Saturday February 25th 2012

Forest City Lovers , Snowblink , Snailhouse , Bocce , Kite Hill , Richard Laviolette , Octoberman, The Meek, Jenny Omnichord

Tranzac - 292 Brunswick Avenue - Toronto ON

Doors 8 PM - Tickets $15 in Advance / $17 at the Door - Tickets available at Rotate This and Soundscapes later this week.

(The capacity of the Tranzac is pretty small, get tickets early to avoid disappointment. Music will be happening throughout the entire space.)

Out of this Spark will be celebrating five years of music in February, with a special concert in Toronto on Saturday February 25th at The Tranzac.

Out of this Spark (OOTS) was formed in the fall of 2006, to help release the Friends in Bellwoods compilation, which both celebrated the music of a community of friends and raised funds for the Daily Bread Food Bank.

In those five years, in a time when record stores and labels were folding at an alarming rate, OOTS has released ten albums and has grown into one of Canada's most respected independent labels. Our bands have toured across Canada, US and Europe countless times. Our music is available in stores across the country. Every once in awhile our music gets nominated for an award. We have received an overwhelming amount of press praising, and occasionally panning, our work. Throughout all this we are most proud of the fact that we have been able to release our music and operate on our own terms, and have found a niche and supportive audience for our music and how we release it.

We have always viewed OOTS as more than just a medium for our roster of artists to release their music; it is part of much larger community of likeminded labels, musicians and artists and as we celebrate our fifth anniversary, we are very proud to share our special night with many of the people who have been part of our extended circle of peers.

OOTS has always strived to be an alternative to the failings of the mainstream music industry and a celebration of the importance of underground and grassroots culture, and as we reflect on the future of the small part of the music world we inhabit, we are excited by what we see, and look forward to another five years of creating music for our community and beyond.

While it might seem like things are bit quiet at OOTSquarters, we actually are quite busy. We have been preparing to celebrate our 5th Anniversary we a party this February in Toronto. Watch for more details on that in the next week or so. But in the meantime, the lovely folks from Snowblink have released a video for their lovely song The Tired Bees. Check it out below.

Tasseomancy is about to hit the road with our friends in Austra, but before they do they were able to put together a video for a new song, Black Milk, recorded poolside in Reykjavik, Iceland. Tasseomancy has also started tumbling on Tumblr.

Tasseomancy Tour Dates with Austra

November 16 - Vancouver, BC @ Electric Owl
November 17 - Kamloops, BC @ Cactus Jacks
November 18 - Edmonton, AB @ Brixx
November 19 - Calgary, AB @ Hi Fi
November 22 - Saskatoon, SK @ Amigos
November 23 - Regina, SK @ The Exchange
November 24 - Winnipeg, MB @ The WECC
December 01 - Toronto, ON @ The Phoenix
December 02 - Montreal, QC @ Cabaret Mile End
December 03 - Ottawa, ON @ Ritual

Don't forget Tasseomancy's Toronto album release is Thursday October 20th. Dets : Tasseomancy and special guests Slim Twig & Princess Century with Visuals by Sojourner Truth Parsons and Victoria Cheong

Victuals by Julia Kennedy and other eyelet feasts.

The Great Hall - 1087 Queen Street West - Toronto ON

Doors at 9 PM - $10 in Advance / $12 at the Door - 19 + - Advance Tickets will be available at Rotate This, Soundscapes and GalleryAC.com

Hey there Internet. September has been a crazy whirlwind of activity and we apologize for the slowness of updates but there is lots upcoming, don't you worry.

First off, thanks to Pop Montreal and the folks at O Patro Vys for a really amazing time at the festival. Our showcase was packed full all night long and there were lots of great things to check out all weekend long. Watching Arcade Fire perform for 100,000 people was a highlight. It's surreal to think just a few years back we were helping them with shows in Guelph playing for 50 people.

