Event Details
Friday September 26
FEMBOTS
Calling Out CD release
Co-presented with the artists
With a special performance of the play "Pelee"
And a "junkstrument" installation by Iner Souster
Doors 7pm, concert 8pm
Tickets $12 advance at Ticketweb — BUY NOW!
At the door: $15 regular/$10 member
As they get set to release their fourth album, Toronto’s FemBots have set off in yet another direction — while in many ways returning to their beginnings. Born out of improvisation and experimentation, their 2008 CD Calling Out sees the FemBots once more stretching themselves musically to produce a daring and unique recording.
The FemBots began as a home recording project of Dave MacKinnon and Brian Poirier, and their debut, Mucho Cuidado (2000), featured songs written and performed on power tools, toys and broken down thrift store instruments. The duo quickly carved a unique space in the Toronto music scene, bringing their post-industrial folk songs to the stage using tape loops and reel-to-reel machines. Their new two releases, Small Town Murder Scene (2003) and The City (2005), adopted a more atmospheric approach with traditional instrumentation and soulful laments, and garnered them significant critical acclaim.
The FemBots originally envisioned Calling Out as an entire album using an assortment of “junkstruments,” musical instruments created by artist Iner Souster, using recycled materials. Eight months into the project, it became clear that these machines were simply too unpredictable to work with on an entire album. Rather than scrapping the project entirely, the FemBots used the junkstrument instrumentals they had recorded as rhythm tracks, the chassis that the rest of the songs are built on.
Calling Out also marks another departure for the FemBots. This is the first time MacKinnon and Poirier have collaborated with other musicians during every stage of the writing and recording process. With Calling Ou,t the songs were built up from improvisations with Iner Souster and drummer Nathan Lawr. The result is a collection of pop and rock song built on a foundation of unique-sounding home made instruments, resulting in their most straightforward and strangest record to date.
