Experimental Link Series: Niloufar Shiri and Caleb Klager

A meeting of brilliant minds journey towards a refreshingly electronic live set expanding sonic possibilities through the meeting of two worlds at the first Experimental Link Series of the year. Situated at the intersection of traditional Iranian and electronic music, expect a radical approach to kamancheh performance from Niloufar Shiri, tempered by her tape recorder and Caleb Klager’s electronics introducing percussive elements.

Accomplished Iranian kamancheh player and composer Niloufar Shiri closely examines textural and timbral spaces, drawing inspiration from staggered pitch relations in the Radif, field recordings, noise and feedback. Working within classical Iranian music, contemporary music, and improvisation, she explores the concept of displacement in relation to familiar and distant environments. Shiri is a graduate of the Tehran Music Conservatory in Iran, the University of California, San Diego, and the University of California, Irvine.

Caleb Klager has honed a hyper-intentional and precise improvisational style. The Toronto-based bassist, electroacoustic composer and sound designer uses his array of samplers, synthesizers and acoustic instruments to create sounds ranging from hard techno beats to experimental and evocative soundscapes. Klager studied at the University of Toronto’s Jazz Performance Program as a bassist, solidifying his close relationship with sub-octave grooves and rhythm, which serve as the foundation of the techno he performs.

Experimental Link Series contemplates the Persian-Canadian experience by reinvigorating, re-exploring and re-imagining Persian traditional music within contemporary and cosmopolitan Toronto by inviting different musicians from the diaspora to collaborate and perform together. The series will explore connections between identity, culture, and musical creation.

Link Music Lab gratefully acknowledges the generous support of Canadian Heritage, the Toronto Arts Council and the Ontario Arts Council.