Photo by Levi Manchak

Pigeon Breeders are an experimental improvisation music group founded in 2011 by Will Scott and Myles Bartel. Their work has been described as “gently unsettling washes of sound” and “intelligent, beautiful sonic art” (Oliver Arditi), blending ambient, electroacoustic, free improvisation, noise, and psychedelic elements. Originally a trio with Tyler Harland, who departed in 2016, the group has frequently welcomed guest musicians including Scott Smallwood, Smokey, and Ghost Cars. In 2013, Pigeon Breeders supported Jung People’s Gold Bristle tour and built a tradition of collaborating at every performance together since. Other collaborators have included Nate Wooley, Chris Dadge, Bitter Fictions, Nate Waters, filmmaker Lindsay McIntyre, and dancers Gerry Morita, Jeannie Vandekerkhove, Tony Olivares, Max Hanic, Tia Ashley Kushniruk, and more.

The group has performed at a range of festivals and concert series, including Sled Island, Bug Incision, and Innovāre Accord in Calgary; Now Hear This, Ramshackle Day Parade, Mile Zero Dance’s SubArctic, NextFest, Noisecafe, Bermuda, and Endless Bummer in Edmonton; as well as Casse-Tête in Prince George.

Discography highlights include Stasis (2022) with Ghost Cars on Pseudo Laboratories, Familiar Traces (2019, self-released), Concrescence (2015, Shaking Box Music), and Oblique Temperatures (2013, Ramshackle Day Parade). Both Stasis and Oblique Temperatures are part of the Edmonton Public Library’s Capital City Records collection. Their forthcoming album, Springtime As Violence, will be released in 2025.