BeatRoute Magazine [AB] print e-edition - [September 2017]

letters from winnipeg
SLOW SPIRIT
maestros of mercurial pop
Since their emergence on the Winnipeg music scene,
self-described “genre-immune” five-piece Slow Spirit
have opted to follow their creative whims rather than
meet any predetermined expectations.
The band’s seven-song debut studio album, Unnatured,
arrives independently on September 23. Recorded and mixed
by Paul Yee at Stereobus Recording, it strikes a seamless balance
between multi-instrumental precision and compositional
spontaneity. The band’s five members—all skilled musicians
who met while studying at the University of Brandon’s School of
Music—draw from the worlds of jazz, punk, post-rock, pop and
singer/bassist Natalie Bohrn’s lyrical prose to concoct something
all their own.
“People are still really taking us for our jazz influence,
which is something I think we kind of run from in our own
artistic identities,” says guitarist Eric Roberts. “We try to think
of ourselves as making loose pop music.”
Call it what you will. With aesthetics and influences
abounding, the album shows the group’s mastery of
bringing intricate ideas together. Lead tracks “Human” and
“Legendary Mistake” are powerful, rhythmically complex
numbers that reveal the group’s versatility. Elsewhere, “Last
Night,” a portrait of the members’ time in Brandon, Manitoba
and their interactions with the colourful characters that
lived outside of their downtown apartment, bring their
post-rock ambitions to light.
“Creatively, going to jazz school helped us be more
equipped to understand some fundamental concepts about
music,” says Bohrn.
Between the five members of the band, which also includes
Justin Alcock (drums), Julian Beutel (keyboards), and Brady Allard
(guitar), they now count at least four other bands that they
contribute to between them. Noise troupe tunic, dream-popsters
Living Hour, electro-pop act ATLAAS, and a cinematic
instrumental project called Palm Trees are among them.
3PEAT
pass the mic
The spawn of ‘90s backpack hip hop and
underground Prairie rap legends, 3PEAT’s
infectious beats swirl to the laid back loops
of the ones that set the groundwork.
During their short time on the scene, the
emerging group—which includes MCs Steve, E.GG
and Dill the Giant, as well as DJ/manager Anthony
Carvalho—has found a place on bills alongside
punk and indie-rock acts as easily as they would a
rap showcase.
“I think that’s what Winnipeg’s about,” says
E.GG. “They just support everything.”
The group’s triad of MCs started rapping outside
of Grippin’ Grain shows, a long-standing rap-centric
club night, and before long they were rocking
stages at festivals and opening for some of their
own microphone heroes, like Blackalicious and T.I.
In 2016, 3PEAT released their stellar debut
self-titled EP, a top to bottom fresh collection of
cuts that flow to a golden-era sample base.
The record features members trading verses
as part of their self-styled “triangle offensive” or
tackling tracks solo.
“All of those songs we did together,” says Steve
of the EP. “We wanted to kind of build that model
with our EP. Half of it is 3PEAT songs and the other
half is solo songs from each of us. It’s kind of like
introducing us.”
ROCKPILE
“It’s hard for us to schedule rehearsals, because we’re all so
busy and have so many projects,” says Bohrn. “We’re always
giving our time to other bands.”
It’s because of this that their first proper release feels more like
a finale than it does a birth. After years of performing, refining,
and adapting the songs on the album, Roberts and Bohrn both
seem ready to write Slow Spirit’s next chapter.
“[Unnatured] captures what we’ve been able to accumulate
in the last four years,” says Roberts. “Those songs
we’ve reshaped a number of times, because often we don’t
have the energy between our other projects to write new
songs… Rearranging was always a way that we could keep
things fresh and kind of grow as a band and as musicians.”
As a result, some of the songs on the album are unrecognizable
live. Like living entities, they can transform depending
on the situation. The song “Unknown,” a quieter piece on the
record, for example, has been entirely altered into a full-blown
rock tune for festival appearances, according to Roberts.
“It’s hard to know when inspiration is going to strike and
you’re going to want to change a song completely,” he continues.
“Sometimes we’re inspired by a certain performance
opportunity.”
It remains to be seen what the future will hold for the purveyors
of mercurial pop. What they are certain of, however, is their
commitment to following whatever new creative pursuit may
come their way.
“It has been such a long process to get this album out, and we
kind of just want to be creative again,” says Roberts.
“We’re not exactly sure what we’re going to do next…
We’ve never been very good at the industry standard way of
doing things.”
Slow Spirit perform at The Good Will Social Club on September
23 (Winnipeg). To pre-order their new album, Unnatured, visit
slowspiritband.com
3PEAT are a Winnipeg hip-hop group on the rise.
Much like other rap supergroup marketing
models (read: Wu-Tang), 3PEAT will operate as a
rap trifecta and each individual MC will also be
propped up with their own solo output.
“It’s kind of like everyone brings their own little
flavour into the big pot of jambalaya,” says Steve.
More releases have already emerged. E.GG
followed up 3PEAT’s group debut with his own
Slow Spirit’s Unnatured will be released on hi-fidelity format.
photo: Tommy Illfiger
solo Alverstone record in 2016. Since then, Steve
has offered up the soulful “Oh Yeah,” and Dill the
Giant dropped the track “Emails” featuring ARI IQ
earlier this year.
With a consistent stream of tracks, appearances
at industry conferences, live shows galore, and a
2017 Western Canadian Music Award (WCMA)
nomination for Rap/Hip Hop Artist of the Year to
by Julijana Capone
photos: Eric Roberts
by Julijana Capone
add to their list of accomplishments, the past year
for the group has been fruitful.
“We were actually in Toronto at a conference—
Canadian Music Week—and we were on the street
when we got the email [about the WCMA nod],”
says Carvalho. “We were like, ‘Holy shit!’”
“I think it’s dope that things like the Western
Canadian Music Awards are kind of shining a light
on artists from that area of Canada,” says Steve.
Indeed, it hasn’t always been easy for Canadian
Prairie rap to get its due, but a new generation of
hip hop artists are emerging from the ‘Peg—namely,
3PEAT, Super Duty Tough Work, The Lytics, and
more—to pick up where others left off, following
in the footsteps of nationally-underrated Manitobans
like Shadez, Mood Ruff, Frek Sho, pioneering
rap label Peanuts & Corn, and Winnipeg’s Most,
among others.
“They’ve laid the stepping stones for us to be
here and do what we do,” says Steve.
“It’s gonna be dope in another decade when
you’re gonna see a lot more [Winnipeg] names,”
adds E.GG.
3PEAT perform at Freemasons’ Hall on September
15 (Edmonton) and on September 16 at the Mercury
Room (Edmonton) as part of BreakOut West. To hear
more of 3PEAT’s tunes, head to threepeatmusic.com
BEATROUTE • SEPTEMBER 2017 | 33