Rich Aucoin^CA

© Alison Seto

Halifax-born musician, singer-songwriter and producer Rich Aucoin launched his solo career in 2007 with his Personal Publication EP. He quickly made a name for himself by merging his ambitious and exploratory brand of Pop music with impressive feats of endurance, notably a coast-to-coast bike tour and a series of running marathons, with each of these feats supporting a different charity. Thus, even before the release of his first full album We're All Dying to Live in 2011 (featuring over 500 guests!), Aucoin had grown his reputation as a highly-captivating artist. The following albums, such as 2014’s Ephemeral and 2019’s Release only cemented his stature as a fully-fledged Indie-pop auteur. In 2020, he continued to defy expectations by releasing United States, a psychedelic travel diary. This effort was followed by Synthetic : Season 1 in 2022, the first volume of a four-part tentacular opus composed with the rare and historic synth collection of Calgary’s National Music Centre, where he held residency. Aucoin followed with Synthetic - A Synth Odyssey : Season 2 in 2023, on which he again played a range of instruments, including 40 synths from the Alberta-based collection.

Rich Aucoin is known for his ever-evolving, interactive and community-based multimedia performances. For this world premiere of Synthetic, the set will be constructed and performed around synchronized yet abstract imagery, and supported by a light show. The performance will cover the first two seasons of Synthetic, a sumptuous journey throughout synth history, blending Aucoin’s melodic sensibilities with textured experimentations, regardless of genre. It is an entirely new phase and process for Aucoin’s music practice.