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Ghetto Blaster is by far one of the most valuable bands in the whole underground scene at the moment. These guys should be playing big shows right now, at least opening for big bands, playing at festivals and touring all across the globe.
The free sampler of Think for yourself shows clearly the new sound and textures they’re aiming at. Crowley has perfected his raping mc skills, while Ian has created his own bass style to get the flow of the verses Crowley sings. Ska it’s still there and fits really good with the bass and the amazing skills Mestafa has to offer with his drumming. This shit has evolved from some hip hop crack rock into something more complex, filled with lyrics bout unity and liberation, but still punk rock.
As these Canadian fuckers tend to say: UNITY - Raz - Anti-Venom
The general vibe of the EP is very radical leftist, sort of crew-like feeling, notably touched on in the song ‘GBC’, short for “Ghetto Blaster Crew”. At times, the EP shifts to a more upbeat hip-hop ska kind of feel, instead of a Choking Victim-lite. ‘Get Drunk’ is one of those tunes. What is meant by “Choking Victim-lite”? The feeling is less ominous and hopeless, but still manages to speak of radicalism. The vocals are a mix of raspy, Rollins-like singing and classic emcee rapping or beatboxing. The guitars are downtuned, minor-chord ska-punk with very heavily accented offbeats. Lastly, the rhythm section just keeps the beat, allowing the guitars and singing to speak as the primary communicator.
This record, this 8-song EP, this is the future for ska Two simultaneous kinds of radical, download this protégé of fourth wave ska.
- Aunty Social - Criminal Behavior
Discography
(2011) GB/CS/BC 3 Way Promo Split | Unknown Records
(2011) Think For Yourself Promo/Sampler | Unknown Records | Riot Ska Records
(2009) Self Titled EP | Riot Ska Records
(2009) FYSWW Vol #1 | Unknown Records
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Bio
Ghetto Blaster started out in early March of 2008 with the 3 original members; Neil on guitar and vocals; C-Row on bass and vocals and Mestafa on drums and backing vocals. They decided to record their Self-Titled EP before playing any shows. On July 24th 2009 they released their 8 track EP. Once the CD was tossed around they gathered up a following creating feedback coming in from not only Canada, but worldwide. As soon as they played their first shows, people knew right away that this band wasn't going away.
Before the EP's release in July they had started writing for their first full length. The process was short lived when the band eventually parted ways with guitarist Neil. It left a big gap with big shoes to fill, but it wasn't long until they found long time friend !an (ex bassist of Corporation) who had recorded their EP. This meant however, that GB had two bassist and no guitar player. Luckily, C-Row had only picked up the bass for the first GB album and was originally a guitar player.
In August 2009 !an was officially part of the GBC and they were back to shows as soon as September. Not long after they got back to writing. The songs started developing a different sound and the writing process had definitely changed now that !an was part of the picture. They've described their full length as "A transitional CD", "We re-did a lot of tracks off the EP because we had altered them enough that we wanted to re-release them with the new line up. Plus we had the tracks that we were writing before Neil left and complete new ones we wrote with Ian". "A lot of different styles got clashed together, there's a little something for everyone". On May 24th 2010 they hit the studio and started recording.
GB has been going strong for the past two years with it's new line up, crushing show after show with their grimy Skacore Hip Hop Flavor. With the EP being out for over two years and plans on releasing their first full length titled "Think For Yourself" 2012. 2012 is set to become Ghetto Blaster’s finest year yet.
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