Anxiety and relaxation go hand in hand in these three works, which are very different from one another but share clear points of connection. Maya Shenfeld, for example, for the soundtrack to the Netflix film Cover-Up (Thrill Jockey), worked in analogue on modular systems, using loops of guitars, organ, brass and strings processed on tape to achieve a sound that envelops the listener whilst keeping them in a state of perpetual tension. A tension that is also palpable in Dream of Heat (Ambiances Magnétique), the new album by Toninato & Thiessen, which emerged during lockdown from a series of compositions for instruments such as the viola, viola d’amore and baritone saxophone, to which electronic elements, various effects, field recordings and ancestral vocals were added. Beautiful.

There are works that seek to fill space and others that listen to it. Dream of Heat, a cycle of six pieces, clearly belongs to the latter category: it is a work born of silence, of distance and of the need to communicate through sound when physical contact is limited. The duo formed by Ida Toninato and Jennifer Thiessen, already well established after years of musical rapport, here takes a decisive step towards a broader and more ambiguous language than in their previous works.

Toninato has built much of her artistic identity by working with reverberant spaces and the almost ritualistic dimension of the act of listening. In her previous projects, often recorded in distinctive architectural settings, sound is not just musical material but physical presence. This sensitivity is clearly perceptible in Dream of Heat: every breath of the saxophone seems measured, every resonance carries emotional weight. Thiessen, for her part, comes from a world that combines new music, improvisation and historical repertoire for viola and viola d’amore. Her writing and performance have a narrative quality, shaped by expressive texture and direction. Here, the viola becomes a thread that stitches the sound layers together with a constant delicacy.

The album is born from the meeting of these two artists and, in part, from the exchange of “sound postcards” during the winter lockdown of 2021. This is where the figure of Jason Sharp comes in. His synthesisers expand the duo’s harmonic and spatial field. The electronics act like a fog: it blurs contours, connects layers, and creates depth. Thanks to this, the album takes a leap forward from the more strictly acoustic character of their debut.

Likewise, another key element is the voice. The spoken and sung interventions—in French and English—transform the pieces into a kind of abstract song. This device brings fragility and intimacy.

The works revolve around the winter cycle of death and rebirth. What we are presented with is a metaphor translated into sonic processes. Sounds that fade away, others that reappear transformed, layers that slowly germinate in a sea of resonances and harmonic shadows, where every vibration seems to leave a trace and a memory.

The music unfolds like an almost geological process, in which each sound layer reveals a small mutation of what we have already heard, but never exactly the same. It is in this play of persistence and disappearances that Dream of Heat finds its poetic strength.

This second collaboration between Canadian composers Ida Toninato (baritone sax, voice, synthesizers) and Jennifer Thiessen (viola, voice, synthesizers) arose from a live show called Winter[City]Speaks, which they developed during a period of lockdown in the winter of 2021. A string-driven lament, I need warmth opens the album with an ancient, droning feeling that pulls you right into the narrative of “death and rebirth as manifested by the experience of winter.” Working with producer Jason Sharp, who also contributes synthesizers, they maintain a compelling tension throughout the six tracks, resulting in a song cycle that feels very complete. Even if you’re not connecting with the lyrics, in this long, cold, murderous winter of 2026, I think we can all relate when Toninato unleashes wordless shrieks in I am suffocating. Fortunately, the consolation of Change is the next song, ending the album with a feeling of peace, well-being, and community.

The album Dream of Heat by the duo Toninato & Thiessen is a sonic narrative about the cycle of death and rebirth, inspired by the experience of winter as a time of hibernation, withdrawal and inner transformation. The narrative arc of the album takes the listener from a state of isolated consciousness, immersed in the subconscious fears and hopes of winter dreams, towards a gradual warming, awakening and the renewed flow of life.

The project was originally conceived as the musical component of the performance Winter[City]Speaks, created by Ida Toninato and Jennifer Thiessen. This is their second joint release following the album The Space Between Us (Ambiances Magnétiques), which was nominated for Juno and Opus awards in 2019. The new material began to take shape in the winter of 2021, during the pandemic lockdown, as a series of ‘sound postcards’ exchanged between the artists whilst in isolation and seclusion.

These initial recordings were subsequently developed into fully-fledged compositions, expanding the duo’s original acoustic palette — comprising viola, viola d’amore, baritone saxophone and reverberant spaces — to include spoken and sung voices, original lyrics in French and English, electronics, effects and field recordings. The path leading to the creation of Dream of Heat was as personal as it was creative: it is a story of friendship, of opening new doors and portals, and of the courage to explore transformed forms of artistic presence.

The collaboration with performer and composer Jason Sharp on the production of the studio version of the album gave the six experimental tracks additional depth and scope, whilst retaining their roots in the instrumental craftsmanship and sonic imagination that define the work of Toninato & Thiessen.

Ambiances Magnétiques presents the second album by Toninato & Thiessen, which marks a significant departure from their acclaimed debut. The Space Between Us was very much an acoustic duet album that interwove Ida Toninato’s saxophones with Jennifer Thiessen’s viola; the forthcoming Dream of Heat (out 13 February on vinyl and digitally) enriches their core instrumentation with synthesizers and, above all, their voices to produce a collection of dark, hypnotic songs that trace winter’s cycle of death and rebirth. With Jason Sharp on synthesizers and as producer, these six tracks take on a rich orchestral quality that blends various currents of experimentalism with exploratory songwriting in a way that might appeal to listeners of Bark Psychosis, late-period Scott Walker, Nico and various artists on the Constellation Records roster.

Deuxième album de Toninato & Thiessen qui s’éloigne considérablement de l’univers instrumental acoustique de leur premier opus. Là où le précédent déployait le paysage épuré des duos de saxophones d’Ida Toninato et d’alto de Jennifer Thiessen, Dream of Heat explore des compositions sombres aux atmosphères riches.