The dust has settled and another Initial Shock is in the books! Thanks to all the performers, volunteers, sponsors, venue staff and attendees for making it another great edition. Initial Shock III will take place July 5, 2025 – see you then!
– Taylor & Aaron
Our latest addition to the AFTER SHOCK matinee on Sunday, July 7 is Montreal-based EXUVIE.
EXUVIE is a newly formed noise duo that blends harmonious sample collage, abrasive high pitch frequencies and gnarly electronics to create a harsh ambient sonic landscape. This is not a process of disfigurement but rather one of magnification, the aim being to render what was once peaceful as now engaging and intense.
The After Shock matinee is $10 PWYC at the door.
Advanced tickets are available for the main night of Initial Shock: https://www.venuepilot.co/events/82671/orders/new#/
Aaron was invited by the More Noise Please program on Met Radio to curate a fest-related playlist.
The show airs tonight at 8PM on metradio.ca / AM 1280 in Toronto.
The playlist:
Richard Ramirez – Spinal Mutilation (Certain Cruelty, 1995, Slaughter Productions)
The Nausea – Ascension (Requiem, 2024, Absurd Exposition)
Slime Street – Cold Rushes (Séance, 2024, Disaster Sources)
Murmur – 1 (Balcony, 2023, Buried in slag and debris.)
Fowl – 2 (Balcony, 2023, Buried in slag and debris.)
Thanks to Jen Creagh for the invite.
Taylor was invited by the Psychic Ceremony program on CJLO to speak a bit about the fest and present tracks from a selection of the artists.
The show is archived for the next 4 weeks here: http://cjlo.com/shows/psychic-ceremony/episode-24062419
The playlist:
Richard Ramirez – Severe Retraction (The Japanese / American Noise Treaty, 1995, Release Entertainment)
Heat Signature – Shedding the Human Psyche (Dehumanization In Progress, 2019, Oxen)
Parasite Nurse – Clarity (Life Is Beautiful, 2023, Oxen)
Paxillus Succubus – Acte 3 – Scène Finale – Terres De Guerre (Paxillus Succubus x Splinter Assembly, 2023, self-released)
The Nausea – Ascension (Requiem, 2024, Absurd Exposition/Buried In Slag And Debris)
Death Glaze – Rend (Collapse, 2024, Absurd Exposition)
Primitive Isolation Tactics – Hazy Nightmare Reality (Time Hole, 2024, White Centipede Noise)
Thank you to Josh Dimakakos for the invite.
FOWL is the solo sound project of Ben Symonds that has had recorded material appear over the past year on labels like Buried in Slag and Debris and Disaster Sources. Dragging objects, cheap microphones and a predisposition for quiet moments result in impulsive organic noise.
SPLINTER ASSEMBLY explores the sonic connection between the mechanical and the human, often manifesting itself in scorching hot and brief live performances or self-released cassette tapes. By use of home appliances, found objects, contact microphones and magnetic tape, SPLINTER ASSEMBLY creates dark and jarring soundscapes. Influenced by sounds of urban life, monotonous household items, and gothic imagery. Short, loud and blistering.
Tickets: https://www.venuepilot.co/events/82671/orders/new#/
We’re fortunate and thankful to have sponsors of the festival, one of whom is Untitled Zine, a pro-printed publication reporting on noise, avant-garde, and contemporary sound art practices. Its editor, Chris Gibson, has been a big supporter of the festival since day one. Not only did he design all our promotional materials this year, he’ll also be performing at the After Shock matinee gig on Sunday, July 7 as part of the Rhoda & dang. collaborative set. Thank you to Chris for your generosity and support.
The newest issue of Untitled Zine is out now, featuring articles, artwork and interviews with:
• Jazzhand – Interview by Ross Henteleff
• alonewithlabor [ Kem Bond, Impact Initiative ]
• Pain Chain [ Sam Gruca ] – Interview by Kate Rissiek
• Aaron Scholz on Latitudes [ Disaster Sources, Catholic Stare ]
• Met Glas [ Kale Van Reekum ]
• Veikko Rajanen [ Mogao, The New Boyfriends ]
• Frans de Waard [ Kapotte Muziek, Vital Weekly ]
• Jeph Jerman – Interview by Barrett E. Lediard
• Jack Davidson [ Noise Not Music ]
• Elisha Morningstar [Joy de Vivre ]
• Film-Field: Punishment Park – Review by Sam Risser
• Will Kemper [ PRESSORTAPE, FBFFFBFBBBF, SIGNAL CORPS]
Support Chris and Untitled Zine by picking up copies at https://buriedinslaganddebris.bigartel.com or ordering from the following distributors:
Scream & Writhe (CA), Obsolete Records (Halifax), Skeleton Dust Records (US), Malevolent Relics (US), Satatuhatta (FI), Discreet Music (SE), Sentimental Youth (DE), Amek Collective (BG) + more.
