Greenhouse is the moniker of St. Andrews, MB guitarist Curran Faris. Since 2009, Faris’s work is concerned with pushing, disguising, and erasing the sonic trademarks and tendencies of the electric guitar (and the guitarist) by utilizing an array of outboard effects and processing techniques commonly used in dub and electronic music. The results are akin to exploring an underwater cave with a flickering headlamp, a gloom-filled world where only flickers of familiarity and boundaries are discernable. Small sounds are played loud; artifacts from obsolete hardware are captured and brought to the foreground. Intersecting, shifting tones become ghostly rhythms, conveying a sense of motion or suspension.

For Prairie Wires 2025, Greenhouse will deliver a live performance utilizing a hybrid setup comprised of electric guitar and field recordings, all of which are processed through a combination of effects, 90s rack units, and granular synthesis via a modular system. The result is a 30-45 minute piece inspired equally by early 00s big amp ambient, chilly electronic music, minimalist drone, concrété, and grid-less dub techno. The sonic qualities of the guitar and Greenhouse’s ear for small-but-emotive sounds are cracked open thanks to modular synthesis and are underpinned by encompassing volume swells, low-end pulses, placeless field recordings, fractured dub stabs, and polychord architecture.

Faris has shared the stage with many artists since 2009, including crys cole, Oren Ambarchi, Tony Conrad, Kevin Drum’s, Glen Branca, Melissa auf de Maur and Jessica Moss, appearing at festivals such as send+receive and the Winnipeg New Music Festival. His work has been released on labels in Canada and Belgium, including Prairie Fire Tapes and Audio.Visuals.Atmosphere.

Saturday, September 20 – 7:10pm
PWM Showcase 2: All the Guitars
Evans Theatre or Lorne Watson Hall, Brandon University

• Link
• Bandcamp
• Soundcloud