Pocket Dwellers

Last updated
Pocket Dwellers
Origin Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Genres Hip hop
Years active1996 (1996)present
Labels Blue Note
MembersDennis Passley
Nigel Williams
John Griffith
Marco Raposo
Gord Shields
Christian McKibbin
Sheldon Moore

The Pocket Dwellers are a Canadian seven-member experimental hip-hop group from the Toronto area. [1] The band's main genre is hip-hop, but their music is influenced by jazz, funk, soul and breakbeat.

Contents

History

The Pocket Dwellers began forming together in 1996. That year the band performed at EdgeFest in Toronto. [2] In 1999 the band performed in Hamilton as part of Showcase '99. [3]

The Pocket Dwellers released their first full-length record in 2000 after they signed a recording deal with Song Corp, and a second album, Digitally Organic, later that year. [4] Song Corp went bankrupt in early 2001, leaving the second album with no promotion. [5]

The next release was the album recorded live during sold out performances at a club in Toronto called the Reverb. The recording was released under Urbnet records.

In 2005 they signed with Blue Note/EMI and released PD-Atrics. The recording was more hip hop based and involved less live instrumentation than had been employed in the past. [6] In 2006 the band was nominated for a Juno award for best new group. [7] [8]

Members

guest musicians:

Discography

Albums

  1. Limited Edition - EP (1998)
  2. Digitally Organic (August 29, 2002) [10]
  3. Lifecheck (August 19, 2003)
  4. PD-Atrics (October 4, 2005)
  5. Conception: The Mix Tape Volume 2 (2005)

Related Research Articles

Dream Warriors were a Canadian hip hop duo from Toronto, Ontario, comprising King Lou and Capital Q. Described as "a pair of deft, intelligent rappers" by John Bush of AllMusic, they were major contributors to the jazz rap movement of the early 1990s. Their 1991 debut album, And Now the Legacy Begins, was cited by Bush as one of the finest alternative hip hop records of the golden era. Before the release of their second album Subliminal Simulation in 1994, the duo became a group with the addition of rapper Spek and DJ Luv. In 1996, they released a third album, The Master Plan, before the two new members left the group a year later. Though their subsequent releases did not garner similar commercial success as their debut, the duo released a well-received greatest hits album in 1999. Their final album, The Legacy Continues..., was released in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bootsauce</span> Canadian rock band

Bootsauce was a Juno Award-winning Canadian rock band based in Montreal. The band was composed of Drew Ling (vocals), Pere Fume (guitar), Sonny Greenwich Jr. (guitar), Alan Baculis, and John "Fatboy" Lalley (drums). Their style combined soul, funk and metal sounds. Two of their albums, The Brown Album and Bull achieved Gold status in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ivana Santilli</span> Canadian musical artist

Ivana Daniela Santilli is a Canadian R&B singer and multi-instrumentalist, who has recorded as a solo artist and as a member of the 1990s R&B/pop trio Bass is Base.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Roberts (singer-songwriter)</span> Canadian singer-songwriter

Sam Roberts is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter who has released seven albums. His debut EP The Inhuman Condition, reached the Canadian charts in 2002. He and his bandmates have released three albums as Sam Roberts and four albums as Sam Roberts Band. He is also a member of Canadian group Anyway Gang, who released their debut self-titled album in 2019. Roberts has been nominated, together with his band, for fifteen Juno Awards, winning six, including Artist of the Year twice and Album of the Year once (2004).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Rodeo</span> Canadian country rock band

Blue Rodeo is a Canadian country rock band formed in 1984 in Toronto, Ontario. They have released 16 full-length studio albums, four live recordings, one greatest hits album, and two video/DVDs, along with multiple solo albums, side projects, and collaborations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bran Van 3000</span> Canadian music group

Bran Van 3000 is a Canadian alternative rock and hip hop collective from Montreal, Quebec. Founded by James Di Salvio and E.P. Bergen, they collaborated on a number of songs with Stéphane Moraille, Sara Johnston, Steve "Liquid" Hawley, Jayne Hill, Jean Leloup, Kim Bingham, Pierre-Luc Cerat and many other musicians.

King Cobb Steelie is a Canadian indie rock band formed in 1991 from Guelph, Ontario, and later based in Toronto. The band's most successful single was 1997's "Rational", from the album Junior Relaxer. Their music fuses elements of punk, grunge, funk, jazz and dance. The core of the band is singer/songwriter Kevan Byrne and bassist Kevin Lynn. A variety of other collaborators, including Sam Cino, Al Okada, Gary Dutch, Geoff Walton, Steve Clarkson, Mike Armstrong, Nathan Lawr, Don Pyle and Michelle McAdorey, have contributed to individual albums.

