Shelby Mackay (Electronic Music Producer): Glitch, Grace, and the Pulse of Toronto. Field Notes from Toronto's Sonic Underground.

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Shelby Mackay is a Toronto-based composer and sound artist known for her experimental-electronic debut single Moongirlnonsense, released in July 2025. Her work blends ambient textures, glitch-based percussion, and processed vocal fragments, often eschewing conventional song structures in favor of modular synthesis and environmental sound design.

Shelby maintains an active digital presence through her official website, Spotify, Instagram, and TikTok, where she shares music releases, performance visuals, and behind-the-scenes content.

Shelby recorded Moongirlnonsense in her bathtub on St Clair Avenue in Toronto, using microphones to capture ambient sounds such as bathwater, traffic , and low-frequency hum. These field recordings became foundational elements in her compositions.

The single opens with a 1970s sparse arrangement of wind-like beats and digital clicks. Subsequent tracks explore reversed vocal fragments, ambient decay, and subterranean pulses. Shelby avoids traditional verse-chorus structures, opting instead for evolving soundscapes.

To accompany the album, Shelby directed a series of high-contrast videos using Blender and Sora. These visuals incorporate rapid edits, spectral overlays, and pixelated distortions that reflect the album's glitch aesthetic.

In August 2025, Shelby produced STROKE, an EP by Toronto singer-songwriter, Gilly Bird. The collaboration was praised by HipHopSince1987 for its "understated brilliance," noting that Shelby's ambient textures and restrained percussion allowed Bird's lyrics to "breathe and resonate".

Moongirlnonsense received positive coverage from niche music outlets. HipHopSince1987 described the album as "a hybrid sound that feels both immediate and expansive," and highlighted Shelby's ability to fuse 90s percussion with ambient synth lines. Music Existence noted the album's "hidden emotional architecture," inviting listeners to decode recurring motifs and sonic layers.

A feature published by ArtistRecap traced Shelby Mackay's evolution from field recordings to underground acclaim, describing her sound as "chaotic in a curated way-like stepping into a digital dreamscape where neon fractals collide with ancient symbols carved in sound". The article also explored her upbringing noting how environmental sounds from each region shaped her sonic vocabulary.

With Moongirlnonsense, Shelby Mackay has carved out a distinct space within Canada's experimental music landscape-one defined not by genre, but by process, texture, and spatial awareness. Her integration of environmental sound, modular synthesis, and visual abstraction positions her among a new generation of artists reshaping how listeners experience composition. Shelby Mackay continues to explore the boundaries between sound and space, glitch and grace.

Citations

1. HipHopSince1987 - "Breaking Boundaries: Shelby Mackay's Experimental Sound Meets Hip-Hop"

hiphopsince1987.com

https://hiphopsince1987.com

Shelby Mackay's Experimental Sound Meets Hip-Hop Vibes

2. Music Existence - "The Hidden Message in Shelby Mackay's Songs That Fans Can't Stop Decoding"

https://musicexistence.com/blog/2025/08/10/the-hidden-message-in-shelby-mackays-songs-that-fans-cant-stop-decoding/

3. Moongirlnonsense - Official Release

https://open.spotify.com/track/3CY4ZmQ067SPACan76Wj5B?si=X2qr3eq7QpukF2zoItzidA

4. Shelby Mackay - Official Website

www.shelbymackaymusic.com

5. Shelby Mackay on Spotify

https://open.spotify.com/artist/5p71wpajbzO90AEiPBej94?si=Nvt_dPoPTzKvoD7xvMYpGg

6. Shelby Mackay on Instagram

Instagram.com/sheldoradoshellshock

7. Shelby Mackay on TikTok

https://www.tiktok.com/@shelbymackaymusic?_t=ZS-8z5XSh6GzH0&_r=1

Media Contact
Company Name: Shelby Mackay independent
Contact Person: Shelby Mackay
Email:Send Email [https://www.abnewswire.com/email_contact_us.php?pr=shelby-mackay-electronic-music-producer-glitch-grace-and-the-pulse-of-toronto-field-notes-from-torontos-sonic-underground]
City: Toronto
Country: Canada
Website: http://www.shelbymackaymusic.com

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