‘Tis the season to visit these five Instagram-worthy murals in Hamilton.
As we enter early December, winter is beginning to loom over us. This means the sun sets earlier, signifying the end of daylight-saving hours and our days are bleaker with dropping temperatures. Visiting these murals around Hamilton could be a way to brighten your day with their vibrant and unique art styles and interesting backstories as well as an excellent opportunity to explore Hamilton.
Charlton Avenue
This colourful mural featuring a girl with a squirrel, raccoon and bird was designed by Robyn Lightwalker and painted by Natasha Rose, Anthony Haley and Felipe Encina over a four-day period. Lightwalker attempted to portray a version of how humans and animals could be living in harmony in an urban environment.
Durand Coffee building
This mural was painted by Tyler Van Holst. He recently repainted this over his previous “Greetings Hamilton” mural, which has been weathered over the past several years. This new mural, featuring dogs and a cat, tie in more to the idea of what makes this neighbourhood a great place to live in and they hope that the mural will put a smile on everyone’s face.
Concession Street
This mural was painted by Kyle Joedicke, a local Haudenosaunee artist who primarily focuses on Indigenous art, specifically Woodland-style art. This mural portrays the teachings of the seven grandfathers: respect, symbolized by a buffalo; truth, symbolized by a turtle; love, symbolized by a bald eagle; wisdom, symbolized by a beaver; courage, symbolized by a bear; humility, symbolized by a wolf; and honesty, symbolized by a sabe. Through his art, he wants to promote a strong sense of community and share his culture.
John Street
This mural, created by local street artist Scott McDonald, is designated for Hamilton Tiger-Cat fans who adore Angelo Mosca like him. McDonald grew up watching every game with his parents and wanted to use one of his favourite childhood memories to represent an iconic Hamilton figure. He is a former graffiti artist who now creates mesmerizing murals.
West Avenue South
This mural “Raise” was painted by a local brother duo, Norman and Lester Coloma, to represent an ambitious city. It illustrates men and women attempting to raise a giant hammer with the help of red ropes against a white background. In the piece, the hammer represents the city and Hamiltonians are working together to lift Hamilton, suggesting the city’s optimistic future.
Overall, these murals are worth a visit and provide you a chance to explore Hamilton and its hidden artistic side. You will find local talent you may not have come across before. Studies have shown that immersing yourself in art will improve your overall mood and mental well-being. Immersing yourself in art is a great way to uplift your mood in the middle of the winter through Hamilton’s signature, bright art style.
C/O @ark_collectivehamilton
The Ark Collective draws the community’s attention to local BIPOC businesses.
The Ark Collective strives to promote and support local Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour owned businesses from their storefront on James St. N. The collective aims to help expose the community to the variety of these small businesses and their products.
Ayodele Adefala, the founder of Ark Collective, worked in retail for over 10 years before launching her online clothing boutique, Liza and Grace, focused on selling women’s clothing and accessories. However, Adefala realized customers were more willing to trust and purchase from a brick-and-mortar store because they could physically see and try the product.
“Small business owners struggle with having to pay for Facebook ads, which cost a lot of money for people to even realize your store exists. And . . . sometimes customers are a bit apprehensive and conscious about online shopping with new businesses, like “Will I get my product or not?”, that sort of thing,” explainedAdefala.
Adefala decided to sell some of her products in a collective store in Toronto. Being a part of a collective can be a incredibly valuable opportunity to a business and it provides every brand with the same amount of exposure and recognition.
Seeing a lack of similar collective store in Hamilton, Adefala decided to open her own in the steel city this past April. Recognizing the difficulties local BIPOC businesses can face, she chose to focus her work on supporting them.
“The sad reality of this life is we don’t have as many opportunities as some of our counterparts. In the GTA, there are about six or seven Black-owned businesses with a similar business model. But the prerequisite is you have to be Black, but I was like, ‘What about the Spanish girl? What about the Ecuador girl? What about the Asian girl?’. . . We all suffer with similar issues,” said Adefala.
