The hypothesis is being tested once again. What are the boundaries of entertaining music?
A theory only becomes confirmed scientifically if the results can be repeated, and on Thursday this city is back in the lab for the next edition of the experimental music festival known as Casse-Tete.
"Now in its fifth and possibly final year, Casse-Tete is a festival of experimental music - improvisation, free jazz, avant-garde compositions, minimalism, post-rock, noise, and more," said Jeremy Stewart, the festival's co-founder and artistic director.
The possibility of a Casse-Tete closedown has come up due to Stewart and his wife Erin set to move from the city before the next one rolls around. However, there is hope others may continue producing the event.
"Five years of Casse-Tte have brought Prince George artists from as far afield as Italy, Halifax, Costa Rica, and New York," Stewart said, and practically none of them had Prince George on their tour schedules were it not for this unique annual event.
"This year supported for the second time by a grant from the City of Prince George, the festival is free of charge for all to attend. This year also brings the festival into a new venue at Theatre North West," said Stewart. "This year's featured performers come from around Canada, including the cutting edge of Prince George's own radiant scene."
According to Stewart, the visiting artists confirmed on this year's bill include Crawling Human; Mark Takeshi McGregor; Stanley Jason Zappa; Not Now, Hamelin; Marina Hasselberg; Catherine Fern Lewis; Christopher Reiche (he will be performing Erik Satie's composition Vexations with a duration of approximately 24 hours), and a special performance coordinated by Vancouver's Red Shift Society (the Sonologues speaker array project) which will feature work by Juno winning composer Jordan Nobles, as well as Benton Roark and Annett Brosin.
Participating local artists include Pg9o9, Peter Stevenson, Patrick Kilcullen, the band Christians, and a second production of Raghu Lokanathan's surreal play with music entitled A Sickness of Meaning that premiered in March.
Jazz saxophonist Zappa (yes, a relative of Frank, Moon Unit, Dweezil, and that famous clan of musicians) has been a contributor to the festival since its inception. He issued a statement on why he is such a fervent supporter.
"More so than any other festival in Canada, Casse-Tete brings together a wide range of musicians united by their work within the avant-garde," Zappa said. "For three days, Prince George is the fountain head of musical creativity. Carefully curated, the musical rosters draw artists from all over the world to celebrate and perform truly new music, much if not all of which is performed for the first time."
The name of the festival is symbolically swollen. It is a French term that carries the double meaning of "broken head" and "puzzle" and, said Stewart, can also refer to "a bludgeoning weapon like a club, or to a violent, deafening noise."
This is all music, though, not random nonsense of the melodic kind. It might challenge some listeners, but it is a favourite annual event among local musicians simply because it teaches them new ways within their craft.
This year's festival takes place at Theatre NorthWest from Thursday to Sunday. Go to www.cassetetefestival.com for precise schedules, but music generally gets underway at 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday then 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
