Live @ The London - Fencing & Beholding
September 6th, 7 pm
Fencing is a Winnipeg-based experimental rock project from Isaac Tate (guitar/vocals), Jesse Lawrence (synth), Sean Henderson (bass), and Alex Braun (drums).
Tate, Lawrence, and Henderson had previously collaborated on slowcore project Urban Vacation, which culminated in the 2018 release of their self-produced record Success with Houseplants. Fencing was formed in 2021 to explore a louder, noisier side of the self-produced music they had been making.
Tate’s lyrics externalize the inner monologue of daily commutes and food court lunch breaks, picking out evocative bits of mundane imagery. The band's sonic palette is rich and textured, with fuzzed-out bass, guitar feedback, and Lawrence’s floating synth melodies. Their songs contain elements of unpredictable power, often taking abrupt detours into chaos, with interludes of immersive field recordings and heavy noise that crackle with a sense of looming prairie ennui.
In January 2024, Fencing released their first single, ‘Dresses’, off their forthcoming debut album ‘Wikipedia’.
When performing live, Fencing are joined by filmmaker Ryan Steel who uses his laptop and a projector to create improvised, logged-on visuals to accompany their music.