Listen to the 36th edition of Free City Radio.

This edition features an interview with the awesome Tim McCaskell, a social justice activist and long time LGBTQ community organizer in Toronto.

This conversation revolves around the current work of Coalition for COVID-Safe Club Re-opening (CoCSCR), this is an excerpt from a recent article in NOW Magazine on this work :

"The Alliance for South Asian AIDS Prevention, the Black Coalition for AIDS Prevention, Asian Community AIDS Services and AIDS ACTION NOW! are among a newly formed coalition calling on Toronto’s Board of Health to develop guidelines to reopen bathhouses.

A petition signed by the groups is scheduled to be up for discussion at the board’s meeting on Monday (March 22). “The baths have been community hubs for gay men for generations. We fought to keep them open when police tried to close them down in the 80s. We fought to ensure they were centres for safe sex education during the AIDS epidemic. We need to make sure they continue to be safe places for us to gather in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Tim McCaskell, a member of the new Coalition for COVID-Safe Club Re-opening (CoCSCR).
///
I think that this conversation really illustrates the importance of collective learning from the experiences of collective action and organizing around health that can be learned from LGBTQ activists and organizations. Tim goes into this history around the bathhouses and also the activism around the AIDS crisis in the 80s. 

I hope you enjoy this interview, recorded for broadcast on @radiockut via Free City Radio and also for listening here on this podcast.

Accompanying music is Bronski Beat's track Smalltown Boy.

36. Tim McCaskell on listening to LGBTQ perspectives on the pandemic

Recorded between the 9th and the 15th of October in Turkey and Northern Kurdistan. The material is raw and unprocessed.

MARDIN - Coffe Grinder

LIKE!

IRAQ FOREVER (prod. Sandhill)

SUPPORT FOR GAZA: 
https://siliconerecords.bandcamp.com/album/artists-without-borders

tunnel (rmx) - Artists Without Borders

Friend / bandmate / composer / Tehrantologist @mahmoodschricker (@linkmusiclab, Toronto) presents an hour of deep jazz cuts, postmodern classical, his recent soundtrack work for "Fremont", and other musics of the Persian diaspora.

VHM Projekt - The Second One (In Four Movements) [Self-released, 2016]
Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou - Der Heimatlose Wanderer [Unknown, 1963]
Alice Coltrane / Pharoah Sanders / Joe Henderson - Ptah, The El-Daoud [Impulse, 1970]
nour - Never Saw Me Smile [Self-released, 2022]
Shaho Andalibi / Aria Rostami / Naghmeh Farahmand - Beshno Az Nay [Link Music Lab, 2020]
Mahmood Schricker - Globe Scene [Fremont, 2023]
Alireza Mortazavi & Carson Teal - Underground Flights [Link Music Lab, 2023]
Soft Verdict - Gorf [Les Disques Du Crépuscule, 1982]
Lera Lynn - My Least Favourite Life [Harvest, 2015]
Negar Bouban - The Last Turn [Self-released, 2011]
Elsa Maurus - Auf Dem Wasser Zu Singen [Sony Classical, 1996]
Laurie Anderson - Washington Street [Nonesuch, 2001]

Days Of Steam 010: Mahmood Schricker

Intense introspections from beau mensch of many hats Simon St-Louis (Système (Loose Screws x Air Supply) x Moab x Necklace) - restrained guitars and drum machines crawl inexorably along the Bowery, plaintive abstractions for the soul, suffocating Southern ambience, inverted psychedelia, staring at the horizon a la récherche du temps perdu

Jackie-O Motherfucker - The Cage [2000, Ecstatic Peace!]
Troth - Kind Of Cure [2021, Digital Regress]
Hysterical Love Project - Glass (I Want More) [2021, Self-released]
Joanne Robertson & Sidsel Meineche Hansen - Doll [2021, Tenderbook]
Megabasse - Dark [2023, All Night Flight]
Ben Bondy - Pool [2023, Good Morning Tapes]
Niecy Blues - The Nite B4 [2023, Kranky]
Rat Heart Ensemble - Liar’s Eye [2023, Shotta Tapes]
A Bad Diana - Chant d’Amour/Da Mort [2007, United Jnana]
Unknown Artist - Unknown Track [Unknown Year]
Mark Fry - Rehtorb Ym No Hcram [1972, IT Records]
Hizumi Hirakawa - 太陽の彼方* (Movin’) [2021, Pink Layke]
 * taiyō no kanata (au-delà du soleil)

Days Of Steam 011: Faux Sommets

Asphalt

AGF is a powerful poemproducer. She first described herself in these terms on a track of that title from Westernization Completed, her Ars Electronica winning breakthrough album. Poemproducer became her “internet name,” and has come to stand in for her idiosyncratic approach to vocal-based electronic music. Last November, AGF quietly released Poemproducer, almost exactly 20 years after Westernization Completed. Channeling her internet name into her first proper solo studio album since SOLIDCITY (2017), Poemproducer is built around mutating bass, freeplayed rhythms, and subtle field recordings. We discuss the evolution of her musical practice, her interest in pedagogy, feminism, collective politics and much more. 

