ATSIC S06E02 - Stand Up
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Below this write-up, you’ll find the track list, complete with artists and their hometowns. You can listen here and follow along, or if you’re using the Mixcloud app, hit the “…” to check out the track list while you listen.
A monumental change to ATSIC going forward, starting with this episode, will be a 100 percent Canadian content rating. The show is named after a Ghostface song, and for the first 5 seasons I started every episode with a new Wutang track, something with a feature from one of the members. It amazed me to some degree that I was able to maintain that without running out of new Wu to buy and play, but any time the vault would get close to running dry, Method Man would strike again. I’ll miss those intro tracks, but it’s time I ditch the caveate and just go completely Canadian start to finish every week. I’m sure plenty of other shows have done full Canadian episodes, but I’m unfamiliar with any that have went a full season at peak canuck capacity playing new music every week. If that’s a thing, someone point me to it, and I’d be grateful.
A bonus effect of ditching the Wu intro tracks is that I’ll now get the chance to pick the first track on mixes DJ Dice does, like this episode this week. There are times when I send 3 hours worth of unplayed songs to Dice and he sends me back a 52 minute mix, but it’s sometimes missing a key track I would have played if I was choosing them myself. Now I have a failsafe pick at the start of every episode for me to play something I really think needs playing that week. If, for instance, I interview Lord Juco at the end of the episode for Fly In Formation, we should probably have some of his music somewhere in the mix that week. Now I can make sure we will. This week it worked out and Dice picked a Juco track - a feature he did on a beat by someone named SB11 titled “Take It Or Leave It”. That meant I got to pick something else to lead the episode with for the inaugural “Pick of the Spitters” placement at the start of the episode.
Kicking this one off was Touch 182, who I’ve called my favourite Edmonton emcee before. This new single, “It’s A Good Life” hits the nail on the head topically, and in a timely fashion. The tariffs might be a big distraction while he sacks his countries treasury or whatever else, but either way, I’m agreeing with everything Touch has to say on this one. I had been sort of disgusted by the lack of outrage being voiced in Hip Hop after Musk seig heiled, and this fills the gap. As he says at the end, Touch is “the opposite of what Snoop is.” And I’m thankful for it. He probably would have sent it over if I’d have asked him for it, but I was happy to fork over 5 bucks for this track on Bandcamp. If you wait til Feb 7 to buy, Bandcamp is donating it’s portion to California fire relief funds.
There’s a bunch of other great music in this week’s mix, and DJ Dice got busy doing what he does best, including a nice intro of some of the artist drops we’ve collected shouting us out over the years. I might come back to this and write more, but for now, check the playlist below or on Mixcloud and enjoy the music. Leave a comment here or on Mixcloud and let me know what you thought of the picks this week.
Fly in Formation is soaring along in standard style. There was one interview that fell through in the first month, but that’s no big deal. This week I talked with Lord Juco, and for now, Mixcloud is the only place to listen to it in audio only podcast format. Lord Juco is one of the sharpest lyricists in the country by my estimate, and I had a great time chopping it up with him on this episode. Tune in every Tuesday for interviews with artists across the country as I learn more about local scenes and artists creative processes, talking to artists we play regularly on ATSIC. Wednesday Feb 5 at 7pm MST I talk to Dialect Sosa, a Niagra Falls emcee with a really dope new album called “. We’ll talk about that and a bunch of other important stuff. Come through, hit subscribe on Twitch, skip the ads, and chat live while we stream.
I buy every track I play on ATSIC unless it’s sent to me directly. Streaming barely pays, so it’s essential to support indie artists by buying their music, tickets, or merch to keep them creating. Listening to #ATSIC on Mixcloud is free for you, and makes sure that each song you hear pays the artist at least SOMETHING. Spotify pays 0.006 CAD per stream, and only if the song hits 1000 plays in 3 months. Assuming a song gets 1000 spins, that means it takes around 125 Spotify plays to earn an artist the same .76 cents they earn from my 1.29 cent purchase on iTunes.
Shows like After the Smoke is Clear also need support. If you appreciate discovering new music without the algorithms, or if you appreciate my efforts to get indie artists music in more ears, consider donating via PayPal to help me buy the tracks and keep the show going. Every dollar helps indie artists and ATSIC alike.
If you can’t donate, that’s cool—just spread the word! Shoutout to everyone already supporting financially, by sharing the show, or by coming through in comments and chat to help build community.
Stay up.
