we are northernly
Join the house of Fringe
May 14th, 2012

NXNWyrd :: June 14 – 16 (Toronto)

NXN Wyrd Logo

As Toronto is set ablaze with music during one of Canada’s largest music festivals, we’re proud to join our friends in providing an alternative to the chaos. NXNWyrd is a new micro-festival curated by Weird Canada, Offerings, Pleasence and Burn Down The Capital and is happening Thursday June 14 through Saturday June 16. As an imprint of Weird Canada’s nation-wide Wyrd festival series, NXNWyrd will focus on empowering guests to explore and discover the North American musical underground.

On top of stages shared by bands like Drainolith, Oneida-and-Sightings-related Man Forever, Sean Nicholas Savage, Sexy Merlin, and other emerging artists, NXNWyrd will feature a special Saturday Afternoon Mellow with vintage private issue New Age DJ’ing by yours truly and environs, smells, and comforts provided by Spa Kosmische.

Advance tickets for the entire weekend are $15, or priced individually for each show at the door. The weekend rate presents a deep discount if one plans on going to at least two shows. Full lineup, details, locations, and ticket information below.

Festival Details

Dates: Thursday June 14, Friday June 15, Saturday June 16
Festival Tickets: $15 (http://nxnwyrd.eventbrite.com/)
Festival Website: http://weirdcanada.com/nxnwyrd
Venues:

  • Double Double Land (209 Augusta Ave.)
  • Infinite Library (Upper – 664 Queen Street West)
  • Polyhaus (388 Carlaw Ave)

Full Lineup

  • Astral Gunk
  • Drainolith
  • Doom Tickler
  • Energetic Action
  • Indigenous Nudes
  • John Milner, You’re So Boss
  • Man Forever
  • Man Made Hill
  • Mass Horns
  • Moonwood
  • Pon De Replay
  • Sean Nicholas Savage
  • Sexy Merlin
  • The Soupcans
  • TOPS
  • Young Truck

Show Details

Thursday June 14: Man Forever + Mass Horns + Guests

Featuring:

  • Man Forever
  • Mass Horns
  • (special guests)

Date: Thursday June 14, 2012
Location: Double Double Land (209 Augusta Ave.)
Price: $10 door. / $0 with festival pass.
Doors: 9pm

Friday June 15: Pleasence Showcase

To celebrate Toronto’s finest polyvinyl imprint, Pleasence has curated an enormous bill of talent from across Canada.

Featuring:

  • Sexy Merlin
  • Young Truck
  • Drainolith
  • Pon De Replay
  • Energetic Action
  • Astral Gunk
  • John Milner, You’re So Boss
  • Man Made Hill
  • The Soupcans
  • Indigenous Nudes

Date: Friday June 15, 2012
Location: Polyhaus (388 Carlaw Ave.)
Doors: 7pm
Price: $10 door. / $0 with festival pass.

Saturday June 16: Saturday Afternoon Mellow + Sean Nicholas Savage + Guests

Everyone needs an afternoon of mellowtude. Come and relax within Weird Canada’s HQ. Vintage and authentic New Age meditation music provided by Aaron Levin with environs and aromatics by Spa Kosmische.

Featuring:

  • Sean Nicholas Savage
  • Doom Tickler
  • Moonwood
  • TOPS
  • New Age Meditation Music DJ Aaron Levin

Date: Saturday June 16, 2012
Location: Infinite Library (Upper Floor – 664 Queen Street West)
Doors: 3:30pm
Price: $7 door. / $0 with festival pass.
Set-Times:

  • 16:00 :: New Age music mellowness
  • 18:00 :: TOPS
  • 19:00 :: Sean Nicholas Savage
  • 20:00 :: Doom Tickler
  • 21:00 :: Moonwood

Performer Details

Astral Gunk (Sackville, NB)

ASTRAL GUNK was formed in September 2011 after 2 years of communicating through touring and email, the four members found themselves living in the same town while their previous bandmates were sprawled across eastern Canada. Drawing inspiration from a melting pot of punk, post punk, garage rock, pop, psych rock and everything in between, the prevailing sound is as much an amalgamation of influences as it is the product of four dudes drinking beer in a shed and avoiding their responsibilities. The gunk rockers are equally influenced by the rich history of rock n roll music as the current onslaught of Canadian and international bands they regard as peers and mentors.