“The sad reality of this life is we don’t have as many opportunities as some of our counterparts. In the GTA, there are about six or seven Black-owned businesses with a similar business model. But the prerequisite is you have to be Black, but I was like, ‘What about the Spanish girl? What about the Ecuador girl? What about the Asian girl?’. . . We all suffer with similar issues.”
Ayodele Adefala, founder of ark collective
Her business approach has broadened her search for brands to collaborate with while also keepingt the products in the collective diverse.
Right now, Ark Collective has over 20 brands with various products such as clothing, jewellery, accessories, skincare, health and wellness and home decor.
“You get to see the vendors in person who can tell you more about the product. I feel like [a storefront has] a more genuine approach to it and that’s what makes us unique,” explained Adefala.
She plans to add food items to the collective soon and hopes to make the Ark Collective a one-stop shop where customers can purchase anything they might need.
Adefala also rotates through vendors every three months and she hopes this system will help keep the store seeming fresh and different every time a customer steps in.
Moving forward, the Ark Collective aims to expand the variety of products they carry and continue to participate in more pop-up markets to bring more exposure to the brands in their store.
“I want them to walk away with that ‘do good, feel good’ mindset and feeling when they are coming in,” said Adefala.
C/O Unsplash
Starting your journey to becoming the plant friend everybody wants.
It is the beginning of the new school year, you have successfully moved in or have cleaned up your room to get ready for the coming year. A great easy (and cheap!) way to brighten your place is to add a plant.
The plants listed below have been chosen because of how easy it is to find them, their relatively low cost, and ease to care for.
Pothos are some of the most common houseplants for a few good reasons. Found in almost all plant-selling stores and a plant lover’s home, these vines are fairly quick to grow and easy to ignore. Although they may fare better in soil and indirect sunlight, pothos can be grown in either soil or water and can endure a variety of light conditions—making them ideal to grab from a friend, leave in a water bottle and check on every so often.
Despite the intimidating name, spider plants are a very approachable option for people without experience raising plants. Like pothos, spider plants are a popular choice as they are easy to care for and propagate. They can be grown in either soil or water and can handle some of the direst lighting situations. To add, they are cheap and easy to find.
Personally, I have had spider plants growing in both water and soil since high school. They have produced spider plant babies which make easy gifts. I believe one of my teachers began propagating the spider plants I gave her and gifted them to students as graduation gifts!
The term “cacti” can encompass a vast variety of plants. The ones you may commonly find sold at stores, however, are quite hardy. Nevertheless, beginners may find cacti harder to raise as people tend to over-water their plants, effectively drowning them.
Cacti are more particular than the previous plants as they require bright light and heat to thrive but they are known for their ability to survive with occasional (but thorough) waterings. Given these conditions, they make a unique, easy-to-care-for and potentially fashionable friend.
You may have heard of sempervivums by a few of its alter egos, such as “hen and chicks” “houseleeks” or even “liveforevers”. Just the name inspires confidence in even notorious plant-killers.
The reputation of these succulents comes from their ability to produce many smaller offsets that then can become their own plant. In this way, they can live forever. Still, to live at all, they prefer bright light and well-drained soil (similar to the cactus, avoid over-watering). If you choose the sempervivum as your green companion, you may soon find yourself with many sempervivums companions.
The bamboo often seen in stores in pretty ribbons, pots and shapes make an eye-catching, not to mention easy-to-care-for, part of any room. All they truly require is some water and a pot, with decorations as an optional way to incorporate elements of feng shui, a traditional Chinese practice of creating harmony through arranging objects in particular places in a living space.
When growing lucky bamboos, the water should be changed ideally every week with distilled or filtered water. Considering the materials needed and the starting cost, lucky bamboos are a quick, cheap and easy way to freshen up your room and get whatever luck you can for the upcoming school year.
Despite their hardiness, plants, like most things, require love, time and care. For this list, they may require less of the above but it is important to remember to be patient and to not forget your plant on the windowsill for a few weeks. A few good rules of thumb: water less rather than more; keep plants out of direct sunlight; and give roots room to grow.
Whichever one of these plants you may choose, with care, they will be sure to bring you some cheer for the upcoming school year.
