Selected Press

“A Really Good Spot changes gears frequently, but it never feels like a hodgepodge. Wright's unexpected combinations and openness to less-than-perfect performances and production result in an album of exciting shifts and many moments of unpredictable beauty. Both the melancholy and joy that were present in earlier work are brought into new dimensions here, with results that are sometimes jarring, sometimes moving, and always arresting.” - Fred Thomas, Allmusic

“One of the most unique and distinct albums of the year… Wright has always worked with instrumental music and he has always produced quality music. His cello work  is superb. But this would not mean a great deal without well-written and well-constructed music to play. When it comes to writing, he shines. The music he writes is beyond words. Beautiful, heartfelt and very original. Here loops, cellos, synthesizers, all come together like a wizard mixing ingredients into a magic potion, and the end result is a new genre of music created by this remarkably talented artist. At no point does the music become tedious or repetitive, each song is distinct and yet they all come together to form a cohesive album. I also like the titling of the tracks, with the “Drone” series not appearing in numerical order. It sends a message. This is music but Wright’s own world. Music For Staying Warm is a very impressive album. Each time one listens to the album one discovers new pieces to each song.” - Spill Magazine

“Wright’s playing on his first full-length, Music For Staying Warm, is fluid and effusive without feeling overdone. Opening composition “Harmonic Loop (Playground Swings)” glows like embers burning in reverse, his subtle string work building to a warm, meditative state. No note on Music For Staying Warm is played before it’s ready. The album’s anchors (in order of appearance), “Drone IV:  Breath”, “Drone II: Flutter”, “Drone III: Saudade”, and “Drone I: Meditation” act as slow-moving seismic shifts. They murmur and moan under the weight of Wright’s dense arrangement, but are far from buzzing background noise. They demand you pay attention to every nuance.

Therein is the crux of what makes Music For Staying Warm a compelling and beautiful work of art: while not surprising that, at a molecular level, his instrumental string arrangements are melodious and lulling, Justin Wright’s complex and intricate compositions are unexpectedly mesmerizing works that shun passivity and necessitate engagement from listeners.” - Dominionated

“Music for Staying Warm has a lot to say, even without words. One can definitely hear the personality of an artist we hope to follow throughout his whole career.” - SOCAN Words + Music

“‘Modular Winter’ opens on gentle, gliding tones rife with frosty textures and deliciously misty colors. The gorgeous amalgamation of strings, cello and violin, infuses the tune with tantalizing wisps of recollection, simultaneously immanent and transcendent. The alluring austerity of the harmonics along with the exquisite leitmotifs, suffuse the music with an elusive beguiling familiarity, near yet at the same time distant. Marvelously wrought, “Modular Winter” delivers subtle, nuanced flavors both charming and delicately, elegantly profound.” - Rawckus Magazine

“Gorgeous is an understatement” - That Buzzing Sound

“There is a strong serenity to this song that I love, even though a bit somber. Every note on this elongates beautifully and there is so much space for the notes to fill up. Wright’s orchestration is spot on and the way each instrument comes together helps support the tone and mood that builds gradually throughout the song. “Drone I: Meditation” is breathtaking in every way.” - Abduction Radiation

A “cello masterwork”. “Wright’s expressive string work, which fluctuates between agitated movements and slow, thoughtful strokes, ensures that simple and beautiful moments are a mainstay of the album: softly plucked strings dance in the background of “Improvisation”; the sonorous cello notes on “Modular Winter” rumble loud enough to crack thick ice covering a city; and Wright’s chosen tones on ‘Flutes’ expertly match the titular instrument….Wright understands the collective desire to feel settled and the unhurried pace of the majority of the record offers the relief you’re looking for.“ - Exclaim.ca

“Justin Wright is hardly the first classical instrumentalist to underscore his compositions with electronics and synths, but the absence of beats or rhythms keeps his surreal and ambient compositions consistently pleasant. Wright manually pushes his synth arpeggios into the extreme sonic ranges, and the resulting pulsing bass adds viscerality to an otherwise light and airy set of textures.” - Beatroute.ca

“We started Sled on Wednesday at the Central United Church to see Justin Wright, a Canadian cello player with an impressive list of musical accomplishments. It’s an unofficial Sled Island tradition to start Sled by listening to something beautiful, and Justin Wright fit the bill impeccably. Accompanied by a violinist, Wright’s emotive sounds were the perfect kick off to Sled.” - FREQ Magazine

“Synthesizers sparkle with ever greater radiance…their gleam approximating the expressive grandeur of an immense church organ as they do so….” A “bold fusion of contemporary classical with early Glass-styled minimalism….he also challenges such reductionism by working episodes of different character into the compositional frameworks - a chamber-styled interlude for solo cello, for example, or an unexpected foray into prog-flavoured space-ambient territory” - Textura.org

“Soothing waves of arpeggiated synth are joined by the earnest strains of cello in a classical/experimental mélange.” - Ride the Tempo

“A stand-out performer who continues to push the boundaries of experimental music by creating a wide range of sounds and textures on the cello.” - Kick Drum

“Excellent production, warm sonorities and spirited playing.” - Steve Lalla, The Hour

“With the addition of Justin Wright’s gut-rumbling cello and AP Bergeron’s melodic and hysteric vocal presence, the electronic duo took their latest compositions down through all nine circles of hell.” - Nick Laugher, Aux.tv

“Accompanied by two fine young men on the grand piano/electric organ and on cello, a new dimension was added to this film. Already beautiful in its own right (the texture of film is unmatchable), the gracefully executed soundtrack created a suitable mood. My eyes couldn’t help but wander from time to time to the musician’s hands, swiftly moving at the pace of the film. How remarkably talented they were!” - Christian Courtois, IX Daily