Purveyors of: Psych’d out soul, library music, funky oddities
File next to: Hiatus Kaiyote, MF Doom, Marvin Gaye
Appearing: Badge Époque Ensemble + Sam Jr. + The Royal Family: Wavelength x Project Nowhere, October 5, 2024 @ St. Anne’s Parish and Lower Hall (651 Dufferin Street)
Long-listed twice for the Polaris Music Prize, Badge Époque Ensemble is a group of eclectic Toronto musicians, whose original compositions span from ‘70s style jazz-funk to prog. They are constantly collaborating, with features including Jennifer Castle, Meg Remy (US Girls) and Boldy James. Wavelength’s Lian McMillan talked to bandleader Maximillian Turnbull – who long-time WL showgoers may remember from projects like Slim Twig or Tropics – about their ever changing sound, intentionality and their upcoming performance on October 5th.
WL: Badge Époque Ensemble is composed of many active members of the Toronto music community. What is it like to make music here, and how does the local scene inspire you?
MT: I’ve always liked that there is no “Toronto sound” that you could easily put a finger on. Toronto feels to me like a big canvas — enough space that all the music folks can find their own corner to splatter a unique impression. I like that about it. I like that there are so many accomplished music-folk in their own lane essentially, living in parallel… and if there is cross-pollination, or influence across planes it is often non-linear. I am inspired by the fact that for whatever shade I am seeking in music work, there is a diversity of folks who can provide a unique take that will satisfy that demand. This town is a fully stocked music-grocery-store so to speak, a kind of heaven for a serial collaborator like myself.
WL: In addition to your eight core members, you frequently collaborate with outside musicians. What does the creative process look like with that many musicians?
MT: I’m very project oriented, so it totally depends on what kinda thing I’m working on. With an album like Clouds of Joy, we went into it knowing that the concept was blending choral music with the Ensemble sound… and like I said above, Toronto is fully stocked. That particular process involved finding a key coordinator (in this case Dorothea Paas, who arranged vocals for the album) and working with her to select who the right singers might be for this project — there were a multitude who would work, but who was precisely right? I like to have an idea about what I want, but to also allow space to be surprised, and above all to allow collaborators to speak in their own language. I love musicians, so my process is about finding spots for them to sound like my idea of their best unique qualities.
WL: How would you classify Badge Époque Ensemble’s genre?
MT: The project was born of a fascination for productions that exhibit that love of musicianship I mentioned. The alchemy in arranging wonderful players in a live environment. I learned about that quality from listening to hip-hop, and specifically from drilling down into all the fabulous and spectacular sounds of yesteryear that continue to be repurposed by producers in ways which speak to us in a contemporary voice. So if there’s a genre that I feel connected to, I suppose it would be a broad one, like collage music, sample-aware music, post-rap maybe? Of course I love jazz, funk and movie music too!
WL: Is there something in the future that you’d like to explore that you haven’t had the chance to yet?
MT: I want to make music that has an obvious beauty to it. I would love to get an opportunity to work with a proper arranger and string ensemble. There’s never been a Badge “strings” album.
WL: You’ve released four albums, an EP and multiple compilation releases in five years — that’s a huge undertaking. What spurred this creative streak, and how do you prevent burnout?
MT: I’ve landed on the idea that the prolificness speaks to a desire to experience as much as I can with music, and to try to open a space to feel like the music is being heard. It’s a bottomless pit out there, and you gotta keep trying to fill it up… or so has been my feeling at times. I’m learning to be a little more intentional, and am trying now to only pursue the ideas that build and build into an internal necessity.
WL: What arrangement of instruments can we expect on October 5th?
MT: The original palette! Drums, percussion, bass, flute, guitar, keys. Matt McLaren, whose playing I Iove, is guesting on bass for this show. Very excited.
Don’t miss Badge Époque Ensemble on October 5th at St. Anne’s Parish and Lower Hall as part of Wavelength x Project Nowhere. Tickets available now!
– Interview by Lian McMillan