CRATERY

I first met Mr. Attic at York University’s 105.5 FM in ’95. It was my first year attending York and my favourite pastime had quickly become loitering around the campus/community radio station before, between and after classes. One of my favourite shows was called “Soul by the Pound” – a program dedicated to playing the […]

David Axelrod would have probably scoffed at this tribute. He would have likely criticized the theme. Pointed out why these selections weren’t worthy of spotlighting. Reminded us why certain sessions were nightmares. Questioned the order of the track list. Told us which songs he got fucked on royalties for. And likely chastised us for over […]

One of the simple pleasures of being a rap fan is the passionate level of debate and analysis you can engage in with a fellow nerd at any given moment around any given album – old or new. I definitely don’t have the same debates around Brazilian music. I rarely subject my favourite vintage records […]

It’s funny to think I wouldn’t be typing these words right now if Kaewonder hadn’t asked me the question “Do you follow that dude @mastersihn on Instagram”? We’ve met a lot of good people online, and with a common love for good records and good smoke, Philly’s Mastersihn is definitely one of the good ones. […]

My first real glimpse of Supreme La Rock was not in person. It was through a wantlist of records given to my friend Moss, via our mutual homie Jake One around ’95. Supreme had instructed Jake to tell his new Canadian counterparts to be on the lookout for some titles and send them his way […]

Toronto-based collector Dan Zacks pops his Cratery cherry on this month’s episode. I first came to know of Dan through the two Cuban funk compilations he released between 2006 and 2009: Si, Para Usted, volumes 1 and 2 (Both very well put together). Soon after, I realized he shared mutual friends like the hommies Kaewonder […]

L.A. raised DJ and label owner Randy “Hotthobo” Ellis was in town guesting at Toronto’s Modern Funk Fest, and our hommie Famous Lee of Love Handle fame thought he’d be perfect for a Cratery episode. It’s always a pleasure to connect with real music lovers. And like many real music lovers, Hotthobo has dedicated his […]

Much of the black cultural experience in Toronto is rooted in the Caribbean. The food. The slang. The style. And of course, the music. The American rap accents in our favourite songs had an impact on us – but never enough to drown out our overwhelmingly homegrown West Indian influence. Hip-hop and island culture have […]

I sit here listening to Eddie Warner’s “Eccentric Trick” on loop (a track from his Progressive Percussions No.2 record), pondering why I love library music so much and it’s a no-brainer. I’m a hip-hop dude. And this shit sounds LIKE FUCKING HIP-HOP. Instrumental compositions laced with heavy 4/4 drums, thick basslines, fuzz guitar and musique […]

Seems like everyone is celebrating the vinyl resurgence. Except those of us who were around before the comeback. Record store openings here in Toronto seem to be at an all-time high since widespread closures back in the mid-2000’s. And yet, not all of us vinyl nerds are happy about it. I find myself torn between […]

Life comes before blogs. Life comes before records and writing and shopping and hanging and smoking. We want to take a moment to thank everyone who’s been asking for more stuff. Everyone who’s been waiting patiently. And everyone who’s been riding with us from the jump. Thank you for continuing to rock with us. Without […]

We lost our dear friend Masimba “Son of S.O.U.L.” Kadzirange recently. Needless to say, it’s been pretty rough around Cratery headquarters. We all had our own individual relationships with Masimba. And they could all be described as equal parts meaningful and funny. “Sims” was a one of a kind dude. An old school philosopher that […]

His name is Itsmattlangille. Not Matt Langille. Itsmattlangille. He’s the homie. And we’ve been trying to get him on Cratery for a minute. Matt really fucking loves soul 45’s. And he’s acquired some great ones over the years. He’s also managed to acquire a roster of musicians like Bad Bad Not Good, Ryan Hemsworth, Tommy […]

Vancouver, 2013. I’m enjoying a brief stint out west as a copywriter for ad agency TAXI’s western outpost. Most of my downtime is spent digging with the hommie Sipreano, smoking on Van City’s finest and hitting up the hometown hangouts, including The Stuntman’s 45 Throwdown at Save-On Meats. It was the sort of low key […]

