Effortless songwriting

ah ah ah ah ah

je suis là
devant toi
entre nous il y a
une table
avec de la bouffe dessus
je la regarde
avec mes dents
et j'ai envie de croquer dedans
ça a l'air succulent

ah ah ah ah ah

je suis là
devant toi
entre nous il y a
un piège
lequel d'entre nous va
se mettre les doigts dedans?
nous sommes pris
tous les deux
il n'y a plus rien à dire

encore

ah ah ah ah ah

The first half of this song came to me in the shower about two weeks ago. As soon as I got out, I ran to the tape recorder, still dripping wet, and recorded it, singing all the music parts as well, so as not to forget it. The recording of it is ritualistic more than it is an actual documentation. The act of recording the song means that I won't forget it. I haven't listened to the recording since, because I didn't need to - the song stayed in my head.

This morning, the second verse came to me. Again, completely unexpectedly. I was making coffee, and I just spontaneously started singing it. All the lyrics were there. So I wrote it down. And now it's done. All I have to do is record it properly.

I really like this song a lot and I have no idea where it came from. I didn't put any thought into the lyrics at all - they came almost automatically - but now that I look at them they mean something to me.

In the first verse, two people are sitting at a table, facing each other. There is food on the table, and it looks delicious, and they're looking at it, waiting to sink their teeth into it. Because of the music and the melody and the way the song is sung, there is definitely some kind of tension in the air, which could be interpreted as sexual, but not necessarily. But the focus is on the food, not the relationship between these two people.

The second verse starts the same way, but now instead of a table, what's between them is a trap. What kind of trap? I don't know. But they're both looking at it, wondering which of them is going to get their fingers stuck in it. But then it turns out that they're both trapped, they've been trapped all along, and they have nothing to say to each other. It's the situation itself that is a trap, not just whatever's on the table.

The simple "encore" at the end suggests that this situation is a recurring one.

s u r f a c e d i s p l a c e m e n t

the finite state machine presents:
s u r f a c e d i s p l a c e m e n t
an evening of electronic music

Monkeyphone
Akumu
the Great Vowel Shift
James Schidlowsky's Ringen

Saturday, September 25th, 9 PM
le Cagibi, 5490 St-Laurent blvd.
4 dollars, PWYC


..................................................
Monkeyphone
..................................................

Monkeyphone is the collaborative project of seasoned, hyperkinetic drummer Tomas Matthews (Desert Owls), ambient/dance guru Bob Doell (Paul Keeley, Gyges), and IDM/Electroacoustic composer Shane Turner (Turner of Wheels, The Fold). Their live performance for amped electronics and drums freely combines their favorites of the electronic music canon. Echoes of dance, dub, krautrock, fusion, and industrial form into high energy beats that are layered with thick synthetic grooves, spiced with warm noise and soft pliable ambiance.

http://www.myspace.com/monkeyphonemusic

..................................................
Akumu
..................................................

Akumu is Toronto’s Deane Hughes, composer of dark electronic ambient music.

Formed as a solo project in 2000, Akumu [Japanese for “nightmare”] explores the eerie side of natural systems through long-form instrumental tracks constructed from drones, found sounds and micro-sonics that synthesize organic and electronic elements into haunting atmospherics and low frequency beats.

He has released three full-length albums, a DVD of videos, a split release with Andrew Duke plus various compilations and net tracks. He has scored music for television and film and has performed live across Ontario and Quebec including at Montréal’s Mutek Festival and Toronto’s X-Avant and Ambient Ping events.

He is currently producing new material for release later this year.

http://www.musicbyakumu.com/
http://itunes.apple.com/ca/artist/akumu/id35764941

..................................................
The Great Vowel Shift
..................................................


Yan Basque is a Montreal-based musician, experimental sound artist, writer and visual artist. As The Great Vowel Shift, he explores the intersections between improvisation and noise, found material and structure, using lo-fi electronics and analog sounds. Yan releases song-based material under the name Racine, plays guitar with the punk band Drunk Dial, and has collaborated with artist Nicole Aline Legault on a book: Empty Bottles Carrying Talking Teeth. He spends too much time on the internet. He lives in Verdun with his cat Ingemar.

http://greatvowelshift.tumblr.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Vowel_Shift

..................................................
James Schidlowsky's Ringen
..................................................

James Schidlowsky used to make music.

