M.aking C.onnections
Bass reverberates through the trees, audio aurora borealis painting the starry sky on a hot summer night. Vinyl connoisseur Jayzen discovers femcee Rebecca Dawn the moment she steps to the microphone and freestyle raps to his selection. The chemistry is instant, and within weeks the duo has formed the Hip Hop crew ContraVerse Collective, bursting onto the scene in Calgary, Alberta, a city with a burgeoning and vibrant - if often poorly understood - Hip Hop and Electronic music scene. Momentum builds in the underground as like-minded individuals coalesce into entities of extreme party dimensions. This album represents the transformational journey of creating music within a multicultural, unpredictable, constantly collaborative and endlessly expansive landscape.
Rebecca Dawn and Jayzen (now representing the Girls on Decks DJ Collective and B.ring Y.our O.wn V.inyl, respectively, as well as the Party Quest Crew and the Freestylimpics, collectively), demonstrate their passion for vintage sounds and also their obsession with new musical styles on this project. Jayzen is present throughout the album as a producer and vocal engineer for Ms. Dawn, as well as the beat-maker for Track #10 “Say Hey!” And Track #11 “Sleng Ting”. Also featuring a plethora of funk-infused YYC favourites of the underground, and production by Brotherman, Teekay, Whatevski and Rubix.
Influences include: Bonobo, No Doubt, Jurassic 5, Blackalicious, Common, Lyrics Born, Dragon Fli Empire, The Weeknd, Pretty Lights, People Under the Stairs, RJD2, Sargeant & Comrade, and Lauryn Hill.