ATSIC S05E14 - Spring

First signs of actual plant growth hit this week, so we brought some heat on this weeks episode as well.

My Wu Tang well hath run dry for the first time in a long time, so I had to go back to an unplayed track from 2023 for a change in order to maintain the honourary Wu starter track tradition. I’m not sure where this “Claudine” track came from, but it’s a somber remembrance of people we’ve lost on a Mathematics beat featuring a soulful hook from Nicole Bus. Ghostface and Method Man both do verses. The new Ghostface album and a new drop from Intell should replenish the Wu Tang stash a little bit for the coming weeks.

Then it’s onto all Canadians for the remainder of this weeks DJ Dice mix. We’ve got new new across the map.

I’m behind the schedule writing this, so I’m not going to do a full breakdown of the tracks this week, but check below for a spreadsheet with the full track list and locations of artists.

A couple of my favourites here were Switch linking up with Stoupe (who he has a full album with) and Slaine for “One Step Closer”; Dan-e-o’s new single “Like We” featuring Blessed on a reggae flavoured bop mocking the perpetually online fake emcee that paid ads rather than paying dues; Danny Miles calling on Shad for some really clever bars on jazz jam “That’s All, That’s It”; “Subhuman” where the Swollen Members reassemble and Madchild takes me back to my early teen years without saying any particularly grandiose bars; Asun Eastwood & Wizdome Bunitall re-upping on Glow XL, this time with NY’s Bub Styles delivering gritty bars alongside them; The Emsee polishing his metaphor skills on “The Custodian”; and several cuts featuring B1 the Architect flexing his constant lyrical quality - “Way of the Ronin” with Spade, and a smooth collab with Mxntis on “Crusin’”. There’s a bunch of other dope shit too, we only play music I like on #ATSIC.

If you want to know what I thought about the individual songs, there’s a Making of #ATSIC stream posted below where I sat yelling on this episode. The more people come through to chat with me the better those will be, so come through on Twitch for the next one.

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This episode is followed by another exciting episode of Fly in Formation where I catch up with Lethbridge’s local legend Javier Escuela, who has a new album coming soon. Check the FiF playlist for an archive of all the past guests.

Every week, I buy every song I play, unless the artist sent it to me, saving me a buck. I believe in buying music to support independent artists. Making music is time-consuming and expensive. Streaming doesn’t pay much at all, and since streaming has become the way most people consume music, it’s even more important to make sure to buy tickets, buy music (physical or digital), and buy merch from artists you want to hear more from. Streaming pays next to nothing, so if you want artists working on more music instead of working more shifts at their day job, you need to show them love by opening your wallet and giving them financial support.

Season 3 of my interview series Fly in Formation is soaring along smoothly and I’m double booking June. The most up to date schedule is posted below and June’s schedule will go online as soon as I have it. I’m trying to accelerate the momentum with twice weekly live streamed interviews next month, adding Saturdays to the regular rotation for a month to build up some extra content and take some time off in the summer. Make sure to hit follow on Twitch or subscribe so you don’t have to watch the ad breaks during interviews too. I love seeing the community pop up in chat to say hi during interviews.

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