The Freshest featured on Vancouver is Awesome

Shout out to our good friends The Freshest for their featured interview on our other close friend Bob K’s site, Vancouver is Awesome. Take a second to read through the interview and find out what the guys have been up to, where to see them play, and what is coming up for the Freshest Dj’s in Vancouver. Thanks to JOEL LEVY for putting this one together.

“If you are from Vancouver and listen to hip hop then you probably know this week’s guests well. The Freshest are a 4 piece DJ crew that includes DJs Kutcorners, Rico Uno, Seko, and Marvel. As far back as I can remember going out in Vancouver these guys have been playing the go-to spots for hip hop. Nights such as Lucy Mae Browns and Re-Up are still talked about and referenced as formative events in regards to shaping the current scene. This past year has seen these artists move into a bigger spotlight with many new opportunities available. One of these opportunities was to play a set with all four members at the Redbull Threestyle Championships that took place in December. They are also creating a bigger audience for themselves by producing Live-Set music videos. The first of which has now been released starring Marvel and Kutcorners. I got to ask them a few questions about what they do.”

DJing has most popularly been known as a solo act. Explain the idea behind The Freshest Crew.

We were all regulars at hip-hop shows and parties in Vancouver and quickly became friends through a common love of music.  From there it was only natural for us to want to work on music and throw parties together.  It was clear that with the four of us we would have a bigger reach when we threw our first weekly party, Higher Ground.  Each of us had complimentary specialties around and beyond our hip-hop backgrounds making it an easy fit for us to come together musically.

How did you all meet each other?

Aside from seeing each other at shows around the city, we all would gather at Beat Street Records (shout out to Avi Shack!) during the past days of mandatory record-buying.  At the time (around 2005) Seko and Marvel were deejaying together at Get Up Get Down Fridays at Tokyo Lounge while Kutcorners was deejaying the front room with Paul Devro at Get Some Fridays at Shine.  Rico was the new guy who worked at the record store, did a radio show called Rhymes and Reasons on CITR 101.9FM and sometimes deejayed with a weird program called Serato.  We would all play basketball at False Creek together a couple times a week, and it all just grew from there.

What was it like for you playing the Redbull Threestyle World Finals event with the whole crew?

It was awesome! We definitely wanted to challenge ourselves and raise the bar of our performance to match the magnitude of the week-long event. Our ideas during rehearsals at the School of Mix laid the groundwork for what would become the live sets.  Also, it felt great to play for such a receptive audience while representing Vancouver for an international event of that scale.

How did the live set video come into the making?

The live set video was an extension of the showcase we prepared for the Red Bull Thre3style competition.  It started out as jamming on synthesizers, drum machines, and turntables at Marvel’s studio and quickly turned into an exercise in developing a new approach to deejaying and performance. Check the first set here.

Any other videos planned? Ideas for future videos?

We’ve got a new one in the works right now, details soon…

What is the arrangement you have with Aritzia? How did it start? and tell us about the newest release you will put out with them.

Our relationship with Aritzia started in 2008 with Rico Uno playing in-store sets at the Robson location and fashion shows.  He would release one of the first in their mix series, Whirly Pop and later Re-Up 4 Aritzia.  In February 2011 the Aritzia team was in NYC to open their SoHo location when they came to Brooklyn where our whole Freshest crew was playing at The Rub .  This naturally led to our first crew mix for Aritzia, released last week, called Spring Fling.  This new mix includes our original production and artists such as Breakbot, A$ap Rocky, Cassie, and Gang of Four.
SPRING FLING
WHIRLY POP 2
RE-UP 4 ARITZIA
WHIRLY POP

Who are your favourite Vancouverites?

Michael J. Fox, Gman & Rizk, Vikram Vij, Ken Lum, Sincerely Hana, Chris and Gary Bone / Livestock family, U-Tern, Rhek, Mark Brand, Martini (Dipt), Hedspin, David Suzuki, Calen Knauf, Rodney Graham, M!G!H!, Devro Bros, Kildare, Niña Mendoza, Dan Climan, Cam Macleod, Jeff Wall, Jay Swing, Kemo, Flipout, Tyler Fedchuck, Brian Hill.