Drainolith (Montréal, QC)

Drainolith is the droned-out, avant-cosmic project of AIDS Wolf guitarist Alex Moskos. We have heard tales of live shows nothing short of incredible.

Doom Tickler (Toronto, ON)

An intense miasma of gremlinized vocal workouts from Toronto’s L. Predy. Incredible, if not totally terrifying.

Energetic Action (Edmonton, AB)

Hailing from the petroleum wastelands of Edmonton, Alberta, Energetic Action have single-handedly revived the D.E.Y (Do Everything Yourself) aesthetic that defined the British post-punk invasion. In one fell swoop they have conjured an punk-driven intensity that compares to nothing the world is ready for.

Indigenous Nudes (London, ON)

Rude, nude, and dudes. We’re kidding. This avant-collage project from the unlikely town of London, ON, heralds back to a time when the Nihilist Spasm Band ran rampant through the streets of tinsel town, Ontario.

John Milner, You’re So Boss (Toronto, ON)

Intense punk crustaceans from Toronto’s underground nether maze. As brilliant live as their name is long.

Man Forever (Brooklyn, NY)

John Colpitts (aka Kid Millions) is a Brooklyn-based multi-instrumentalist, composer and writer who is perhaps best known as the drummer for Oneida. Man Forever, his vehicle for exploring the outer limits of drum performance, was created to overwhelm, to investigate the nuances that bloom in the midst of repetitive music, and to act as a pure sound experience. John also plays in Brooklyn-based band Sightings.

Man Made Hill (Toronto, ON)

Man Made Hill is a breathtaking work-out of sexual funk jams that has Susan Johanson getting busy on the dance floor. If you can match Man Made Hill’s dance regime, you’re guaranteed to loose 50 in 30. We’ll let you define the units and time frame. In the interim, GET FONKAY.

Mass Horns (Toronto, ON)

  • file under: avant-drum-psych intensity
  • why we love them: n/a
  • official website: n/a

A blistering side-project of Young Mother, the drum-based guitar wrenching insanity will completely melt your face, body, mind, soul, wallet, children, home, job, and universe. This will be the last thing you ever see. Die fantastically.

Moonwood (Toronto, ON)

Moonwood conjure a choking atmosphere of worldly instrumentals. Their drawn-out explorations touch upon every ephemeral state. Their new jams stray from the acoustic cosmos occupied on their first album and dive deep into heavy Krautrock territory. We’re excited to see the climax of their being. Join us.

Pon De Replay (Toronto, ON)

We say it’s warbled tape jams because this collage project is just that. Can you deal with it? Or will you dance to it. You decide.

Sean Nicholas Savage (Montréal, QC)

Edmonton ex-pat and now-Montreal crooner extraordinary, Sean Nicholas Savage has established himself as the go-to man for all things love. It’s pop, it’s personality, it’s beautiful. Sean Nicholas Savage is nothing short of a miracle.

Sexy Merlin (Toronto, ON)

Easily the best-named band in canada, Sexy Merlin is an unstoppable erectro-drum kit explosion. harkening back to a time when Liquid Liquid filled cavernous halls with their insatiable drum-dance to the mother-land, Sexy Merlin will fill your mind with ecstatic sensations of eclectic euphoria.

The Soupcans (Toronto, ON)

Toronto’s Soupcans will vomit trashy punk jams of the highest calibre, and you will eat the spew up with utter delight owing simply to their incomprehensible personality the band emits on stage. An incredibly unique experience and worth ditching your dinner date to catch the sloppy seconds. What?

Spa Kosmische (Toronto, ON)

Spa Ksomische is the musically-inspired spa product-line of Naomi Hocura. We are talking bath salts inspired by Can. Do you need any more?!

TOPS (Montréal, QC)

Birthed from the ashes of Montreal-by-way-of-Edmonton’s Silly Kissers, Arbutus recording artist TOPS have redefined soft-pop into a mirrored acquiescence of mellowed delight.

