Posts in Music
MTM EP 6 - What Resonates with James Harris?

James Harris (aka Hemingway) is a soft spoken, but clearly thoughtful and contemplative producer. Though he's been through some very real challenges in his life, he continues to see the potential in the universe. James' career is one that has been bolstered by the support of not only his family, but his local and online music and art community as well. I think James is a wonderful example of how discipline and playing well with others can do a lot to produce and sustain amazing work.

In this interview we talk about his beginnings in music, and the online community that helped support him releasing his music publicly and how coming out of his shell and performing with others in groups like Tush really transformed how he produces music now. 

We discuss James' experience with his arteriovenus malformation or AVM and how in the wake of that event, how his community once again helped him overcoming some of the challenges associated with that time, and what he's done since that time, including co-running his label Cosmic Resonance.

We talk a bit about meditation, neuroplasticity, and finally, being that Cosmic Resonance is primarily a vinyl based label, what it is about vinyl that can teach us about the past, the present and the future.

JAMES HARRIS' BIO

James Harris, aka Hemingway, has been producing and performing music live and as a DJ in Toronto over the past decade. He co-operates the label Cosmic Resonance Records with musical collaborator Chris Evans; a vinyl imprint featuring music from himself, Raf Reza and Korea Town Acid. Hemingway has a variety of releases and remixes under his belt on labels such as Stratford Court, Homebreakin’ Records, Brilliantine Records, Sweat It Out!, Apostasie Records and House Of Disco. His music draws influence from a record collection heavy on futurist styles of jazz-funk, disco, deep house, jungle, psych, dub, broken beat, new wave and mystical exotica. As a DJ, Hemingway’s sets are eclectic and escapist, notable for deep grooves and cosmic melodies. He has shared the decks with many reputable acts over the years, including Tornado Wallace, Jex Opolis, Oliver, RAC, Classixx, The Magician, Tim Green, Edit Murphy, Pelifics & Jeremy Glenn. James also hosts Astral Projections, a monthly party at Kensington Market’s Handlebar, bringing together a diverse community of bands and DJs from Toronto’s blossoming underground electronic music scene.

His latest release, Memoirs, is available on vinyl and digital formats and is being distributed to record stores worldwide through Honest Jon’s Distribution:
http://cosmicresonance.space/album/memoirs

http://soundcloud.com/hemingway

James recently collaborated in the studio with Jessica Cho as an engineer/percussionist for Korea Town Acid's latest EP 'Mahogani Forest' due out on vinyl and digital formats on June 15th, 2018

http://cosmicresonance.space/http://cosmicresonance.space/album/mahogani-forest

https://soundcloud.com/cosmicresonance/cr-003-mahogani-forest-ep-korea-town-acid-preview

He is currently at work on a new EP. More details to come later this summer! You can hear a sneak peak here: https://www.facebook.com/hmgwy/videos/10155843870814652/


MUSIC IN THIS EPISODE

Click links to support/listen/buy!

Korea Town Acid - Bubble Tease (Cosmic Resonance)
Tafari Anthony - Fuck (Hemingway Remix)
Keenhouse - Aries (Hemingways Starlight Yacht Remix)
Hemingway - Blue Notes
Hemingway - Memoirs
Hemingway - Ocean Hues
Raf Reza - Pineapple Island
Korea Town Acid - Mahogany Forest
 

If you’re in Toronto, look out for James's event Astral Projections, often held at Handlebar with James and a slew of other very talented people. 

MTM EP 4 - Mindfulness to Make with Josh Reichmann

With every new artistic endeavour, we can discover not only a new destination but also the path that led us there. But how to stay on the path, and what path should we take? As someone who has often struggled with these questions, I became increasingly interested in meditation as a means to helping with focus and intention. I found that as with most journeys, it helps to have a guide. 