This is part one of a three part series. Throwback Thursday looks to explore the past, present and future of Hamilton’s music scene through the eyes of those within.
The Hamilton music scene is ever-changing. The rise of Supercrawl over the past decade has given local bands a public platform that they might not have had access to otherwise. Through this Throwback Thursday series, I seek to uncover the recent history of Hamilton’s music scene, and how the city has developed the unique musical identity that it’s known for today. This will take the form of three profile-based articles focusing on interactions with the past, present and future of Hamilton’s music scene.
We will begin with a snapshot of Hamilton’s music scene in the 1990s. Our guide is a former Silhouette Arts & Culture Editor, and co-author of Canadian alt-rock music book "Have Not Been The Same".
Ian A.D. Jack began studying Kinesiology at McMaster in 1992. Although his studies were heavily focused on physiology and physical movement, Jack had a passion for music that stemmed from his childhood.
Jack recalled living in Thunder Bay as a child in the 80s, going to the local library and borrowing vinyl records which exposed him to a wide range of music. When Jack’s parents divorced, he turned to music as a comforting mechanism.
Photo C/O Ian A.D. Jack
“Music has been my saviour all along,” said Jack.
With the late 80s came the surge of bands such as U2, The Smiths and New Order, creating a new wave of music. Music was getting louder, heavier, but strangely more melodic as well. Jack was captivated by this style. He tried to emulate their sounds, find out as much as he could about the bands and build his music collection.
While Jack was at McMaster, he would spend all of his extra money at Cheapies Records and Tapes (67 King St. East), a staple record store in Hamilton’s music scene that is still around today. Cheapies does not confine itself to one type of music, allowing anybody to find their own interests in their vinyl record bins. After his first year of university he began writing for the Sil, after realizing that he would be sent new music for free so long as he wrote something about it.
“It was a great way of funding my habits and became a gateway for me to meet a lot of artists and my heroes,” said Jack.
In the past, the Sil used to have a dedicated pull-out section called Hamilton Entertainment Arts Directory, or HEAD. This section featured movie and album reviews, but also had a heavy focus on reviewing and interviewing local Hamilton-based bands. Jack wrote his first article for HEAD about alternative rock band, Rhymes with Orange. He continued writing for HEAD in his third year and became co-Arts Editor in his final year of school. HEAD was an important way for students to understand the music scene in Hamilton.
In addition to profiling Hamilton music, Jack’s section also featured interviews with bands such as Oasis and Blur. HEAD also ran interviews with notable people in the movie industry such as actor/director Kevin Smith, actor Don McKellar and director Noah Bombock.
In the 90s, there were two pubs on campus that hosted live music. The Rathskeller, now Bridges Café, typically housed Hamilton-based bands, and the Downstairs John, which has since been demolished to make room for L.R. Wilson Hall, typically hosted more well known Canadian bands. Jack described the city’s music scene as being rougher than it is today due to the minimal amount of exposure artists received as well as the undeveloped, underground scene they were playing in.
“Now, you have some more prominent artists like The Arkelles and White Horse, and you have Supercrawl. That festival didn’t exist [before],” said Jack.
Jack also recalls off-campus venues that would host live music. The largest of these clubs was called X-Club, housed on the second floor of a building at King William Street and John Street North downtown. Up and coming indie bands such as Jale, Doughboys and Pure would perform. Jack remembers tall posts extending from the floors to the ceiling, obstructing audience sightlines. Nevertheless, it was a great place to catch an indie show.
La Luna (306 King St. West), was another spot that would host smaller bands or acoustic sets. While primarily functioning as a Lebanese restaurant, it had a small space for live performances, hosting the likes of Dave Rave, Jale and Jacob Moon. This venue is still open today.
Jack noted that The Corktown (175 Young St.) sometimes felt dilapidated, but it hosted a number of punk and alt-rock bands. For that reason, it remained one of his favourite places to watch live music in Hamilton. One notable band who performed at Corktown was Junkhouse, a rock band helmed by Tom Wilson. This venue is still open today and frequently hosts live music.
While not primarily a place for live music, Fever, now Absinthe (38 King William St.), was a dance club playing alt-rock music. This style of music started to gain traction with more and more people throughout the city.
