The Ex + not a band + Andy Moor & Yannis Kyriakides @ Cafeteria Upstairs, June 25

Unstoppable Dutch post-punk attack unit The Ex – who've out-lasted most of the class of '79 – hit Toronto tonight – don't miss it!

The Ex + not a band + Andy Moor & Yannis Kyriakides

Presented by TONE

Cafeteria | Upstairs • 1650 Dupont St. • Toronto, ON

Doors Open: 8:00 PM | Show: 8:30 PM | All Ages / Licensed

Tickets: $35 plus fees. Get 'em here.

THE EX

The Ex is a band resolutely focused on the future. After more than 45 years of existence and constant reinvention, it rejects all nostalgia, preferring to explore new alliances and continually take on musical challenges far from any comfort zone.

Emerging from the punk and squat movements of the late 1970s, The Ex has become an independent and unclassifiable force, performing in over 45 countries and paving the way for significant intercultural collaborations, notably with Ethiopian artists. Returning to the international stage with new compositions and a new album, If Your Mirror Breaks, the band continues to embody a vibrant, collective, and inquisitive sound—forward in all directions.

NOT A BAND 

not a band is Kalina Nedelcheva, Danny Alexander, Mitchel Lohmeier, Roya Biazar, Victor Ostrovsky & Marilyn Yogarajah. A carpe diem home-recording project quickly grew into a musical ensemble of friends from different disciplines & perspectives. not a band’s sound is playfully chaotic, energetic & experimental. It draws influence from new wave, post-punk, jazz, grunge, spoken word, free improvisation & avant-garde sounds.

The group is known for its lively theatrical performances, complex scores of unexpected tonal transitions & a laid-back, collective creative direction, which can be observed in the ‘not our job’ zine, the stop-motion music video for ‘Paprika’ (see below) the all-improv side-project ‘band’ & a forthcoming video project for their latest EP, ‘Modern Rot.’

ANDY MOOR & YANNIS KYRIAKIDES

Hailing from opposite ends of the experimental music spectrum Amsterdam based Andy Moor and Yannis Kyriakides have been making music together for over 20 years now, brought together by a mutual passion for 1920’s & 30’s underground Greek rebetika music. The combination of Yannis’ remarkable compositional skills and Andy’s improvisational work with guitar, results in a loose but well structured musical landscape that constantly shifts and surprises the musicians playing as much as the audience. Watch an interview with Andy and Yannis below. 

Eric Chenaux, Rafael Toral, Masahiro Takahashi @ Standard Time, Thursday

Eric Chenaux & Ryan Driver split the impressive TONE triple bill with Rafael Toral & Masahiro Takahashi with Brodie West!

ERIC CHENAUX & RYAN DRIVER 

Constellation Records' guitarist & singer Eric Chenaux returns home to Toronto for a foray with long-time collaborator Ryan Driver. Gentle acoustic guitar notes stretch out & ripple underneath electric psych inspired meanderings. Eric's voice weaves seamlessly among this textural landscape, like a silk sheet in the wind. Every movement is subtle, yet beautiful. A storyteller from a slower time, a player from the jazz tradition borrowing gracefully from the folk form. Two sonic ramblers existing out of time, but in step with their own hearts. 

RAFAEL TORAL 

Portuguese experimental guitarist & synthesist Rafael Toral comes to town in support of his newest record on Drag City, “Traveling Light”. A collection of jazz standards put through Toral’s elongated ambient treatments. Notes stretch and crackle as they become humming landscapes. Ethereal drones emerge out of woozy jazz phrases. Throughout his close to 40 year career he’s built a plethora of home brew electronic instruments that now work in conversation with his guitar work. Together this intricate textural & rhythmic dance moves his work into a totally other sonic universe where it feels like a rare bird sending its bent coos & tweets back to earth from a distant space station. Rafael catches these errant notes and arranges them perfectly. Don’t miss this! 

MASAHIRO TAKAHASHI with BRODIE WEST

Toronto-based Japanese composer-musician Masahiro Takahashi has been crafting gently spellbinding pieces that simultaneously embrace electronic abstraction and a palpable, even brittle, humanity. His delicate and evocative landscapes always seem to be illuminated in vibrant magic hour tones as golden synth lines emanate from between soft flickers of acoustic instrumentation. He has released music on an array of labels, such as Not Not Fun, JJ Funhouse, Slow Editions and his 2026 record In Another on Telephone Explosion Records. He also composes for films and art installations.

Get tickets for the TONE presentation right here. Check out a couple of performances below.