Blocks Recording Club Announces Farewell Toronto Concert

BY Alex HudsonPublished Apr 13, 2015

Last month, we reported that Toronto-based, artist-owned music co-op Blocks Recording Club would be ceasing operations after more than a decade in business. Now, the label has announced it will say goodbye with one final concert.

The event will take place on May 9 at Toronto's Tranzac Club, which is the same building where Blocks' offices are located. Performers will include Austra, Bob Wiseman, Barcelona Pavilion (a reunion of the 2002-2004 lineup), Nifty, Les Mouches, the Phonemes, Hank, Matias, Ninja High School and some special guests. DJ duties will be handled by Maya Postepski (of Austra) and John Caffrey.

At the event, almost all of Blocks' catalogue will be available to purchase, and an announcement promises that there will be "some kind of memorial object/tombstone/publication produced."

Blocks, sometimes known as □□□□□□, was founded by Steve Kado and Mark McLean as a label for mini-CDs in 2003. When McLean left, Kado ran it with Liisa K. Graham, and the organization incorporated as a cooperative in 2005. It has since been run by an elected board and has released music from Fucked Up, Final Fantasy (a.k.a. Owen Pallett), Bob Wiseman, Katie Stelmanis (of Austra), Nadja, One Hundred Dollars, Picastro and more. The first-ever Polaris Music Prize-winning album — Final Fantasy's He Poos Clouds — came out on Blocks.

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