Throughout Jack’s university years in Hamilton, a few major genres dominated the Steel City’s music scene. Punk rock was made prominent in part to Teenage Head; rock n’ roll was from Junkhouse; folk rock came from groups like Crash Vegas; and power pop from bands like The Killjoys.
“Hamilton is like the Brooklyn to Toronto’s New York,” said Jack when describing the 90s music scene.
In Jack’s earlier years, many Toronto-based artists moved to Hamilton as rent was more affordable west of the city. The same is true of New York-based artists who move to Brooklyn.
“It’s financially logical and you also have a collective of creative people that can afford to be creative,” added Jack.
Jack graduated from McMaster in 1996 and went on to teach music in the elementary sector; however, his writing endeavours didn’t stop with the Sil. He co-wrote a book in 2001 called "Have Not Been The Same" that focused on the development of alternative rock in Canada from 1985 to 1995. Through this project, Jack had the chance to interview local Hamilton-based bands from his university days, such as Doughboys and Jale, in a process that came full circle for him.
On a more personal note, I had the pleasure of being taught by ‘Mr. Jack’ from grade four to six. Since my graduation from elementary school, we’ve kept in contact over the years. By coincidence, I also found my way to McMaster for my post-secondary education. When I told him I had accepted my offer, he told me to look into writing for the Sil. My first year was really about finding my own footing at the school, as is the case for many other students, which is why I wasn’t able to pursue his advice. At the start of my second year, he told me to reconsider writing for the Sil. I took him up on his advice and the rest, as they say, is history.
An inspiration not only to my music, but also to my personal morals and values and seemingly to my journalism career, thank you, Ian.
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What is a meme? The Cambridge English Dictionary defines a meme as an “idea, image, video etc. that is spread very quickly on the internet.” But is that all? Memes are increasingly becoming a mode of communication and community building, particularly among younger generations. The Hammer Memer, a Hamilton-based meme account with over 6,000 followers, describes it as a “virtual handshake”— a fitting description given handshakes are universally recognized as a sign of greeting or agreement, representing the idea of building friendships and connections between people through the medium of the web.
“You can tell that it can bring a community together … just having these shared experiences, and then laying them out in some sort of comedic visual. It gives people this sense of collective bonding,” explained the creator of the Hammer Memer, who wishes to remain anonymous.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B6YbTEqnuPr/
Each post on the account speaks to that shared experience of Hamiltonians, whether it be the loss of the LRT, a love for the arts or the struggle to stay healthy. There are dozens of comments on each post, with followers tagging their friends to talk to them about it. While the content may be silly, the number of people interacting with it shows how relatable it can be, to friends and strangers alike.
There are dozens of comments on each post, with followers tagging their friends to talk to them about it. While the content may be silly, the number of people interacting with it shows how relatable it can be, to friends and strangers alike.
Despite running a relatively successful local meme account, the creator of The Hammer Memer, has had a rocky relationship with social media prior to creating the account.
“My relationship with social media is kind of all over the place, in a way that I don’t really enjoy, but I also know that it can be a lot of fun, and it can be used for a lot of good things. I just kind of got fed up using it to showcase my personal life because I’m not the most public person, I’m a pretty private person. So I decided, ‘You know what, I’ll start making memes’ because I thought it was a really fun but easy way to use social media for good . . . to make people laugh,” explained the creator of The Hammer Memer.
The response to the page has been overwhelmingly positive, with the account even partnering with the local brand O’s Clothes to sell their own merchandise. While much of the online community and social media has been criticized for becoming increasingly toxic, The Hammer Memer has created a predominantly positive space for Hamiltonians to gather.
“You hear a lot about the volatility of the interweb, and I was expecting a lot of persistent haters after some particular memes especially, but nobody was really attached to attacking me or anything like that. Overall, I’ve only received love,” they said.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B6VjbK1FrHX/
Some of the posts touch on more serious topics, like the Chedoke water crisis and coverup, in order to draw attention to them. The Hammer Memer says that, increasingly, they’ve noticed that younger audiences are turning away from traditional media sources in favour of online content, like memes.
