Two of Canada’s most innovative hip-hop/electronic duos are teaming up this October to tour in support of their respective full-length debut albums. London, Ontario-based AWARDS will release Warm Computers on Friday, Oct. 12, the first album as well for Animal Street Records. The following week (Friday, Oct. 19), Ottawa-based Danger Grove will release Want, For Nothing on Coax Records.
While both projects have their own unique attributes, they represent the cutting edge of Canadian hip-hop, expanding the genre into the electronic realm, with lyrics that reflect contemporary politics and issues revolving around mental health and the effects of technology. This is a tour not to be missed!
AWARDS
Danger Grove & AWARDS Tour Dates
Oct. 4 (Thurs.) – Guelph ON – ANAF Club 344
Oct. 5 (Fri.) – Barrie ON – Green Sprout
Oct. 6 (Sat.) – Kingston ON – The Toucan
Oct. 10 (Wed.) – Ottawa ON – PodJam
Oct. 11 (Thurs.) – Montreal QC – La Marche Noir
Oct. 12 (Fri.) – St. John NB – Taco Pica
Oct. 13 (Sat. – Afternoon) – Halifax NS – Taz Records
Oct. 13 (Sat. – Evening) – Halifax NS – Menz/Molly’s
Oct. 16 (Tues.) – Ottawa ON – Bar Robo
Oct. 17 (Wed.) – Peterborough ON – The Garnet
Oct. 18 (Thurs.) – Toronto ON – Dance Cave
Oct. 19 (Fri.) – Hamilton ON – This Ain’t Hollywood
Oct. 20 (Sat.) – London ON – Life Of Leisure
About Danger Grove
It began with one simple remix. Colorado-based beatmaker/producer Lizard “Liz” Grove stumbled upon a track by Ottawa-via-Halifax alt-rap legend Jesse Dangerously she liked, applied her magical treatment and sent it back to him, much to his approval. Sounds innocent enough, huh?
Well, that spontaneous gesture soon exploded into the full-fledged collaboration known as Danger Grove, and a 10-track debut album called Want, For Nothing that is sure to alter the perception of Canadian hip-hop. With Liz providing the sonic foundation for Jesse’s often brutally confessional rhymes, the pair build on their mutual love of groundbreaking artists such as Aesop Rock and spin it off into strange, new worlds where it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary to hear Drake rapping with Neutral Milk Hotel.
Just to back up a bit, Danger Grove really coalesced through the Nerdcore Hip-Hop Facebook group, which holds an annual competition that challenges a producer/vocalist team to create five original tracks in three-week intervals to be judged by their panel of experts. Despite facing stiff competition each round, Danger Grove was voted the overall winner for 2017, with the next logical step seemingly to release those five songs as an EP. However, with their creative juices now flowing, the pair put together additional tracks—several graciously featuring their Nerdcore Hip-Hop contemporaries—to flesh out a full album.
What makes Danger Grove truly work is how these two artists who met online complement each other’s strengths so well. Danger Grove’s Want, For Nothing is indeed the beginning of a beautiful friendship destined to produce more exciting, powerful and unclassifiable work with the potential to shape the future of Canadian hip-hop for years to come.
Want, For Nothing Track Listing
01 – Die Zauberkugel
02 – Salversan Pick-Me-Up
03 – neverhome
04 – That’s Numberwang
05 – Boogie Champ Superstar
06 – Against Dreaming
07 – Getafix The Druid
08 – gottagonnagottagonna
09 – obélix et idéfix
10 – Welcome To Spooky Humour Podcast
Click here to pre-order Want, For Nothing.
You can follow @DangerGrove on Instagram.
Want, For Nothing is out Oct. 19.
About AWARDS
AWARDS is a Canadian-European experimental hip-hop duo comprised of London, Ontario rapper/vocalist Thesis Sahib and French producer/multi-instrumentalist Funken. On their debut full-length album Warm Computers, the pair blend post-rap, art rap, art pop, new wave and intellectual disco into a dizzying kaleidoscope of sound that obliterates any categorization.
AWARDS is a product of the pair’s involvement with several hip-hop collectives including Backburner in Canada, and the wide-ranging network of musicians Funken has developed in France known as Cocktail Pueblo, which Thesis largely credits for the album’s sonic tapestry. Under his birth name, James Kirkpatrick, Thesis is also an acclaimed visual artist whose disciplines include everything from painting to sculpture.
Several years ago, he decided to take an extended trip outside of Canada, which ultimately led him to cross paths with Funken. Thesis says that many of his initial ideas for songs come to him during the fog and exhaustion of travelling. But he also draws heavily from his experience as a graffiti artist on the track “Ink Or Paint,” while “Dinosaur Bones” explore the effects of global warming and excessive consumption.
But perhaps the overall message of Warm Computers is best conveyed by the opening title track and album closer “Welcome To Goggle,” which focus on our obsession with technology, and the struggles artists face trying to survive within it.
Power on.
Warm Computers Track Listing
01 – Warm Computers
02 – Dinosaur Bones
03 – Dog Or Cat
04 – Ink Or Paint
05 – I Care Hard
06 – Unlimited Wishes
07 – Going Nowhere Fast
08 – Marks
09 – Bad Math
10 – Welcome To Goggle
Click here to pre-order Warm Computers.
You can follow @AwardsTheBand on Instagram.
Warm Computers is available on Oct. 12.
