Mont-real (Split) merges the distinct creative worlds of three inventive musicians: Sam Shalabi, a luminary of Montreal’s experimental circuit, and the collaborative pair of Mike Gangloff (founder of Black Twig Pickers, master of drone) and Liam Grant, a dynamic fingerstyle guitarist working deep in the American Primitive tradition. Issued by Carbon Records in late October 2025, the split presents two extended tracks—Shalabi’s “Victorian Heat” and Gangloff/Grant’s side—that serve as parallel meditations on sound’s capacity to bridge place, memory, and improvisational intensity.​

Shalabi’s contribution evokes his penchant for layered electronics, spiraling modal runs, and immersive atmospheres. The result is a piece that both foregrounds the tactile qualities of stringed instruments and expands outward in a swirl of sonic invention—an emerging dialect between North African tonality and urban dissolution. Opposite, Gangloff and Grant’s performance channels the interlocked harmonics and spontaneous lyricism of folk-influenced drone music. Their approach is as much Appalachian as it is archival: cello, banjo, guitar, and fiddle map out shifting topographies, their lines converging in moments of dense togetherness and open, conversational space.

Drawing on the strengths of both sides, Mont-real (Split) invites listeners into a space that is exploratory but never inaccessible, steeped in tradition yet unmistakably contemporary. The release highlights the value of collaboration as process, not product—moments of searching, tension, and release are privileged over polished outcomes. Carbon Records, long a champion of experimental music in Rochester and beyond, brings this meeting of Montreal and Appalachia into clear focus, reinforcing its role as a curator of boundary-pushing musical dialogue. Whether discovered in the depths of improvisational archives or on-stage at late-night festivals, Mont-real (Split) stands as a testament to creative restlessness and the enduring capacity of sound to create new worlds.​