Some of the posts touch on more serious topics, like the Chedoke water crisis and coverup, in order to draw attention to them. The Hammer Memer says that, increasingly, they’ve noticed that younger audiences are turning away from traditional media sources in favour of online content, like memes.
“I do know that a lot of media sources don’t appeal to younger crowds especially. I guess it’s a generational thing, but I think the [former] reliance on getting information from major networks, I feel like some people have lost confidence in them, or trust in them. I know that I do have a younger crowd following me, and when it comes to sharing information to the public about relevant information that affects our community . . . I do get to help certain groups of our community to be informed and stay informed,” they said.
So what is a meme? Is it just an image to be shared? In many ways, that simplicity is what makes memes appealing; they’re easy to access and they’re relatable. At the end of the day, memes are what you get out of them, whether that be a laugh shared with friends, or a slightly forceful exhale as you laugh on your own.
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Four days, seven shows and one location. For the past five years, the Frost Bites theatre festival has created a space for non-traditional theatre in Hamilton. Frost Bites focuses on site-specific theatre, which means that the shows are created for a particular venue. Therefore, shows can only be performed in one space and at one time.
This year the festival is taking place in and drawing inspiration from the Hamilton Waterfront Trust. Claire Calnan, the Executive Director of Hamilton Fringe, explains that before they begin writing, artists are taken on a tour of this venue and asked to write shows inspired by the space, challenging the typical process of writing the script first and finding the venue second. The festival is run by Hamilton Fringe and was created to add a dash of fun, bite-sized theatre to the cold winter months, and to challenge local artists to create something that transforms a space.
“Site-specific work is really interesting for me because it can transform a location for you, so that whenever you go by that location in the future you will think about it differently, because you’ve seen something happen there, or you’ve thought about it in a different way. It kind of transforms a landscape, and it can transform the landscape of a city,” said Calnan.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfUCjvIAxl8/
The festival also works with the Artistic Leadership and Entrepreneurial Training Program, a program run by Hamilton Fringe to develop new artistic leaders in the city. The youth that participate in the program assist with running Frost Bites, whether that be by helping to design the space or running the box office. In this way, Frost Bites not only fosters new theatre in the community, but paves the way for the future of the artistic community in the city.
One of the companies performing is DeVision, a collective of six McMaster Film and Theatre alumni: Adeline Okoyo, Maddie Krusto, Claudia Spadafora, Jamie Milay Kasiama, Brianna Seferiades and Yvonne Lu. Their show, Key Words Include, explores the complicated concept of femme bodies as marginalized and marginalizing. Krusto, now a Master of Arts student at McMaster in the gender studies and feminist program, says that the site-specific nature of the festival creates a unique opportunity to exercise their creativity.
“As an artist, it’s really interesting to not only have this mandate of ‘Make a show,’ but to be able to come in and be inspired by things in the room. For example, when we came in for the venue tour and came into the room, there’s a big glass case, and we walked in and we immediately were like, ‘We could put people in there!’ and, ‘What can we put in there?’ and we were climbing into it, and it’s just really fun to explore what that space offers . . . in some ways it’s very liberating to get to explore first, and to play in this space, and think about what we can do,” said Krusto.
“As an artist, it’s really interesting to not only have this mandate of ‘Make a show,’ but to be able to come in and be inspired by things in the room. For example, when we came in for the venue tour and came into the room, there’s a big glass case, and we walked in and we immediately were like, ‘We could put people in there!’ and, ‘What can we put in there?’ and we were climbing into it, and it’s just really fun to explore what that space offers . . . in some ways it’s very liberating to get to explore first, and to play in this space, and think about what we can do,” said Krusto.
Each group brings their own unique focus and ideas to their performances. DeVision knew that they wanted their work to examine ideas of subjection and consumption, but working in the building helped to mold and shape their ideas, evolving to fit the space that they are performing in.
“We already knew we wanted to do a show that was something about the consumption of femme bodies, and the way that we’re being consumed, and so now the show has evolved into what is our relationship to the land, both when us as subjects and bodies being consumed, but we’re also settlers and consuming the land and contributing to settler colonialism. So what is that relationship when you’re both marginalized, but also marginalizing,” said Krusto.