Young Truck (Toronto, ON)

With an incredible knack for thrashing genre boundaries and creating a beacon of non-wave dance
euphoria, Young Truck have become the premier gravity well for all things angular.

Partner Details

Burn Down The Capital

Burn Down The Capital puts on shows in Toronto. Our booking policy in dictated by personal taste, although we do tend towards noise, jazz & punk in the avant-garde, we are opened to pretty much any genre. We have been putting on shows in Toronto for about 5 years now & hope to continue doing so in the future. If you think we’d be into your music, please feel free to get in touch. Even though we can’t help everyone, it’s nice to hear from people who are into the same stuff we are.

Pleasence Records

Pleasence Records is owned and operated by Deirdre O’Sullivan and James Lindsay. We release music on vinyl records. Pleasence Records loves no one specific genre more than another, though we prefer bands and artists with a flare for the oddball and experimental. Pleasence Records would like to meet you.

Spa Kosmische

SPA KOSMISCHE is an exploration of the therapeutic relationship between sound and scent. Each product is hand-blended using pure botanical essences chosen for their therapeutic and aromatic qualities. Inspired by kosmische musik (cosmic music) and krautrock, a genre of experimental music that emerged in Germany in the late 1960s, Spa Kosmische creates meditative environments to help your body return to earth while sending your mind into orbit. Created for people who enjoy exploring outer and inner space.

Weird Canada

Weird Canada is an award-winning publisher of diy / fringe / experimental / self-released musics from Canada. Weird Canada explores the Canadian musical cosmos through the lens of physically-released ephemera across all formats, genres, and experiences.

April 30th, 2012

Wyrd MTL II :: Thursday, June 14

Wyrd Montreal II - June 14, 2012
We are excited to announce the second annual Wyrd Montreal festival occurring Thursday, June 14 2012! Once again, we have teamed with beloved experimental music festival Suono Per Il Popolo to offer a multi-stage showcase of boundary pushing artists from the northernly fringes. Alongside the returning Mega Merch Bazaar (featuring a selection of Canada’s best record labels) Weird Canada will be taking over both La Sala Rossa and Casa del Popolo simultaneously for a one-night-only cornucopia of sinusoidal delight. This will allow fans the chance to bounce back and forth between the two bars conveniently located across the street from one another. Should fans find themselves needing a respite between wondrous electronics and/or bludgeoning chaos, experimental DJs Aaron Levin and Hobo Cubes will take residency in Casa del Popolo delivering a strange brew of new age, electronic, and avant psychedelics.

Date: Thursday June 14, 2012
Venue #1: La Sala Rossa (4848 Boulevard Saint-Laurent, Montreal)
Venue #2: Casa del Popolo (4873 Boulevard Saint-Laurent, Montreal)
Cost: $10 (adv.) / $12 (door)
Doors: 8pm

Lineup

La Sala Rossa
Brave Radar
Dog Day
Actual Water
Coca Cola (U.S. Girls + Slim Twig)

Casa del Popolo
Drainolith
Energetic Action
Tenderness
Bobo Boutin

Artist Bios

Coca Cola (U.S. Girls + Slim Twig) (Toronto)

Continuing Wyrd’s philosophy of unique collaborations, we’re proud to include a rare performance by this duo known as Coca Cola. Combining the rhythmic polyphonies of Toronto’s Slim Twig with the miasmic chaos of U.S. Girls, Coca Cola conjure an arpeggiated ethos of Cluster-inspired jammery. Expect a fantastic array of electronic drone and perturbed psychedelics.

Actual Water (Toronto)

Born in the depths of Ben Cook’s (Fucked Up, Young Guv, Bitters) epic space in East Toronto, Actual Water’s jangled power-pop transforms their 12-string anthems and insatiable marimba-laced punk into vocal bonanzas and summery attitudes. Every song is laced with their flowering ’60s slacker vibes and live the whole calamity is wrapped by frontman Tony’s enigmatic ‘tude. Stoked!

Drainolith (Montreal)

Drainolith is the multi-throned oscillating 8-bit transmigration of Montreal native Alex Moskos (ex-guitarist for the now defunct AIDS Wolf). Diving deep into polyrhythmic hood jams and clamouring solos of synthetic marvel, Drainolith hams heavy, agnostic experimentalism into a creative vehicle the world may or may not be ready to digest.

