Brandon Auger
“If you love minimalistic performative approaches, this is for your ears. It’s a dose of spatial and spacey considerations in short sonic nuggets. It has an industrial outer shell filled with echoed reverb and a cloak of mystery.”
TJ Norris (Toneshift, 2019)
Brandon Auger (b.1978) is an electroacoustic musician and structural builder based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Originally a guitarist, he started experimenting with electronics and tape in the early 90’s.
His solo release when sails fold is unique set of minimal modular-synth recordings made in 2018. With special access to remote concrete structures on building sites, Auger recorded in a variety of these vast environments, capturing, amplifying and drawing out their acoustic idiosyncrasies. The result is a beautiful series of short tracks – an auditory document of the resonance of industrial forms, calling to mind the black-and-white photography of Bernd and Hilla Becher.
An active member of the suddenlyLISTEN community in Halifax, Auger also works alongside members of Mocean Dance and Kinetic Studios. His compositions, live performances and collaborative projects have been presented at the Halifax International Jazz Festival, Open Waters Festival, and throughout various galleries across Canada and the U.S.
“There is quite some speed and variety in these pieces… introspective and spacious, and in the shorter pieces, firm blocks of white noise, sine waves and oscillations are sparked off most vibrantly.
Auger is not shy of a bit of feedback noise from time to time and reminded me occasionally of Arcane Device. That is, of course, in my book a good thing.”
Frans De Waard (Vital Weekly #1196, 2019)
*photo by Brandon Auger
“While there’s no shortage of sound artists these days trying to engage with buildings in one way or another, and make capital out of industrial waste or pollution (Tarab and his sonic rubbish is a prime example), I’ve never heard such an enigmatic and shrewd take on the genre as this austere, spartan record. With liner notes by Toshimaru Nakamura, this one can’t miss!”
Ed Pinsent (The Sound Projector)