Thursday 28 May 2015, 8pm
A welcome return to OTO for one of Canada's most respected and long-standing experimental guitar players and songwriters, Eric Chenaux, whose clear voice and erudite lyricism is guided by an utterly unique guitar technique and a deep immersion in pop and folk traditions from medieval to post-modern. Tonight he forms one half a of a double bill alongside Oscilanz, a new trio formed of Charles Hayward (This Heat, About Group), Ralph Cumbers (Bass Clef, Some Truths) & Laura Cannell (Horses Brawl, LCAB duo).
“Chenaux’s voice expands haunting, jazz-tuned melodies from the inside. His voice is weightless, haunting, alighting on words and phrases without putting pressure on them, then skittering up an octave or so for spectral climaxes.” – Dusted Magazine on Eric Chenaux
Eric Chenaux is one of Canada's most respected and long-standing experimental guitar players and songwriters, starting with legendary Toronto punk band Phleg Camp in the early 90s and tirelessly expanding his musical vocabulary and reach in countless improv, avant-folk, damaged jazz and contemporary music ensembles throughout the 2000s. Since 2006, Constellation has been home to Chenaux's more overtly song-based work, his clear voice and erudite lyricism guided by an utterly unique guitar technique and a deep immersion in pop and folk traditions from medieval to post-modern.
“I’m in love with Eric Chenaux’s Guitar & Voice... Whether Chenaux is delivering compelling images atop gentle guitar solos or producing long, airy drones, the sound throughout is intoxicating.” - Stereophile
Oscilanz is a new trio formed of Charles Hayward (This Heat, About Group), Ralph Cumbers (Bass Clef, Some Truths) & Laura Cannell (Horses Brawl, LCAB duo). Once these three found each other they had the wonderful intention of interpreting the music that Hildegard Von Bingen composed over 800 years ago into a new music for the here and now. A music of transportation, taking the listener though a beguiling maze of early music melodies, electronic/percussive echo caverns and waves of brass overtones.
Hildegard was a 12th century nun and mystic, herbalist and inventor of her own language, who was also a prolific composer of some very beautiful pieces of music, that have become a touchstone again recently. The Oscilanz players set off using very small fragments of her music as a basis to go far into new audio realms, bypassing all ideas of correct ways-to-perform and instead connecting with the spirit and magic of the music in a very subconscious and non-verbal way. Utilizing trombone, drums, violin, recorders, voices, samplers and electro-acoustic untis, the interplay between three such strong individual players really has a deep life of its own and Oscilanz bears the fruit that Hildegard sowed along time ago.
The word Oscilanz is taken from the Lingua Ignota, the language Hildegard invented. It means 'October'.