TRACKLIST
ARTIST – “TITLE” (ALBUM, LABEL, YEAR)

AGF  - “Oops for understanding iii” (Words Are Missing, AGF Producktion, 2008)
SP Intro
AGF - “SKINgame”  (Poemproducer, AGF Producktion, 2023)
AGF - “POEMproducer” (Westernization Completed, Orthlorng Musork, 2003)
AG.F3 & SUE.C - “Lazy” (MINI MOVIES, Asphodel, 2006)
AGF - “Thoughts On Rojava feat. Zeynep Kurban, Dilar Dirik, Zaher Baher, Havin Guneser, Memed Aksoi” (Music, Awareness & Solidarity w/ Rojava Revolution, female:pressure, 2016)
AGF - “background & processes ⇻ explained by AGF” (rec-on : feminist sonic technologies, 2023)
AGF - “recon - rec-on.org ƒollow @reconsonic” (Soundcloud, 2021)
Laub -  “Wortspur” (Filesharing, Kitty-Yo, 2002)
AGF - “fieldWORK” (Poemproducer, AGF Producktion, 2023)
Sonic Wilderness - “Medley” (DOCUMENTATION: #SONICWILDERNESS #NUSASONIC Yogyakarta, Indonesia 2018)
Antye Greie-Ripatti - “mycelium sonicification video clip” (Vimeo, 2017)
Audience Participation - “Collective Mycelium Hum” (SonicEX10sion, AGF Producktion, 2018)
AGF - “sideNESS” (Poemproducer, AGF Producktion, 2023)
AGF - “Live excerpt” (Presented by Non-Event and the Goethe-Institut Boston, November 18, 2023)
AGF - “FIREmushroom” (DISoriented MINDsets, 2017)
KING VISION ULTRA feat. Dreamcrusher - “UNTRAPPINGS” (SHOOK WORLD, PTP, 2023)
Moor Mother - “Deadbeat Protest” (Fetish Bones, Don Giovanni, 2016)
AGF - “MIGration” (SOLIDICITY, 2017)
AGF - “Chorizon” (Westernization Completed, Orthlorng Musork, 2003)
AGF - “Source Voice” (Beatnadel, AGF Producktion, 2011)
AGF - “words are useless” (Words Are Missing, AGF Producktion, 2008)
RyJ - “RyJ [excerpt]” (Studio Mix, 2014)
RyJ / Nicki Minaj (Pickle Juice Mix, 2012)
J Dilla - “Bounce” (Beat Tape #3, 2002)
AGF - bassPOETess (Poemproducer, AGF Producktion, 2023)
Vladislav Delay - “Ele” (Ele, Sigma Editions, 1999)
Craig Armstrong x AGF - “Remix of Memory Takes My Hand” (Memory Takes My Hand - Exhibition Music, Chester Music Ltd., 2006)
AGF - xenakISS (Poemproducer, AGF Producktion, 2023)
The Lappetites - “Avoiding Shopping” (Before The Libretto, Quecksilber, 2005)
Dadub - “Life (Rrose Remix)” (Preternity, Stroboscopic Artefacts, 2013)
AGF - “BONUS_ Westernization Continued 2013 [excerpt]” (Westernization Completed, 2003/2013)
AGF - “şamaran [kurdish]” (uttu EP, 2023)
PINKCOURTESYPHONE + KID CONGO POWERS - “Inflame (Sludge Dub)” (Move To Trash, 3particles, 2015)
Kevin Richard Martin /  KMRU - “If (Dub)” (RESIST COLONIAL POWER BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY, PTP 2024)
Ka Baird - “Gate VI” (Bearings: Soundtracks for the Bardos, RVNG, Intl., 2024)
AGF - “Regional Distinctions” (Futurism Ain't Shit To Me, Kyo, 2004)
—-
Sound Propositions is written, recorded, mixed, and produced by Joseph Sannicandro.

Sound Propositions S04e05

SP* Episode 35: DIS/CONTENT - with AGF [podcast]

I first encounter Stefan though through Casa Del Popolo, the Main’s main den of épatering the bourgeoisie since the 90s, when they booked me for what was only the second Days of Steam night after the first at Rye Wax. The old booth was set up like you were in a chapel, dim as hell for me but enough of a remove from the audience without being too removed. They’re a longtime organizer in Montréal activist circles, the mind of @freecityradio, with a CV too long to summarize here but one that shows genuine belief and investment in the causes he champions. I’d seen them years back before we knew each other, as part of the city’s experimental undercurrents, with releases of introspective piano for Howl Arts alongside local luminaries Sam Shalabi and Peter Burton and mainstays d’la marge like Aural Canyon and Beacon Sound. Tapestries of field recordings and plunderphonics, part of a long tradition of musique actuelle in the city without intentionally trying to be so. The mix he sent over is almost entirely as of writing recent pieces, with compositions (what they all feel like more than ‘pieces’ or ‘tracks’) from Berkeley, Brooklyn, Brazil, Houston, Jaffa, Milan, Montréal - the sound of the uncertainty and rage of the now, but never restoring to despondency, moreso righteousness.