Tasseomancy's Ulalume has been out for a month now, and the band is preparing to hit the road across Canada with Austra in November. Before they do that though they are going to be having a special album release show in Toronto at The Great Hall on Thursday October 20th. Joining them that evening will be special guests Slim Twig and Princess Century. Tickets are $10 in advance and are on sale at Soundscapes, Rotate This and online at GalleryAC.com Speaking of Soundscapes, Tasseomancy will be performing an in-store there on Tuesday October 18th at 7 PM.

Tasseomancy's song Soft Feet was recently remixed by Danish producer Heidi Mortenson and you can take a listen to it on the Exclaim website. 

In other OOTS news Snowblink will be hitting the road with Ohbijou in Western Canada throughout the month of November. Forest City Lovers will also be heading west around the same time. Also watch real soon for an amazing video for Forest City Lovers' Keep The Kids Inside. Evening Hymns continues to put their finishing touches on their next album Spectral Dusk and will be touring throughout Europe in the Fall, with their eyes on some potential Canadian touring in the new year.

Tasseomancy's Ulalume is out in stores today !!! You can order the album online via iTunes or Gallery AC. The album is available as both a CD and as a 180g LP. You can order from our release page or the little column on the right side of this page.

To get a taste of what is in store for yours ears, check out Tasseomancy's new view for Soft Feet.

We at OOTS are busily preparing for the release of Tasseomancy's Ulalume next week, Tuesday August 30th to be exact.

If you want to get a sneak listen of the full record you can visit the Exclaim website.

After a quick jaunt to England for a show in London, Tasseomancy will be back in Canada in time for a few shows in September including a stop in Guelph and at Pop Montreal. Their big Toronto album release show will be in October at the Great Hall. Then throughout November, the band hits the road across Canada with Austra. Visit our tour page for all the info.

Speaking of Pop Montreal, OOTS will be hitting the road again for a visit at our favourite music festival. Our showcase will be on Friday September 23rd and will feature Forest City Lovers, Evening Hymns, Snowblink, Tasseomancy and our good friend Ohbijou. Tickets for the show at O Patro Vys are $12 advance or $15 at the door, or you can take advantage of the multitude of Pop Montreal pass options.

Check out the new video for Tasseomancy's Heavy Sleep off of their upcoming release Ulalume :



The video was directed by Derrick Belcham. Check out more of his work here.

Tasseomancy's Ulalume will be released by Out of this Spark on CD and 180g LP on August 30th.

Tasseomancy is a continuation of what was a bare bones neo-folk duo. Formerly known as Ghost Bees, Sari and Romy Lightman have found a heavier, more ambient sound, ripe with dreamy, dissonant vocals, influenced by eastern song, drone music, phonography, and myth.

The sisters return to their ancestral side with their second full-length, Ulalume, co-produced and accompanied by Taylor Kirk and Simon Trottier of Timber Timbre and influenced by their work as touring members of the electronic outfit, Austra.

Tasseomancy expands its scope to move beyond earlier acoustic arrangements, combining the rhythmic soundscapes of Popol Vuh and Comus with the dream-like state of Julee Cruise. The outcome is both terse and expansive, haunting and resonant in the manner of early soul music, with a smoke ribbon shape and full peal all its own.

Ulalume will be available on Out of This Spark in August of 2011.

Get a sneak peek of their new music, when the band hits the road with OOTS alum Timber Timbre in late May.

Tasseomancy Tour Dates with Timber Timbre

May 26 - Winnipeg, MB @ The Park Theatre
May 27 - Saskatoon, SK @ Amigos
May 28 - Calgary, AB @ Central United Church
June 01- Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre

Forest City Lovers will be playing a show this Friday night in Toronto at The Garrison with Slow Down Molasses and Kite Hill.

Here are some details :

No Shame is pleased to present

Forest City Lovers w/ Slow Down Molasses &  Kite Hill

The Garrison $10 - doors @ 9pm

We'll be accepting donations to the Daily Bread Food Bank as always. Treats!