So, Hypergraphia release date is fast approaching. The 4th of December is the day and Backburner will celebrate with a show at Rancho Relaxo in Toronto. Live sets by The Toolshed with Fresh Kils and DJ Irate, Wordburglar and Uncle Fester will be making the trip from Halifax to throw down on the 1′s and 2′s
Hypergrahia is possibly the best Toolshed related release to date and that’s saying something cause the Shed is both prolific and dope.
From Hypergrahia here’s the whole Shed back together again flexing their muscle on a track called Strong Bros!!
Duplex is back. Boxing day and rap music is an institution in Halifax.
This year we get some other great genres thrown in the mix, flavors for everyone! Christmas = Gifts = Treats = Ghettosocks, who is the main force behind this event every year. Big props for the homie, glad to see the tradition continue. Here’s what Socks has to say about the Jam.
This is the sixth year that we’ve done the Duplex Party. It originally started at the Khyber in 2004 until 2006- when it moved to the Marquee from 2007-2008. Now we’re bringing it back to the Khyber with an amazing line-up of performers and visual artists.
Capacity is limited so be sure to arrive early!
The Khyber Institute of Contemporary Arts
1558 Barrington St.
19+ID is required. (licensed event)
$10 Admission
Limited advance tickets are available for $10.
Email > theduplexparty@gmail.com < for details
After a successful release show at the Drake this week in Toronto. Here’s the video everyones been talking about, “POP N CHIPS”.
Lithium Studios presents the “Pop N Chips” video, fresh from The Les-Kils EP, featuring More Or Les, Fresh Kils, Ghettosocks, Timbuktu & Uncle Fester!! Directed by Darrell Faria, produced by Mike MacMmillan, and edited by Jonathan Eagan (FACTOR)
The Les-Kils EP can be purchased in hard or digital format from CDbaby by following this link: BUY IT NOW!
The album is also available from iTunes, and all other major MP3 retailers.
The Burners been real busy lately, most of the crew just got back off tour. After a ton of successfull shows everyone is settled back into their respective cities finishing their verses for the upcoming BackBurner crew album. More on the crew album at a later date, for now, time to share some live audio from the tour.
Check out some live audio treats courtesy of Beatmason and the Vault studios….
BACKBURNER LIVE AT THE SEAHORSE IN HALIFAX (25 mins)
(2 ToolShed songs, 2 WordBurglar songs, Possecut and a whole lotta KARG)
Back again with another installment of Into the Archives courtesy of your boys Uncle Fester and Beatmason.
This week, we take a look at Mr. Quibble a Toronto based live beat performance duo. The group consists of Backburner Trickster Fresh Kils and DJ Echo. Fes takes you back to early 2007 for an interview and Beatmason digs up a live show @ Stage 9 in Halifax from 2006. Slight cameo from Wordburglar at the beginning.
Oh and FYI, the live show audio after the interview is almost a full hour!! We love you too..
So, we’re starting something new here on Backburner.ca this week called “Into The Archives”
Every week Uncle Fester will dig into his hip-hop interview tapes and Beatmason will dust off the reel to reel and give you exclusive live show audio!!
This week we start off with none other than the WordBurglar. Uncle Fester is serving you up with an interview done for radio in 2006 and Beatmason brings us back to 2004 for Burgs’ set in Halifax during the “More or Les & WordBurglar Companion Fare Tour” This took place on April 3rd. Alright heads, enjoy.
Into The Archives Vol.1:WordBurglar Interview&Live Show
Just checking in to handle a couple bits of business. A lot is going on in the Backburner camp these days and I might as well let you guys in on some rumors and secrets (well, maybe not secrets)
First off, I’m deep into doing the Turntable work on Chokes album and Holy S#$t….I would never use a cliche like “people aren’t ready for this” cause quite frankly, people are ready for this album. In fact, They need it.
All three Toolshed members are releasing Solo projects, Psybo’s album is done and is breath of fresh air. All of the shed boys are accomplished MCs and they’re all about to do something special. Timbuk2′s album is also underway right now and you know how hot that will be.
If you don’t know who Toolshed is, I urge you to find out as fast as possible.