"It is my pleasure to share these tracks with you. On a basic level these tracks were shared mostly by friends in the context of exchanges and ongoing collaborations with folks in cities all over the place, around creating content for Radio AlHara in Palestine and beyond. I love that this mix jumps between vibes and styles. I also included a couple of tracks from recent releases that I worked on. I hope you enjoy the mix. – Stefan."

Notnef Greco - Scooter Riding in Bombay [2024, Sublamental]
Grimório de Abril - A Torre Poligonal do Astrólogo Caldeu [2024, Subliminal K7]
Matteo Uggeri - ...for You Bleeding Goddess [2024, 13 Records]
Totenbaum Träger - Fleur de néon VI [2023, Cuchabata]
Stefan Christoff - Guitar in Griffintown [2024, Cuchabata]
Matteo Uggeri - ...for Daughters and Sons [2024, 13 Records]
Stefan Christoff - Chalga Remixed [2024, Samizdat]
Grimório de Abril - The River Used to be a Signal  [2024, Municipal K7]
Stefan Christoff - In Burgas [2024, Samizdat]
Azraq - Baby Please Don't Go [2021, self-released]
Badawi - A Curse on All Murderers (Extended Dub) (excerpt) [2024, self-released]

Days Of Steam

Days Of Steam 013: Stefan Christoff

Some events in my personal life have slowed down the completion of the next episode of Sound Propositions, but since it's been a while since our last mix, in the meanwhile it seemed an appropriate time to share a new one. Balkan signs comes courtesy of my longtime friend and collaborator Stefan Christoff, a Montreal-based musician and community organizer who has created many memorable mixes for this site over the years, here joined by Toni Dimitrov (Acidfake, Private Mountain, Post Global). In addition to his work as a DJ and producer, for over two decades, Toni has run various labels from Skopje, Macedonia, most recently élan vital recordings,  "an independent Macedonian music label releasing limited edition of handcrafted CDs and tapes from international artists focused on obscure aspects of sound, accompanied with carefully created artwork and video art." The label has also released work by Manja Ristić, Carlo Giustini, Michele Andreotti, Sova Stroj, and many others sure to appeal to our readers. And, full disclosure, back in 2021, élan vital released a CD collaboration between myself and Stefan, La Lumi​è​re Du Soleil Dans Un Semi Sous​-​sol. As he's mentioned before, Stefan has roots in the area along the Macedonian and Bulgarian border, and his music often explores his Balkan heritage. As he explains below, he finally met Toni in person last year while performing around the region. The two chose a number of tracks from across their various projects and collaborations, as well as from other labels (AMEK) and artists (EVITCELES) from the Balkans. (Joseph Sannicandro)

Stefan writes:

"In the fall last year I met Toni Dimitrov for the first time, we connected in Skopje, Macedonia. I had a solo piano concert on the one night that I was there and it was raining so hard. Connecting with and sharing some space with Toni, a prolific ambient musician, during the visit was important. I particularly enjoyed sharing a soup together after the show in an old restaurant. 

I am sharing this mix that was put together in the context of Toni and I working on a duet album together. The project is underway and we look forward to sharing it with the world. I love collaborating with Toni for many reasons, but one quickly that comes to mind is thinking about the mountain hikes that Toni regularly takes in the territory, in Macedonia."

Thank you for listening.

TRACKLIST

Biloba Green - "#228B22"
Fayerabend - "Liquid Fear" (Diagnosis of Our Time)
Toni Dimitrov - "The Story of Utopias (Radio Edit)"
Toni Dimitrov - "1984 (Album Edit)"
Amplidyne Effect -  "Electric Phase"
Stefan Christoff and Joseph Sannicandro - "Orbiting Mercury in a dream"
kr​ā​ll​ā​r vs с​б​о​г​о​м х​и​л​я​д​и - "10​-​19"
Musical Statues - "Sky Eyes"
Anarchist Mountains Trio -"But Who, We" (La terre et la force)
EVITCELES - "Infinite Night"

Toni Dimitrov and Stefan Christoff present Balkan signs [mix]

Free City Radio explores the intersection of social activism and the arts.

The weekly program features interviews on contemporary political currents in Montréal, Canada and around the world, highlighting creative voices involved in struggles for transformative social change. 

This Free City Radio page also features contemporary music mixes contributed to stations around the world. 

The 30 minute weekly Free City Radio is produced and hosted by Stefan Christoff and airs weekly on @radiockut 90.3FM at 11am on Wednesdays and @cjlo1690 AM in Tiohti:áke/Montréal on Tuesdays at 1pm. On @ckuwradio 95.9FM in Winnipeg at 10:30pm on Tuesdays. On @cfrc 101.9FM in Kingston, Ontario at 11:30am on Wednesdays. Also it broadcasts on @cfuv 101.9 FM in Victoria, BC on Wednesdays at 9am and Saturdays at 7am, as well as Met Radio 1280 AM in Toronto at 5:30am on Fridays.

36. Tim McCaskell on listening to LGBTQ perspectives on the pandemic

Free City Radio

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