On Saturday, I decided to make a short visit to The Music Gallery for day 2 of their X Avant XVI Festival. Over the course of 8 hours, various artists will explore drone music, as a "sonic washing" with the idea of "sustained tone as a healing modality". This might be the brainchild of the centre new Artistic Director. In fact, I had encountered them about 2 years ago during my month-long yoga training. Despite 8 hours of class, Sanjeet Takhar was still up late organizing and attending raves. So they seemed good fit with this organization known for its experimental music programming.
I arrived at the midway mark just as Short Bloom was starting their set. Over a cycling, drifting sonic palette, they played around with various accents and short sustained melodies, mostly from an electric guitar. Since there wasn't much to watch, I laid down on one of the mats and focused on my breathing. Near the end, there was a section that had a lively bounce but in general, it was perfect music to enter into a meditative state.
I sometimes complain about the lengthy gap between band sets. They solved it by simply having two stages and blending one set directly into the next one. It certainly fitted with today's intent. But Kat Estacio's material was harder to zone out to. Using several effects pedals, they looped sounds of struck bowls, gongs, and cymbals over electronic buzz and glitches. I didn't mind the gurgling boops, beeps, and clacks but the repetitive clanging got a bit much. For some reason, I felt like I was in a scene from Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times.
I left before the end of this set in search of dinner. I thought about returning for the conclusion but decided it would likely put me to sleep (given my lack of nighttime energy).
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