It’s no secret that Toronto is home to people from many different backgrounds, nationalities, and ethnicities — and their musical traditions. That simple fact has led to many groundbreaking musical collaborations.
Over the last two years, Link Music Lab’s Experimental Link Series has essentially created new genres of music by pairing musicians from the Persian diaspora with members of Toronto’s diverse and excellent music scene, including pianist Chris Pruden, bassist Scott Peterson, and cellist George Crotty. The results have been a string of innovative recordings and live performances that veer from fusion to electronic music and back.
They’re holding a Label Release Party to celebrate the five (and soon to be six) releases that have come out so far, and future plans that include several more, on May 10.
“I started with working with Small World Music, with Alan Davis,” recalls Link Music Lab founder Moudy Schricker. He’s also a musician and producer. “There was a big movement of Iranian classical music.”
From its beginnings as a genre you’d hear at strictly Persian community events, the popularity of Persian music and growing audience in the city has seen it fill Toronto’s major concert halls, including the George Weston Recital Hall, and Roy Thomson Hall.
“Because I work with them, I thought there was a good potential,” he says. After five years or so of working with Small World, he wanted to branch out. “I thought I should have my own company.”
It’s partly in response to that growing audience. “The landscape has changed massively,” he says, noting the growing number of arts related companies with Persian roots.
By the end of the pandemic, he’d decided on a new direction for the company and the music it produced. “I started shifting from Iranian classical music to experimental music” he says. “We kind of make our own genre that doesn’t exist in Toronto.”
It takes the classical Persian traditions, and adds a broader and modern perspective, including elements of jazz/contemporary and electronic music.
“While I love my culture, I love my country, at the same time, I live in Canada. It opens the door to engage with other things that are going on in the city.”
It’s also about engaging with a wide variety of different artists. “It opens the door for many other artists,” he notes. He’s approached organizations like The Music Gallery and Wavelength, known for their own adventurous approach to music programming. “I always looked up to organizations like Music Gallery,” he adds. “They do really forward thinking stuff. I was also a fan of that music.”
The music becomes a part of living in the city.
“It really makes me feel closer to where I live, which is Toronto.”
So far, Link Music Lab has released four full-length albums, and one EP. Another is on the way, and all are available on Bandcamp, along with most other streaming options;
Success comes from choosing the right musicians to work together.
Iranian multi-instrumentalist, singer, composer, and music teacher Shaho Andalibi has performed on multiple occasions in Toronto. He’s a specialist in Kurdish music, which he plays on a nay, an end blown flute traditionally made of reed. Schricker calls his live concert with Toronto-based bassist Scott Peterson and pianist Chris Pruden, as recorded on the album, one of the highlights of Link’s efforts so far.
“That’s a good example of what I’ve tried to do in making this music contemporary,” Moudy says. “The outcome of that music is very interesting. When they’re all together, playing together, you can hear elements of each musician being themselves,” he adds. “They’re feeding off each other’s musicality.”
Creating the innovative ensembles sometimes involves a bit of persuasion. “When I program these things, they don’t know each other,” he explains. “The way I pitch it is, why don’t you bring your B-side?”
He works with the musicians to find out what their own aspirations are, the elements they wished they had more time to explore. If there is a specific idea, he looks for a way to fulfill it. “That’s how the process works,” he says. “It’s a complicated formula,” he acknowledges. “Everybody has had a really good experience.”
The Party features a concert with some of the musicians who perform on the releases: Kimia Koochakzadeh-Yazdi (electronics), Niloufar Shiri (kamancheh), Matti Pulkki (accordion), Scott Peterson (upright bass), Caleb Klager (live PA) and Persian Alchemy featuring Neda Mohamadpour (vocals), Isaiah Farahbakhsh (cello) and Mehdi Rostami (setar).
Persian Alchemy will also perform selections of their forthcoming album at the event.
DJs Neonlicheter and Mahan will bookend the show with solo performances and collaborations and Hamid Malek on projection mapping.
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