ARIA has been booked again to perform at this years installment of the Beats Breaks and Culture festival at the Harborfront International Arts and Culture Centre on the shores of lake Ontario in downtown Toronto.

Details are still forthcoming but it looks like ARIA will play a solo live set of electronic music as well as contributing his music to a "special" live collabaration.

Beats Breaks and Culture is the largest electronic music festival in Toronto and it draws many international artists (to many to mention them all!)

Here are a few of the artists who have performed at Beats Breaks and Culture......
The Cinematic Orchestra, Herbert, Kid Koala, Four Tet, DJ Dolores, Cadence Weapon (Big ups to the Peg!) Scan 7, The Juan Maclean, MSTERKRFT, Prefuse 73, The Quantic Soul Orchestra,

Beats Breaks and Culture runs from July 4 - 6 2008
http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com/wr/festivals.html

On April 10 2008 Greenpeace released an international study on the effects of climate change on the Boreal forest that covers much of Canada and northern Europe.

In addition to their international study Greenpeace has also released a short Boreal Forest information video that ARIA has composed an ambient soundtrack for.

Below is a link to the page on the Greenpeace website with the video and other information on the Boreal forest climate change report.

www.greenpeace.ca/turninguptheheat


Here is some information from the Greenpeace press release:


News Release:


Logging in Canada's Boreal Forest could trigger "carbon bomb"

impacting global climate, says report



10 April 2008 (Toronto) – Logging in Canada's Boreal Forest is exacerbating global warming by releasing greenhouse gases and reducing carbon storage, says a new Greenpeace report released today. It also makes the forest more susceptible to global warming impacts like wildfires and insect outbreaks, which in turn release more greenhouse gases.



The report warns that if this vicious circle is left unchecked, it could culminate in a massive and sudden release of greenhouse gases referred to as "the carbon bomb." Canada's Boreal Forest stores 186 billion tonnes of carbon¾equivalent to 27 times the world's annual fossil fuel emissions. A widespread outbreak of forest or peat fires could release much of this carbon, causing a disastrous spike in emissions.



Turning Up the Heat: Global Warming and the Degradation of Canada's Boreal Forest collects the best available scientific literature of the past decade. It concludes that intact areas of the Boreal Forest should be made off-limits to logging and other industrial activity¾particularly in its biologically rich southern regions¾ to curb this dangerous cycle.



"Canada can help slow global warming by protecting what's left of the Boreal Forest," said Christy Ferguson, a Greenpeace forests campaigner. "But if logging and mining continue to fragment the forest, carbon will be released, global warming impacts will become more intense, and the global climate will be put at risk."



Elizabeth Nelson, a researcher at the University of Toronto and co-author of the report, cautions that logging continues to cause greenhouse gas emissions long after the trees are gone. "Over two-thirds of the carbon stored in the Boreal Forest is found in its soils. When the forest cover is removed, the soil decays, releasing additional carbon dioxide into the atmosphere over the following months, years, and even decades," she said.



Intact areas of the Boreal Forest resist and recover from fires, insect outbreaks, and other impacts better than fragmented areas. These areas also give trees, plants, and wildlife the best chances of migrating, adapting, and surviving in a changing climate.



"We already knew that logging in Canada's Boreal Forest was putting key species like the woodland caribou at risk. Now we know that it poses serious risks to the global climate as well," said Jay Malcolm, an associate professor at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Forestry who reviewed the report. "Intact areas of the Boreal Forest are essential to maintaining the health of the ecosystem in a changing climate."



Other key findings from the expert-reviewed report:



* Logging removes roughly 36 million tonnes of aboveground carbon from Canada's Boreal Forest each year¾more carbon than is emitted each year by all the passenger vehicles in Canada combined.
* The area of North American Boreal burned by forest fires doubled between 1970 and 1990. As forest fires become larger, more frequent, and more intense, more and more carbon dioxide is being released into the atmosphere.
* Logging accelerates permafrost melt. When permafrost melts carbon dioxide and methane¾a greenhouse gas 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide¾are released into the atmosphere. Intact forest cover may delay this melt for decades or even centuries.



The report, executive summary and high-resolution photos are available for download at: www.greenpeace.ca/turninguptheheat.

I just put up a bunch of movie stills, poster images etc, from the Award winning 2006 Canadian documentary Manufactured Landscapes.
I worked as the composer for this project.
Below are excerpts from differant reviews, a listing of some of the awards the movie won and a short description of the documentary.

Best Documentary – 2007 Genie Awards
Best Canadian Film – Toronto International Film Festival
Best Canadian Film & Best Documentary - Toronto Film Critics Association Awards
Nominated for Grand Jury Prize- Sundance Film Festival 2007

"The upright, two legged naked ape that appeared in Africa 150,000 years ago has become an immense force. Our species is now altering the physical, chemical and biological features of the planet on a geological scale. This film let's us look at the impressive, yet troubling scale of our impact. Everyone should see it!"
- DAVID SUZUKI

"A protracted exploration of the aesthetic, social and spiritual dimensions of industrialization and globalization... Raises some sigificant and sobering questions about the impact that we, as humans, make on our environment"
- NEW YORK TIMES

"Manufactured Landscapes tracks the beauty and the horror of industry's imprint on the earth"
- NOW MAGAZINE

Edward Burtynsky is internationally acclaimed for his large-scale photographs of nature transformed by industry. Manufactured Landscapes – a stunning documentary by award winning director Jennifer Baichwal – follows Burtynsky to China, as he captures the effects of the country's massive industrial revolution. This remarkable film leads us to meditate on human endeavour and its impact on the planet.

2006, Canada, 90 mins.