Katharsis: March 2013

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Katharsis Mar. 17 '13 (Bitter Fictions Live Set)

This week Bitter Fictions played live in-studio.

Bitter Fictions is the project of local writer, musician, and 'outside' music guru Devin Friesen. He was in the studio to play some tracks from his catalog including a track from his forthcoming LP which will be released Sunday March 24 at Local 510.

You can get a taste of what to expect from this live set.

Download a recording of the show (including Devin's live set) in mp3 format here. The performance starts around the 38 min. mark.

Monday, March 11, 2013

Katharsis Mar. 10 '13 (Hook & Eye Live Set)

This week Hook & Eye played live in-studio.

Hook & Eye is the new project of Jeff MacLeod (ex the Cape May, Pale Air Singers) along with Carl Davison (drums) and Stephen Burchill (bass). Started as a solo creative outlet by Jeff, their sound is rapidly evolving from the more brooding, slow-burning basement blues documented on their debut release, the North St. EP, to that of a fierce, more explosive, rock trio. Jeff recorded the EP last summer with his long-time bandmate, Clinton St. John, and it was mixed by Arran Fisher at Acoustikitty. They are excited about sharing the North St. EP and their newest songs with the world. The official record release show is this Thursday night (Mar. 14) at Broken City and they'll soon be heading into the studio with Colin Stewart at The Hive to capture their newest material. You can get a taste of what to expect from their excellent live set.

Download a recording of the show (including Hook & Eye's live set) in mp3 format here. The performance starts around the 90 min. mark.

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Katharsis Mar. 3 '13

Download the show recording mp3

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Welcome! Start Here:

Katharsis is a bi-weekly journey to the polar regions of contemporary music. These unfamiliar musical frontiers are scoured for adventurous new sounds grounded in harmony, melody and beauty. Selections range from the sublimely quiet and reverent to overwhelming aural overload, yet more often than not sustain a tranquil and soothing mood appropriate for late evenings or early mornings. Songs that both require and reward patient, intentional listening are highly favoured. Though rarely played,‘stars’ such as Arvo Pärt, Karlheinz Stockhausen, John Cage, Steve Reich, Phillip Glass, Brian Eno, John Fahey, Nick Drake, Nick Cave, Brian Wilson, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Jimi Hendrix, Rhys Chatham, Kevin Shields, Kieran Hebden, Christian Fennesz, and Mark Hollis light the way forward like a guiding constellation. Through the joy of discovery and the weaving of these musical threads into a cohesive sonic tapestry Katharsis aims to provide exactly that which its name implies.

HISTORY:

Katharsis commenced broadcasting on cjsw in the fall of 2000 early Sunday mornings (3-7am). After a few months the program moved to 12-2am Tuesday mornings and then filled the 11pm-12am Monday night spot vacated by longtime cjsw personality Mark Hamilton (who was busy travelling back and forth to Europe and starting his Woodpigeon project along with several other current and past cjsw personnel).

Eventually the show expanded to its current 2 hour format. As of March 7, 2010 Katharsis returned to Sundays, now at a much more accessible 8-10pm.

In the summer of 2017, Katharsis scaled back to a bi-weekly show, alternating with Processed, a fantastic show hosted by Krzysztof Sujata.

Over the years several up-and-coming artists have graced the show with fantastic live performances (Jerusalem in My Heart, Sarah Davachi, Valiska, Bitter Fictions, Hook & Eye, Chris Tenz, Noro, AM Static, Poor Man's Fantasty, Gianna Lauren, Memory Screen, Chad VanGaalen & Eric Hamelin, Azeda Booth, Preytek, Beneath These Idle Tides, Lucid 44, Woodpigeon, Dan Goldman & Snowblink, and Cam Penner). These live in-studio sessions are always a highlight for me.

If you like what you hear and also make music that you think I might be interested in playing, feel free to contact me and/or submit it to cjsw directly.

Katharsis