Energetic Action (Edmonton)

Edmonton, Alberta is home to many improbable entities, and Energetic Action’s revisionist goth-punk paradigm is no exception. Straddling the unknown line between The Pop Group and This Heat, their impossible rhythms and extravagant performances wrap an undisturbed nascency into music hardened by generations of nuclear waste. A certified western anomaly.

Brave Radar (Montreal)

Local Montreal darlings Brave Radar have kept quiet a long time. So long, in fact, that we reluctantly started to believe their demise. We can barely conceive they’ll be back on stage with brand new oblique pop sweetness.

Bobo Boutin (Montreal)

Ex-Les Georges Leningrad drummer Bobo Boutin inhabits a delirious world of warped electronics. One man, yet an overwhelming performance slowly mounting into a frenzy of nightmarish proportions.

Dog Day (Halifax)

Dog Day’s bent alt-rock resonates with grand designs. Seth and Nancy are husband and wife, a charming duo who constantly keep slinging sharp and heavy anti-heroic hooks at every corner.

Tenderness (Toronto)

With bizarre loop sampling wizardry, cracked electronics and sexy sax swoons, Chrissy Reichert redefines any conceivable notions of contemporary R & B. Tenderness is not to be missed, because true originality comes in small doses.

June 17th, 2011

Transfusion :: Wyrd MTL

With less than a week until Wyrd MTL we’re excited to offer a quickie sampler mix spotlighting the 10 artists from this year’s inaugural lineup. All have been previously featured on Weird Canada, and will appear in the flesh on Monday, June 20 at La Sala Rossa. Grip your tickets!

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Wyrd MTL 2011 Mix

Track-listing

[00:00] :: Lantern – “I Don’t Know”
[03:50] :: Ultrathin – “Glass City”
[06:40] :: Dreamcatcher – “Dr. Clawk”
[10:15] :: Hobo Cubes – “Through The Ages”
[12:57] :: Dirty Beaches – “Coast to Coast”
[17:17] :: The Friendly Dimension – “Executive Koala”
[20:25] :: Shortpants Romance – “Heatwave”
[21:15] :: Man Made Hill – “Er Her”
[23:20] :: D’eon – “Thousand Mile Trench”
[29:08] :: Headaches – “Poor Decisions”

May 30th, 2011

Wyrd MTL :: Realities Emerge on Monday June 20, 2011!

We’re proud to officially announce the eastern expansion of the Wyrd cosmos. Thanks to the exceptionally hard-work of Jesse Locke, Gabriel de Jasmin, and Suoni Per Il Popolo, Wyrd MTL will invade Montreal on Monday June 20, 2011. The format and philosophy remain pure; a double-stage frenzy of fringe adjectives will blaze through an evening stacked with over ten performers. With a secondary stage built specifically for Wyrd MTL, the folks at La Sala Rossa have gone the extra-extra mile and are housing a “MEGA BAZARR” of merch featuring visual art, purveyors of printed matter and Canada’s finest record labels. There is also tell of a taco truck hitting the pavement at 7pm. Full line-up and set-times below! For further information, visit here.

8:00 :: HEADACHES (Toronto, ON)
– Cortex dream jams from the cyborg mind of Landon Speers
– why we love them: here.

8:30 :: SHORTPANTS ROMANCE (Montreal, QC)
– Blitzkrieg garage punk and femme fatale charms
– why we love them: here.

9:00 :: ULTRATHIN (Montreal, QC)
– Scab-blasting noise-rock from three skinny dudes
– why we love them: here.

9:30 :: THE FRIENDLY DIMENSION (Halifax, NS)
– The black holy vortex into total freak-rock oblivion
– why we love them: here.

10:00 :: MAN MADE HILL (Toronto, ON)
– Dungeon dwelling one-man funk machine
– why we love them: here.

10:30 :: HOBO EXPANDING CULT BAND (Montreal, QC)
– A one-off collaboration from Hobo Cubes, Femminieli, JLK, Sundrips, Element Kuuda and more!
– why we love them: here.

