Co-Presented with NOW Society
DahL is the Montreal-based art rock trio of Nassir Liselle (Anthony McLachlan), Bryan Greenfield, and Edward Scrimger. With roots in post-punk, R&B, and ‘90s trip-hop, the band fuses socially charged songwriting with experimental sound design to craft music as fluid as it is fearless.
Formed in 2014 after the dissolution of their former project Oliverthegreat, DahL has grown into a force of immersive storytelling. Their 2024 debut LP That’s It earned critical acclaim from CULT MTL and Exclaim!, and their unpredictable live performances have shared stages with Suuns, FACS, and more.
Fresh off their international debut at New York’s New Colossus Festival, DahL continue to carve a path through art rock’s uncharted waters. “High Tide” is the latest proof of their uncompromising vision.
Collaborative performance with Guillaume Vallée
Experimental filmmaker and video artist Guillaume Vallée graduated from Concordia University with a degree in animation and holds an MFA in Studio Arts – Film Production. He works with film (Super 8, 16mm, 35mm), analog video (VHS, Hi8), and stereoscopic video (red/cyan anaglyph). His audiovisual performances have been presented at numerous festivals in Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Austria. His experimental films and videos, distributed by Vidéographe, Light Cone, La Distributrice de films, and Winnipeg Film Group, have been screened internationally at several festivals.
Jairus Sharif is a Black-Canadian multi-instrumentalist, composer and sound artist based in Calgary, AB, Treaty 7 land. His work combines spontaneous composition, sound collage, and free improvisation to create a liberation technology used for self-understanding, freedom of expression, and collective healing. Sharing a truthful message though the free exploration of music is important to Sharif, and blurring his own understanding of immediate reflection, ecstatic improvisation and tranquil focus is at the centre of his current creative work.
Operating the studio as an instrument, his recordings apply improvisation to assist in forging connections between ecstatic jazz, folk traditions, ambient, drone, dub, and noise. Primarily composing, performing, and recording all of the elements found in his music, Sharif has generated 3 full-length albums, numerous self-released projects, EPs and collaborations, and his 2022 album Water & Tools was long-listed for the Polaris Prize.
Involving extended techniques in instrumental improvisation, live-looping and sampling, combined with an evolving collection of electronics, traditional, and non-traditional instrumentation, his live performances offer a glimpse into an ongoing hermetic journey. Sharif has toured his solo and small group projects internationally, and his work has been presented at Canadian establishments such as Western Front, The Music Gallery, and Massey Hall. In recent years he has shared stages with The Sun Ra Arkestra, Farida Amadou and Still House Plants, and performed at festivals across Canada including Suoni Per Il Popollo, send.recieve, Pique, Everyseeker, Calgary Folk Music Festival and Active/Passive.
Adrian Avendaño is an improvising drummer/percussionist, sound artist, DJ and recordist born and based on the stolen Indigenous territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) nations. As a diasporic Latine artist of Peruvian and Chilean heritage, Avendaño engages in work that centres tradition while seeking new horizons into the future through collaboration and experimentation. Recent projects include Vancouver New Music’s Parallel 03, led by Endlings (Raven Chacon and John Dieterich); Roxanne Nesbitt’s Sonic Symbiotic and Thunderous Wondering; Aki Onda’s Spirits Known and Unknown (Rephrase); a duo free improv outfit with guitarist Matthew Ariaratnam; Aquiles Navarro Quartet (of Irreversible Entanglements); and Lontananza Quartet (Benjamín Vergara). He currently plays in the experimental contemporary gamelan ensemble, Gamelan Bike Bike. Described by Coastal Jazz as “one of the city’s most intriguing and creatively omnivorous emerging musicians”, he’s performed annually at Vancouver International Jazz Festival since 2020. Furthermore, he plays a vital part in the Vancouver improvised music scene through NOW Society concerts and workshops. As a recordist, he contributed to the first sound archive of the city of Cusco and his soundscape composition work has been presented in Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru.
Alejandro Motta is a classically trained double bassist with a focus on contemporary music, sound experimentation, and stage performance. He is the co-founder of the free improvisation ensemble Algo Cruje and has collaborated with various national orchestras, including the OFUNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico Philharmonic Orchestra). He recently participated in the performance of Memor I.A. as part of the UNAM Composition Workshop and is currently a member of the CEPROMUSIC Ensemble. His work ranges from traditional repertoire to more free-flowing creation, integrating sound and presence.
