Katharsis: July 2009

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Katharsis July 20 '09

This week's: mp3 or ogg.

Artists played: Joan of Arc, Steven R. Smith, A Broken Consort, Jack Rose, James Blackshaw, Alexander Turnquist, Evan Miller, Richard Skelton, Ilyas Ahmed, Psychic Pollution, Forest Tate Fraser, Knots, Extra Happy Ghost!!!, Gobble Gobble, Goldmund, Tiny Vipers, Chris Brokaw, Takeshi Nishimoto, and Mark Templeton. Programmed on the fly (as I usually do) this show ended up being heavily Fahey/Takoma-inspired though I neglected to play the master himself (I accidentally left my Fahey music at home). There is so much more of this type of stuff to explore that I'll very likely play more of it in a future show. Boomkat has put together a nice little intro to the Takoma sound. Check it out.

The links to the archived show recordings should be good for up to 3 weeks from the show date. If the links expire just let me know via comment and I'll re-up.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Katharsis July 13 '09

Sorry, I've been slackin': mp3 or ogg.

This week's selections: We Were Promised Jet Packs, Patrick Phelan, Pale Air Singers, Tiny Vipers, Stina Nordenstam, Idaho, Lotte Kestner, Lawrence English, DM Stith, Mark Templeton, Riceboy Sleeps, Rafael Anton Irisarri, Brock Geiger, Mothers Auxilliary, Forest Tate Fraser, Mount Eerie, The Antlers, Hermit Thrushes, Tom Brosseau, Marissa Nadler, Alela Diane, Nina Nastasia, Psychic Pollution, Thanksgiving, Royal City, and Chihei Hatakeyama.

The links to the archived show recordings should be good for up to 3 weeks from the show date. If the links expire just let me know via comment and I'll re-up.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Katharsis July 6 '09

Stampede? What Stampede?: mp3 or ogg.

This week: Viva Voce, Timber Timbre, CocoRosie, Chris Garneau, Nils Frahm, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Christopher Tignor, Gareth Dickson, A Broken Consort, Molly Berg + Stephen Vitiello, Julien Neto, Max Richter, Gregg Kowalsky, Taiga Remains, Taylor Deupree, Fuqugi, and Pillowdiver.

The links to the archived show recordings should be good for up to 3 weeks from the show date. If the links expire just let me know via comment and I'll re-up.

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

Tuesday, July 21, 2009