Yamantaka // Sonic Titan

Yamantaka//Sonic Titan operate as an experimental music and performance collective from Montreal and Toronto, shaping their sound and aesthetic from Japanese and Chinese musical theater, Asian pop, performance art, anime, and fuzzed-out psychedelia under their self-styled “Noh-wave” banner. Multi-instrumentalists Alaska B and Ruby Kato Attwood joined forces in 2007 to merge their Asian-Canadian heritage within their compositions. Applying both musical and visual abilities, the pair staged mini-operas featuring elaborate papercraft sets throughout Montreal. Over time the project expanded into a collective that unites musicians with artists, costume designers, and videographers in an ongoing synthesis of visual and sonic elements. The group issued its debut studio album, YT//ST, in 2011 through the Canadian imprint Psychic Handshake Recordings. Their follow-up, UZU, surfaced in 2013; centered on nautical motifs and the Chinese goddess Mazu, the record earned a second Polaris Music Prize shortlist placement. Following a collaboration with Pantayo on the score for the video game Severed, Yamantaka//Sonic Titan released their third album, DIRT, in 2018. Drawing inspiration from Buddhism, the Haudenosaunee Native American confederacy, and anime, the set included vocalist Joanna Delos Reyes alongside guitarist Hiroki Tanaka and bassist Brandon Lim.