In 1997, a dark and smoky apartment became the birth place of what would later evolve into Hidden Fortress. Headquartered in Vancouver, BC, but also with a Japanese base of operations, the duo of DJ/producer UsdNeedls and rapper nofutureface bring dark electronics to a West Coast mind state. Growing up in hip-hop’s Golden Age, HF was heavily influenced by the sounds of Public Enemy, Rakim and Big Daddy Kane, as well as by the progressive indie sounds created throughout the 90s. The razor sharp cuts and cinematic productions of UsdNeedls provide a heavy foundation for the introspective and often cryptic lyrics of nofutureface. Sometimes political, always thought provoking, Hidden Fortress explore realms most do not and make the duo a throwback to an era when a DJ and a rapper once ruled the stage.
In 2009, the group’s first official release, White Violence, pushed rap into an electronic and often dark dimension, catching listeners off guard. Intense, and sometimes bleak, White Violence shone a light into the shadows in order to expose the lies and push for social change. It was an album made for Vancouver, representing the poverty, drug addiction and political corruption that scar those streets, the anger and frustration evident in the sound.
Building upon their Third Eye Cyclops EP, HF goes even deeper with second album All That Is. The themes and subjects expressed on previous releases are still evident, but this time the influences are no longer drawn from frustration but from the psychedelic realms of shamanism, buddhism and mind altering plants such as DMT. All That Is is a eulogy for this world and a celebration for the next, a transformative work lost in the language of psychedelic visionaries such as Terrence McKenna, Greg Braden, Graham Hancock and Ram Dass. Released on Hand’Solo Records, All That Is features Canadian rap heavyweights such as Modulok (who return to his Red Ants roots on first single “Apotheosis”) and Planit (aka The Dirty Sample), as well as guests Kaigen (Curse Ov Dialect) from Tokyo, Japan, and Raven Madd (Wounded Animals). Rest assured, the Fortress strives for raw originality with every release.
Hidden Fortress is a predictor that something wicked this way comes - a musical signpost warning listeners to keep their eyes sharp and a call for honest introspection in what may be the most perilous of times. Best believe, Hidden Fortress was an inside job.
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July 11th, 2010
“I love the crackle and the crunch of dirty vinyl,” proclaims Calgary producer The Dirty Sample of his DJ Muggs-like fascination with dusty vinyl that initially earned him his beat-making monicker. And he’s doing pretty well for a rapper who bought a sampler and started chopping wax to make the beats his emcee alter ego Planit just wasn’t getting from other producers. Now, with a solid back catalogue of vocal, instrumental and collaboration albums under his belt, The Dirty Sample turns to his new obsession.
“I wanted to do this album because I love to remix tracks,” he says of his newest project, a collection of remixes from family, friends and assorted others. But when the call went out for song submissions, rappers from four countries (Canada, the U.S., the U.K. and Japan) responded and The Dirty Sample found he had two albums on his hands. The first, Beauty & Poison, was released as a free digital download (www.handsolorecords.com) and features remixes of Edmonton’s Poet Laureate Cadence Weapon, Wordburglar, More Or Les, Lexington & Whatevski, Rhythmicru, Sankofa and more.
Companion piece Joshua’s Dreamixes now follows. Having received the album title from a dream, it’s only natural The Dirty Sample opens Joshua’s Dreamixes with a dream-like doorway into his alternate world of music. You may have heard D-Sisive’s melancholy “Brian Wilson” or Eternia’s beat box-backed “Many Many” or the paperboy horrorcore of Wordburglar’s “The Route,” but The Dirty Sample’s interesting and unique re-workings put a new spin to each track. “I wanted them to be their own little monsters,” he says of remixes that strip down Ira Lee’s “Tom Cruise” into a spacey ode or relocate Jesse Dangerously’s cerebral sex rap “The Prestidigitator” to the piano bar. And whether it’s the braggadocio battle raps of Touch, the lazer gun rap of The Killaz or the blue collar blues of Birdapres, The Dirty Sample finds the sound to suit that subject.
Joshua’s Dreamixes has already inspired a Dirty Sample remix of D-Sisive’s The Book, plus he also has a new instrumental album called Unluck and a collaboration EP with Fatt Matt on the way. Frankly, it’s amazing The Dirty Sample even has the time to sleep, never mind dream up album titles.
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July 11th, 2010
Three’s a lucky number, right? Which means the 15th could be a lucky night when The Flavour Stable and Hand’Solo Records bring you the 3rd instalment of Third Thursday $5 Rap Show, hosted by More Or Les and Wordburglar, with additional music by Fresh Kils & DJ iRate. This month also features live performances with 1st Disciple(Toronto, ON), Mullet N Steps (London, ON), and MC Homeless (Youngstown, Ohio). And we’ve still got prizes and giveaways. It’s only 5 bucks, and you might get lucky!
