We’re pleased to announce that Birds of Paradox’s new self-titled cd has been nominated for a Western Canadian Music Award in the category of Instrumental Recording of the Year.
The WCMA’s will be held in Kelowna, BC this year October 21-24. You can find more about the conference & awards show here.
There’s been a flutter of press about the new cd. Check out this article in the Georgia Straight (July 6,2010) and this review in The Province (July 5, 2010).
Birds of Paradox was formed in 2007 to explore the fusion of composition and improvisation, incorporating three very distinct voices and cultural backgrounds into a creative whole. The trio synthesizes elements of jazz and improvised music, traditional Chinese, Western and Indian music into a collective expression of life in post-millennial Vancouver. Their new cd was nominated for a 2010 Western Canadian Music Award in the category of Instrumental Recording of the Year.
“It’s so vivid, you can almost feel the heat and the surging press of bustling humanity. “Asian Market: Chapter 1 China”, from the Vancouver trio Birds of Paradox’s new, selftitled CD, mixes discordant cries, half-heard conversations, the rattle and clatter of traffic, and the whirring and clanking of mysterious machinery into a startling, abstract portrait of a Beijing streetscape. Even if you’ve never been to the Chinese capital, it’ll put you there…” – Alexander Varty, The Georgia Straight, July 6, 2010
“Both gorgeous and adventurous at the same time, the dozen tracks on this disc provide a wealth of unique entry points into where classical, modern and improvisational styles meet.” -Stuart Derdeyn, The Province, July 5, 2010
Being born and raised in Vancouver has given me a unique and interesting perspective on music. Having extensive training in two different musical styles [jazz and classical Indian], and being from one of the most multi-cultural places on the planet, I don’t see barriers that others might. It’s all just sound, expressions of emotion and it is all valid. Music doesn’t have a nationality; it comes from the human experience, which is tied together at all corners of the world. No matter where we come from, it is our humanity that leads us to create, explore and discover, humanity that surrounds us and which is within us at all times. Neelamjit Dhillontabla, alto saxophone, flute, bansuri
Ron Samworth
The music on this CD is a conversation between three artists who are a product of Vancouver, Canada in the early 21th century. Needless to say, there is an intercultural aspect to it, but like the city itself, diversity is a given. Musicians, in general, have a particular quality of discovering natural affinities among themselves. Strong melodies, interesting grooves, cool sonic textures are our common currency. Playing together, bringing whatever you have in your musical arsenal into play, is what it’s all about. The personal narratives that constitute any community, musical or otherwise, are what give the world of human relationships its nuance and fullness. Being open and engaged is all that’s required to get on board.
Nightface is a composition of mine originally written as an instrumental then adapted, with lyrics by Elizabeth Fischer, into a beautiful haunting song that was performed and recorded by the band DarkBlueWorld. It is in 7/8 time, a 3-2-2 pattern with one bar of 6/8 at the end of the verses just to keep you on your toes. The verses are in G minor – the bridge in E major.
It’s a great pleasure playing with Lan and Neel – two gifted and wonderfully expressive musicians. Listen and enjoy! Ron Samworthguitar, effects
Lan Tung
After moving from Taiwan to Canada in 1994, I have been surrounded by great music of different genres – from western contemporary music to various ethnic styles – which feed my ever-growing musical appetite. I am inspired by the western violin’s ability to transform itself in Indian, Gypsy and Middle Eastern music, jazz and even Cantonese opera. This, as well as travels and studies in the “exotic” lands of India, Egypt, Amsterdam and Berlin, has led me to look outside Chinese traditions to develop new vocabularies on the erhu and to countless interesting collaborations at home and abroad. In both composition and improvisation, I experiment with contradictions by taking culturally specific music outside its context and fusing it with other genres. Ba Ban Variations, inspired by traditional Chinese music, embodies the paradox of many opposite characters: chromatic vs pentatonic, composed vs improvised, contemporary vs traditional, with sudden shifts between a mysterious quality and an exciting 3+2+3 rhythmic cycle. Asian Market begins by using the basic four tones/inflections in Mandarin to develop vocal patterns to depict a vibrant market scene. Colourful Clouds Eating the Moon is an incarnation of Colourful Clouds Chasing the Moon from China, with an Indonesian twist. Temple Bells colours Cantonese melody with blues chords. Xia He (Flowing River) gives occasional hints to its Chinese roots. By incorporating improvisation with Asian traditions, I see a whole new territory in which to discover fresh sounds. Lan Tungerhu (Chinese violin), vocals
