Sled Island 2023 Day 3: June 22, 2023 Recap

For Day 3 of Sled Island 2023, the “For The Record” Team started off the day by dropping into Sloth Records to catch a quick set from the Calgary band, Narcissistic Necrosis.

Narcissistic Necrosis is a duo that blends the metal styles of Death Grind, Doom, and Black to create an encapsulating experience. Despite being a duo, their style of playing really makes you feel like there is a full 4-piece metal band in front of you! Sloth Records is a really cool and unique venue however the small space did not do Narcissistic Necrosis justice, and the team feels a larger space would allow audience members to really take in the depth of the music and experience all the elements of their playing.

The team was lucky enough to get to Central United Church early enough to get into the sold out show! Starting the show off was Calgary based Pakistani music researcher/singer/composer/poet/experimental artist, Dr. Shumaila Hemani. Her performance really expanded on the themes of environmentalism, and awareness of the increased climate crises touched on in her debut album “Mannat”. Her thought provoking performance was a mixture of traditional Sufi singing and spoken word pieces along with a violinist and tabla player.

Toronto artist shn shn continued the show and sustained captivation of the large audience with her performance. She blends the styles of Ambient Electronic, Drone, and Bedroom Pop to make a unique and relaxing sonic experience. The smooth repeating electronic themes, vocal loops, and synths creates a warm atmosphere much like wrapping oneself in a blanket and being with just your thoughts. Due to the nature of the music, each live performance of her songs is different, making every live set a unique and singular experience.

Ending off the show was the headliner Philadelphia Jazz group, Sun Ra Arkestra. Formed in the mid 1950s by Le Sony’r Ra (Sun Ra) the group has been going strong touring and performing around the world even after Sun Ra’s passing in 1993. Now led by Marshall Allen the group blends Jazz with Swing, Rock ‘n’ Roll, Blues, Funk, Soul and Electronic. With each musician encouraged to add their own improvisations each show it makes each experience “once in a lifetime”. If you’re the type of person that thinks you can’t dance to Improvisational music, check out Sun Ra Arkestra and be surprised! Their extensive discography goes back to 1957, so there is a lot of music to explore and enjoy.

The show was so popular that even as the team left a very packed Central United Church, there was a long line of Sled goers outside hoping to catch even a few notes of the performance through a window or door.