Colin Fisher listens to himself, and shares the deep wisdom in this episode.  We talk Alexander Technique, Stratford, Bieber, music festivals and much more.  The audio quality may be a little dicey, but don't turn that shit down like those wankers from NXNE -- crank it!

EP. 134 - COLIN FISHER

What Lies Beneath

The Lost

Song and singing by Veronica Charnley 
Piano: Manu Peskine
Viola: Jennifer Thiessen
Mixed by Ludovic Palabaud
Mastered by Grey Market Mastering

When I Walk In

Wade In The Water

Montreal Winter

Single Red Flower
I: a few warbles for the little dead
II: the big alive, feeling small
completed July 2022

Performed November 20 2022 by Standing Wave at St. George the Martyr, Toronto, ON. Part of "Ex Machina" presented by New Music Concerts.

ABOUT
“single Red flower” was written shortly before, during, and after the death of my two rats Parsley and Sage. They were my pandemic companions, providing much love and friendship during two awful years of lockdown in a small Toronto basement apartment. The two movements are threaded with residual emotion from their passing. 

Having never dealt with losing my own pet before – let alone two in quick succession - I was mystified, touched, and overwhelmed with the rituals of their little deaths: laying them in the cage for their cagemates to process their death; picking out a flower pot, soil, and seeds in which to bury them; and laying them to rest in a backyard rental in which we would soon be leaving. Only one plant bloomed from the planter, a beautiful red flower of a species I have never seen before. 

While I often try to keep my emotions out of my music, this piece inadvertently became strange, small, and ritualistic, reflecting these experiences. Little, quiet sounds are brought to the forefront and amplified to fill the space in the same way that little things can fill our hearts beyond bearing.

single Red flower (sextet)

Performed live by Black Box Ensemble, November 23 2024 at Church of St. Luke and St. Matthew, NYC.
Tyler Neidermayer, Recording and mixing engineer

Leonard Bopp, conductor
Annie Nikunen, flute
Tyler Neidermayer, bass clarinet
Lauren Conroy, violin
Jordan Bartow, cello
Yifei Xu, keyboard
J Clancy, pecussion

Originally commissioned by Ensemble Paramirabo. 

ABOUT
“Stygian pulse” (2023) refers to a chronic throbbing pain in my left shoulder and neck that I have been experiencing for over ten years. It is shapeshifting in its colour and intensity and even its sonic properties, but most days it is an inky, dark, and dull recurrence. The normal medical routes for pain relief have proven ineffective beyond a temporary period.

While the pain doesn’t majorly inhibit any of my daily activities, my inability to alleviate it has
created a sort of “settling:” the pain has become mundane, foreverhere – unpredictable in its exact rhythm or temperament, but with a certitude that it will return, beating darkly. As a feature of my body for over a third of my time on Earth, I’m quite sure it’s here until the end. My stygian pulse – tiny focused outbursts until I die.

Stygian Pulse (sextet + electronics)

Suck It, Eagle Beak, I'm Taking The Side Exit

In the Lounge

Written for an emotionally dark scene where a man in power discusses exterminating an entire group of people and the film's heroine in order to control the greater population.

Termination

This meat generates sound waves. That is its value.

Suck It, Eagle Beak, I'm Taking The Side Exit

The World Next Door