InsideAMind vs. Colin Fisher & Brandon Valdivia
WL 360 - Sunday, April 22 – 11:30pm
Purveyors of: Free improv ridiculousness

InsideAmind are Professor Fingers and Steptone who manipulate their turntables into instruments that improvise and play off each other, throwing all manner of genres against each other to form a shape shifting, unpredictable cacophony. Colin Fisher is an improv musician known for his sax and guitar virtuosity whose projects in Toronto are far too numerous to bother listing. This unlikely trio have decided to join forces and will be playing together on April 22 at Wavelength for the third time ever. Pras Rajagopalan got the scoop from Fingers and Steptone (aka Erik and Cheldon) and the industrious Mr. Fisher.

Hey InsideAMind! What have you been up to?

Erik and Cheldon: Well, it's been a very busy 2006 and a great start to 2007. Back on November 4th we released our debut EP FragMental, which we're happy to report, has been receiving worldwide acclaim. We've been lucky enough to perform at lots of amazing shows including Palette 3 turntable music showcase. This is a self-produced event that featured the man himself, Mr. Colin Fisher. Around the same time we performed a couple live film scores at the World Wide Short Film Festival and tied to our whole sound-tracking craze is the scoring of a short film that we just finished for BRAVO! As a side project, Off Centre DJ School is still keeping us quite busy. We're teaching others how to make a lot of noise with turntables! Other than that, the road has been calling our name for some time now, so we've given in to the higher power of the tour spirits and are hitting up the heads with our spring European tour starting in May.

Hey Colin Fisher! What have you been up to?

Colin Fisher: I've recently moved to Kensington Market, so I was getting settled for the first bit. Everything I need is so close! Which is horrible in a way cuz I get little to no exercise now. I've been playing out a fair bit the last two months. Recorded a duo album of improvisations with Joe Sorbara, a duo composition with Brandon Valdivia and a studio project with engineer/percussionist Jean Martin. Delving deep into Mailian Guitar music lately.

What circumstances led to the three of you realizing that this collaboration was something that you had to do?

E & C: It's hard to describe why you like someone's music, but when a feeling about them hits you, then that's it. iNSiDEaMiND and Colin Fisher are like mixing together drunken philosophers with a group of hungry monkeys. It's the love of discovering new sounds and the challenge of taking the art form into a different musical universe, which connects the three of us.

Colin: Erik and Cheldon got a hold of me somehow via the Internet because of my involvement in improvised music. We've played together twice and both times have been very engaging. Seeing we’re all coming from somewhat disparate approaches to improvising I think there’s a bit of a learning curve for all of us. Which is great! For me an opportunity to learn and expand my palette is always welcome.

How many times have you played already? Describe the set-up and the beautiful noise that it produces.

E & C: The three of us have officially played twice before. First at the Palette three-turntable music showcase with Moonstarr (beats) and DJ Veteran (turntables) and the second time at the Leftover Daylight series with Jason Hammer (upright bass). We've been touching back and forth for some time looking for the chance to play together again...and here we are. iNSiDEaMiND will be rockin' three turntables, drum machines, and FX and Colin's got a whole other set of gear which all together will produce nothing but feeling.

You guys take the improvisational route in making music. Do you think that improv music is accessible to anyone - i.e those who have no prior training in music or our average citizen who has never heard such music before? When did you guys first start listening to improvisational music (if at all) and what drew you to it?

E & C: Not sure we're the best people to comment on "the average," but improvisation can be even more engaging then other music because when it's done well it captures that moment, right there, as opposed to relying too heavily on formulated and premeditated structures. In a lot of ways everyone is there in the moment together experiencing the song come to life. That moment is the first time and most likely only time that that experience will ever take place… dope. Jazz or jam band type rock has always been a foundation piece for improvised music. I think Medeski Martin and Wood were one of the first dudes to really hit me with the feeling of freedom that improvisation creates. You’ve got to leave some things up to chance to really experience the nature of it...don't ya think?

Colin: Improvisation is accessible to everyone. You can be a layman and enjoy a good guitar solo or a really tight freestyle or an inspired vocal candenza in a pop/soul song. My point being is that improvisation is in all forms and genres and is veritably accessible to all sorts of folk, academic and layman alike. I've always had an interest in listening to improvised music. From my first memories as a really young child listening to Jimmy Page's guitar solo in Whole Lotta Love as well as Ravi Shankar's otherworldly improvising on the Monterey pop festival recording. My focused interest in playing as well as exploring free jazz/free improvised music didn’t happen until my early twenties.

By Pras Rajagopalan