I’m currently based between Montreal and St. John\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I do a combination arts admin, programming, studio recording\/mixing, film scoring, and live music gigs as a bassist and guitarist!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Up until now, I hadn\u2019t really dug deep into the Brian Eno discography and after reading his published diary I\u2019ve dug in pretty deep and like to put on his instrumental and ambient albums like 1989 Textures. I also connect deeply with British Folk Revival music like Fairport Convention, Richard and Linda Thompson, and Steeleye Span\u2013my sister got me pretty into this stuff and it\u2019s a gift that keeps giving. I always like to check out new Canadian releases like Cindy Lee\u2019s Diamond Jubilee and local Montreal or St. John\u2019s artists. I listen to a lot of my friends’ works-in-progress in the studio, and the music I’m working on. Sometimes we watch Backstreet Boys music videos in the studio for inspiration, and I\u2019ll never say no to a classic pop or rock listen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I learn about new music in a bunch of different ways as I’m sure everyone does. I definitely get lots of recommendations from friends, I\u2019ll check out stuff people post on their Instagram, and I check out festival lineups. I follow a substack called Music Regular that\u2019s put together by Andrew Patterson. I like checking out Dominiated<\/a>, and I\u2019ll often see what\u2019s happening on Exclaim!<\/a>. If I find an artist or a label I like, I’ll check out their Discogs or Bandcamp and see what else they have. I\u2019m also lucky that I get to listen to a couple hundred artist applications to Lawnya Vawnya each year which is an amazing opportunity to learn about new DIY Canadian artists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I have a pretty decent collection of classic rock CDs from when I was a tween (AC\/DC, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin), but I unfortunately view CDs as junk now and it doesn\u2019t help that I have no way of listening to them. It\u2019s just not a physical format that feels good in the hands or something. I\u2019m down for cassettes – I have a small collection of cassettes from friend\u2019s bands or touring bands from over the years and would definitely snatch up the cassettes of bands and artists I like given the opportunity. I\u2019m definitely down for vinyl, I always look through all of the records at thrift stores to see if there are any goodies in there. I\u2019ve had some success recently finding Modern Lovers, John Prine, Anna and Kate McGarrigle, and more. I also collect stereo test records from the 60s\/70s or whenever. I love them as an item of material culture and the sound effects and language of advertising stereo audio is super fun. I\u2019m also looking to complete my collection of the Environment series by Irving Teibel, any sound effects records, and hold onto synthesizer records like Wendy Carlos’s Switched on Bach, and Black Lucifer\u2019s Black Mass. I recently picked up a record called A Sound Anthology of Occult Phenomena 1920-2017 Vol.2 <\/em>by a label called Spectra Ex Machina. It\u2019s like an anthology of recordings related to spiritualism and occult phenomena and has a recording of a s\u00e9ance with Elvis Presley. I like the idea of being able to put on a record and hear something for the first time, so finding stuff that resonates with you by chance in record stores or thrift stores is pretty exciting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n I do most of my listening at home or at my studio. I\u2019ve got a shared studio with some friends and we have a couple of setups for listening. We\u2019ve got a mixing set up, and then a system in the other room which my studio-mate calls the \u201cmicro club\u201d for testing mixes and listening to whatever. I also have a small set up at home with a couple of 5\u201d speakers for working from home or listening to music. I\u2019m also down for over-ear headphones like the BBeyerdynamic 880s. I wear my earpods for podcasts. In the car I’ll put on 600AM in Montreal for some classic rock\/pop jams, or 800AM in St. John\u2019s for some old country and folk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I guess I only listen to pre-release music if I am sent private streaming links by friends sharing their music or agents pitching artists for Lawnya Vawnya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I mean I like it just fine on the computer because everything is bigger and easier to navigate. If the file is for audio-based work i\u2019ll usually download and open it in Amadeus Pro. For programming work, I\u2019ll stream it for sure. The frustrating stuff is either doing anything on my iPhone or when links take a long time to buffer in Google Drive\u2026 I\u2019ve been using this app called Samply<\/a> to share mixes and it\u2019s super slick and quick. Would recommend it. I\u2019ve used SoundCloud<\/a> since I was a teenager and it is pretty annoying now\u2014if you open it on your phone it wants you to get the app but then also make an account and accept the cookies.. like can I just press play? Bandcamp is good and minimal though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I definitely don\u2019t do a very good job of this but I use YouTube and youtube music for listening to music so if I like something I\u2019ll usually give it a thumbs up on either of those places so it gets added to my \u201cliked music\u201d or whatever. Sometimes if it\u2019s a link from a friend I have to look back at texts to find it\u2026 Usually reading the Wikipedia page for a new discovery helps me remember too. If I find an artist on Instagram and follow them I usually just forget\u2026 So maybe I need a better way for that avenue of discovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat formats do you usually listen to? LP, CD, Cassette, Digital, Streaming Services? Why?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Where do you do most of your music listening?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How do you find and listen to pre-release music?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What are your frustrations with listening to music digitally? Any benefits?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How do you keep track of everything you are listening to?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n