An artist known for weaving compelling personal narratives with his sparse, beautiful production style, soso has become a fixture of the avant-garde hip hop/art rap movement. An artist, writer and beatsmith from Saskatchewan, Canada, his music is unapologetic and decidedly home-made.
Cutting his production teeth on a vintage Akai S900 sampler, soso has been knocking out distinctive beats with that low end thump since the mid 90’s. Lifting old drums and melodic bits from his expansive (and expanding) collection of used vinyl, soso has been chopping and assembling beats, developing his unique sound and earning the respect of the independent hip hop community.
A capable writer, his sincere lyrics have been embraced by hip hop heads and the music savvy alike. Informed by culture and place, soso spins narratives that interweave family and social histories with landscape and weather. His songs are personal and refreshingly honest.
In 1999, soso established Clothes Horse Records as a vehicle to develop and disseminate his unique musical vision. A number of successful releases followed and in 2002, soso dropped birthday songs — a collection of well crafted songs characterized by beautiful, haunting beats and poignant lyrics. Birthday songs asserted itself as one the finest productions of the year, capturing a nomination for Outstanding Rap/Hip Hop Recording at the 2003 Western Canadian Music Awards.
His third self-produced release, tenth street and clarence is a beautiful, poetic effort. The album is enjoying the support of Canadian College Radio, charting regularly in the top ten and grabbing top spot on the Earshot Canadian College Radio hip hop charts in September! tenth street and clarence has also garnered international attention with releases in Japan and Germany on Hue Records and Subversiv respectively.
In an ongoing effort to privilege experimentation and risk, soso adopted a collaborative approach for his latest production. Enlisting the talents of his friend, tour-mate and indie-rock darling, Maybe Smith, Tinfoil on the Windows is the most musically ambitious and creative soso release to date.
soso delivers fragile vocal melodies and close, confessional lyrics over an assemblage of field recordings, electronic bleeps, programmed drums and sprawling instrumentation evocative of My Bloody Valentine and Do Make Say Think. Additional contributions from Maki and Scott Da Ros add punch to the lovely melodic soundscapes. Tinfoil on the Windows challenges typical genre conventions and soso treads this unfamiliar ground with crafty song writing and integrity.
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