Mark Molnar

Terre Sacer: the sacred and the accursed earth. “Terre Sacer” is the second piece on EXO, a turbid oscillation of massed strings and darkly shifting dissonant low-end. A processional that Molnar describes as “figures drag against time; bodies meet resistance in motion.” In the album’s liner notes, Mark accompanies each composition with a literary quote. For this one: Un pied sur terre enferme l’autre dans un rêve. One foot on the earth locks the other in a dream. Phoenixology, Jean Cocteau (1889-1963) And from Molnar’ss own artist statement: “I am trying to survive the absurd dedication of labour that is required to approach a hallucination of sound that can express a memory of music that has not yet existed.” Listen to EXO in full exclusively on Bandcamp or on our website. Now available for direct orders. In stores and streams 06 June. cstrecords.com/cst185 More links in bio

EXO, by Mark Molnar. 180gram LP Art Edition limited to 500 copies. Jacket, inner sleeve, and 12”x12” art card all printed on 300gsm matte cardstock with LE-UV inks + matte varnish. Featuring a series of four photographs by Ed Allan. Shipping now. @imarkmolnar @blackboughrecords

Announcing this remarkable new record today and dropping it exclusively on cstrecords and Bandcamp for now, where you can listen to the album in full and order it immediately. EXO will be in stores (and on streaming sites) 06 June. Mark Molnar has been a fellow-traveller for many years, based in our nearby nation’s capital of Ottawa, but effectively an honorary Montréaler, given his regular visits and collaborations here. Molnar has played in all sorts of experimental, industrial/noise, improv, and contemporary music projects, organized and curated countless Ottawa shows, and run Black Bough Records—a lifetime of unflagging and invaluable contributions to adventurous, local, independent music. Mark is also a brilliant composer in his own right, and EXO is his debut release for Constellation: a bracing modern chamber album on which he plays every instrument, with a subtle undercurrent of dark-industrial electroacoustic sound design in his production sensibility. Like the foreboding and effervescent seas featured in the album art by British photographer Edd Allen, EXO roils and flows with an undertow of tension that exquisitely balances melody and dissonance, pointillism and mass, maximalism and minimalism. Earlybird orders at cstrecords get 30% off when paired with Reverie by Rebecca Foon & Aliayta Foon-Dancoes and any other album from our post-classical/electroacoustic sale collection. Earlybird orders at Bandcamp get 25% off when paired with Reverie by Rebecca Foon & Aliayta Foon-Dancoes. cstrecords.com/cst185 More links in bio @imarkmolnar @blackboughrecords @eddallen82 @rarelyunable

Happy Birthday, Gary Snyder, born May 8th, 1930. "As a poet I hold the most archaic values on earth . . . the fertility of the soil, the magic of animals, the power-vision in solitude, the terrifying initiation and rebirth, the love and ecstasy of the dance, the common work of the tribe. I try to hold both history and the wilderness in mind, that my poems may approach the true measure of things and stand against the unbalance and ignorance of our times."

MONTREAL = 2026.05.08 Carsten Nicolai as @alvanoto brought a career spanning set of refined depth and clarity to an appreciative community last night. I have never heard that room sound so good. Very lucky to see and feel this music live.

MONTREAL = 2026.05.08 An incredible set from @myriam_bleau . Deep articulation of sonic clarity and shifting bass. One of the best shows in a long time.

2026.04.24 = Vienna At @echoraum_wien Thanks to Sara Zlanabitnig for collaborating. @sriz.lab Elizabeth Anka Vajagic, Steve Bates, and Christof Kurzmann My deepest appreciation to @bates_steve , @analogma29 , and Christof Kurzmann for the invitation, and the support of Echoraum for the festival.

2026.04.23 = Vienna At @echoraum_wien Stephanie Castonguay & Gabriela Gordillo @stephatronics @cupasoup Michaela Grill & Sophie Trudeau @analogma29 @roadhitter Thanks to @martin.brandlmayr & @nnoo_id for collaborating. My deepest appreciation to @bates_steve , @analogma29 , and Christof Kurzmann for the invitation, and the support of Echoraum for the festival.

2026.04.23 = Vienna At @echoraum_wien Thanks to @martin.brandlmayr & @nnoo_id for collaborating. My deepest appreciation to @bates_steve , @analogma29 , and Christof Kurzmann for the invitation, and the support of Echoraum for the festival.

Tatsuya Nakatani at Le Spot in Hull, Quebec. Thank you @nakatanitatsuya for a great performance. Thank you to @davdjcksn for putting this together, @clapstacker55 and @broscod for performing, the collective for welcoming us, to @reachingneedles for their grounded contribution to the door, and everyone who attended. @improvising_ottawa_outwards @blackboughrecords

Ottawa = 2026.06.27 @houseoftarg @sustainottawa presents: Planning For Burial @inmemoryofthom Tempete Solaire @tempetesolaire Horseman, Pass By. @hpbband Glow Veins @glowveinsmusic thank You @garythibert , @reachingneedles , @causalvoid , and @houseoftarg for including us. We are looking forward to this show. It will be a powerful night of music. @ericmtl @thisquietarmy @lyzlaloba @o.underworld @tidal.pool @imarkmolnar @blackboughrecords

Vienna, April 23–24. What’s Up Vienna! What’s Up Montréal! returns to Echoraum with two nights of performances bringing together artists from Vienna and Montréal across experimental music, sound art, and live audiovisual work. First launched in 2010 and curated by Michaela Grill, Christof Kurzmann, and Steve Bates, the series continues to create space for collaboration between the two cities, with an emphasis on exchange and performances that take shape in the moment. This year’s edition features several Constellation-associated artists, including Sophie Trudeau, Elizabeth Anka Vajagic, Steve Bates, and Mark Molnar, alongside a wider group of musicians and visual artists from both cities. April 23, 2026 — Echoraum, Vienna @echoraum_wien • Sophie Trudeau @roadhitter / Michaela Grill @analogma29 • Stephanie Castonguay / Gabriela Gordillo • Mark Molnar @imarkmolnar / Noid / Martin Brandlmayr @martin.brandlmayr April 24, 2026 — Echoraum, Vienna • Mark Molnar / Sara Zlanabitnig • Elizabeth Anka Vajagic / Steve Bates @bates_steve / Christof Kurzmann Across both evenings, the program moves between improvised music, electronics, and live image work, with artists pairing up across disciplines and geographies. April 23–24, 2026 Echoraum, Vienna @echoraum_wien