Recorded without collaborators EXO focuses on structure resonance and decay

Mark Molnar has operated at the outer edge of composition and improvisation in Ottawa for over twenty years. A cellist, multi-instrumentalist, and organizer, he has maintained a long presence in Canada’s experimental music community, both as a performer and as founder of the label Black Bough Records.

Title: EXO
Artist: Mark Molnar
Release Date: 2025-06-07
Genres: Avant-garde, Experimental Music
Label: Constellation Records
Description: Mark Molnar releases EXO on Constellation June 2025 with solo chamber works recorded using cello, harp, piano, and low-frequency acoustic detail.

His work crosses contemporary classical, noise, free improvisation, and electroacoustic composition, often bypassing institutional support structures in favour of independently-organized concerts and self-released material. He studied with figures including James Tenney and R. Murray Schafer, but his practice diverged early from the academic framework, leaning instead toward DIY networks aligned with post-hardcore, free music, and industrial subcultures.

EXO, released by Constellation Records on 6 June 2025, marks his first solo full-length for the label. Molnar performs all parts himself, including strings, harp, piano, and percussion. The album consists of three primary works, divided into five tracks. It was self-recorded and mixed, using close-mic techniques that emphasize low-frequency resonance, particularly from the piano and an auxiliary bass drum. The use of this acoustic noise floor underpins the material, where polytonal string clusters and stark melodic fragments are layered with a controlled density. While instrumentation points toward chamber composition, the overall texture maintains affinities with drone, industrial, and early electroacoustic traditions.

The cover uses still images by British photographer Edd Allen, with compositions focused on sea textures.

Tracklisting

1. Sub Luna
2. Terre Sacer
3. pallida Mors – Disquiet
4. pallida Mors – Aporia
5. pallida Mors – Patior

Artist background

Mark Molnar is a Canadian composer and cellist based in Ottawa. His musical activities encompass performance, curation, and production. He studied music with Aubrey Wolfe, microtonality with James Tenney, and composition with R. Murray Schafer, but his work has largely developed outside academic or institutional contexts. In addition to his solo projects, Molnar has collaborated with a number of experimental musicians and performers, including work in improvisational ensembles and multi-disciplinary settings. He is the founder of Black Bough Records, a small-run label focused on experimental and contemporary music.

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