Photo C/O Kaz Ehara/Verity Creative Inc.
Every show in the festival is performed in or around the same building, the Hamilton Waterfront Trust. But each show is dramatically different, offering different perspectives on the same building. Another performer is Annalee Flint, the creator of Flint and Steel Productions. She says that her show was entirely inspired by the venue.
“I specifically didn’t want to have anything in mind already, I really wanted to take advantage of the site-specific nature of it. So once I found out what the venue was I had kind of a little lightbulb about something that inspired me, and then once I actually got into the space I had that go further . . . So it really has been created solely with Frost Bites in mind and solely with this particular venue in mind,” said Flint.
Flint’s show is entitled amo, amas, amat, and it examines the meaning of love.
“It’s kind of an exploration of love, but using words and language, and maybe almost looking at what happens when you can have all of these beautiful, poetic words and declarations or statements about love, but you maybe can’t actually feel it or realize it for yourself . . . You spend your time focused on the beauty of language and the beauty of how love has been expressed by other people, but then you sort of neglect to figure out how to express it in your own world,” said Flint.
In order to fit multiple pieces into the same evening, shows are capped at 20 minutes, and are performed several times over the course of the evening. Amo, amas, amat has a run time of just 12 minutes. The multi-layered, complex meanings of the show are condensed down into bite-sized pieces, leaving the audience to construct interpretations of their own.
“[The show is] going to have all of [the meaning] behind it, but what actually is presented to the audience I think is something that everybody is going to take away a different meaning, or a different bit of wisdom, or a different emotion,” said Flint.
Frost Bites focuses on fostering relationships between different artists, encouraging artists to collaborate. Each night, audience members will be led into the main space, where there will be a special performance by Indigenous artist Rod Nettagog. On Saturday Feb. 1, choreographer Kyra Jean Green will be doing a dance collaboration with Nettagog. Audience members will not be the only ones seeing this for the first time, however; neither performer has ever met or worked with the other before — it will be an entirely unique and one-of-a-kind performance.
“It’s hard enough to create traditional theatre in the city and make it be successful, so then if you decide to create something a little bit off the beaten track, or a little bit unusual, or you want to put things in unusual places, it gets really hard to find an audience for that. I think that what I like about Frost Bites is that’s exactly what everybody that’s going to Frost Bites wants. They want something that’s a little bit different, a little bit weird perhaps, a little bit non-traditional; they know that that’s what the festival is about,” said Flint.
The Frost Bites festival happens in a new building every year, meaning that each performance is specific to its environment. The unique nature of the festival means that the artists have the opportunity to experiment and explore with different forms of theatre. Like the Hamilton Fringe Festival, artists that participate in Frost Bites are paid for their work. In this way, artists are able to hone their craft while still being supported by the community.
Frost Bites runs from Jan. 30 to Feb. 2 at the Hamilton Waterfront Trust (57 Discovery Drive). Adult tickets are $25 and grant you admission to as many shows as you can manage in one night. If that does not work with your budget, it is possible to see a 1-3 of the shows on Jan. 29 as part of the preview, for free. For more information or to pre-book, email [email protected] with “preview night RSVP” in the subject line.
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Jokes about Kristian Matsson’s height are well past their expiry date. Yes, the odd class clown who never grew up may be tempted to make a jab at the Swedish singer-songwriter’s decided lack of stature given that he goes by performing name of The Tallest Man On Earth, but he more than makes up for it with his natural musical talent.
Oft subject to lazy comparisons to Bob Dylan just because of his gravelly voice, a three year period between his last release sees Matsson seeking to distance himself from the folk legend with a fiercely individualistic new record. Entitled Dark Bird Is Home, Matsson’s fourth full-length record is largely concerned with the dissolution of two marriages; the first being Matsson’s recent divorce from his wife, and the second between his voice and his guitar. Normally one for vague lyrics, Matsson explores his personal challenges with a newfound directness. Having plied his trade as a one-man show for three albums, Matsson opted to pick up a slew of instruments during the recording process and will be backed by a full band on upcoming tour. The results, if anything else could be expected from Matsson at this point, are terrific. Certain albums could be found guilty of stewing in misery solely for the sake of it, but Matsson’s albums have never been lacking in intent. Dark Bird is Home shares this characteristic and always seems to be trying to uncover a new leaf and move on with life all while taking one’s losses on the chin.
