Hayden Baptiste is a hip-hop music producer operating out of Vancouver, B.C. who goes by the handle REL!G!ON. The young producer began his career in Toronto as an actor and filmmaker before relocating to Vancouver to explore music. When an artist finds REL!G!ON, the results are certainly empyrean.
The producer and musician has worked with artists such as Moka Only, Planet Asia and Chuck D. He doesn't drown a song in a glossy sludge of overproduction. Instead, he knows how to enhance a work, using technology to imbue a song with greater dimensions of sound and expression.
While Canadian hip-hop is at times as parallel to it's American counterpart in artistic intent as west coast and east coast hip-hop can sometimes be, the branches all grow from the same deep roots.
REL!G!ON understands this, which is why his company, Wandering Worx Entertainment, has survived and thrived in an industry as harsh as any South American jungle.
REL!G!ON's recent collaboration with New Jersey's P.Genz and Vancouver vocalist Christian Tessier, "High Off Music," will win you over if you've never been lucky enough to check his work out before. P.Genz is not only influenced by contemporary hip-hop legends Wu Tang Clan and Big Daddy Kane, he's also into the Bee Gees and the Temptations, giving the body of his work some serious funk soul.
The weirdest interview I ever had was with a person who was a press representative for an organization that I don't care to name. They weren't connected to music, though.
When I started to ask the person questions about what the organization was doing, he got upset and asked if he could, "...just do what I usually do." I said, "Ok." He then started to read from a written statement.
I thanked him for his time and went on to create questions that fit his statements, to make it all look like an interview. It felt awkward, and by the end the whole thing bothered me as being somehow disingenuous.
Mr. Meyer was not like this at all. We talked about a lot of things, and by the end I had to trim a lot of it to keep the article within the word limit.
My plan is to start saving the "extra" words and print the complete article on my blog, for people who couldn't get enough after reading the original post.
I interviewed Isis for Culture Magazine. The publication is cutting edge...often times an artist that is interviewed by Culture ends up on the cover of Rolling Stone, Details, Maxim, Spin and the others.
... The Sweet Black Magic of Isis
Isis possesses a hypnotic power reminiscent of bands like Godflesh, King Crimson and Sword, infused with a streak of pure black metal. With songs about magic, death and spiritual awakening, the group created a wealth of material over the length of it’s 13 year existence to enthrall any serious fan of the genre.
While the individual band members have all journeyed forward to brilliant careers of their own, Isis still endures. Listeners are sure to enjoy a series of five live albums beginning with Isis Live I, which is slated for a May 31st release.
Bryant Clifford Meyer, composer, keyboardist and vocalist for the band, was gracious enough to speak to Culture about creating music in the name of a goddess.
Your music is very spiritual. The titles and lyrics of your songs speak of transcendence, illumination and the transformation of the soul.
I think there was always an idea to have more transcendental imagery in our lyrics. We wanted them to have more of a dreamy, supernatural feeling to it, which just fits the music better.
Do you feel that live albums have a different flavor than albums created in the studio?
Absolutely. I’ve always felt that there are two different types of music. In the studio, you try to make it as good as you can. But going to a show is always different. There’s the live energy, the audience, the adrenaline.
A live recording can’t capture all of that, but it can capture the mood. The songs won’t be perfect because it’s live, but it’s worth checking out.
Let’s talk about Isis I. It was recorded at The Fillmore in San Francisco. Why did you choose to record at The Fillmore?
We were on tour with Mogwai at the time, and it was one of those things where we had the opportunity to tape the show, and it turned out to be pretty good. After we heard the recording, we thought it was just perfect for fans. We felt that releasing live albums was much more affordable, too.
We played a couple places in San Francisco. We’ve never had a bad show there. But the Fillmore has such a classic energy, such a rock and roll history. The city of San Francisco really lends itself to the vibe, too.
With songs about spiritual enlightenment would you like to share some of your opinions about cannabis?
Well, first of all, to each their own. It’s been a part of the band’s musical upbringing in one capacity or another. We’re all older now, so we can’t be high all the time. But for the creative process every now and then it’s fine. At least in California it’s easier to partake in. It’s ridiculous that it’s still outlawed.
What’s that like compared to Boston?
The weed scene is Boston is similar to California’s. It’s kind of decriminalized there, too. In California there are people that are just way more into it, sure, but there’s always weed going around in the Boston music scene.
It’s ridiculous that you can buy beer and cigarettes but you can’t buy weed. If you want to smoke weed for having fun or to relieve anxiety, that should be up to you.
I've been fortunate enough to interview Rumble King several times over the years. I actually know Aaron Deily, the lead singer and piano player for the band, back from when we both used to hang out at Rose's Caffe Luna in Rancho Cucamonga.
They are playing tonight at the Hip Kitty Jazz & Fondue Lounge in Claremont. Hell, yes.
It is a freakin' miracle of God that you only have to pay $5 to see this band tonight. They've played everywhere, including the legendary Derby Club (now closed) in Los Angeles, and now the band is going to be performing right next door in Claremont...a town that has all the fun of L.A. without the hassle of trying to find a place to park.
The Inland Empire has been finally receiving the attention it deserves for the region's contributions to the punk, swing, rock-a-billy and hip-hop scenes in California. If all the other bands out there are boring you to sleep, Rumble King is guaranteed to give you a good punch in the ears to wake you up.
A previous interview with Rumble King that I wrote for Inland Empire Weekly can be found here.
By the way, the article from Skinnie Entertainment Magazine re-printed below mentions One For the Road, a swank album in it's own right, but since then the band has released American Juke, another fine creation for any collection, which you can find right here.
Rumble King are the real deal and their latest masterpiece, One For the Road, is the third record in a series that only gets more refined as the band rocks on. But Rumble King is more than just a swing band…they are a final distillation of all that is good from what inspired them when they formed in 1996: blues, rockabilly, punk, and, of course, rock and roll.
Lead singer, pianist and de facto voice of Rumble King Aaron Deily uses a term that needs using…live music scene. There was a time when you couldn’t download music, burn a cd, listen to an iPod or even pop a cassette tape in a stereo, when people had to go to where the music was, the bars, the clubs, that juke joints and the beer stained blues grottos, and that’s where Rumble King can really swing.
The video of the band performing on their page at www.myspace.com/RumbleKing almost catches that spirit, with all of them dressed to the nines, hair slick and perfect, wailing with the sax, the piano, the guitar, the tenor, the bass and the drums in a crowded night scene that reminds you that swing is here forever and live is where it’s at.
