Preview
DRAGONFLI EMPIRE
Saturday, August 21
House Coffee Sanctuary
Teekay and Cosm. Black and white. The rapper and the DJ. One is a practical optimist, the other a level-headed pragmatist. Together they seem like two halves of the same whole. Together they are the Dragonfli Empire.
Cosm is a member of Calgary’s Urban Farmers and Teekay clocks time with the FAS Krew (an Edmonton-Calgary hip-hop collective), but together as Dragonfli Empire, the two have cultivated a distinctive partnership. The former prefers the big synth, James Brown-style breaks of late-’80s, early-’90s hip-hop and the latter is down with the jazzy funk of hip-hop circa ’91 to ’97, but when they combine their respective influences, the result is a smooth, laidback sound.
The two first collaborated in 2002, when Teekay approached Cosm to help develop one of his tracks. That experience was so successful, they decided to work together on a full-length recording. To hear them talk about their music, it’s no surprise that they work well together. Partnerships are never easy, but these two guys finish each other’s sentences.
"When we both fuse our musical talents," says Teekay…
"Our strengths come together," says Cosm, finishing his thought.
"It’s really cool," says Teekay.
Since their first collaboration, the two have recorded an album and in the process become CBC darlings with their hit "Mount Pleasant" – a simple, groove-rich song about riding the bus, which was the No. 9 single on the CBC’s Top 20 last year. Now, after remixing and remastering the album, they are set to release the definitive version of their debut, Conquest. Aside from the strength of the music, Teekay and Cosm, who simply refer to themselves as the DFE, credit their success to their uncanny ability to collaborate with each other.
"A lot of times when you try to do something, it’s just a clash of personalities ’cause one guy has a vision and it has to be done his way… and nothing ever gets done," says Teekay. "(But with us,) as we each get inspiration, we feed off of that and we don’t interfere with each other. It’s a successful formula, so we’re going to keep doing it.
"I could never do something on my own, because I’m too critical," says Teekay. "I have nothing to measure it against, so working with Cosm actually worked out being the most beautiful thing, because instead of having to be the perfectionist, with the other person, it balances that out and you can just go with stuff that’s good, instead of never coming out with anything because your standards are too high or too unknown."
With their partnership having grown steadily over the past two years, the DFE are excited to get Conquest out to the masses. Sure, the album was originally released over a year and a half ago, but at the time it was a limited-edition run of only 200 home-pressed CDRs. It had an impressive showing, to be sure, but now with a deluxe reissue of the album on Teekay and Cosm’s newly-minted Makebelieve Records, audiences will get a chance to bear witness to that DFE perfectionism.
"Basically we skimmed a bit of the fat," says Cosm, describing Conquest redux. "It’s been remastered. A lot of the sound-quality issues that we were struggling with have been fixed." In addition to those sonic Band-Aids, Conquest features a few new tracks, a brand new DFE single and a remix with the help of Ubiquity Records artist Omega Watts. While the differences may not be massive, the revised album offers a more refined version of the trademark Dragonfli Empire formula – a formula that is easily defined by both halves of the DFE.
"It’s not completely lacking in substance, like most listener-friendly hip-hop," says Cosm, "and someone who has a keen ear for music is definitely going to pick up on it."
"It’s funky," says Teekay. "That’s what the DFE is all about."
CELEB TOP FIVE
The Top Five favourite tracks according to TK from Dragonfli Empire:
1. "They Reminisce Over You" by Pete Rock and CL Smooth
2. "Runnin’" by the Pharside
3. "Electric Relaxation" by A Tribe Called Quest
4. "You’re a Winner" by Curtis Mayfield
5. "Lovely Day" by Bill Withers |
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