In the middle of a month-long residency at Hirut Ethiopian Restaurant, Toronto composer Brodie West’s avant-calypso ensemble Eucalyptus is set to take the stage in the Great Hall’s Conversation Room (11:00 p.m.) at the Long Winter Fair, where we’ll also be distributing a limited run of our February splits featuring Eucalyptus and Crosss. In this questionnaire, West explains how “Fascination In Sound” developed from a direct-to-phone melody recording to the track it has become – the namesake of Eucalyptus’s new 10-inch EP, released Feb. 9 on Healing Power Records.

While Toronto/Halifax/Montreal’s heavy riffing, shape shifting Crosss won’t release its follow-up to 2013’s Obsidian Spectre until later this year, the group has still managed to quietly discharge newer work into the ether via a couple of split releases over the course of the lull. In this questionnaire, singer/guitarist Andy March explains the evolution of Crosss’s “Bones Brigade” and lifts the veil on Crosss’ aesthetic reference points.

After releasing Faucet on Healing Power Records last February, Bile Sister – the swampy avant-pop band Julia Reich originally put together to perform her home recordings in live settings – has spent the past year germinating into a slightly mutated version of its former self. We asked Reich to fill out our 7” Survey and get us up to speed.

The voices of Toronto’s DIY music scene carried discordantly throughout 2014

Nick Storring has appeared on Long Winter lineups before in his capacity as a member of Picastro and Bespoken, but will return this Friday (Jan. 9) to give a solo performance. After releasing two albums in the final quarter of 2014 (Gardens – an informal tribute to Charles Stepney – in October, then Endless Conjecture in November) Nick Storring’s sounds are also set to appear on yet another new recording: our January seven-inch, also featuring Bile Sister.  In this questionnaire, Storring details some of his recent undertakings and explains how his process has developed over time.

Adrienne Crossman breaks down cartoons, work, and life

This month’s 7” features a track each from Army Girls and The Lonely Parade. In this questionnaire with Army Girls, Carmen Elle explains how “End of Days” was written as a result of a bad relationship and Andy Smith reminisces about the pair’s first coming together for a show on Valentine’s Day in 2010.

Joe Strutt is pairing with Audiopollination to bring improvised music to Long Winter

This month’s 7” features a track each from The Lonely Parade and Army Girls. Here, The Lonely Parade collectively explain how they were family friends before they started the band, and they reminisce about spending Peterborough winters bombing down old ski hills on toboggans.

Now in its fourth year, Greg Benedetto’s Toronto hardcore festival is bigger than ever