Album-opener, “Fields of Our Home”, finds Matsson resorting to his usual pastoral references, but the way he cavorts through them has changed. Gone is the almost panicked strumming of days past in favour of a more lackadaisical approach. With his older records so full of youthful urgency, the more considered and decidedly slower sound is a stark departure for Matsson who now seems focused on slowly building up in order to achieve a massive moment of catharsis.
“Little Nowhere Towns” is another standout for how Matsson takes the piano, which has featured prominently in his old songs like “Kids on The Run”, and produces the same nostalgic tone. Joyous at some points, mournful at others, the track serves as a worthy one capable of serving as midpoint in the album and tying things together with aplomb. “Seventeen” is perhaps the best indication of what Matsson is capable of when he combines lush instrumentation, with his voice and guitar. While not the greatest vocalist you’ve ever heard, Matsson’s charm lies in how he inflects his voice with subtle intonations that pull at your heartstrings, which grow more and more vulnerable with each verse.
Dark Bird Is Home serves as an impressive shift in style from the Swedish artist that fans old and new can latch onto for a comforting listen.
By: Rachel Harper
Angels, sex, divided loyalties, war, secrets, betrayal – Dominion has it all. Whether you’re driven by action-based plots and invigorating drama, or heart-wrenchingly impossible romance, this series is bound to have something for everyone to sink their teeth into.
Dominion is an American-made television series that aired in early September, and is loosely based on the 2010 film Legion. With only eight episodes in its first season, it received so much praise and attention from both the American and Canadian public that it was renewed for a second season on Sept. 25, set for release in 2015.
“Twenty-five years ago, God disappeared,” the narrator says at the start of the pilot episode. The angels of the Lord had held humans responsible, and sought to eradicate them. This effort of extermination was led by the archangel Gabriel, who believed the dominion of the Earth should belong to him and his kin. However, Michael – the greatest of all the archangels – decided to protect humanity from his brother Gabriel’s wrath. Rumours began to form around a chosen one who would be the saviour of humankind, a child that Michael had saved. This is when we are introduced to Alex Lannon.
Alex is a good character, as far as heroes go. He’s brave, resilient, self-sacrificing, and humble. Although, the fact that he is a white, presumably heterosexual male is unrefreshing, as these seem to be common traits that a lot of saviours of humanity share. Thankfully, this is partly redeemed by the many powerful female characters in the show. All of the women on the show are interesting and complicated individuals, with different strengths and different weaknesses that help to break the stereotypical mould seen on most shows.
What makes Dominion really stand out from the standard television drama, however, is the moral ambiguity of almost every character. It’s often difficult to pinpoint a character in Dominion as either good or evil, as there are a lot of grey areas. In addition, many social aspects of society are very different in this universe. There are gay and lesbian characters, but a huge fuss isn’t made over their sexual orientation. Their sexuality is not the main topic for their plot line, and is refreshingly only adds depth to their characters.
Between political mind games that are strongly reminiscent of Game of Thrones, exciting action sequences, brilliant CGI wings, and multiple intertwining story lines, Dominion is a must watch for any sci-fi fan.
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By: Simon Vacca
It’s official – the dynamic duo of the industrial music scene, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, have returned. And this time, their music is more experimental than ever. Scoring for David Fincher’s critically acclaimed drama, Gone Girl, the Nine Inch Nails frontman, Reznor, and his notable partner-in-crime, Ross, have created yet another brilliant score, which not only serves as a haunting complement to the well-received film, but is also an instant classic among Nine Inch Nails fans and ambient music lovers alike.
