Stars Islands Unicorns |
Somewhere between the honeymaker cadences of hip hop and spiralling syncopations of klezmer is a musical territory exclusive to one man, so-called. State it simple and Socalled is a hip hop innovator, a blender of traditions new and old, a deliverer of gestures blistering and bold. Inspired by the like-spirited traditions of hip hop and klezmer, by musics that reference and reanimate, Socalled plunders forgotten gold from the long-ignored archives of Jewish, Balkan, and African American sounds. He recasts these in a fresh vernacular of clashing rhythms, floor-pounding beats and wit-whimsical rhyme. His lines are unpredictable and instinctive. Following the true paths cut by hip hop’s pioneering syncretists and klezmer’s secular spiritualism, Socalled distils a sound that spans the divide of tradition and invention, that is both lyrically acute and full of wonderment, and that, finally, is as infectiously immediate as the latest Scott Storch joint. Socalled is a musician, photographer, magician and writer based in Montreal. He was born Josh Dolgin in Ottawa, Ontario and raised just north, in Chelsea, Quebec. As a kid he was always in musicals and drew cartoons for the Ottawa Citizen. He hated soccer. He was bribed by his mother to continue piano lessons until high school, then he picked up the accordion. He wrote for the newspaper and played in any kind of band – salsa, gospel, rock, funk – then discovered MIDI and hip hop. He worked with rappers, he made madd beats, he got into studios. He graduated from McGill and made a 50 minute animated film for the Canada Council, meanwhile writing for Hour Magazine and performing. He has now appeared on a dozen recordings as pianist, singer, arranger, rapper, writer and producer. He rocks the machine with David Krakauer’s Klezmer Madness!, sings in the Toronto-based Beyond the Pale, performs with home-base band Shtreiml in Montreal and with the LA-based Aleph Project.
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