Portfolio
Aldrin Taroy grew up in Toronto and graduated from the University of Toronto.
Aldrin describes his writing style as idealistic and romantic, often using nostalgia and his past to write stories. He contributes to BlogTO (a Toronto-based culture site), writing news stories about the Toronto music scene, including “Call & Response” interviews and concert listings. He started “The Neighbourhood Mixtape” a weekly series based on a five-track collection of newly-released songs by Toronto musicians, accompanied by mini-reflections for each track. Aldrin also writes music reviews for University of Toronto’s The Varsity.
In July 2011, Aldrin launched The-Iceberg.com, which features a collection of interviews and stories that reveal the inspirations of artists, musicians, photographers and writers both local and international.
He currently resides in the Bloorcourt neighbourhood with his fiancée and two kittens.
Published Print:
“t.o.night Newspaper: Q & A: Del Bel“ - November 28, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“t.o.night Newspaper: Q & A: Zeus“ - November 21, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“t.o.night Newspaper: BlogTO’s Polaris Prize Picks“ - September 15, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“t.o.night Newspaper: Polaris Preview: Braids“ - September 8, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“t.o.night Newspaper: Polaris Preview: Timber Timbre“ - August 30, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“t.o.night Newspaper: Q & A: The Weather Station“ - August 17, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“The Varsity: Freshly Pressed: Tosta Mista“ - August 15, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“t.o.night Newspaper: Q & A: Bonjay“ - August 5, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“t.o.night Newspaper: Q & A: Evening Hymns“ - July 27, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“The Varsity: Freshly Pressed – Player Piano“ - July 14, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“t.o.night Newspaper: NXNE 2011 Preview“ - June 10, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“t.o.night Newspaper: Q & A: Austra“ - May 16, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“t.o.night Newspaper: Q & A: Jennifer Castle“ - May 9, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“t.o.night Newspaper: Q & A: Hooded Fang“ - April 27, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“t.o.night Newspaper: Q & A: Foxes in Fiction“ - February 8, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“t.o.night Newspaper – Hot Ticket & Miscellaneous clips“
LINK: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38.
(click to enlarge)
Published online-writing:
The Neighbourhood Mixtape Series
LINK: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57.
(click to enlarge)
Hey Aldrin,
I’m Warren from Foxes in Fiction. I really appreciate you posting and sharing my music. Since a lot of the stuff I record gets posted online by myself for free anyways, it’s really excellent and kind to see other people finding and posting it to their music blogs or websites. Like you said, it’s sharing and posts like this that make it possible for music to reach more people and celebrate whatever local or online music culture there is, which is ultimately the goal for a lot of musicians. Sharing music is what keeps this internet music landscape alive and thriving and accessible for people looking for new music. – Warren Hildebrand of Foxes in Fiction
I started writing “The Neighbourhood Mixtape” series on October 2010. The idea behind the mixtapes was to promote local Toronto bands by featuring their new music through a seamless mp3 file, which readers could stream or download every Sunday. More importantly, I wanted to write something that would generate comments and conversations. I wanted to engage readers while at the same time offering bands – especially those who were unsigned – a chance to gain some recognition.
The idea of collecting, whether it’s music or photos, has always fascinated me. It was remarkable to discover that blogs not just from Toronto but from around the world were posting and sharing songs by Toronto musicians. But it wasn’t just happening on blogs. Thanks to social media outlets like Twitter, Facebook and MySpace, there seemed to be a never-ending circulation of music.
What I wanted to do with “The Neighbourhood Mixtape” was to collect, curate, and share the vast and rich music culture in Toronto. The series was only supposed to run for a few weeks on blogTO, but thanks to the support of bands and loyal followers, the series continues to grow.
Hot Ticket – Concert Listings:
Hot Ticket – Live Concert Picks
LINK: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33.
(click to enlarge)
Interviews:
“Call & Response: Daniel Romano (Interview)“ - December 3, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“Call & Response: Del Bel (Interview)“ - November 26, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“Call & Response: Zeus (Interview)“ - November 19, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“Call & Response: Will Currie & The Country French (Interview)“ - November 5, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“Call & Response: The Balconies (Interview)“ - October 22, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“Call & Response: Tasseomancy (Interview)“ - October 15, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“Call & Response: Ohbijou (Interview)“ - September 24, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“Polaris Music Prize 2011 Preview: Ron Sexsmith (Interview)“ - September 19, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“Polaris Music Prize 2011 Preview: Galaxie (Interview)“ - September 17, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“Polaris Music Prize 2011 Preview: Colin Stetson (Interview)“ - September 10, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“Polaris Music Prize 2011 Preview: Braids (Interview)“ - September 3, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“Polaris Music Prize 2011 Preview: Timber Timbre (Interview)“ - August 27, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“Call & Response: The Weather Station (Interview)“ - August 14, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“Call & Response: Allie Hughes (Interview)“ - August 13, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“Call & Response: The Hoa Hoa’s (Interview)“ - August 6, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“Call & Response: Bonjay (Interview)“ - July 30, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“Call & Response: Evening Hymns (Interview)“ - July 23, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“Call & Response: Rattail (Interview)“ - July 16, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“Call & Response: Army Girls (Interview)“ - July 9, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“Call & Response: The Box Tiger (Interview)“ - July 2, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“NXNE 2011 Preview: Freedom or Death (Interview)“ - June 18, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“NXNE 2011 Preview: The Elwins (Interview)“ - June 14, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“NXNE 2011 Preview: Josh Reichmann (Interview)“ - June 13, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“NXNE 2011 Preview: The Most Serene Republic (Interview)“ - June 12, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“NXNE 2011 Preview: Hands & Teeth (Interview)“ - June 11, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“NXNE 2011 Preview: Teenage Kicks (Interview)“ - June 10, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“NXNE 2011 Preview: The Two Koreas (Interview)“ - June 9, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“Call & Response: Matthew Maaskant (Interview)“ - June 4, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“Call & Response: Rob Moir (Interview)“ - May 28, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“Call & Response: Austra (Interview)“ - May 14, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“Call & Response: Jennifer Castle (Interview)“ - May 8th, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“Call & Response: Philip James (Interview)“ - April 30, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“Call & Response: Hooded Fang (Interview)“ - April 23, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“Call & Response: Digits (Interview)“ - April 16, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“Call & Response: Abigail Lapell (Interview)“ - April 9, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“Call & Response: Heartbeat Hotel (Interview)“ - March 19, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“Call & Response: Wildlife (Interview)“ - March 12, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“Call & Response: The Runaway Catholics (Interview)“ - March 5, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“Call & Response: Ben Veneer (Interview)“ - February 19, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“Call & Response: Amberhaze (Interview)“ - February 12, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“Call & Response: Foxes in Fiction (Interview)“ - February 5, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“Call & Response: Shawn Clarke (Interview)“ - January 23, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
Miscellaneous:
“2011 Polaris Music Prize picks and predictions”- September 14, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“Rumpus Sound Takes: Ominous Ambience (Tasseomancy – Ulalume Review)”- August 30, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“NXNE 2011 Preview”- June 9, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“Austra enchants the crowd at Lee’s Palace“ - May 20, 2011 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“The top 10 songs from Toronto bands in 2010“ - December 15, 2010 / LINK
(click to enlarge)
“Feist documentary to be released soon“ - September 24, 2010 / LINK
(click to enlarge)