11:00 :: DREAMCATCHER (Montreal, QC)
– Mind-smudging experimental spookery
– why we love them: here.

11:30 :: LANTERN (Montreal // Halifax // Philadelphia)
– Psych-blues freak-outs from the Zachary Fairbrother smoke ring
– why we love them: here.

12:00 :: DIRTY BEACHES (Vancouver, BC)
– Film noir nomad riding on a lonely highway
– why we love them: here.

12:30 :: D’EON (Montreal, QC)
– Terry meets Teddy Riley on a g-funk rollercoaster
– why we love them: here.

May 16th, 2011

Wyrd III :: Your Guide to Wyrd

We are five days until Wyrd III, so I figured it was time to unleash this beast of a playlist. Below is the proverbial “sip of the juice.” A sprinkling of audible treats from each artist playing Wyrd III. However, like all great maps, the details are not exact. Your final destination is only truly experienced by traveling. We can’t wait to see you at Wyrd III.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

=== Click Here for An Expose on each Artist! ===

May 13th, 2011

Wyrd III :: Win Free Sled Island Passes to See SLEEP!

Wyrd III is proud to forge bonds with Sled Island’s mind-boggling dive into festival brilliance. The sheer scope of Calgary’s premier music and art festival has been a huge inspiration behind taking Wyrd onto the intergalactic stage. In step this with partnership, Sled Island was generous enough to offer Wyrd III ticket-holders an opportunity to win a double-guest pass to Friday’s Main Stage where SLEEP is headlining. How the contest works:

1) Take a photo of your Wyrd Ticket or Eventbrite Print-out
2) Upload the photo to the Wyrd III Facebook Event.

That’s it! The winner will be selected randomly from pool of people submitting photos! If you don’t have a ticket, you can purchase a digital ticket here or visit: Blackbyrd Myoozik (Edmonton), Listen Records (Edmonton), Sloth Records (Calgary), Zoo Zhop (Vancouver), Zulu Records (Vancouver), Red Kat (Vancouver), or Waldorf Hotel (Vancouver)!

Hearts,

Aaron Levin
Weird Canada / Wyrd

April 4th, 2011

Wyrd III :: Schedule, Tickets, and full details!

We’re proud to announce the (almost) full schedule, ticket locations, and other full details for Wyrd III.

==== FULL WYRD III INFO HERE ====

(poster design by Gabriel Jasmin)

March 23rd, 2011

Wyrd MTL :: Official Announcement!!!

This month, Montreal’s seminal experimental music festival Suoni Per Il Popolo announced a partial lineup for 2011, including the first wave of WYRD MTL. Today, we open the floodgates for a full announcement, including information on the MEGA MERCH BAZAAR.

Much like our daily operation and its Western Canadian festival counterparts, this year’s inauguration of Wyrd’s expansion into Montreal will spotlight a coast-spanning cross-section of the Northernly subterranean. Over the course of a single jam-packed evening, 11 artists will bounce back and forth between the main stage and a special floor stage built specifically for this show. The infamous Grumman Taco Truck will be on-site all night after doors open at 7 pm, so come early and chow down on the best tacos in town!

WYRD MTL will also include a MEGA MERCH BAZAAR featuring visual art, purveyors of printed matter and Canada’s finest record labels. These will include Arbutus, Divorce, Fixture, Scotch Tapes, Bruised Tongue, Campaign For Infinity, Fluorescent Friends, Electric Voice, Hobo Cult, Fadeaway Tapes, Los Discos Enfantasmos, They Live We Sleep, Vintage Violence, Totally Disconnected, Planet of the Tapes, Dream Sequence and many more TBA.

p.s. Keep your eyes peeled for the announcement of TWO MORE SURPRISE ARTISTS in the coming weeks!

