Séance Centre, Toronto, ON (2025)

04/12/2024

"Pre-Hispanic instruments meet synthesizers, drum machines, jazz, and progressive rock on Séance Centre & Smiling C’s latest cosmic meeting." In Sheeps Clothing hi-fi

Pre-Hispanic instruments meet synthesizers, drum machines, jazz, and progressive rock on Séance Centre & Smiling C's latest cosmic meeting. Earlier this week, in perfect alignment with the solar eclipse, Séance Centre & Smiling C released Triángulos De Luz Y Espacios De Sombra (Triangles ...

04/08/2024

On July 11th, 1991 there was a solar eclipse and Mexico City was in the path of totality. To celebrate this cosmological event a Concierto del Eclipse was organized and featured performances from a gathering of underground Mexican electronic artists including Alquimia, Oxomaxoma, Luis Flores, Armando Velasco, Arturo Meza, Vinizio Zorrilla, Walter Schmidt, Carlos Saavedra, Guillermo Portillo, Alejandro Velasco, and Rolando Chía. The event connected these artists both to the universe and to the mesoamerican culture which inspired much of their expansive approach to sound.

Aligning with that pivotal concert and the movement of the spheres we are proud to release Triángulos De Luz Y Espacios De Sombra today during the solar eclipse in 2024. In absolute darkness, put an ear to the cosmos.

V/A - Triángulos De Luz Y Espacios De Sombra (2LP)

Triángulos De Luz Y Espacios De Sombra (Triangles of Light and Spaces of Shadow) is a collection of visionary Mexican electronic music sourced from obscure cassettes, CDs, private pressings, and personal archives, presented by Séance Centre and Smiling C. These works trace an expansive scene of prescient musicians who created a unique speculative cosmology, forging Mesoamerican mythologies with innovative sonic technologies.

RIYL: Outro Tempo, Durutti Column, Jon Hassell, Música Esporádica, Finis Africae

Co-release by Séance Centre & Smiling C

Triángulos De Luz Y Espacios De Sombra (Triangles of Light and Spaces of Shadow) is a collection of visionary Mexican electronic music sourced from obscure cassettes, CDs, private pressings, and personal archives. These works trace an expansive scene of prescient musicians who created a unique spec...

04/01/2024

Episode 72 of Séance Centre NTS Radio is up on our SoundCloud now!

Episode 72 is an archival dive into the audio works of Kyoto based multi-media collective Dumb Type. Founded in 1984 by Teiji Furuhashi the group’s work includes exhibitions, performances, video pieces, computer programs, print publications, and conceptual audio albums. Furuhashi, who passed in 1995, claimed the name represents “a society overstuffed with information but cognizant of nothing.” The group continues under the stewardship of longtime members Toru Yamanaka and Shiro Takatani. Over the years many artists have collaborated with the collective including Ryoji Ikeda and Ryuichi Sakamoto. Dumb Type’s work addresses a variety of socio-political themes including nationality, identity, communication, AIDS, civilization, media control, and explores the undefined borders of the information society for new visions of human / technological interaction. The pieces on this mix were selected from 4 decades of work including demo versions, interviews, performance soundtracks, archival sketches, and a few stunning solo pieces from Toru Yamanaka.

Episode 72 is an archival dive into the audio works of Kyoto based multi-media collective Dumb Type. Founded in 1984 by Teiji Furuhashi the group’s work includes exhibitions, performances, video piece

03/15/2024

Happy ADSR - Aural Medium release day!

Attack Decay Sustain Release, or ADSR, was the name of Todd Nickolas and Dominic Paterson’s high school synthesizer group, an outlet for their electronic music experiments recorded on Todd’s parents’ farm in Southwestern Ontario, Canada.

ADSR - Poised Over Pause Buttons (2LP)

In the idyllic rural setting of the Nickolas’ dairy and crop farm, the juxtaposition of natural ambience and the repetitive rhythms of the machinery merged within their youthful music-saturated subconscious and found its way into their recordings. This bucolic environment also inspired the teenagers to channel their restless energy into endlessly experimenting with whatever gear they could get their hands on and listening to a steady diet of new music.

A big part of that exposure to non-mainstream sounds came via CBC Radio’s Brave New Waves program — a saviour for adventurous and curious listeners living outside of major urban centres. The title “Poised Over Pause Buttons” is directly borrowed from a live studio broadcast by Severed Heads, where host Brent Bambury introduced the set by saying, “Do you know how many fingers are poised over pause buttons right now?” The title is also a head nod to those early processes of recording onto cassette decks or 4-track tape recorders, and to the tape culture of the time, capturing favourite songs off the radio with precision and making mixtapes from owned or borrowed record collections.

The unreleased cassettes that Todd recently rediscovered are a flashback to that era of pure discovery but also a reminder of the explorations and achievements accomplished by the confidence of the fearless amateur. Over the past three years, Todd and Linus Booth have compiled their favourite glimpses from that ‘87-‘91 period and present them to you as a personal reflection of that time and place.

