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Required
Listening 2 begins its aural tour of Canada with a
recording of Toronto Mayor David Miller on the mic
introducing the unofficial Toronto anthem, "T'ode" by
Abdominal. This dope lyrical tribute to Toronto or the
"Screwface Capital"(a term coined by local emcee Theology
3) also features the mad-talented Toronto crew "Notes
to Self". "T'ode"solidifies Abs' position in the
hip-hop game as one of the most versatile and innovative
emcees around.
Triple threat DJ/mc/producer and Toronto hip-hop veteran
Anonymous Twist is up next with the track "Sweet
Sixteen", a haunting head-nodder (featuring Planet Asia)
from his upcoming album. Following hot in the footsteps of
Anonymous Twist is, "Jazz Music", a song paying homage to
the jazz of the past and its influence on hip-hop by
Toronto emcee Justis and his band Ace Kinkaid.
Justis describes himself as, "an honest emcee with no
fronts" I just tell it like my life is. Balancing out the
bumpin' beats is Toronto singer/songwriter Sacha
Williamson with her gorgeous jazz vocal track
"Hurricane". Sacha is an experienced vocalist and jazz
teacher and has worked with the likes of I.G. Culture
and Canada's own Nick Holder. The single 'On my
mind' produced by Nick Holder with Sacha on vocals was
also featured on RL 1.
Bringing the glitchy, bouncy, nu-soul is Vancouver's
Sekoya, featuring the sexy, engaging vocals of
Amalia Townsend with the track "Loves in Need". Amalia
has worked with Swedish producer extraordinaire Opolopo,
Compost Records' Eddy Meets Yannah, and
Afronaught of the almighty Bugz in the Attic
crew to name a few. Sekoya is an amalgamation of Greg
Huchinson and Reuben Rogers, the critically
acclaimed jazz musicians from the Joshua Redman Quartet
as well as founding member Vinstar Kearley.
Picking up the tempo is the dancefloor scorcher "Mista
President"by Ottawa afrobeat outfit The Souljazz
Orchestra. Taken from their highly acclaimed album
"Freedom No Go Die", The Souljazz Orchestra were voted
into the top 10 tracks of the year on the Gilles
Peterson BBC radio show and continue to blow up the
spot.
Flipping the script on the West Coast is dancefloor killah
Aklimatize, who's party rockin' brokenlatinosoul
sound has taken him across the globe. He has collaborated
with Zed Bias, and SA:RA. Aklimiatize's
stylings can be heard on the afro-latino inspired broken
beat stomper "Dime La Verdad". Holding down the brukbeat
vibes is highly respected Toronto Do Right! producer
Alister Johnson a.k.a. DJ Catalist. He lays
down the brokenbeat foundation to the beautiful, groovy
synthy bass of "Like a Star", featuring the stunning
vocals of Vancouver based Alonzo and musician
Chris Rouse.
Changing up the tempo to a more 4-on-the-floor feel is
Vancouver's Cobblestone Jazz. This is a band
comprised of world-renowned techno producer Mathew
Jonson, programmer Tyger Dhula and keyboardist
Danuel Tate. The three are known for their hype
live shows and their jazzy, minimal techno sound heard on
the track "Creator". Also representing Vancouver is the
8-member band 1 Luv, featuring vocalists Amalia
Townsend, Deanna Teeple and Dawn Pemberton.
Their soulful, jazzy house track "Starz"explains why this
band was discovered by super-crew Jazzanova and was
featured on their Secret Love 2 compilation.
"Signs"is the mellow, feel-good; reggae-tinged track by
Toronto based folk, pop and soul singer-songwriter
Brian Macmillian, who is best known for his calm, warm
and seasoned sound. Following the warm cooled out vibe is
the acoustic folk-pop with-soul outfit, "Sunshine
State". This band formed when musician/producer and
Nelly Futaro's guitarist, James Bryan teamed up
with good friend, singer/songwriter Aleza and
decided to make tracks about modern life and love as a
form of musical therapy. Their song "Day Job"gets a
re-work by noted producer Alister Johnson a.k.a.
DJ Catalist. What results is an up-tempo, deep groove,
rich with a Brazilian-infused electronic feel.
Representing Montreal is Ghislain Poirier, known as
"The King of the Bounce". His well-known Montreal party
"Bounce La Gros"and his signature raga style riddems and
deconstructed hip-hop, has led him to collaborate with
TTC, LoFi Hi-Tek and remixed the likes of Les
Georges Leningrad and Lady Sovereign. (Poirier
has since moved on to become Lady Soverign's tour DJ!) His
track "Pou Ki Sa dub"featuring the Creole singing of
Montreal's Nik Myo, has that late night, dirty,
dub-step sound. Down the road, Toronto's much-loved
hip-hop aficionados Circle Research drop their neck
snapping remix of indie-rock track "My Sword Hand's
Anger"by Apostle of Hustle. Dante & Dhula of
Cobblestone Jazz wind down the Required Listening tour
with their dubby, down tempo track "Why Do the Wicked Ones
Rule".
Required Listening 1 was a taste of what was being
cooked up in Toronto's backyard; Volume 2 expands
the terrain to show the rest of the world what's blowing
up in Toronto, as well as the rest of Canada. Compiler &
Do Right label boss John Kong continues his
journey across Canada to join the dots between hip-hop,
funk, soul, future-jazz, broken-beat, house, techno and
everything in between. Required Listening 2 is the
second volume in this compilation series that really does
require listening.
Album available on
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