Moondata LABprojects

From time to time Moondata would host a night in Montreal whereby different musicians were invited to drop by and participate in what would be, essentially, an improvised performance. For those not able to stop by, Moondata have essentially put together a "greatest hits” collection of these sessions, and while some scream improvised, others here hold together like they’ve been written out and practiced many times. The two main anchors of this project are Matt Lederman and Ryhna Thompson of Parkside Jones, but along the way people from bands that run the gamut from Stars to Bell Orchestre to Planet Smashers show up. Bouncing around all genres, "Ektara” has a definite East Asian feel, while "Francis + Ox” is beauty personified due to the harmonica work of Levy Bourbonnais, and is a definite album highlight. "Disbreaker” takes a more electronic turn due to the presence of Sixtoo, and "I Pretend It’s Love” features a gorgeous vocal turn by Elizabeth Powell. Everything bounces to and fro, but that’s the beauty as the music seems completely dependent upon what musicians are driving it. More importantly, these are all snapshots of music that will never be performed again, which actually makes this whole endeavour somewhat sad, as this music should definitely be allowed to flourish again.