BeatRoute Magazine [AB] print e-edition - [March 2018]

MATT & GILL
a DJ journey full of unsung heroes
Meet Matt and Gill. They host a new DJ-band
night every Thursday at Broken City. A night
that showcases their exquisite record collection
as they segue playing before, in between and after
bands take the stage.
Matt Robinson is originally from San Francisco
and Gill Crosley from Calgary, one of Broken City’s
friendly and familiar bartenders. They first met
each in 2012 at the Austin Pysch Fest, drinking
beers backstage at a Brian Jonestown Massacre
show. A romance quickly blossomed with back
and forth visits between Calgary and San Fran.
Matt then moved a year later to Calgary exactly
when the flood hit Sled Island.
A guitarist and singer as well as DJ well-versed
on the decks, he brought 300 pieces of vinyl, a mix
of LPs and 45s, that were stuffed into various bags
of luggage leaving little to no room for clothes.
“He didn’t even bring toiletries!” recalls Gill.
“But!” chirps in Matt. “I brought a little of every
genre. Down tempo, chill electronica, psych, atmospheric
house.”
In San Fran, Matt says, “My initial focus on DJing
was down tempo – DJ Krush, DJ Shadow, atmospheric
stuff with dark breaks. As I became more
connected with other like-minded DJs, I moved
into other areas of atmospheric house that had
BY B. SIMM
Latin beats and ‘70s psych. I became much more
eccentric and intereted in more of the unsung
heroes of every genre instead of just playing the
typical hits.”
Sharing DJ duties, Matt explains, “Gill’s
enterprise in the set is more psychedelic, and
when it moves uptempo we agree I’ll play more
atmospheric deep house, but no clubby stuff. And
the hip-hip is sophisticated, smart, spiritual. Tribe
called Quest, Buck 65, along those lines.”
Their sets will also compliment whatever style
the artists booked on that particular night have. “If
it’s an electronic artist, then more electronica. If it’s
a rock band, then maybe more pysch or different
types of rock,” says Matt. “We’re not just playing
left-field stuff. It’s not about playing what we want.
It’s about the curating the night with the archive
we have. And our archive is pretty good!”
Gill adds, “But it will still be all over the place.
You can walk in and we could be playing psych
rock. You can go out for a smoke, come back and
we’ll be playing hip-hip, and then we’ll switch over
to Latin jazz. It’s a little journey that morphs from
one style to another.’
Matt & Gill DJ the night away every Thursday at
Broken City.
LET’S GET JUCY!
Skratch Bastid will grace the wheels of steel at Commonwealth on March 7 [Calgary].
Here we are with another edition of Let’s
Get Jucy. Apologies for my lack of a
column last month, my section was filled to
capacity with a great array of local stories and
I relished the opportunity to lighten my own
workload. Anyways, there’s lots going on in
March, so I’ll quit justifying my negligence and
get into it.
Dubfounded, the residency committed
to servicing all of Calgary’s reggae and dub
music needs, returns on March 8 at Habitat
[Calgary], with this edition featuring Nelson’s
Dubconscious and Spain-born, Kelowna based
Bag-O-Beetz. The former is extremely active
in Canadian scene, performing at Shambhala
almost yearly and working with their nightclub
Bloom in Nelson, while the latter grew up in in
Venezuela surrounded by reggae, calypso, salsa,
soca and more. This duo plus locals Syntax and
Metafloor, will be sure to deliver a well-rounded
night of music.
Turntablist extraordinaire, and the man
behind festival Bastid’s BBQ Skratch Bastid will
be at Commonwealth on March 7 [Calgary].
Truly a “DJ’s DJ” he has been rocking versatile
sets for many years, and his skills are a serious
sight to behold.
One of Canada’s premier hip-hop artists
Atmosphere returns alongside Evidence, of
Dilated Peoples fame. The gig is on March 9 at
MacEwan Hall [Calgary].
On March 10 Flava D will tear things up at
The HiFi [Calgary] with support from all-star
locals Slim Pickins, BB Mars and Franky Dubs.
This London DJ, producer circumnavigates numerous
regions of house music, playing garage,
bassline and jackin’ and definitely knows how
to devastate dance floors.
Stanton Warriors will come out and play at
Nite Owl on March 16 [Calgary]. Since emerging
into the limelight with their award-winning
Stanton Sessions way back in 2001, the
Warriors have remained a consistent fixture in
rave culture, continually amping up their sound
while staying true to their breakbeat origins.
This next one was a huge announcement
from the True Rhythm crew: DJ Yella of NWA
and Lil Easy E, eldest son of the late Easy E
and CEO of NWA entertainment, will perform
at Dickens Pub on March 27 [Calgary]. Tickets
for this are already flying at time of writing,
and True Rhythm is also offering VIP meet and
greet packages giving fans the opportunity to
connect with two of hip-hop’s prolific artists.
Closing out the month of March on the 31
is a warm-up party for Vibrant Music Festival,
which takes place in June in the Columbia
Valley in British Columbia. Never to early to
gear up for festival season, so head on down
to The Nite Owl [Calgary] and catch Molly
Fi, Funkin Right, Ninjette and Robbie C. Attendees
will get the chance to buy discounted
tickets for the festival and two passes will
be given away to the person with the most
colourful outfit.
Despite taking last month off, I resolve to
continue consistently with my monthly musings
and assure you I will be back again next
month with my picks of some noteworthy
Calgary happenings. As always please hit me
up if you have some listings in mind. paul@
beatroute.ca
• Paul Rodgers
JUCY BEATROUTE • MARCH 2018 | 37