The exploding meet was formed in Fredericton, New Brunswick in the autumn of 1983 as a songwriting
workshop and experimental recording project. Throughout subsequent years the
loose collective vastly improved production techniques and expanded early
lyrical and compositional ideas.
Once described as
"Surrealist-Ethno-Underworld-Fusion", the Exploding Meet led by
composer Mark Carmody, were equipped
with standard rock instrumentation but with modified tuning and a broad palate
of percussion voices which opened up a somewhat unique and mesmerizing sonic
range. Rhythms and harmonic structures reflect the group’s interest in the
exotic soaring dance modes of Psychedelic Rock, Jazz and Ju Ju Music. The power and freedom of Coltrane and Coleman mix
with the meditative pulses of afro-centric music, Middle Eastern modes and the always
present, expansive, influential body of accurately referenced material. Environmental sights and sounds from the
weathered cities and diverse rural landscapes of Eastern Canada offer the greatest contribution. This atmosphere
furnishes a dreamscape from which the whole identity of the music evolves.
On July 13th, 1985,
the exploding meet performed "Inaugural
Address" @ Memorial Hall on
the U.N.B. campus and thus embarked
on a long journey that always focused on developing live performance
potential. The intention always being to
discover ways of expressing thoughts and feelings in a musical language tapped
at its source. Performances over the
next few years included "the
Pineapple Analogy", "Slugfest ' 86", "Scream",
Wolverine", "Lola Palooza ' 88", "Bard Mongrel",
"Gatineau Rebellion", "Circus Of Disharmony" and many
others. The collective performed many
shows and released a number of albums in various formats over the course of
several decades which garnered global praise from the underground and great
support from Canadian community based radio.
The exploding Meet performed primarily in Fredericton although a number
of shows took place in Ontario and Quebec.
The collective performed a number of times in their home base at "First Night", "Harvest Jazz
& Blues Festival" and also at the first ever "Maritime Independent Music Festival".
The exploding meet
also had a “pop” side as well, which manifested itself within the division
known as Decade of Dreams. Under this banner several vinyl LP’s and CDs
were also released and were generally well received once again by the
aforementioned recipients of recorded material.
Mark Carmody also saw the release of what is truly a magical vinyl only
LP which provided the soundtrack to NFB
film called “Tuesday Wednesday” released
under his own name.
Those involved in the
exploding meet collective collided through the mutually felt isolation of their
existence with a desire to expand the mind.
On retrospect, this appears to have been coupled with a born internal
need to self discover through the channeling of music and art. Pretty much everyone to this day practices
their craft in many forms and we all have extremely fond memories of our times
together as “the meet”, touching the universe as one single entity whenever we
played. Enjoy this experience and always
remember to look for the flare!
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