Park Sounds is Jennifer Thiessen and Ben Reimer. Having recently returned to their home province of Manitoba from Montreal, the duo continues to explore their roots through new music.

For GroundSwell’s Linked series, Park Sounds has co-composed and recorded a 15-minute new work for drum kit, viola and field recordings, accompanied by video. Thunderous beats and processed viola loops interact with the sounds of Jennifer’s father’s clock repair shop in an ambient exploration of time.

Their debut program, Root Systems, was inspired by a diagram of the deep root systems of prairie plants and explores themes of origin, belonging and culture. It includes existing works by Luciano Berio and Tigran Mansurian, an arrangement of the late Greg Lowe’s Letting Go, and four new Canadian pieces by Karen Sunabacka, Michael Matthews, Marielle Groven and Daniel Morphy. Root Systems premiered in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 2019, presented by Park Sounds and GroundSwell.