Kalo/Are-tis-tik (6)

Kalo has been a formally educated musician since early childhood. He studied piano from ages seven to eleven, the organ from eleven to fifteen and the guitar from fifteen to nineteen, laying the foundation for his production career. Kalo became enamored with hiphop and rap in his early teens and decided to express his passion for music through DJing. He purchased his first turntables at fourteen- two plastic belt-driven turntables, a GLI house mixer and Stanton needles with toonies placed on the needles to keep them from skipping. In 1997, under the name DJ Trek, he release his first cassette entitled Underground Versus Mainstream. Kalo began performing to large audiences at various venues such as house parties, school events as well as a capacity show at Saskatoon’s legendary ‘Jazz Basement’ with punk band DFA in 1998. That same year Kalo released his second cassette Untitled Gem. In 1999, Kalo purchased professional DJing equipment and began working on his first professionally pressed album under the alias DJ Are-tis-tik. In 2000 he released the album Trektistik, garnering tremendous public support and increasing his fan base in the local scene. In 2001, Kalo decided to take his musical ambitions to Canada’s hiphop epicenter Vancouver. He began battling in local competitions against DMC regional champs and legends such as DJ Wundrkut, Plus Scratch and G-nus. In 2003 he returned to Saskatoon to form the group Lyr-x-st with Atrium (Scott Bihari) and Aposle (Giustino Garcea). Lyr-x-ist released it first cd entitled Lyriks Exist in November 2003, creating a buzz around the city for its unique sound. Lyr-x-ist headlined various events and venues around Saskatoon such as the Odeon Events Centre and the Jazz Basement. Lyr-x-ist first public performance was headlining a fashion show. IN August 2004, Lyr-xist released its first professionally pressed sophomore album entitled The Krossing. Lyr-x-ist released the album to a capacity crowd at the Odeon Events Centre in March 2005. Opening for Lyr-X-ist was ‘Dro’ of Canadian rap group ‘Rezofficial’. To date this show remains one of the largest local talent hiphop shows in Saskatchewan history, and made the Odeon a respectable hiphop venue. In the summer of 2005, Are-tis-tik, Atrium and Aposle, moved to Calgary to record their third studio album. Within 30 days they had recorded 32 songs. In August 2005, they released half of these songs on Chapter one: Riders of the North. This album received critical acclaim and international recognition in German magazines, being compared to fellow Canadian recording artists Swollen Members. Lyr-x-ist performed several shows in Saskatoon to promote the album at the Odeon Events Centre and Jazz Basement. In 2005 Are-tis-tik was approached by producers from the National Film Board to work on a film for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). The producers learned of Are-tis-tik’s work through his website, noting his creative style and production techniques as desirable musical qualities. The producers asked him to recreate an Arican Anthem and an old Western Song which would be the musical foundation for the documentary. In December 2006 he signed the contracts and began working on the documentary 24 Days in Brooks about social cohesion and ethnic diversity in the town of Brooks. Are-tis-tik was exposed to professional production technique working along side the films, directors, engineers, and singer Lynn Olagundoye. Are-tis-tik worked directly with Lynn, recording her vocals, and arranging the tracks. The film was screened at the Calgary Film Festival in Septemeber 2003 and premiered on the CBC series ‘The Lens’ on January 29th 2008. The director Dana Inkster and NFP producer Bonnie Thompson considered working with Are-tis-tik to be a “great success.” In 2006 Are-tis-tik was approached by Alberta based hiphop group Intricate Minds to handle the DJing and some production tasks. In 2007 the group released its first record ‘Self Hypnosis’ featuring Detroit’s Pacewon,, Hezekiah (Collaborated with ‘The Roots’ and signed to Rawkus Records) Oh No (Producer/Emcee, son of soul legend Otis Jackson, signed to Stones Throw Records). In May 2007, Intricate minds was approached by Rawkus records and signed a one-year Distribution and Marketing deals as part of the Rawkus 50 campaign, featuring the 50 hottest independent hiphop groups out. In November 2007, Rawkus digitally released ‘Self Hypnosis’ to various internet based organizations such as Itunes and Napster as well as respected hiphop magazines such as Scratch and XXL. Are-tis-tik is currently working with Lyr-x-ist on their fifth studio album, which will be independently promoted internationally. Less