DahL, Jairus Sharif, Adrian Avendaño, Alex Motta, Adriana Camacho & Eli Piña
Co-Presented with NOW Society
DahL is the Montreal-based art rock trio of Nassir Liselle (Anthony McLachlan), Bryan Greenfield, and Edward Scrimger. With roots in post-punk, R&B, and ‘90s trip-hop, the band fuses socially charged songwriting with experimental sound design to craft music as fluid as it is fearless.
Formed in 2014 after the dissolution of their former project Oliverthegreat, DahL has grown into a force of immersive storytelling. Their 2024 debut LP That’s It earned critical acclaim from CULT MTL and Exclaim!, and their unpredictable live performances have shared stages with Suuns, FACS, and more.
Fresh off their international debut at New York’s New Colossus Festival, DahL continue to carve a path through art rock’s uncharted waters. “High Tide” is the latest proof of their uncompromising vision.
Collaborative performance with Guillaume Vallée
Experimental filmmaker and video artist Guillaume Vallée graduated from Concordia University with a degree in animation and holds an MFA in Studio Arts – Film Production. He works with film (Super 8, 16mm, 35mm), analog video (VHS, Hi8), and stereoscopic video (red/cyan anaglyph). His audiovisual performances have been presented at numerous festivals in Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Austria. His experimental films and videos, distributed by Vidéographe, Light Cone, La Distributrice de films, and Winnipeg Film Group, have been screened internationally at several festivals.
Jairus Sharif is a Black-Canadian multi-instrumentalist, composer and sound artist based in Calgary, AB, Treaty 7 land. His work combines spontaneous composition, sound collage, and free improvisation to create a liberation technology used for self-understanding, freedom of expression, and collective healing. Sharing a truthful message though the free exploration of music is important to Sharif, and blurring his own understanding of immediate reflection, ecstatic improvisation and tranquil focus is at the centre of his current creative work.
Operating the studio as an instrument, his recordings apply improvisation to assist in forging connections between ecstatic jazz, folk traditions, ambient, drone, dub, and noise. Primarily composing, performing, and recording all of the elements found in his music, Sharif has generated 3 full-length albums, numerous self-released projects, EPs and collaborations, and his 2022 album Water & Tools was long-listed for the Polaris Prize.
Involving extended techniques in instrumental improvisation, live-looping and sampling, combined with an evolving collection of electronics, traditional, and non-traditional instrumentation, his live performances offer a glimpse into an ongoing hermetic journey. Sharif has toured his solo and small group projects internationally, and his work has been presented at Canadian establishments such as Western Front, The Music Gallery, and Massey Hall. In recent years he has shared stages with The Sun Ra Arkestra, Farida Amadou and Still House Plants, and performed at festivals across Canada including Suoni Per Il Popollo, send.recieve, Pique, Everyseeker, Calgary Folk Music Festival and Active/Passive.
Adrian Avendaño is an improvising drummer/percussionist, sound artist, DJ and recordist born and based on the stolen Indigenous territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) nations. As a diasporic Latine artist of Peruvian and Chilean heritage, Avendaño engages in work that centres tradition while seeking new horizons into the future through collaboration and experimentation. Recent projects include Vancouver New Music’s Parallel 03, led by Endlings (Raven Chacon and John Dieterich); Roxanne Nesbitt’s Sonic Symbiotic and Thunderous Wondering; Aki Onda’s Spirits Known and Unknown (Rephrase); a duo free improv outfit with guitarist Matthew Ariaratnam; Aquiles Navarro Quartet (of Irreversible Entanglements); and Lontananza Quartet (Benjamín Vergara). He currently plays in the experimental contemporary gamelan ensemble, Gamelan Bike Bike. Described by Coastal Jazz as “one of the city’s most intriguing and creatively omnivorous emerging musicians”, he’s performed annually at Vancouver International Jazz Festival since 2020. Furthermore, he plays a vital part in the Vancouver improvised music scene through NOW Society concerts and workshops. As a recordist, he contributed to the first sound archive of the city of Cusco and his soundscape composition work has been presented in Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru.
Alejandro Motta is a classically trained double bassist with a focus on contemporary music, sound experimentation, and stage performance. He is the co-founder of the free improvisation ensemble Algo Cruje and has collaborated with various national orchestras, including the OFUNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico Philharmonic Orchestra). He recently participated in the performance of Memor I.A. as part of the UNAM Composition Workshop and is currently a member of the CEPROMUSIC Ensemble. His work ranges from traditional repertoire to more free-flowing creation, integrating sound and presence.