Violinist and composer Meredith Bates has embedded herself in the Canadian musical landscape, both as a generous collaborator and increasingly as a powerful and idiosyncratic solo artist. The multiple-award winner has developed a reputation for refined introspection and unfettered virtuosity. A big part of Bates’ enduring versatility is her commitment to staying artistically curious. This inquisitive spirit can be witnessed in the considerable range of Bates’ artistic projects. In 2019, she released her ambitious solo debut, If Not Now on Phonometrograph, which garnered both praise in the media and a Polaris Prize long-list mention. Her similarly expansive follow-up,Tesseract, released in 2023, was also met with acclaim. Vancouver Sun’s Stuart Derdeyn called it “haunting and completely addictive” while veteran critic Marc Masters listed it among The Best Experimental Music on Bandcamp for June 2023. “Tesseract is ultimately mood music in the best sense,” Masters noted. “It not only can alter your current mood but conjure unfamiliar ones. That’s especially true on the 46-minute title track, a monumental collage of hums and roars that could be revisited forever.”