Sala Rossa, featuring Kaie Kellough (spoken word), Matana Roberts (saxophone) and Matthew Shipp (piano). These unique, uncompromising artists will perform solo sets that will expand our understanding of contemporary music while paying tribute to the historic, spiritual, and liberation roots of American jazz.

Matthew Shipp — Art of the Improviser

>> RSVP and more info on Facebook here

The Howl concert series has gained a lot of momentum since our first performance at l’Envers last December. We aim to continually highlight fiercely independent art and culture, and draw strong links between it and the important social justice work being done in Montréal and beyond.



Nothing better after a long day…
Monday August 29th 2011, 11:21 pm
Filed under: inspirations,music

So glad I found the time to chill out and listen to this today. And so glad I was there to see it live

via We Are Postrock.



Vox: Versus
Tuesday August 23rd 2011, 9:21 pm
Filed under: music,portfolio,type and typography

I’m a little late posting this one, but I finally got my hands on a copy of Kaie Kellough‘s latest album, Vox: Versus, which I designed back in May. Kaie is an amazing Montreal-based poet, whose work deconstructs and reconstructs language, blending word-games with sound poetry, dub and jazz. The collected works on this latest offering present a series of collaborations with a group of talented local musicians, exploring the roots of rhythm, language and the inherent politics within them (ArtThreat interview with Kaie here).

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EMA: The Grey Ship
Sunday August 14th 2011, 5:38 pm
Filed under: music

Super rough/raw footage here, but I think it still manages to showcase how much Erika M Anderson rocks!!!

Her previous project Gowns produced my soundtrack to early 2010 with Red State (thanks to Vince for the tip back then), especially the song Cherylee, a portion of which’s lyrics went into the last Fugue.

I was lucky enough to see EMA perform a couple of weeks back when they passed through Montreal at Quai des Brumes. It was, without a doubt, the second best show I’ve seen all year (the Godspeed shows still win out). Powerful, heart-wrenching stuff. Much to my delight, she even performed a solo version of Cherylee as an encore.



Fuck Death
Monday July 18th 2011, 8:11 pm
Filed under: miscellaneous,music,reading and writing

Fuck Death from plasti75 on Vimeo.

I’d been meaning to post this for a while, but I’m only now getting my tech set up back in order after a little computer mishap in Berlin. But it’s really not such a big deal, because Berlin brought me so many good things, among them the chance to meet the wonderful Lotti Thiessen. Her and her partner (aka Cow Heart) produced this beautiful little experiment for us, with Charlotte reading Nettelbeck’s poem Fuck Death, from our last issue Happy Hour.



Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Tuesday May 03rd 2011, 11:03 pm
Filed under: events,miscellaneous,music,news,photography,portfolio

I’d been waiting to see my favourite band in the world, Godspeed You! Black Emperor for well over ten years. I had given up hope when the hiatus that began in 2003 seemed to spell the end of the band until they announced last spring they were reforming. I was ecstatic then, and I am ecstatic now. I finally got the opportunity to see them, not once, but twice this past week and was completely and utterly blown away.

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