From No Type:

"James Schidlowsky is a sound artist, performer and improviser. His music ranges from ambient to free jazz, but is primarily abstract. He investigates the intrinsic sounds of the guitar using various objects, the sounds of radiowaves, interferences and treated field recordings. He has released several solo CD-Rs, online albums and has collaborated regularly with Olivier Borzeix, Alexandre St-Onge, Jacques Gravel, Nathalie Dion, Magali Babin and A_dontigny."

Ringen has been described as an orchestra of elves and faeries playing strings and horns and an elven church organ. Beautiful, shimmering, effervescent.

http://www3.bell.net/james.schid/
http://www.notype.com/drones/bio.e/schidlowsky_ja/

It's my birthday on Friday (JUNE 25), so I asked Crosss to play a free show for me at CAgibi.

IT'S AN EARLY SHOW.

They will play sometime between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m.

After that, some DJs are going to play some records or something and the people who love me can hang out with me 'cause it's my birthday.

But those who don't know me or don't love me can come to the show also. It's for everybody. And they can even hang out after if they feel like it. I'm not gonna kick anybody out.

AND IT'S FREE.

But it's early. And then a party afterward.

Get it !?!?!?

Don't bring gifts.

If you have any questions, you can ask them here.

Oh yeah, you can listen to the band here: http://www.myspace.com/crossses

That's me on the poster. I think I was 10 years old or something. My hair was blonder then.

La Nuit blanche au Cagibi

Artists from Montreal and beyond come together at Cagibi for an eclectic night full of surprises. On the program: experimental music, video projections, slide shows, interactive installations, and weird performance art.

*

$$ GRATUIT / FREE $$

*

SALLE ARRIÈRE / BACK ROOM

21h00 à minuit: music + projections

Great Vowel Shift (Montreal)
http://greatvowelshift.tumblr.com
+ projection: Matthew Reading

Metis Yeti (Montreal)
http://www.metisyeti.co.cc/
+ projection: Vincent Charlebois

intermission by Emily Kai Bock + Julia Thomas

Nuthre (Victoria)
http://sites.google.com/site/nuthre/
+ projection: Sarah Tracy

Holzkopf (Saskatoon)
http://sites.google.com/site/holzkopf666/
+ projection: Freida Abtan

*

midnight – Rick Trembles (Montreal)
The author of Motion Picture Purgatory weekly comic strip/movie reviews is giving a slideshow presentation.
http://www.snubdom.com/

00h40 – Alien Lentil: A ÷ L² = PP (outer space)
Alien Lentil returns from the distant future once again. This time with a new interactive, life changing performance piece. Unleashing the superbrightwhitelight power of obscure zero dimensional psychedelic psychic formulae, Alien Lentil will make one of YOUR wishes come true.

01h00 – Insane Gown Posse (Montreal)
This queer supergroup features Miss Swamp Pussy and collaborators. This will be their first performance and I'm willing to bet it's going to be memorable.

01h45 – Fingerdog + Four Minutes to Midnight (Montreal)
Experimental drones + spoken word.
http://www.myspace.com/fingerdog
http://lokidesign.net/2356/

02h15 – Stacey Ho (Toronto)
Using party favours and dollar store finds, Stacey Ho facilitates the breathing of visitors to the Caigibi. This is a continuation of a series of exercises based on body movements, voluntary, involuntary, involuntary ------> voluntary, individual -----> intermingled, breathing, blinking, pulse, gesture, action, sound.
http://staceyho.com/

02h45 – Alien Lentil
(encore)

03h05 – Gutstrings + Parlour Treats (Montreal)
http://www.myspace.com/gguuttssttrriinnggss

03h35 – Fingerdog + Four Minutes to Midnight
(encore)

04h05 – Total Gaze (Montreal)
Total mystery.

04h35 – Stacey Ho
(encore)

(ends around 5h00)

*****

SALLE À L'AVANT / FRONT ROOM

Interactive Booths:

*22h-23h, 00h-01h, 02h-03h (presentation & recording sessions)
The Society for Preservation of Anachronistic Gesture

*22h-02h Jessika Fancy- Fine Art Nail Painting
*22h-02h Oliver Fugler- Tarot Readings for the Unconvinced

Projections:

*10h- 05h Sarah Pupo- installlation/animation
*00h30-03h Jasa Baka, Julia Thomas & Sarah Tracy- living window display/mind's eye laboratory
*When he feels like it h Jean Claude Van Damme- clips cuts

All Night Installations:

*Liz Ramsden- hibernation cave art installation
*Jessica Reina Rainville- plant art engulfing washroom installation
*Roving Party Machine- free sugar high all night'r self serve slush

& DJs

(open all night)