Category: Features

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Rob Crooks :: Breaking boundaries with Hearts


By Kent Davies

Rob Crooks has been a music making machine since the fourth grade. He’s been rapping, battling, making beats and sampling before he even hit high school. He’s been an integral part of Winnipeg’s burgeoning hip-hop scene, having a hand in everything from collaborating with Pip Skid on his Skid Row album, to ripping up the stage with rap-act The Fucking Retards, to writing the bulk of Magnum K.I.’s acclaimed debut album. Whether he’s rapping in viral videos about Jets games or posting the next fresh piece of local music as a contributor on the witchpolice blog, there’s a chance you’ve been exposed to the infectious creative prowess of Rob Crooks. However, unlike his previous projects, his solo debut EP Hearts doesn’t fit in the realm of conventional hip hop. Armed with drum machines, samplers, keys and a commanding growl, he’s managed to redefine himself with a solo sound that can’t be pinned down. Combining groove-laden soundscapes and ferocious lo-fi post punk, Crooks has managed to create an EP that appeals to an audience beyond the hip-hop community. Recently Stylus interviewed Crooks before his EP launch at the Lo Pub on March 15. Continue reading “Rob Crooks :: Breaking boundaries with Hearts”
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Frank Turner – No Rest For the Wicked


by Sheldon Birnie

Frank Turner is a hard-traveling, hard-rocking English folk singer. His latest release, England Keep My Bones (Epitaph) is full of tunes about love, politics, and rock-n-roll. With another stop in Winnipeg on the horizon (Turner played to a packed crowd at the West End in October), Stylus caught up with the busy troubadour over the phone on a tour stop in Boston. Continue reading “Frank Turner – No Rest For the Wicked”

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Hillbilly Highway – Overnight to Albuquerque

by Sheldon Birnie

With the news a couple weeks back that Neil Young & Crazy Horse will be releasing a new album, titled Americana, a wave of excitement began to build inside of me. While I’m a big fan of much of Neil’s overall oeuvre, for me his work with Crazy Horse stands above and beyond his other collaborations, and beside or beyond his best solo work. This is real exciting news out here on the Hillbilly Highway, friends. Big time. Continue reading “Hillbilly Highway – Overnight to Albuquerque”