Track Listing
1. Nightface – Samworth, E.Fischer 6:34
2. Ba Ban Variations – Tung 5:41
3. Colourful Clouds Eating the Moon – Tung 5:16
4. Improvisation I – Samworth, Tung, Dhillon 4:18
5. Travellin’ Travis – Dhillon 5:07
6. Improvisation II – Tung, Dhillon, Samworth 2:33
7. Xiao He – Tung, Samworth, Dhillon 5:45
8. Asian Market: Chapter 1 China – Tung 5:34
9. Temple Bells – arr. Tung, Samworth, Dhillon 5:06
10. D’Arcy Island – Dhillon 6:34
11. Improvisation III – Dhillon, Samworth, Tung 2:24
12. Charukeshi – Dhillon 6:41
Total Time: 61:33
Nightface – excerpt - from Birds of Paradox
Ba Ban Variations – excerpt - from Birds of Paradox
Charukeshi – excerpt - from Birds of Paradox
Colourful Clouds Eating the Moon – excerpt - from Birds of Paradox
Improvisation I – excerpt - from Birds of Paradox
Xiao He – excerpt - from Birds of Paradox
Recording Credits
Recorded by Sheldon Zaharko at The Factory Studios, Vancouver, BC Canada on August 6 and 7, 2009
Mixing and mastering: Dylan van der Schyff
Design and Layout: John Endo Greenaway
Cover Art: Aleksandra Dulic and Kenneth Newby
Photography: Nenad Stevanovic
Birds of Paradox was co-produced by Ron Samworth, Lan Tung and Neelamjit Dhillon.
We would like to thank Ken Pickering and Diane Kadota who have supported this project since its inception.
We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts through the Specialized Music Sound Recording Program and the Department of Canadian Heritage Canadian Music Fund through the Canadian Musical Diversity Program of the Canada Music Fund.
The ice rink. In small and large communities across Canada, it sits at the centre of daily life, a cold place warmed by entertainment and physical activity. Ice Age 2010 is a musical exploration of that love affair with the rink, complete with Zamboni choreography, hockey, curling, ringette, the high energy 17-piece Hard Rubber Orchestra, champion figure skater and So You Think You Can Dance Canada finalist Emanuel Sandhu, North Vancouver’s own rising figure skating star Kathryn Kang, dance pair Tarrah Harvey and Keith Gagnon, national Canadian radio’s Kevin Sylvester, DOA’s Joe Keithley, Double Exposure’sBob Robertson, commissioned compositions by Peter Hannan, Brad Turner, Bill Runge, Tony Wilson, Amsterdam’s David Dramm and a full locker room of guest vocalists and performers.
Emanuel Sandhu
On Saturday, March 20, 2010 at the Harry Jerome Arena in North Vancouver, experience the 2010 edition of Hard Rubber Orchestra’s new music ice show. New choreography, large visual projections of film, images and lighting effects along with plenty of on ice action will be set to original music. Gathered here will be an all-star cast of heroes from on the ice and behind the scenes. Figure skating choreographer and coach Joanne McLeod will be working her magic with some of Canada’s finest figure skaters, hockey lover Kevin Sylvester of national Canadian radio fame will be your host and librettist. The Hard Rubber Orchestra will pump out music ranging from new music to pop, jazz and world; premieres of commissioned pieces from some of Vancouver’s finest composers.
Kathryn Kang
In 2000, the Hard Rubber New Music Society presented The Ice Age – the World’s First New Music Ice Show at the Kerrisdale Arena. This mega multi-media production was an opera on ice, a new music concert on ice and a tribute to the great cornerstones of Canadian culture: hockey, figure skating and winter sport. In 2010, Ice Age is back and it’s bigger and better than ever.
Hard Rubber New Music has presented concerts of original music by some of Canada’s most exciting composers, performed by some of Vancouver’s finest musicians. Under the artistic direction of composer, conductor, musician John Korsrud, previous large-scale works include Alcan Award-winning multi-media extravaganza, Enter/Exit; White Hot Core, a collaboration with Kokoro Dance; and The Elvis Cantata, which took an irreverent look at pop icons. The all-star Hard Rubber Orchestra features the finest of Vancouver’s jazz community and performs music that is influenced by jazz, pop, world, contemporary classical, and improvised music. Since its debut in 1990 the Orchestra has toured to Europe and across Canada including concerts in Amsterdam and at FIMAV in Quebec.
Tarrah Harvey & Keith Gagnon
“HARD RUBBER IS, NO QUESTION, CONSISTENTLY THE BEST VANCOUVER BAND EVENT YOU CAN SEE” (Discorder Magazine)