Advanced tickets for the fest are available: https://www.venuepilot.co/events/82671/orders/new#/
Heat Signature is an American harsh noise duo formed in 2016 by Brad Griggs and Luke Tandy. They have released tapes and CDs on labels such as Dada Drumming, Oxen, Found Remains, and more, and have toured throughout the US and Europe.
Come and See is a one man (Yannis Panos) noise project from Montréal, Canada. Through heavy processed found sounds, field recordings, movie samples, Come and See aims to explore and illustrate the skewed perspectives of an anxious mind.
Tickets: https://www.venuepilot.co/events/82671/orders/new#/
ERIN ALTOMARE is a harsh noise performer from Vancouver, BC. 15 years ago she began taking photos at noise shows in Vancouver, later becoming half of the noise project MOLENA. She now performs as a solo act. She enjoys pushing sounds into disintegrating, repeating, grinding patterns from whatever sources she is currently obsessed with.
DANG. is Danielle Jakubiak, a sound artist and therapist from Halifax, NS. Her current work has been focused on field recording and translating that into something compositional and intentional. She uses various processing techniques, and each procedure is a way for her to show to the listener how her own listening frames the world. She has released tapes on the label Buried in slag and debris and played at the Everyseeker Convention and Upstream Halifax.
RHODA is Chris Gibson. A sound and visual artist from Halifax, NS who works with field recordings, found sounds, tape machines and various electronics. He runs the label Buried in slag and debris, and is the editor for Untitled Zine. Chris is also an active member in Bleep in the Dark, an experimental collective who organize shows in Halifax.
The After Shock matinee is $10 PWYC at the door!
RICHARD RAMIREZ began recording in 1989 and released his first album in 1990 with Black Leather Jesus. The first solo release under his own (and yes, real) name was in 1992 when he started the label Deadline Recordings. RAMIREZ has worked with the likes of MERZBOW, PRURIENT, THE HATERS, THURSTON MOORE, JUSTIN K. BROADRICK, THE RITA, MSBR, ATRAX MORGUE, and others. Gay adult themes are sometimes used to complete the harsh sounds of his work.
THIN MOUNTAIN is a passionate and prolific noise artist approaching 24 years of activity in ensembles and solo works, most recognizably as a long-standing core member of Black Leather Jesus. THIN MOUNTAIN was born out of pandemic gear buying, an obsession with the world created by Weird Horror author Jon Padgett, and a desire to create wall noise that is brutally harsh, but creepy and hallucinatory.
Tickets: https://www.venuepilot.co/events/82671/orders/new#/
Reuniting for a special performance this year at the fest is Canadian duo SLIME STREET. Additionally, each member will also be performing solo sets at the matinee show on Sunday.
SLIME STREET was born in the year 2010 when Dallas Kruszelnicki met Jon Vaughn upon relocating to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan from Brighton, England. The two immediately bonded over their love of psychotronic horror films, 4-tracks, blazing up, and counter-cultural music scenes and began conjuring spine tingling, sludge infested, supernaturally psychotic soundscapes. Over the following years, Dallas and Jon would perform many times, sharing the stage with such artists as MERZBOW and splitting releases with EVIL MOISTURE and ORLOP, remaining faithful to ‘Slime Street Mondays’ for over eight years. Their appearance at INITIAL SHOCK II marks their first much anticipated reunion in six years since moving in opposite directions, coinciding with the release of their new c60 on Disaster Sources entitled ‘Séance’.
Tickets: https://www.venuepilot.co/events/82671/orders/new#/
GREEN MIST is the audio performance of Dallas K, who has been manipulating cassette walkmans and electronics for 20 years. Notable festivals that he has played include No Fun (Brooklyn), Colour Out of Space (Brighton), Glamorama (Antwerp), Sounds Like (Saskatoon), Fake Jazz (Vancouver), and Minimidi (Beijing). After two decades of conjuring up demented tape squelch and heavy doom electronics, GREEN MIST is proud to perform at Initial Shock’s AFTER SHOCK matinee.
JON VAUGHN (they/he) is a multidisciplinary artist, curator, independent publisher, and experimental musician living in Regina, SK. They have collaborated with artists such as TIM OLIVE, ÂMES SANGLANTES, TOSHIMARU NAKAMURA, SCANT INTONE and others and worked with labels such as Magnetic Domain, No Type, Panospria and Oral, Flish, Slapart, and Krakilsk. Vaughn has opened for artists such as MERZBOW and THE THING and performed at such festivals as Mutek, send + receive, Vancouver New Music Festival, RE:FLUX, Suoni Per Il Popolo, Rien A Voir, Sight + Sound, and Akousma.
There are no advanced tickets for the After Shock matinee. It’s $10 PWYC at the door!