Second bit of business. We have a new contributor, everybody say hi to Justine. She’s lending a hand and runs 79rpm’s (stands for representation, promotion and management) which offers a bunch of handy services for upcoming artists. She’ll have her section up soon but you can click the link there for the 79rpm contact.
The Extremities will have some shows in Toronto to announce very soon for the begining of June. Also, we’ll be playing Bayfield Ontario on June the 6th. Shouts to Pete Meades and Top Billin. While there, Kils and I will be putting the finishing touches on the Extremities next album on 5 and a 1/4 records.
I haven’t got all the details on this, but apparently this song by Wordburglar and Peter Project (and featuring Apt on cuts) has been ratified as Canada’s new national anthem? I guess we’re girding up a new rallying cry before invading down south like Frontalot prophecied. So make sure you stand up and start hollering this at the commencement of school days and sports games from now on, and make sure it’s real loud so you drown out everyone still stuck on the stuffy old anthem that’s overwith now. Okay?
You can also download an MP3 of the broadcast version of the song (same performance, but sounds way better) from here: right here!
Backburner massive is turning up everywhere these days… sometimes you see and don’t hear us. Sometimes you hear and don’t see us. It’s all pleasant, though, right? I got some treats for you.
Here are three new music videos, listed in decreasing order of Backburner involvement.
1. Rhythmicru – We Have Come For Your Children
Rhythmicru members D-Ray, Cale Sampson and DJ Sawtay come lovely with a grip of central Canadian MCs on the help-out. In addition to Backburner members Ghettosocks, Wordburglar and More or Les flexing rhymes on the cut, in the background of the video you can detect cameos from Fresh Kils, Timbuktu, and Timbuktu’s troubling moustache.
The other MCs featured are Odario from Mood Ruff/Grand Analog, Bath-O and Uncle Dropsi. Obviously this is an epic posse cut and it looks vibrant and rugged even on YouTube thanks to the video by Ghostmilk Studios.
Edit: I just realized this is Canada’s/2009′s answer to the Monstarrs rap off Space Jam. Don’t pretend it isn’t.
2. Modulok – Ink Spots
Modulok is not a type of industrial fencing… he is a He-Man figure. I think he was part of Hordak’s horde? His arms and legs and body parts all came off and went back on and stuff. It’s crazy.
He’s also lead vocals in a rap crew called Red Ants who put out one of my favourite records of 2008, Omega Point. Now he’s rather selfishly blowing up 2009 with another record that features him front and centre on raps and a different dedicated beat maker, Leon Murphy. The record is called Cities And Years and it’s a huge departure for the imposing Modulok, who usually sounds gruff as hell and twice as mean on the mic but spends this record in a more reflective mood (not that his more aggressive material isn’t thoughtful) kind of lamping and dropping smooth lyrics with more personal perspectives (not that hip-hop adaptations of classic cold war sci-fi can’t be personal) than one may be used to.
Anyway, aside from how close Modulok is to the Burner crew as fam, our direct involvement with this album is that Uncle Fester provided cuts and scratches for the whole thing and it sounds lovely, doesn’t it?
Yes.
3. Josh Martinez – Going Back To Hali
This one has zero audio involvement from Backburner, but due to the very special cast of thousands of notable Halifax hip-hop personages, we’re represented in the scenery. Starting as early as 24 seconds in, you see Fester, Ghettosocks, Dexter Doolittle, then Wordburglar sitting with Jorun at about 1:37. Lots of other legendary homies represent but if you want to know who they are… read THEIR blogs. Ha.
This video is really touching to me, having moved away from Halifax almost two years ago now. It captures many of the sights and familiar areas and scenes I grew up around in a way that really transports me back, and I think that’s what Martinez was looking for as a fellow expatriate who’s been away much longer than I have.
Halifax is where it all started. Well… not hip-hop (that was invented in Toronto, right?), but Backburner when it was just nascent and all of us were way wacker than we are today (which is: zero wackness amount, which is why everyone likes to have our pretty faces all over their videos).
Next time you come around, you might be ready to hear a little something about the two music videos that Ghettosocks has in post-production at the moment… or the ridiculous slew of records about to trample you in your sleep… or maybe just a picture of Jesse Dangerously with the head of a Jackalope. Anything can happen.
Until then, keep listening to Jive-era Hiero and rocking your hat crooked but good crooked.
