Simply gorgeous. This new release from the Barnyard Records imprint further demonstrates how bigger isn’t necessarily better.

The overriding philosophy about running your own record label is the exhilarating joy of building a project, your very own project, from scratch — and watching it evolve into something beautiful, with the hope of engaging a community of like-minded individuals. There’s also the romantic idea that you’ll be able to discover and release some new remarkable talent along the way. But on the flipside, the ability to release your own material, especially new creative projects which ordinarily fall before deaf ears, is probably the secret jackpot which gets a good number of musicians involved in the first place. And that’s exactly what you get here, in all likelihood, from percussionist and producer Jean Martin’s label Barnyard Records, through his duo with Justin Haynes.

Remarkably, all you get on Freedman, is a ukulele and a suitcase. The initial idea sounds a little rogue, a little sparse, but that’s all you get. Really. For these two forward-thinking individuals, this is the vehicle to peddle the music of fellow Canuck Myk Freedman, and it works incredibly well. Haynes’ plucked chords dance softly, and dangle in thoughtful directions. Martin’s shuffle is a little more abstract on occasion, and provides a little weight to the feather. For all its lacking in the realm of sonic possibilities, there’s a simple liberating breath, a subtlety in the melody, and just a wonderful spirit; like a dusty needle or a faint lyrical flutter from a simple, captivating landscape.

Freedman sits quite well next to two other releases from the label, namely the excellent Mexican-Parisian free-jangle of It’s Only Life! from the eclectic Blah Blah 666— with its evocative flourishes of melodica, b6 defretted guitar, and plastic blow things tailor-made for slow-poke afternoons. The other is the duet recording between Toronto saxophonist Kyle Brenders and legendary saxophonist Anthony Braxton who combine twisted forces on two “ghost trance compositions” on (the poorly titled) Toronto (duets) 2007. Needless to say, there are some nice things running around the farm these days.

Just as the Vietnam War inspired Billy Bang’s brilliant reflection on the conflict (Vietnam: The Aftermath), avant guitarist Rainer Wiens was moved after a visit in 1991 to the Karen hill tribe heartland in Burma to reflect musically on their battle with a tyrannical regime. The result is this splendid suite of six pieces that evokes the sounds and sonorities of that southeast Asian environment, with Wiens fitting in harmonically on the West African kalimba. Traditional Chinese flautist Shuni Tsou and Frank Lozano on western flute imitate bird-like sounds before the music becomes more threatening and brooding, with Jean René on viola leading the way with brilliant playing on themes that are menacing without being mournful. His 11-minute ballad, A complicated Sadness, is an outstanding statement. Percussionist Ganesh Amandan and drummer Schneider create rhythmic combinations that could be mistaken for indigenous while retaining their New World verve. It all ends on a hopeful note. Five stars out of five.

Quatre nouvelles parutions sur les disques Victo: The Chaddom Blechbourne Experience avec Kevin Blechdom and Eugene Chadbourne, Kikuri de Masami Akita et Keiji Haino, Victoriaville matière sonore mettant en vedette huit artistes électro, ainsi qu’un disque d’Alan Licht, Aki Onda et Michael Snow, avec un titre tellement long qu’il est difficile à écrire ici! Tous les détails dans les pages individuelles de chacun des disques.

Pour une deuxième année consécutive, la Fanfare Pourpour est en résidence au Festival des 2 rives à Bordeaux en France du 8 février au 1 mars 2009. Ils animeront des repas en musique et des rencontres musicales et créeront une fanfare éphémère pour la parade chorégraphique du festival.

Du 19 février au 1 mars 2009, dans le cadre Festival MNM (Montréal/Nouvelles Musiques), plusieurs compositeurs/musiciens du catalogue y sont présents. Un rabais de 15% sur une sélection de disques. Pour découvrir et mieux comprendre les musiques d’aujourd’hui!

• Michel Gonneville: Hozhro
• [victo_005]
• Unison Rituals
• Playing Guitar: Symphony #1
• Three Cities in the Life of Dr Norman Bethune
• Scat
• 3
• Chants cachés
• Live at La Sala Rossa — November 28, 2007
• Chansons de la belle espérance
• Tombak
• Engagement & Confrontation
• La boulezaille

Marilyn Lerner (piano) et Diane Labrosse (échantillonneur) seront en concert au Music Gallery à Toronto, le 20 février 2009.