RIYL: Brave New Waves, home taping, DIY electronic body music, bleeps & basslines

Release date: March 15 Note: Orders that include a PRE-ORDER title will be consolidated and shipped together when the last pre-order title is in stock. Contact us to make other arrangements. Attack Decay Sustain Release, or ADSR , was the name of Todd Nickolas and Dominic Paterson 's high

03/08/2024

Happy release day Joseph Shabason & Ben Gunning! 💚

The sophomore release from Toronto dream-duo Joseph Shabason and Ben Gunning is here - this time a more cosmopolitan affair, mapping fragmented cityscapes from bent electronics and late-night FM jazz transmissions.

Sophomore release from Toronto dream-duo Joseph Shabason and Ben Gunning, this time a more cosmopolitan affair, mapping fragmented cityscapes from bent electronics and late-night FM jazz transmissions.

02/17/2024

Triángulos De Luz Y Espacios De Sombra (Triangles of Light and Spaces of Shadow) is a collection of visionary Mexican electronic music sourced from obscure cassettes, CDs, private pressings, and personal archives, presented by Séance Centre and Smiling C. These works trace an expansive scene of prescient musicians who created a unique speculative cosmology, forging Mesoamerican mythologies with innovative sonic technologies.

V/A - Triángulos De Luz Y Espacios De Sombra (2LP) *PRE-ORDER*

Release date: April 8

Triángulos De Luz Y Espacios De Sombra (Triangles of Light and Spaces of Shadow) is a collection of visionary Mexican electronic music sourced from obscure cassettes, CDs, private pressings, and personal archives. These works trace an expansive scene of prescient musicians who created a unique spec...

02/09/2024

Attack Decay Sustain Release, or ADSR, was the name of Todd Nickolas and Dominic Paterson’s high school synthesizer group, an outlet for their electronic music experiments recorded on Todd’s parents’ farm in Southwestern Ontario, Canada.

ADSR - Poised Over Pause Buttons (Aural Medium - 2LP) *PRE-ORDER*

Release date: March 15

Release date: March 15 Note: Orders that include a PRE-ORDER title will be consolidated and shipped together when the last pre-order title is in stock. Contact us to make other arrangements. Attack Decay Sustain Release, or ADSR , was the name of Todd Nickolas and Dominic Paterson 's high

02/05/2024

Episode 70 of Séance Centre NTS Radio is up on our SoundCloud now!

Spring is barely on the horizon here in Ontario and we’ve been in a strange slushy stasis for the past few weeks. To help focus on warmer days my longtime friend Aaron Levin has put together a melter of a mix featuring 100% Canadian dance music from the past and present. Despite currently residing in Oakland, Aaron is no stranger to Canadian music and spent years at the helm of Weird Canada, a website, archive, and distributor passionately devoted to homegrown Cancon of all stripes. I’m thrilled to have Aaron on the show and his mix has helped shake off the winter doldrums.

NO BANTER.

Spring is barely on the horizon here in Ontario and we’ve been in a strange slushy stasis for the past few weeks. To help focus on warmer days my longtime friend Aaron Levin has put together a melter

02/02/2024

New Séance Centre release alert!

After a brief release hiatus, we’re back! Let’s celebrate Bandcamp Friday and Groundhog Day with the sophomore release from Toronto dream-duo Joseph Shabason and Ben Gunning, this time a more cosmopolitan affair, mapping fragmented cityscapes from bent electronics and late-night FM jazz transmissions.

Sophomore release from Toronto dream-duo Joseph Shabason and Ben Gunning, this time a more cosmopolitan affair, mapping fragmented cityscapes from bent electronics and late-night FM jazz transmissions.

12/22/2023

Christina Vantzou, Michael Harrison and John Also Bennett - Raga Bageshri (Alap) - Live in a Volcanic Cave

Recorded for the 18th edition of the Festival de Música Visual de Lanzarote organized by the Cabildo de Lanzarote.

Filmed at the 18th edition of the Festival de Música Visual de Lanzarote () organized by the Cabildo de Lanzarote.Curated by Alejandr...

12/12/2023

Episode 68 of Séance Centre NTS Radio is up on our SoundCloud now!

For a long time I’ve wanted to do an episode devoted to the sound works of Kai Althoff. Despite his notoriety as a visual artist, his auditory world remains largely unexplored. He has been working in sound for decades, first releasing albums as part of the post-kosmische group Workshop, and subsequently under many nom-de-plume: Fanal, Ingrid Herm, Orla, and Engelhardt / Seef / Davis, to name a few. From reading an excellent interview with Kai and David Grubbs I Iearned that he always listens to music while painting and that he prefers recording to cassette tape. I reached out and proposed that he record an atelier mix to cassette for us and send it in the mail. He enthusiastically agreed and several weeks later a package arrived, lavishly inscribed, with a cassette wrapped in vintage fabrics along with a touching, hand-written note. It was even scented, subtly, with perfume. This music is assembled with just as much care, an itinerant collage which travels between outlying influences woven together with an ear for restraint, texture, and the ardent craft of song. I hope you enjoy the journey Kai has mapped out for us.

