PAULA TEMPLE at Sts Cyril & Methody Orthodox Church, Friday, May 20. Rating: NNNN
It was almost 3 am and Paula Temple was working up to another thundering techno climax. A crunchy, muscular kick drum anchored some wildly rolling toms as clanging metallic percussion swirled around the room. Sizzling hi-hats came in and shifted the emphasis of the beat, and an urgent alarm bell tone blasted across the room causing the crowd to cheer.
A couple minutes later it became evident the ringing was actually the fire alarm going off at the church hosting the Sanctuary party that the Berlin-based UK producer was headlining. She cut the music as the house lights came up. It was likely the fog machines had triggered the smoke detectors, but no one could figure out how to turn the alarm off so the party came to a premature end.
While some fans were visibly disappointed, most of the partiers that spilled outside the venue were raving to each other about Temple’s powerful and pummelling set and debating whether to head across town to the official afterparty, which organizers scrambled to get started early.
It was Temple’s first Canadian appearance, but she is not exactly a newcomer to the scene. She first made a name as an artist in the early 00s before taking an extended break to work on music hardware and teach electronic performance and production to underprivileged youth.
When she returned to producing in 2013 she had not kept up with trends in the minimal techno scene, which might be why her tracks stand out. Her industrial influences and use of distortion are in line with contemporary sounds, but her unique approach to drum sequencing and flair for dramatic moments set her apart.
Temple’s Noise Manifesto label does things differently by insisting their releases feature at least 50% artists who identify as female, trans, queer or non-conforming. The label also takes an innovative approach to collaboration and hierarchies through its Decon/Recon series, in which artists pool their samples and tracklists but do not identify who produced which tracks.
benjaminb@nowtoronto.com | @benjaminboles