Packed with top-quality production, clustered textures, and occasional orchestral elements, the duo’s third score is, in all regards, unique, despite it’s seemingly familiar sound. Partnering in the past to create scores for The Social Network (2010) and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011), Reznor and Ross’ latest project offers listeners a divergent listening experience, in that the pair have pushed the ambience of their music to its limits. While their previous soundtracks emitted a plethora of emotive themes—some of which included happiness, sadness, depression, tension, energy, calmness, angst, or whatever else you want to call it—this particular album focuses on one central mood; mysteriousness, or, better yet, unknowingness.
But what could this mean in a musical sense? For starters, the film is about a woman, who is, in fact, gone. However, the uncertainty that surrounds her disappearance is not only prevalent through the film’s screenplay, but ultimately, through the atmospheric weariness as demonstrated by the duo’s music. Tunes such as the album opener, “What Have We Done To Each Other?” or the minimalistic “Clue Two” evoke a sense of unknowing, as the audience questions the nature of the missing woman at hand. As the album (and film, for the matter) progresses, so does Reznor’s increased use of distorted background noise, some of which was created using handmade equipment to develop stammering, unanticipated beats. One such instance of this occurs in the tune “The Way He Looks at Me”, which includes everything from ticking clocks, to distinct piano notes, to simple, random sounds, which combine to emote an ultimate sense of paranoia upon listeners. The album reaches its’ climactic moment in the tune “Technically, Missing”, which not only amplifies the surprise of film’s pivotal plot twist, but serves as the score’s climax, as Reznor and Ross use a plethora of guitar riffs, keyboard patterns, and background noise to deploy a sense of long anticipated revelation upon listeners and viewers alike.
While the album does not contain a single lyric, which many Nine Inch Nails fans view as Reznor’s strongest talent, it certainly does not disappoint on any ground, as the industrial music star has once again proven that he has found his niche (with Ross’ aid) in creating instrumental soundtracks.
Should the day come where Reznor finally announces an instrumental tour, I for one, will raise my hand in utter support.
By: Alex Florescu
Midterm season is upon us, school has begun to pick up and I’m starting to feel the stress. Last Friday was no exception.
However, in between group meetings, library study sessions and online quiz completions,
I found free time to visit Ian Johnston’s exhibit The Chamber at the McMaster Museum of Art. I went from frantically dodging the 20-minutes-after-the-hour-crowd on my way over the museum to being the only one in a cavernous, nearly silent room.
I say nearly silent because, as it was, there was a familiar sound emanating from the corner of the room. I ventured over and discovered that what I thought was a corner is actually another room. It is in this room that I found Johnston’s Chamber, a dynamic installation that towers above you one minute and lays flat on the ground the next. More specifically, it is an inflatable white bag that covers the surface area of the room. When fully inflated, the installation fills the room in a white mass. In this state, the installation is accompanied by a recording of trickling water. It is this sound that first drew me to Johnston’s art piece, a sound that seemed so out of place in a museum.
As I stood in front of the piece, I noticed, with surprise, that the installation was changing. The bag was slowly deflating, the sound of water was gradually replaced by the sounds of a crackling of a fire and the dimmed lights became strikingly bright. By the time all of the air had been vacuumed out of it, the bag had become completely plastered against the mass of objects piled underneath it. Through the nearly translucent nylon bag, I could make out familiar forms and colours. There were pots, pans, plates, board games, bins, lampshades and other common-use objects. As it turns out, these items were removed from a waste stream in Medicine Hat and incorporated into the installation - a comment on the detrimental effect of consumerism on the environment.
Intrigued to delve deeper into the motivation behind this piece, I watched an interview with Ian Johnston. The architect-turned-sculptor began his career in art by creating large-scale ceramic installations. However, he soon discovered that he had a passion for vacuum forming the art of placing a bag over an object and vacuuming the air out of it. He would do this to any range of objects, from bicycles to telephones to cappuccino makers. What fascinated him most was the bag, and how it would inflate and deflate to reveal and conceal its contents.
It is from this discovery that he drew inspiration for The Chamber and the other pieces in his series of works called Reinventing Consumption. To Johnston, The Chamber represents the things we know exist but choose to ignore, things like consumption and refuse. With exhibits in several places around the world, one thing is for sure; Johnston’s message is loud and clear.
