The experimental music landscape of Canada finds a new, deeply resonant anchor in Platanus, a collaborative duo recording by composer-improviser Allison Cameron and trombonist Scott Thomson. Released via the esteemed DAME (Distribution Ambiances Magnétiques Et cetera), the album is a woozy, intangible journey into a “semi-hush” reality that defies easy description.

Dedicated to a Legend

Platanus is dedicated to the memory of Nobuo Kubota, the extraordinary Canadian intermedia artist and improviser who passed away in September 2025 at the age of 93. The connection to Kubota is both spiritual and physical: the duo once performed as a trio with the “inspiring polymath,” and a key instrument on this record — the rare Crackle Synthesizer — was a personal gift from Kubota to Cameron.

This instrument, a deluxe variation of the STEIM Cracklebox, places the human body directly into the circuitry, creating unpredictable and raw electronic textures that Kubota himself once pioneered.

A Masterclass in Timbral Chemistry

The album thrives on the unique synergy between its two creators:

Allison Cameron: A fixture in Canadian experimental music since the 80s, Cameron is celebrated for her “quirky kaleidoscopy” of instruments. In Platanus, she blends the Crackle Synthesizer with the toy-like sounds of the Casio SK-1 and tape loops, creating liminal spaces that interrogate the listener’s attention.

Scott Thomson: A trombonist with formidable timbral command, Thomson is a key figure in the Montréal and Toronto improvisational scenes (and current director of FIMAV). His ability to produce unusual, vocal-like tones on the trombone makes him the perfect foil for Cameron’s electronic abstractions.

Beyond Convention

Rather than following the high-energy tangles of traditional free jazz, Platanus unfurls in a state of “restless quasi-stasis.” It is a quietly potent recording that doesn’t so much defy conventions as slide between them, feeling as though it were “piped in from another reality.”