Backward Music Volume 1
Welcome to the birth of Backward Music, a heavily-curated label based in Atlantic Canada. An off-shoot of the successful Forward Music Group, Backward will focus on giving a voice to the highest calibre creative and innovative music outside of the mainstream and doing so with a careful focus on presentation and aesthetic. The label will also direct a strong focus on how the ever-evolving field of technology changes possibilities for delivering music to audiences and is working with cutting edge web-developers, videographers and artists to deliver both music & visual content in engaging and innovative ways.
This package contains selections from three different artists; New York composer David Moore’s Bing & Ruth project, Toronto percussionist Joshua Van Tassel, and British expat Tim Crabtree. The music is a cohesive batch of cinematic and ambient music with subtle textures of both organic and electronic instruments, sequenced to provide a calm listening experience.
Bing & Ruth
David Moore has appeared in or been featured by The New York Times, NPR, The Village Voice, Pitchfork, Brooklyn Vegan, WFMU, the Guardian, Downbeat, Flavorpill, the New York Post, and is a regularly featured artist on WNYC’s flagship fringe music program “New Sounds” with John Schaefer. He was recently the subject of one of La Blogothèque’s infamous Take Away Shows, shot by legendary music filmmaker Vincent Moon, in a performance that saw David both alone at his piano and leading Bing & Ruth on a snow covered Coney Island beach. In 2009, with funding from ‘Music at the Anthology’ (MATA), David collaborated with French filmmaker Sebastien Cros on a multimedia piece premiered by Bing & Ruth at the MATA Festival in New York City.
“…making the most of layered and atmospheric melody.” – New York Times “…tender, optimistic, uneasy and impossibly gorgeous.” – Village Voice Joshua Van Tassel “Quite possibly the most haunting song we’ve heard this year. The alchemy is remarkable” – The Toronto Star “It’s easy to see why his music has been used in theatre and TV: it’s fresh, accessible sonic experimentation, as inviting as it is unpredictable.” – NOW Magazine Tim Crabtree
Joshua Van Tassel studied music at St. Francis Xavier University, the Banff Centre for the Arts, and Humber College. While best known for his sideman work with Doug Paisley, Justin Rutledge, David Myles and many others, Joshua has an active solo career as a producer/composer/multi-instrumentalist as well. His music is featured on the Outdoor Life Network shows Departures and Descending, while his current self titled album (released Sept. 2011) has received critical acclaim from the CBC, Toronto Star, and NOW Magazine, and has been chosen as one of the top albums of 2011 by CBC Radio 2?s ‘The Signal’.
Tim Crabtree is best known for his work with Paper Beat Scissors and their arresting live performances, including festival headline slots and numerous tours of Canada & Europe. Concurrent to the development that project, Tim has a blooming career working in music production creating electronic and ambient music and is also an accomplished audio engineer in the field of soundtracks and art pieces. He produced music for the National Film Board production ‘How To Be Alone’, which drew comment from American film critic Roger Ebert as well as wide-spread media coverage in CBC’s the National, The Guardian (UK) and The Globe and Mail among others, and presently has over 5 million views on YouTube. He has worked with a number of film-makers and directors including Andrea Dorfmann for ‘How to be Alone’ and the NFB produced (follow-up to the Emmy-nominated Flawed) Big Mouth and Chris Tootell (stop-motion animator for Warner Bros, Tim Burton, Aardman Animations) on pieces for films that have been selected at various national and international festivals.
