Through his urgent rap anthems, Cadence Weapon captures the dizzying contradictions of modern culture and technology with both precision and irreverence. The Hamilton-based rapper, producer, former poet laureate, and author of Bedroom Rapper (2022) also known as Rollie Pemberton got his musical start while careening through the rap internet as a teenager in Edmonton, Canada. He emerged as an artist who gave voice to issues of systemic inequality and racial disparity, particularly among Canada’s Black communities, with his fifth album Parallel World, which won the 2021 Polaris Prize. Now, with his sixth studio album, Rollercoaster, Pemberton expands his incisive commentary to the sprawling internet—a former utopian playground that’s turned into a capitalist junkyard—to remind users they don’t have to just “go along for the ride,” he says. The hyperpop and electro-inspired production of Rollercoaster is intended to replicate the internet’s “sensory overload” and exhibits his growing skills in merging socio-political commentary and insurgent rap with humor and pop sensibility. Despite its bleak portrait of today’s digital attention economy, Rollercoaster still fits into a long lineage of Black electronic artists using music to forge Black futures.
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Danny Miles' (July Talk, Tongue Helmet), versatility as an artist is best showcased in his debut solo release, Beautiful Music (released Jan 26, 2024 via URBNET). Beautiful Music was entirely self produced and recorded by Danny at his Hamilton-based studio, The Pillowfort. The album artwork and accompanying video animations were done by Toronto based visual artist, Tyson. The record boasts 27 instrumental tracks, offering a wavy nuanced, sound, that gives way to full on funk beats and jazz. Thick crackles and dusty beats are layered with snippets of obscure samples, and live instrumentation, to create what Danny calls, 'subtle busyness'. "I start by listening to vinyl. I usually find small pieces of songs. More like sounds, different instrument hits, vocals, etc., and then I piece them together into the big picture. It's a collage of sonic textures".
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Hamilton, Ontario’s Randy Gagne (AKA Man Made Hill) has been an underground music staple on Planet Ontario for the past 15-20 years. His live performance congeals performance art, delusional funk, soundtrack music, and existential comedy into a dank and bewildering physical experience. Originating in the basement murk of the noise tape scene, he has thus blossomed into a modern-day maniacal pop purveyor. Utilizing lurid character exploration and pan-sensorial poetics whilst probing the depths of the entertainment world, Man Made Hill has honed a unique combination, all cryptically narrated with his patented ghoulish crooning, vivid lyrics, and desperate dance in the face of existential dread. Having reached a turning point after labouring DIY for 20+ albums, Man Made Hill emerged last year with Mirage Repair, his first sustained and intensive collaboration in a professional studio setting with producer Jeremy Greenspan (Junior Boys / Jessy Lanza), and was named among Bandcamp’s The Acid Test -best albums of 2022. He has released music with Orange Milk, Pleasance, Hobo Cult, Inyrdisk, and Bennifer Editions.
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