Cartel Madras/Leif Vollebekk
Cartel Madras
Age Of The Goonda // Sub Pop
Add sisters Bhagya and Priya Ramesh to the list of influential rappers, period. Better known by their stage names Eboshi and Contra, and as the duo Cartel Madras they have been taking the world by storm. Since touring last year their story has ended up in some big-name publications like VOGUE and Rolling Stone as well as recently being signed to Sup Pop. Age of The Goonda is their recently released second EP and is self-described as Goonda rap (Goonda is a term used in the Indian subcontinent for thug). Bhagya and Priya were born in Chennai, India and grew up in Calgary. Their second EP is a firestarter: radical, experimental and confident hip-hop with infectious rhymes. “Gold on my neck, I’m a goonda. Got guns in the air like a junta. Got white on the glass; it’s a pooja. I’m a sharp shootah, would you ever let a pretty thug come screw ya?” they rap on their dynamite single “Goonda Gold” with unapologetic Lil Kim vulgarity.
Cartel Madras is coming up revolutionary- for both their innovative sound and their contributions to the music industry. As queer women of colour they are using their success for the greater good by way of uplifting marginalized creatives and promoting platforms for women of colour and the LGBTQ community. You shouldn’t assume one story fits an entire group of people, yet a shared story can unite a group of people. Eboshi and Contra are masters of their own plot and they are smashing the echo chamber of the hip-hop world.
Cartel Madras is on tour now promoting Age of The Goonda. They are known for their live performance style and insurgent attitudes so be there or be square.
- Nicola Gunter
Leif Vollebekk
New Ways // Secret City
Leif Vollebekk was stumbling around the Canadian music scene for years before he broke out in 2017 with his Polaris Prize shortlisted album, Twin Solitude. Starting way back in 2010, he had garnered respect and admiration from his peers, but couldn’t seem to break into the Canadian mainstream. He very nearly gave up on music completely, thankfully for us, he wrote Twin Solitude and the rest is history.
Nearly three years after his break through, he is finally delivering the world the follow-up to that beautiful album. New Ways is said to be a companion piece to Twin Solitude; there are similarities but this release sees Vollebekk veering slightly into new territory with some subtle pop flourishes creeping into the mix. “Never Be Back” has a straight-forward and repetitive melody that Vollebekk sing/raps over; it has an ear worm chorus that will leave you singing for days. This addition of pop sensibilities is best executed on “Blood Brother” where a driving beat moves the song forward with an urgency we’ve not yet heard from Vollebekk. Although the infusion of a new style is exciting and brilliantly crafted, Vollebekk shines the brightest when he’s taking his time. The sprawling space he creates on “Transatlantic Flight” is sheer perfection. Perhaps the best songs this Montreal songwriter has ever written, it unapologetically takes its time to unfold. The song opens with simple piano and Vollebekk’s swooning voice; gentle percussion picks up and additional instrumentation slowly finds its way into the mix. Strings finally enter the song at the halfway point to offer a new depth not thought possible. As the song swirls and swoons, you expect it to explode in a massive crescendo but Vollebekk pulls back. In doing so, he pulls you in even deeper, and somehow grabs even more of your attention.
Twin Solitude provided Leif Vollebekk with a lofty measuring height, but on New Ways, he proves his previous album was no fluke and that he is one of the country’s best singer/songwriters.
- Jeff MacCallum