Why Vancouver?

Vancouver’s diversity is so important to what we do musically and how we came together as a group. Obviously Vancouver is one of the most beautiful places in the world and we are so lucky to have people here that are receptive and supportive of what we do as a crew.

Check out the different weekly residencies that the guys hold down below:

Friday – Happy Ending at Fortune Sound Club
Friday – HousexGuest
Friday – Rad Times at The Astoria
Saturday – El Segundo at The Ascot
Saturday – Glory Days at The Biltmore
Sunday – Good Life / Sunday Reggae at Republic
Monday –  Hip Hop Karaoke at Fortune Sound Club (Monthly)
Tuesday – Tuesdays at Celebrities
Wednesday – Me & U at The Waldorf Hotel
Thursday – Skate Night At Garfs (Whistler) (Monthly)

Check them out:
thefreshest.ca
soundcloud
youtube
vimeo
twitter

VANS OTW Featuring the 2012 Advocates

Check this video of the recent Vans OTW event held in Berlin during the Bread & Butter tradeshow. Vans invited not only their latest advocates, including Lupe Fiasco, but also brought along Mos Def to perform as they took the stage in front of hundreds of fans. Check out some of our recent Vans OTW additions and other Vans kicks here.

OTW-Berlin from Off The Wall TV on Vimeo.

The Freshest LIVE SET #1 feat. Kutcorners & Marvel

Our good friends over at The Freshest have rolled out the first of their new Live Set series, this introductory vid features 2/4 of The Freshest members: Kutcorners and Dj Marvel. Enjoy the vid as you get ready for your weekend and have a read as to what the guys had to say about their new project.

“The Freshest Introduce a new series of “Live Sets” exploring the further possibilities of performance between dj’s and musicians.

The Concept behind this series is to break the normal confines of djing and push the envelope further, with the interaction of the performer and the track being broken down and re-built from scratch.

In this first set, Djs Marvel and Kutcorners run through a slew of R&B and Rap tracks seamlessly fusing in new sounds and elements to remake them in their own vision. Kutcorners supplys the heavy low end, with plenty of synth bass, and MPC pad abuse. While Marvel handles lead duty, taking on keyboard melody lines and cutting up vocals on turntables running through tracks with ease and blending them together in key.

Camera Operator/Editor/Colorist – Mike Rodriguez

Contact Info: Michael Henry – get@thefreshest.ca ”

Fortune Sound Club 2011 in Review

As you probably know, we have had a great relationship with the good people at Fortune Sound Club since the doors opened 2 years ago. So many amazing acts and performers have rolled through and graced the stage over the past year that FSC have put together a quick video of all the people who made the past year such a success. We are all looking forward to 2012!

Clae Footwear X Mighty Crown

Get a hardcopy of this cd for yourself when you pick up a pair of these limited edition anniversary Clae Mcqueen’s.

“Originating out of Yokohama, Japan in 1991, Mighty Crown has since become one of the premier reggae sound systems in the world, breaking boundaries and setting new standards for the genre.

It is only fitting that, to mark the celebration of their 20th anniversary, the world-renowned group approached CLAE to design a special edition shoe.

In addition to this special edition McQueen collaboration, We are honored to have Mighty Crown create a custom mix exclusively for CLAE’s Five By Five Series mixtape project. This custom soundscape serves as the inspiration for a visual art piece by our talented friend, the legendary graffiti artist turned abstract painter, West One.”

CLAE Five By Five Series: Mighty Crown by CLAE Footwear

DJ Hedspin takes the 2011 Redbull Thre3Style Championship!

After worldwide qualification battles, the top 18 international DJ champions had to battle for the title of ‘world’s best party rocker DJ’ at the Red Bull Thre3style World Final 2011 here in Vancouver. Big shout out to our homie DJ Hedspin for taking the World Championship title the other weekend. Check the highlight video below, and stay on the look out for him coming to a city near you in the future.