Backwards Blue
Description:
Toronto-based improviser Karen Ng presented an improvised saxophone and electronics set utilizing a variety of material extracted from her debut LP Backwards Blue (Halocine Trance, 2025).
Blending a free improvisational vocabulary with interactive patches, Ng crafted vivid sonic vignettes that examined what emerges between acoustic and electronic sources. For the performance, Ng was joined by local musicians Ruthie Ha, Gordy Li, Liam Murphy, and Tyson Naylor.
Following the performance, Ng was joined in a post-performance conversation with Western Front executive director Susan Gibb.
Related People
- Susan Gibb (Interviewer)
- Ruthie Ha (Musician)
- Gordy Li (Musician)
- Liam Murphy (Musician)
- Tyson Naylor (Musician)
Captions:
- Karen Ng at Western Front, photo documentation, Mar 26, 2026. Photo by Rachel Topham Photography.
- Karen Ng at Western Front, photo documentation, Mar 26, 2026. Photo by Rachel Topham Photography.
- Karen Ng at Western Front, photo documentation, Mar 26, 2026. Photo by Rachel Topham Photography.
- Karen Ng at Western Front, photo documentation, Mar 26, 2026. Photo by Rachel Topham Photography.
- Tyson Naylor and Karen Ng at Western Front, photo documentation, Mar 26, 2026. Photo by Rachel Topham Photography.
- Tyson Naylor at Western Front, photo documentation, Mar 26, 2026. Photo by Rachel Topham Photography.
- Karen Ng at Western Front, photo documentation, Mar 26, 2026. Photo by Rachel Topham Photography.
- Gordy Li at Western Front, photo documentation, Mar 26, 2026. Photo by Rachel Topham Photography.
- Liam Murphy at Western Front, photo documentation, Mar 26, 2026. Photo by Rachel Topham Photography.
- Ruthie Ha at Western Front, photo documentation, Mar 26, 2026. Photo by Rachel Topham Photography.
- Karen Ng at Western Front, photo documentation, Mar 26, 2026. Photo by Rachel Topham Photography.
- Susan Gibb and Karen Ng at Western Front, photo documentation, Mar 26, 2026. Photo by Rachel Topham Photography.
Western Front is a non-profit artist-run centre in Vancouver.
We acknowledge the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations as traditional owners of the land upon which Western Front stands.