Marilyn's Photos - May 30 2026 - Polka Dots in Microtones
I saw some polka dot fabric in Michael's last week, and admired the black and white pattern. Then later in the week I saw a picture of the rock duo from Saguenay, Quebec, Angine de Poitrine. They are playing in a black and white polka dot scenario - background, clothes, everything wonderfully polka dotted.
The description of the rock duo is more interesting than polka dots, though. Viral, virtuosic math-rock duo, with complex rhythms, playing on custom microtonal guitars and basses.
Everyone's excited, including the CBC with this video HERE. That's Elamin Abdelmahmoud one of CBC's regular radio shows covering current arts and entertainment. His name fascinates me every time I hear him say it. Say that a few times.
This is the duo with their promotional image - their name translates roughly to a medical condition with chest pain.
And what is it about microtonal guitars? One article says that microtuning is sometimes used to make specific scales or chords sound more harmonious. Another says that microtonal songs sound unusual, "spicy" or slightly unsettling to the ears.
It is hard to consider this given my decades of the visual experience of the piano and its black and white keys. Are children receptive to microtonal music? Very young children have no preconceptions so are happy with everything. By the age of 4, there is learning and training, so it is said that if microtonal sounds are paired with fun, cartoonish animations or playful games, children will view it as a fun experience.
Cue the polka dots. The pattern's repeating, balanced circles evoke playfulness and whimsy. So there we are with the Angine de Poitrine duo who perform in fun, Muppet-like papier-mache masks and polka-dots. They play daytime, all-ages shows catering to a younger audience and they make fun, growling and rhythmic sounds that kids find highly engaging. The excited reviewers say it sounds like SpongeBob, that they are completely listenable and impossibly inviting, and someone on YouTube claims to have just turned 70 and these two guys "blew my mind."
I seem to make a lot of polka dot pictures - this one was named Half Note Polka Dots.
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