Toronto-based independent record label Out of this Spark celebrated its second anniversary with performances from the four acts on its roster. The birthday bash, held at Tranzac Club on January 10th, showcased the label’s wide range of talent while collecting non-perishable food items for the Daily Bread Food Bank.
The grassroots label got its start in 2006 with the Friends in Bellwoods compilation, designed as a fundraiser for the food bank. Two years later, OOTS founder Stuart Duncan has established an artist-focused infrastructure that runs contrary to the corporate music industry—OOTS’s artists maintain publishing rights over their music.
Operating amid the sea of independent labels in Toronto, OOTS has distinguished itself by emphasizing quality over quantity—focused on promoting just four bands. Saturday night’s soldout show was a testament to the OOTS method.
Under the Christmas-light glow of the Tranzac stage, Jenny Omnichord kicked off the night with light-hearted, folksy songs from her 2008 album Charlotte or Otis: Duets for Children, Their Parents and Other People Too, which instantly warmed concertgoers trolling in from the snowstorm brewing outside. While Omnichord’s album features a series of duets with the likes of rapper Shad and Tony Dekker of Great Lake Swimmers, highlights of her Tranzac set included a duet with her father and the occasional wail from her four-month-old son on hand for the show.
Featuring songs from their 2008 OOTS release We Are The Hunters, The D’Urbervilles followed with a high-energy set of post-punk tunes. A favourite among the crowd’s underage members, the young men of The D’Urbervilles gave a charismatic performance with minimal banter and dedications to both Duncan and their families in attendance. With songs like “Dragnet” and “National Flowers,” the band proved that the buzz surrounding their music is more than warranted.
While the evening’s audience seemed more interested in loud conversations and sipping on the Tranzac’s draught selections, Forest City Lovers garnered quiet, rapt attention. The quartet has recently seen success south of the border, with radio rotation of songs off their sophomore album Haunted Moon Sinking. The band’s rich orchestration, led by Mika Posen’s violin, and the sweet but never saccharine vocals of Kat Burns showed off OOTS’s softer side.
The live show was capped off by Timbre Timber, whose music is best described as low-fi blues. However their performance seemed inspired by a clash of ultrasound machine chirps, robot chanting, and whale song. If you’re confused and frustrated by that description, you’re not alone, but it adequately fits a performance that was a far cry from the sounds of the band’s forthcoming, eponymous release with OOTS. The duo spent their half hour crouching in the dark of the stage manipulating feedback. While such performance art might be riveting at Nuit Blanche, it left many an audience member scratching their head.
The evening was a great reminder to jaded music lovers that unique, original music is still created on a small-time scale—even in a world that seems oversaturated with corporate-boosted “indie” bands. As the snow continued to fall, DJ Bahai Cassette helped the crowd transition from rock show to dance party mode, allowing fans, friends and family to mingle with bandmembers and raise a glass to Out of this Spark’s second birthday. The terrible twos should be an exciting year for the label, with Timbre Timber’s album and a new Friends in Bellwoods compilation in the works.
Here’s to a third anniversary.
Out of this Spark will continue the celebration on January 16 with the same lineup at The Albion Hotel in Guelph, ON.