Joydrop is a Canadian alternative rock band active in the late 1990s and early 2000s from Toronto, Ontario. The band reunited in 2017. The band consists of vocalist Tara Slone, guitarist Thomas Payne, bassist Tom McKay, and drummer Tony Rabalao.

The Watchmen are a Canadian rock band. They were one of the most commercially successful bands in Canada in the mid to late 1990s. During their peak years, the band had one platinum record and three more gold records. The band has toured Canada a number of times, were the opening act for The Tragically Hip, and co-headlined a national tour with Big Wreck.

Len is a Canadian alternative rock duo based in Toronto, Ontario. The band consists of siblings Marc Costanzo and Sharon Costanzo and a revolving lineup of touring and studio musicians. The group is best known for their 1999 single "Steal My Sunshine".

One to One was a Canadian pop music group formed in 1984 in Ottawa, Ontario. They later changed their name to One 2 One. The duo released three albums and produced ten hits on Canadian charts between 1985 and 1992.

Warsawpack was a Canadian experimental rap rock group based in Hamilton, Ontario. The band's music fuses hip hop, jazz, dub, groove and rock. The band's songs contained mostly politically charged lyrics that critiqued Western consumerism and neo-colonialism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kardinal Offishall</span> Canadian rapper and record producer (born 1976)

Jason Drew Harrow, better known by his stage name Kardinal Offishall, is a Canadian rapper and record producer. Often credited as Canada's "hip hop ambassador", he has been regarded as one of the country's most prominent hip hop producers during the 2000s and is distinctive for his reggae and dancehall-influenced style of hip hop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bass is Base</span> Canadian R&B music group

Bass is Base was a Canadian R&B group based in North York, Ontario.

Kareem Blake, better known by his stage name Choclair, is a Canadian rapper. He was one of the most successful Canadian rappers in Canada in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Choclair has been nominated for six Juno Awards, winning four.

Serial Joe was a Canadian rock band from Newmarket, Ontario which consisted of high school students Ryan Dennis, Ryan Stever (guitar), John Davidson, Dan Stadnicki (drums) and Jamie Fulcher. The group released four studio albums.

D-Cru was a Canadian R&B music group formed in Vancouver, consisting of singers Nicole Hutton, Tito Chipman, Craig Smart, Damien Kyles and Aimee Mackenzie.

Jenny Whiteley is a Canadian country and folk singer-songwriter. She was a member of the band Heartbreak Hill, and released several solo albums of folk music. She has won two Juno Awards for her music.

The Carlton Showband is a Canadian musical group of the Irish genre. Formed in Brampton, Ontario in November 1963, the band initially named themselves the Carlton Danceband in reference to Toronto's Carlton Street where Maple Leaf Gardens was located.

Too Bad to Be True, or TBTBT, was a Canadian hip hop group, based in Toronto, Ontario, active in the 1990s. They were best known for their 1993 album One Track Mind, which won the Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year at the 1994 Juno Awards. The group consisted of teenagers Jeromy "Lyric J" Robinson, Shaka "DJ Shaka" Dodd, Al "Al C" Cox, and Frankie "MC Styles" Scarcelli.

References

  1. Larry LeBlanc (30 December 2000). "Song Corp launches Foreplay". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 91–. ISSN   0006-2510.
  2. "Pocket Dwellers Tour Canada & The States" [usurped] . Chart Attack, Aug 9, 2001.
  3. "Live Reviews: Ivana Santilli, Pocket Dwellers, Dream Warriors August 20-22, 1999 Showcase '99, Hamilton" [usurped] . Chart Attack, Shawn Despres, August 22, 1999
  4. "CD REVIEWS: U2, Pocket Dwellers, Blur, Godsmack and many more." [usurped] . Chart Attack, October 31, 2000 By: Debbie Bento
  5. "Bankruptcy leaves industry reeling". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 26 May 2001. pp. 50–. ISSN   0006-2510.
  6. "The Sum of Pocket Dwellers' Parts". Exclaim!. By Susana Ferreira, Jan 01, 2006
  7. "Nickelback leads in Juno nominations". CBC Arts Feb 15, 2006
  8. "Pocket Dwellers come into their own". By MARK DANIELL -- For JAM! Music, February 28, 2006
  9. "Pocket Dwellers find new horizons". Queens University Journal, September 27, 2005
  10. "Pocket Dwellers Digitally Organic". Exclaim!, By Del F. Cowie. Dec 01, 2000