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THE AMBiENT PiNG http://www.theambientping.com Tuesdays @ 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 Tuesday July 12th - Io with General Chaos Visuals "Io: Gamelan Mitra Kusuma Dub" is a rare solo performance of minimal, futuristic world music by David Font. This piece is a hybrid of the acoustic brass percussion, drum and flute music of Bali, Indonesia and the samplers, synthesizers, and effects of electronic music. Stripped down, densely layered, and transformed in the digital realm, the reconstituted sound of Gamelan Mitra Kusuma assumes new, abstract dimensions. Intricate interlocking patterns pulse and recede, gongs transform into analog tones, and the sounds of insects in the night harmonize with the delicate echoes of flutes. Synthesized, ancient classical music traditions and high-tech digital experiments form a natural musical vocabulary. It is not rhythm, melody, or harmony that gives shape to music, but sound, acoustic, synthetic or sampled. Travelling through these sounds, the listener finds layer upon layer of meaning, moving from ambient meditations to abstract percussive tracks. More Io info at www.eleguarecords.com. Gamelan Mitra Kusuma, which means 'Flowering Friendship', is an ensemble based in Washington, DC which studies and performs music and dance of Bali, Indonesia. I Nyoman Suadin, the ensemble's director, is a composer, musician, dancer, and puppeteer from Denpasar, Bali. More Gamelan Mitra Kusuma & Balinese Gamelan info at www.dcgamelan.com "Io: Gamelan Mitra Kusuma Dub" is dedicated to Michael Marcuzzi, (who cannot attend due to serious illness - from which he is recovering successfully!), Laura Mae Lindo, and Sofia. General Chaos Visuals will be creating their fabulous analog light paintings along with Io's unique sound performance. http://www.generalchaosvisuals.com Between Sets CD - "Slim Westerns" by a small, good thing This 1994 release by a small, good thing (led by Andrew Hulme of British ethno-tribal-ambient act O Yuki Conjugate) merges the classic "western" sounds of acoustic & electric guitars with expansive laid-back ambience. (soleilmoon recordings) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Coming Tuesday July 19th PHH!K and Gnostic Rocket http://www.phhk.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ||: IN THE LOOP :|| by Luna Tek Tuesday, July 5th featured an evening of ambient guitar with Oldine from Paris, France and Toronto's own Aidan Baker. Oldine & Aidan Baker have both released albums on the French label Le Cri de la Harpe. Even though they had never met before this week, the two found that their similar musical sensibilities made it incredibly easy to play together. Oldine (aka Thomas Robyn) performed a mellow, minimalist 1st set. Thomas' adroit use of laptop, minidisc, and guitar underscored his quiet stage presence while foregrounding his beautifully gentle atmospherics. Looping guitar maestro Aidan Baker began his set with subtly pulsing soundscapes. Sitting crossed legged onstage, Aidan looped and bowed his guitar, steering the music into darker terrain midway through the 2nd set. Reassuring in its melodic simplicity, the two guitarists teamed up for a 3rd set that enveloped the audience in all-embracing, embryonic sound. More info: http://www.aidanbaker.org http://www.lecridelaharpe.com/oldine Luna Tek - Please send e-mail queries & submissions for "I POP PiNG" magazine (launching September 2005) to luna@theambientping.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . rik maclean's *ping things* CD Reviews Portal have been making warm and beautiful shoegazerish electronica for a number of years now. I've been keeping track of their work for a while, adding their discs to the ping things catalogue, doing little reviews for them, recommending them to friends I know will be interested. They've been something I've enjoyed sharing with others. And with the release of "Waves and Echoes" I'm pleased to say that they have a wonderful new disc that stands with the best of what they've done to this point. This is the one that stands out, the one that really deserves to make people stand up and say, "Damn, that's a great disc!" Switching between lush instrumental pieces and lovely emotive vocal tracks, "Waves and Echoes" is a brilliant collection of tracks that resonate with the listener long after the last notes have faded. Take for example "Trace", where a slow lounge-y beat weaves in between a short keyboard program courtesy of Scott Sinfield. Vocalist Rachel Hughes provides engaging vocals and all told it becomes quite a smooth sensual experience. "Quartet" follows, using a repeated phrase over a soft drone, becoming one of the most hypnotic pieces I've heard in some time. As the track progresses other elements are added, but none so overpowering that they detract from the initial idea, rather they draw you in further, encircling you. Brilliant work. Title track "Waves and Echoes" features Rachel's vocals matched with minimal tones and pads. It's a lovely piece filled with some brilliant lyrical turns of phrase that really connected with me. Sparse and lovely, this one stands out as a particular highlight of the disc. "Endgame" blends glitchy patches with a quiet bell melody. A nice example of how genres and ideals can be put together in refreshing and appealing ways. Skip ahead to "Sometimes", a song that brings to mind 40's film noir with the requisite smoky vocals and jazzy percussion. There's a lovely tension to this one, and we all know how much I like tension in my music... "Light at the Centre" closes the disc, a swirling shoegazer piece that wouldn't seem out of place in a Gregg Araki film. It's a beautiful number, Rachel's vocals, chiming guitar, minimal drums, something so hopeful and bright about it that I can't help but feel my heart break from happiness. And that's pretty cool. Portal make great music, and "Waves and Echoes" is a fine example of how great they are. I could spend time trying to sum up my points in favor of this statement, but I think it's better to let the music stand for itself. Check it out, you won't be disappointed. 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 Tuesday 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.