NO BANTER.

For a long time I’ve wanted to do an episode devoted to the sound works of Kai Althoff. Despite his notoriety as a visual artist, his auditory world remains largely unexplored. He has been working in

11/20/2023

Double bassist Mark Ibsgaard Gregersen’s “ecoegoe” is a stunning album that confounds the acoustic/digital divide.

ecoegoe's S/T LP now available online!

Double bassist Mark Ibsgaard Gregersen’s :”ecoegoe” is a stunning album that confounds the acoustic/digital divide. Made with an ensemble of jazz-savvy players, the resulting audiography maps an uncanny valley somewhere between “processed” and “performed.” Beguiling & beautiful. RI...

11/15/2023

Episode 67 of Séance Centre NTS Radio is up on our SoundCloud now!

London-based collector and photographer Alex Yiaxis known as Fantasty in Orbit has put together a mix which celebrates radiant diversity, what Martinician theorist Edouard Glissant calls a “poetics of relation.” The mix dissolves boundaries, moving across time, space, and place, assembling a meaningful missive for peace.

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London-based collector and photographer Alex Yiaxis known as Fantasty in Orbit has put together a mix which celebrates radiant diversity, what Martinician theorist Edouard Glissant calls a “poetics of

11/09/2023

Discrepant Echoes: A Screening, Conversation & Listening Session with Ephraim Asili

Ephraim Asili is an African American multidisciplinary artist and educator whose work focuses on the African diaspora as a cultural force. Often inspired by his quotidian wanderings, Asili creates films, books, cassettes, records, collage, and installation works that situate themselves as a series of meditations on the everyday in relation to local and global politics. Asili is the director of the Film and Electronic Arts Program at Bard College, where he is also an associate professor teaching film production and film studies. He is currently a Harvard Radcliffe-Film Study Center Fellow where he is completing his second feature-length 16mm film Don & Moki: Organic Music Society, a documentary/essay hybrid exploring the life and times of the multi-instrumentalist, theorist, and educator Don Cherry and his collaborator and wife, the visual artist Moki Cherry.

**price is in USD, converts to approx $20 CAD Discrepant Echoes: A Screening, Conversation & Listening Session with Ephraim Asili DATE: Saturday November 18th, 8~11pm LOCATION: Kensington Market, Toronto *address will be emailed before the event* Ephraim Asili is

10/23/2023

"We always want to create projects that we’d be curious about if we weren’t involved in them—and that keeps Séance Centre interesting for us. Whether publishing a book of poetry or releasing archival music from Zambia, there is a curatorial narrative that runs through the projects, even if it isn’t obvious. The balance between keeping things surprising, but conversant is the challenge for us. Another important element for the label is untimeliness; presenting archival and contemporary works side-by-side in dialogue with one another."

Join us for a listening session today 2-5pm featuring favorites from Ontario-based label Séance Centre. Founded in 2017 by Brandon Hocura, Séance Centre is an Ontario-based label, publisher, distributor, and record store "conjuring timeless music from the past, present and future." They’ve reiss...

10/18/2023

Episode 66 of Séance Centre NTS Radio is up on our SoundCloud now!

“For a long time I’ve wanted to do this episode; a show devoted to The Tower Recordings collective, responsible for some of my favourite albums from the 90s New Weird America scene. The group, primarily based in New York at the time, consisted of a rotating cast of members; Matt Valentine, PG SIx, Helen Rush, Samara Lubelski, Tim Barnes, and Dean Roberts appear on most of their recordings. Self-proclaimed “children of microtones” the heady recordings make reference to Philip K Dick, Sun Ra, The Incredible String Band, Comus, Moondog, as well as an impressive list of subterranean private press folk and psych records. These are Harry Smith’s grandchildren.

At times the recordings are home-recorded and charmingly shambolic, brethren of the Siltbreeze stable — at other times they have a loose-limbed and spectral sensibility, wide-screen psychedelia recorded to magnetic tape, urbane cousins of the Elephant Six Recordings constellation. The collective often practiced group levitation recording long improvised tapestries of bleary-eyed sound experiments, but on this mix, I focussed on the group’s gift for song & mood, pulling pieces from their extensive discography of records, singles, CDs and CDrs, as well as from post-Tower solo recordings from core members. The collective has always sounded autumnal to me, and this mix is resonating nicely with the cooler weather out here. Enjoy the sounds of the Tower Recordings"

-- Brandon Hocura

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"For a long time I’ve wanted to do this episode; a show devoted to The Tower Recordings collective, responsible for some of my favourite albums from the 90s New Weird America scene. The group, primari

09/25/2023

EFFICIENT SPACE publication ENTHUSIASMS revives with Issue #03

Enthusiasms Issue #3 magazine now available online.

Efficient Space publication ENTHUSIASMS revives with Issue #03. 92 pages covering Aotearoa DIY folk proliferator Maxine Funke, the vocal magick of Cucina Povera, Australian devotional jazz mystery Singing Dust, Osaka portal EM Records, unsung dub specialist Sheriff Lindo and the living practice of

Séance Centre