He teamed up with Roger Humphreys who added a classical influence to the minimal synthesizer compositions (in the mold of John Foxx and Mute Records).
[4] The album was recorded on a TASCAM eight-track reel-to-reel and mixed in a 16-track studio in Waterdown, Ontario;[4] production was limited to 1000 copies.
[1] The Absence of a Canary gained some popularity on college radio, reaching the top 10 of CKCU-FM's "Alternative Record Chart" for June 1981.
[2] "This duo replaces Gary Numan glibness with futuristic emotionalism; the unsettling electronic sonatas could teach Devo something about surrealism.
[8] Danilo Bulatovic at CKUT-FM wrote, "I am delighted that Absence of a Canary has been uncovered and hope it will continue to merit the attention it deserves as a pioneering Canadian minimal synth record.