The Ballantynes (photo: Laurin Thompson)
Celebrating its seventh birthday this year, Rifflandia Music Festival is now firmly established as a west coast powerhouse of a festival. Sprawling across the downtown core of Victoria, BC over four days and featuring over 150 bands, Rifflandia caters to all ages and varieties of music-lover, always delivering a diverse, far-reaching lineup. This year is no different, and the folks behind the festival have also gathered massive names like Death Cab for Cutie, Zed’s Dead, Girl Talk and Danny Brown. But, really, the fun of any festival is looking down the list a little more and digging up something new and, with that in mind, we bring you five of the acts that we’re most looking forward to grooving to at this year’s Rifflandia.
Sims (of Doomtree)
As one of the founding members of the Minneapolis hip-hop collective Doomtree, Sims’ career is a testament to the DIY aesthetic that’s driven true underground rap music for years. From helping to create a label and hustling discs with his Doomtree peers because of a lack of label interest, to shunning those same labels out of the desire to stay true to the mission, Sims has been a vital part of the second major wave of grassroots hip-hop to come out of Minnesota (after the legendary Rhymesayers) since the early 2000s. Tapping into what he calls “an infinite pool of information” is how Sims has built his hip-hop career. He’ll make you think and point out tons of fucked up stuff around you, but he’ll make you move and feel better while he’s doing it.
Neon Steve
The evolution of British Columbia DJ Neon Steve has been wondrous to behold. A dude spinning fairly generic sounding funk beats just a few years ago, Neon Steve has quickly transformed himself into a serious, unique breaks DJ. His last two primetime sets at the Shambhala Music Festival (both of which are available for streaming or download through his Soundcloud) have firmly established his cred as a DJ with his own approach to a particularly saturated genre. A Victoria native, Neon Steve’s set is sure to be a funk-tacular homecoming for one of the city’s finest during its biggest week of music of the year.
The Ballantynes
For a band with such a limited catalogue of releases (three 7’’ singles and one EP so far), the Ballantynes kick a whole lot of ass. Storming out of Vancouver with their self-described “garage soul,” the Ballantynes have established themselves as one of the most unique, thrilling bands on Canada’s west coast. A seven-member group, complete with the requisite horns, the Ballantynes have the ability to lay back in the groove, all silky and smooth, or come at the audience with a massive wall of soul that never fails to get the crowd moving. The group’s appearance at last year’s Rifflandia was a left-field highlight, and I can only imagine that a year of aging could have only helped the group’s evolution.
Latyrx
Last year, under the cover of darkness, with way too little fanfare, Lyrics Born and Lateef the Truth Speaker finally reconvened to release a follow-up to their legendary debut Latyrx record, The Album, the duo’s first in 16 years. That record, titled The Second Album, is a timely, innovative piece of hip-hop art that’s as progressive and forward-thinking as the two west-coast legends that created it. It doesn’t matter if the duo is tackling consumer debt (“It’s Time”), gun control (“Reload”) or even just spitting dope-sounding nonsense (“Deliberate Gibberish”), Lateef and Lyrics Born are as on-point as ever. The Album has been a staple of my listening diet for a decade and a half and my excitement for a Latyrx live set knows few bounds.
Hilltop Hoods
After hitting a home run last year with Bliss & Eso, organizers of Rifflandia goes back to the well down under and brings Australia’s reigning hip-hop kings, Hilltop Hoods, to grace their stage. With their newest record Walking under Stars, the Hoods continue to prove that they are among the most eloquent, thoughtful MCs around, no matter their country of origin. The classicist hip-hop beats they tend to favour provide the perfect setting for their insightful wordplay that can range from truly emotional (“Through The Dark” details the shaky birth of a little Hood) to utterly bizarre and fun (“Cosby Sweater” contains some monumental silliness over one of the most thrilling beats you’re likely to hear this year).
Rifflandia Music Festival takes place in Victoria, BC on September 11-14, 2014.
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