Cicada Woods
Seasons
out: October 30th, 2026 on self-released CD/DL
genres: tango, modern composition, world-fusion
CICADA WOODS : cicadawoods.com | cicadawoods.bandcamp.com
ROBERT CARLI : robertcarli.com
Seasons is the debut recording from all-female Toronto-based string quartet Cicada Woods, a new group who is carving out distinctive and evocative aesthetic zone between tango and contemporary music.
Suhashini Arulanandam (violin, also a member of Thin Edge New Music Collective), Esme Allen-Creighton (viola), Sybil Shanahan (cello), and Shannon Wojewoda (double bass) were all founding members of the acclaimed group Solidaridad Tango. Their new ensemble, builds on that shared foundation while drawing on their diverse musical backgrounds, encompassing a wide range of popular genres, traditional music from around the world, soundtrack work, and modern composition. Beyond their work with the aforementioned Solidaridad Tango, their immersion in tango has also been shaped by studies with violinist Guillermo Rubino and double bassists Ignacio Varchausky and Juan Pablo Navarro, and certainly recording music by Argentine pianist Ariel Pirotti at Buenos Aires’ Estudios Ion and performing alongside composer Julián Peralta during part of his 2026 North American tour also contributed to this.
Seasons brings together a compelling, impassioned arrangement of tango pioneer Astor Piazzolla’s Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas and The Four Seasons of Toronto, a complementary commissioned work by award-winning Canadian film and television composer Robert Carli. Drawing on Pedro Giraudo’s piano quintet arrangement, the ensemble’s interpretation of Piazzolla’s work captures the composer’s characteristic sonic grit, propulsive rhythms, and feverish melancholy. These qualities are heightened by the group’s use of unusual techniques, including the guiro-like “chicharra” (cicada) effect that inspired their name. Carli’s contribution takes a different path, exploring a postminimalist romanticism well outside of tango while retaining the expansive palette of instrumental colours and expressive intensity found in the Piazzolla. Together, the two works form a striking release that speaks to the breadth of Cicada Woods’ sound and sensibility.
COVERAGE:
List — Upcoming Releases, Tinnitist
List — Nye Releaser (30/10-26), Releasefredag!
List — François Valenti, Nouveautés musicales du 30 octobre 2026, Caisse du son
News/ List — Darryl Sterdan, October 26 – November 1 • The Long List: 640+ Releases On The Way, Tinnitist
News — Eksperiment
Newsletter/ Round-up — Michael Donaldson, The Case for Melancholy as a Tool of Liberation, The ToneArm
Article/ Interview — Music OT Future
Interview/ Video— Guau Miau y Mas
Review — Norbert Mendel, Er-Em Online
Review — Giustino Soldano, Lineatrad
Review — John Gilks, Opera Ramblings
Review — John Hendron, Biberfan
Review — Russell Trunk, Exclusive Magazine
Podcast — Different Noises #167
Radio — Noise, CJSW (November 12, 2026)
Radio — Flight Risk, KOPN (November 11, 2026)
Radio — Icarus, Urgent FM (November 8, 2026)
Radio — The Morning Fog, WVUD (November 8, 2026)
Radio — Musical Migrations, WRUU (November 4, 2026)
Radio — Alpha and Omega Show, KMNO (November 1, 2026)
Radio — All This Jass, KSPC (October 31, 2026)
Radio — Department Uno, CJSF (October 30, 2026)
Radio — World Fusion, KRFC (October 29, 2026)
Radio — El Reso E Ruido, RTVE3 (October 28, 2026)
Radio — Musical Migrations, WRUU (October 28, 2026)
Radio — Toward The Creative Nothing, CKXU (October 27, 2026)
Radio — Serious Moonlight Sonatas with Carol, WFMU (October 25, 2026)
Radio — Tercera vía, RTVE Radio C (October 24, 2026)
Radio — In Concert, CBC (October 18, 2026)
Radio — Música para aeropuertos, RTVE Radio 3 (October 18, 2026)
Radio — All Mixed Up, WBAI (October 17, 2026)
Radio — Hejira, WORT (October 15, 2026)
Radio — Musical Migrations, WRUU (October 14, 2026)
Radio — On The Wire, Radio Lancs/ Totally Radio/ Slack City Radio (October 11, 2026)
Radio — Floating Head of Zsa Zsa, WRUV (October 10, 2026)
Radio — Quid Novi, CHUO (October 8, 2026)
Radio — Electric Sense, CIUT (October 7, 2026)
Radio — All This Jass, KSPC (October 3, 2026)
Radio — Planet Yoon, Freeform Portland (October 1, 2026)
Radio — Musical Migrations, WRUU (September 30, 2026)
