Multi-instrumentalist and composer Colin Fisher has been energising the Toronto music scene and beyond for around two decades now. A virtuoso guitarist, acclaimed sax player, drummer and more, a brilliant interpretive improviser, a boundary pushing electronic artist, Fisher’s work confounds easy definition. He’s played alongside Jamie Branch, Joe McPhee, Braxton, Laaraji and Frith as well as collaborated with artists from all points of the musical map, leftfield IDM (Caribou/Junior Boys) to rock bands (Pup/Born Ruffians).
His own solo work, six albums in, shows a similar restless creativity. 2018’s ‘V Le Pape’ focused on hyper-textural guitar soundscapes whereas ‘The Garden Of The Unknowing’ from the same year shimmered through a flow of deep pooled, improvisational jazz. Then in 2021 came the ‘Reflections of the Invisible World’, an exquisitely woven set of looping instrumentals with gentle elevational powers.
Now there’s news of Fisher’s next album, ‘Suns Of The Heart’, due out on July 12th through his new home, the ever dependable and discerning We Are Busy Bodies. This time around he’s collaborated with fellow Torontonian electronic producer David Psutka, founder of the Halocline label (who released Fisher’s last outing) and a similarly unflinching innovator. It seems Psutka did more than simply oversee the recording of ‘Suns Of The Heart’ in his studio. Both he and Fisher worked together on deconstructing/reconstructing the instrumentalist’s fundamental looping, improvisational structures, with the goal of shaping more panoramic, widescreen music. From this approach the partnership generated the confluence of sonic ideas and energies that form the new album.
The first reverberations from their shared perspectives comes with preview track, the beautifully rendered ’Acts Of Light’. It’s a piece that dawns gracefully, harmonic shards launching a ripple of chords and pristine glissandos tumbling down Fisher’s fretboard. Mid-point the clean shafts of sound are fractured, the illusion briefly broken by piercing, volatile guitar runs before a calm melodic ambience is steadily reclaimed. Pointing the way to the more layered, expansive atmospheres promised on ‘Suns Of The Heart’, Colin Fisher’s music is set once again to illuminate.
Pre-order your copy of ‘Suns of the Heart‘ by Colin Fisher from your local record store or direct from We Are Busy Bodies HERE