///// français /////

La semaine dernière, le festival de musique expérimentale Suoni Per Il Popolo a lancé sa programmation partielle pour l’édition de 2011, incluant une brève mention à propos du WYRD MTL. Aujourd’hui, nous levons le voile sur la programmation entière de l’événement, incluant le MEGA BAZAAR. Dans l’esprit de weirdcanada.com et des WYRD FEST de la côte pacifique, cette édition inaugurale montréalaise mettra l’accent sur un éventail de sonorités underground nordiques, d’un océan à l’autre. Le WYRD MTL, c’est onze artistes qui se succéderont en un soir seulement, alternant entre la scène principale et une scène de parterre spécialement conçue pour l’événement. De plus, l’excellente taqueria ambulante Grumman sera aussi sur place toute la soirée, dès l’ouverture des portes à 19h. Arrivez tôt et profitez des meilleurs tacos en ville !

p.s. Gardez les yeux ouverts pour DEUX AUTRES ARTISTES incontournables qui seront annoncés d’ici les prochaines semaines.

/////////////////// WYRD MTL ///////////////////

Weird Canada et Suoni Per Il Popolo

… présentent…

WYRD MTL
June 20, 2011
La Sala Rossa
Montréal, QC

D’EON (Montreal, QC)
—> Terry meets Teddy Riley on a g-funk rollercoaster

Lantern (Montreal/Halifax/Philadelphia)
—> Psych-blues freak-outs from the Zachary Fairbrother smoke ring

Dreamcatcher (Montreal, QC)
—> Mind-smudging experimental spookery

Duzheknew (Halifax, NS)
—> Jittery pop charisma and fourth world whirligigs

Ultrathin (Montreal, QC)
—> Scab-blasting noise-rock from three skinny dudes

Feral Children (Saskatoon, SK)
—> Lysergic bounce to the ounce and full-throated croons

Hobo Expanding Cult Band (Montreal, QC)
—> A one-off collaboration from Hobo Cubes, Femminieli, JLK, Sundrips, Element Kuuda and more

Headaches (Toronto, ON)
—> Cortex dream jams from the cyborg mind of Landon Speers

Shortpants Romance (Montreal, QC)
—> Blitzkrieg garage punk and femme fatale charms

Rob Feulner (Montreal, QC)
—> Will be providing his signature VHS warped visuals throughout the show.

===> tickets here <===

March 9th, 2011

Wyrd III :: Traveling Line-Up Announcement!

Today is your last day to vote. These final hours are ripe to give you one more reason to believe. BOOM: our keystrokes are bursting with galvanized fervor as we present the official traveling line-up for Wyrd III and the brand new Wyrd Montreal:

///// WYRD III /////

Red Mass
Dirty Beaches
GOBBLE GOBBLE
Wyrd Visions
Sex Church
Famines
Long, Long, Long
Hobo Cubes
Bernardino Femminieli
Velvet Chrome
Feral Children
Silver Dapple
Ketamines
Makeout Videotape
Role Mach

+
???Secret Surprise Guest??? (TBA May 10, 2011)

This wyld traveling caravan (plus local shreddery and other surprises) will be bursting through the following cities:

MAY 20 :: EDMONTON @ Dinwoodie
MAY 21 :: CALGARY @ No. 1 Legion
MAY 22 :: VANCOUVER @ Waldorf Hotel

Tickets for Wyrd III will be available April 1st, 2011! Full band bios, schedule, and other details will be posted next week! Please help us tell the world!

PS – We are doubly excited to let a little secret loose: many of these bands will be tearing through Montreal for a new incarnation of Wyrd. Details soon!

Hearts,

Aaron Levin & Paul Lawton
Wyrd III

February 14th, 2011

WYRD III :: MAY 20, 21, 22

Because ya’ll keep asking.

WYRD III
Weird Canada’s Traveling Festival

MAY 20 :: EDMONTON @ Dinwoodie
MAY 21 :: CALGARY @ No. 1 Legion
MAY 22 :: VANCOUVER @ Waldorf Hotel

… with …

Theory of a Nicklecreed
Raggalife
Soul-n-Decision
Rush Hermit
54÷40
Trouble Charger
Platinum Bond
North of Kanye West
Edwig
Salon

… and special guests …

Tragic Hip Replacement

Real announcement of (hopefully) real artists to come soon. Awaiting confirmation on Learjet rental.

Hearts,

Aaron Levin & Paul Lawton
Wyrd III

This work is licensed under GPL - 2009 | Powered by Wordpress using the theme aav1