{"id":17951,"date":"2019-08-07T09:00:19","date_gmt":"2019-08-07T16:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/?p=17951"},"modified":"2019-08-02T10:23:00","modified_gmt":"2019-08-02T17:23:00","slug":"toronto-electronic-duo-lal-create-safe-spaces-with-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/2019\/08\/07\/toronto-electronic-duo-lal-create-safe-spaces-with-music\/","title":{"rendered":"Toronto electronic duo LAL create safe spaces with music"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Toronto-based electronic duo LAL tackle very down-to-earth social issues through their music, but for their new album, Dark Beings<\/em>, they took inspiration from something out of this world. The two members of LAL\u2014Nicholas Murray and Rosina Kazi\u2014got motivated by listening to NASA satellite sound recordings and tried to recreate those sounds on the album using synthesizers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe direction we\u2019re trying to travel into is like some sort of celestial beings,\u201d says Murray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the members of LAL are taking that interstellar inspiration and bringing it back down to earth with a powerful message. With safe spaces being torn down by organizations and institutions, Murray and Kazi have built their own: UNIT2, a radical arts and community space in Toronto. Creating that safe space ties in with what the band explore on their new album. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDark Beings<\/em> is about what happens with that energy and how we transcend our physical bodies when we\u2019re in those places of safety, euphoria,\u201d says Kazi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Toronto\u2019s LAL explore satellite sounds and safe spaces on their new album, Dark Beings<\/em> (photo provided).<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The lyrics on the new album deal with environmental issues, racism, and sexism in the queer and trans communities and remind the listener that despite what has been taken away from certain people, we have the power to stand strong, and by the power of our imagination we can transcend the physical world and our bodies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur music is a reflection of what we\u2019re already talking about as a community,\u201d says Kazi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two have been performing together for around 20 years, spreading their stories and creating a small sanctuary in every town they play in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen we perform, we want that place to be a safe space. We want to create a safer space for the community,\u201d says Kazi. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Murray wants to eventually take the band further around the world, mentioning Japan as one place where he\u2019d like them to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want to travel and explore the natural world before we destroy it,\u201d adds Kazi, \u201cso wherever our music can take us, I\u2019m down.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Murray says that it\u2019s important to give back to the community and that he feels like it\u2019s one of his mandates; Kazi echoes the community-based sentiment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI refer to us as being part of an ecosystem,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no resentment or hate in the songs on Dark Beings<\/em> (which got a spot on this year\u2019s Polaris Music Prize long list), but Kazi says that the two had those feelings in the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA lot of us get left behind,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019ve realized the difference between a music industry or arts industry and then an arts ecosystem.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That realization has helped them to move ahead. The term \u201cindustry,\u201d to Kazi, has the implication of being wasteful, and of people being treated poorly and unjustly. We\u2019re all part of an ecosystem, and Murray and Kazi know how connected we all are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe grow\u2014it\u2019s like a garden or a forest,\u201d she says. \u201cEvery creature, every living species\u2026 Every one of our spirits relies on each other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Murray and Kazi are grateful they get to meet many amazing folks who are interested in the topics the band explores, and who are up for discussing them. The duo\u2019s ecosystem is not limited to just artists; there are people from many disciplines and backgrounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTheir intention is to really support our community and themselves,\u201d says Kazi, noting that it\u2019s amazing that there are people \u201ccoming together to create a better world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Murray agrees, expressing his gratitude for the community that the two get to be involved in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re lucky enough to be a part of it,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LAL
7 pm Thursday, August 15
$20, Victoria Event Centre
lalforest.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Toronto-based electronic duo LAL tackle very down-to-earth social issues through their music, but for their new album, Dark Beings, they took inspiration from something out of this world. The two members of LAL\u2014Nicholas Murray and Rosina Kazi\u2014got motivated by listening to NASA satellite sound recordings and tried to recreate those sounds on the album using […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17952,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,234],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts","category-august-7-2019"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17951"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17951\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17953,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17951\/revisions\/17953"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}