So on this week's episode of Mind to Make, I speak with artist, musician, film-maker and now meditation & mindfulness instructor/counsellor Josh Reichmann about how our minds play such an important role in the process of art making. We discuss Josh's introduction into mindfulness, meditation, Buddhism and the various forms and meanings attached to those terms, as well as how they manifest themselves in us and others. We discuss addiction, suffering and finding meaning and compassion both for ourselves and others. We talk about how having a moral or ethical framework can and should be as important as what we are trying to say with our work. We speak about how mindfulness can be a first step to beginning a journey along the middle path of creation and discovery.

It should be noted that the concepts Josh and I discuss in the program are complex to say the least. Though we stray from our own conversational path on several occasions, I would attribute this to my own learning as an interviewer as well as to the depth and complexity of the subject matter. I hope to further explore this topic with Josh in a future episode to derive more clarity on the topic, and would invite listeners to put forth any questions they might have as a result of hearing this conversation. 

Josh very modestly had this to say of himself and his career thus far...

I wrote and recorded with Tangiers and released three records with that rock band and toured around and made music videos. I continued on to release five more solo records. Most were about telepathy and magic. My recent feature film was just completed and screened for Cannes and Lacarno film festivals considerations by Telefilm. It is featuring members of the Tibetan community and focuses on the bardos and self immolation and living in exile.

I graduated as a Contemplative Psychotherapist and counsel and teach mindfulness and meditation through the Tibetan Galugpa tradition of which I am a student. I teach meditation at a Tibetan temple.

I'm writing more film...and a new record.

You can get more information about Josh's counselling practice at www.joshreichmann.com

The song used in this episode, After Live is written and performed by Josh Reichmann, released on Hand Drawn Dracula

 

MTM EP 2 - Maylee Todd and Her Virtual Womb

AIR DATE: APRIL 16th, 2018

On the 2nd episode of Mind To Make, I sit down with the delightful Maylee Todd. We talk about her latest record Acts of Love and the process she went through to make it. We explore ideas around going it alone vs. with a group or team, releasing on labels vs. self-releasing and discuss Maylee's Virtual Womb show and how she's made her audience part of her performances. All that, and lots more fun stuff! 

Her latest video for the single Afanyala can be seen here

Co-director Todd Yurichuk says of the video "Afanyala' is about honouring your unique sensibilities... Ultimately there's no one person like another and everyone's unique nature and lived experience gives a wealth of knowledge that can bring different perspectives and creative expressions to humanity."

Maylee incorporated the creative experience of others in the new video, collaborating with projection artist  Lightsweetcrude and wearable art-maker Xue Liang. The video was co-directed by Todd and Fred Yurichuk, and you can take it all in below.

GET A WORKSHOP FROM MAYLEE

Maylee will be teaching the fundamentals of Ableton from recording to advanced techniques for creativity, and live performance. Click the link below to access more information...

Learning Ableton With Maylee Todd


Maylee's Bio

Polymath. Free thinker. Psychonaut. Jill-of-all-trades. Renaissance womyn. Toronto-based multi-disciplinary artist, vocalist and producer Maylee Todd has been called many things. But the one thing her artistic and musical output has been consistently called is stimulating

The source of her prolific artistic tendencies may lie in her bi-cultural lineage which points to a Canadian father who is an Elvis Presley impersonator, and her Filipino mom who for years crafted quirky interactive quilts and dolls. Regardless, Maylee became best known in Canada, the UK (where she receives airplay and praises from BBC Radio 1’s Gilles Peterson) and Asia (where she was a Top 10 charting artist in Tokyo) for her past solo albums, Choose Your Own Adventure (2010) and Escapology (2013), dual works of art that incorporated elements of dance-friendly funk, electronic, soul, disco and experimental sounds, while utilizing both digital and analog recording methods. 

For her third studio album Acts of Love, which she calls “a body of work that is much more about music for me”, Maylee’s playlist of songs can be viewed more as MANTRAS inspired by her psychonautic lyrical approach, and her interest in science fiction, human psychology, and unconventional thinking. Maylee convincingly covers a wide range of timely, topical and universal subject matter on her new 17 track album including gender bias (“From This Moment”), addiction (“One of These Days”), solitude (“Lonely”), coming to a mutual understanding (“Eye To Eye”), unconventional relationships (“Goat Wut U Need”) and virtual reality/psilocibin (“Virtual Life”).

