Scene & Heard |
Decyphering Blakdenim
It didn’t take long for Ottawa’s Blakdenim to make a name for themselves in the city’s music scene. The elastic group — numbering from seven to 11 members over the years — mashes hip hop, R& B, and soul with jazz touches and occasional detours into rock territory. Their effusive fans refer to them as a Canadian version of The Roots. Since they formed in 2012, they’ve played the Montreal Jazz Festival, Le Festival d’été de Québec, Ottawa Bluesfest, and House of Paint. They’ve released two solid albums, Vanguard(en) and Complexus, and are working on a third. You can love them for their mad style on stage, the block-party vibe of their live shows, or their trenchant lyrics on race relations, GMOs, and the bad side of mainstream hip hop. Much like The Souljazz Orchestra does, Blakdenim are able to stir up solidarity with their soul and inspire rabble-rousing with their rhythm and blues.
“Hip hop, the kind consumed by the masses, does not offer a great message,” says lyricist and vocalist Precise Kenny Creole. “It’s a machine that is pushing out artists that are talking about consuming drugs, misogyny, and killing.” He adds that this commodified form of hip hop that glamourizes objectification can have a negative effect on the young and impressionable.
The band unpacks this issue in their single called “DeCypher,” one of Blakdenim’s darker tracks and a contrast to some of their more high-energy offerings. They cycle through a lot of sounds thanks to a large cast that melds classical and contemporary styles.
In a guitar town such as Ottawa, live hip hop with a brass section stands out. See Blakdenim on May 12, when they’ll fill the Rainbow Bistro stage. Tour-hardy and beard-heavy is Ben Caplan, along with his band, The
Casual Smokers. They cross the country and dip into Europe frequently, bringing their ratcheted-up East Coast folk and badass bluegrass into communities large and small. Caplan and crew head to the
Shenkman Arts Centre on April 7.
Not much on Lisa LeBlanc’s new album, called Why You Wanna Leave, Runaway
Queen?, is couched in metaphor. There’s the tune “Dump the Guy ASAP” and “I Ain’t Perfect, Babe.” It’s a collection of rollicking, unsubtle, foot-stomping guitar tunes the New Brunswick musician calls “folk trash.” April 8, Bronson Centre Theatre.
The Wedding Present is often anointed cult status in the way of other misery-mining U.K. acts. Like a slightly less dreary Joy Division, they’ve offered pathos, whimsy, dry wit, experimental noise, blistering rhythm guitars, angst, and consistently unpredictable twists and turns since they formed in 1985. It’ll be a celebratory occasion when the band makes its way to Zaphod
Beeblebrox on April 18.