Given that Maylee’s creativity takes direct inspiration from her working in a wide range of artistic disciplines; song-writing, film, performance art, comedy, 3-D projection mapping and design, it should come as no surprise that she added album “producer” to her repertoire, having produced all 17 of the songs on the album. In fact, Acts of Love is characterized by an “in-the-box” studio approach that sees Maylee wholly embracing technology and taking on the role of producer, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist, recording and playing the bulk of the music in her home studio.

Virtual Womb is a multimedia show that includes 3-D projection mapping, dancing, installation, interactive therapy and music. The audience byob (brings their own blanket), walks through a large vulva installation, lie on the floor and watches projections on the ceiling that coincide with the live musical performance containing harp and electronics. The audience participates in a collection of collective consciousness, where they can participate in writing down their forms of therapy, their Acts Of Love. These Acts Of Love live online for worldwide access. 

Maylee’s music unfurls some multi-disciplinary art appendages and has the capacity to inject humour and a true sense of performance art into her music. Her shows are more than just concerts, they are creative experiences, and her much talked about prowess in this area has led to her sharing stages with Janelle Monae, Little Dragon, Thundercat, Lee Fields, Aloe Blacc, Esthero, Ebony Bones, and The Budos Band, among others. 

Acts of Love is essentially a tale of one woman’s metamorphosis, of constantly mutating and evolving musically, with the ultimate goal being to enlighten listeners on the symbiotic relationship between music, technology, performance art and human nature. It's a conceptual record that focuses on topics such as polyamory, gender bias, addiction, forgiveness, and the illusions/constructs of life.

MTM EP 1 - Strategy in the Age of Internet Memes w/ Robert Bolton

Air Date: April 9, 2018

On the 1st episode of Mind To Make, I speak with friend and collaborator Robert Bolton. We talk about rap music's power to shape lyrical minds, how strategic foresight maps well onto being a musician, Robert's latest project From Later and what inspired it, as well as his love and respect for internet meme culture. Read Rob's bio below to get a more full picture of everything he's involved in. 

Robert Bolton is a Canadian artist and strategist.

As Head of Foresight Studio at Idea Couture, Robert led interdisciplinary teams, using design thinking and foresight methods, to solve complex problems and generate brand, revenue, and profit growth for Fortune 500 clients. 

In collaboration with Policy Horizons Canada, an innovation lab within the Government of Canada, Robert led the design of the board game, Impact, which is used to teach federal public servants the discipline of strategic foresight and encourages deliberate thinking about long-term future developments and uncertainties.

As a songwriter, Robert’s work has been featured in Warner Bros., MTV, CBS, A&E, CBC, and EA Sports productions. His work with Tanika Charles on her album, "Soul Run" earned a Juno nomination for Soul/R&B Recording of the Year 2017. Robert’s graphic narrative-poem, Orpheus was mounted at TEDxToronto and the Vancouver Art Gallery exhibition, Krazy: The Delirious World of Anime + Comics + Video Games + Art. His latest work of song, Lonely Arcadecombines his passions for music and futures thinking. 

Robert co-authored a perspective on policy, Biohackers: The Science, Politics, and Economics of Synthetic Biology, published in Innovations Journal (MIT Press, 2014). He was a National Science Foundation AoSL Innovation Fellow and holds a Masters of Arts in the Humanities from the University of Chicago. 

Rob will performing as Arowbe on tour throughout Europe supporting Phèdre on the following dates...


04/09 BRUSSELS, CHAFF
04/10 LIÈGE, KulturA.
04/11 AMSTERDAM, WTF Queer Wednesday's Vrankrijk
04/12 PARIS, Supersonic
04/13 RENNES, Festival Treize