It’s ok to be jealous of J-Rocc. He founded the World Famous Beat Junkies. He’s easily one of the funkiest DJ’s on the planet. He’s lucky enough to have had friendships with two of the greatest producers of all time. And from what little I’ve seen, he’s got a pretty crazy record collection. A collection, […]

November 1993. I walked past Yonge-Dundas station sporting baggy jeans and a newly acquired pair of white Adidas Torsions with splashes of fluorescent green and navy blue. I remember cause I had a fluorescent green sweat top and a navy corduroy Gatsby to match. I used to sport the hat backwards when I was going […]

John Kong loves those little Coffee Crisp bites. It’s just that he insists they be stored in the refrigerator. “What is this? Amateur’s hour?” he laughed, taking the bag off the counter and placing it in the fridge. Lesson learned, John. Cold storage makes chocolate taste better. Plus, you avoid covering your rares in brown […]

I’ve messed with Mayer Hawthorne from the first time I heard his cover of the New Holidays’ overlooked soul classic Maybe so, maybe no. Some might have tried to pigeon hole him as a Motown revivalist after his first album. But Mayer has always been influenced by more than just soul music. The DJ/Producer had […]

The first time I went record shopping with Lord Finesse I had an epiphany. I realized that I was diggin’ in the crates with an actual member of Diggin’ in the Crates. How is that not a trip? I’m a kid from the suburbs of Toronto who used to blast “Keep the crowd listening” on […]

Skeme Richards once told me that he’s not afraid of a real job. He’s not afraid of rolling up his sleeves and departing the DJ life that takes to him places like Germany, Switzerland, Amsterdam and Tokyo year round. He wouldn’t be upset about not being able to shop in all the best record stores […]

“I need to stop buying records”. Most collectors have said it at some point. Even contemplated doing it, albeit for a brief second. But actually following through is damn near impossible. You think of all the reasons to stop. The money. Your woman. The space. Your woman. So one evening, you convince yourself it’s time […]

Label owner. Globetrotting DJ. Musical encyclopedia. Record store rat. You might use all of the above to describe Amir Abdullah of 180 Proof Records. But at his core, he’s really just a dude that loves music. Coincidentally, our favourite kind of dude. So it was a no-brainer to hang out and play records at Cratery Headquaters […]

Our dude Jake One happened to be in town for a beat battle a few months back, so it was only right for us to record another episode of Cratery. Jake first appeared on our 22nd episode back in October 2010. This time, he was armed with a small box of 45’s, primarily sweet soul and […]

A fellow record head once told me that a collection is nothing without focus. Do you collect Libraries? Psych? Jazz? Rare grooves? Hip-Hop? Choose. You can’t be an authority on everything. His theory was that trying to stockpile all forms of music can often leave your collection feeling oddly random and not necessarily comprehensive in any […]

Like many of us who’ve spent our lives loving music, this months’ guest Birdapres is a bit of a renaissance man. Rapper and producer. Collector and dealer. Radio personality and record store employee. He’s called places like Victoria, Vancouver, Toronto and most recently, Winnipeg home. But these are the things I already knew about Bird […]

A think piece on the almighty 45 might have been appropriate given this month’s episode. But the timeliness of Record Store Day 2014 and the recent debates about the growing popularity of this event have prompted me to share a few thoughts of my own. What began as an annual act of solidarity to champion […]

CRATERY 63: Dollarate V f/ Paul E. Lopes Kaewonder didn’t exit his mother’s belly until 1984.  Paul E Lopes started dj-ing in 1982. Things were different in the city of Toronto back then. The ‘hip-hop culture’ that we associate with places like The Bronx (breakbeats and block parties) wasn’t exactly what you’d find in a […]

I find myself divided on the issue of record collecting and secrecy in the social media age. Some collectors are happy to ham it up, flossing their rarest pieces and recent arrivals without apology on Instagram feeds around the globe. Others choose to hint at the jewels hidden within their collection, by snapping shots of […]

We kick off our 6th year in business with a James Brown production. Who better exemplifies the lesson of consistency than James? The Godfather of soul got his start around 1953 as a drummer for the Famous Flames – not even as a front man. 6 years into his career would have been 1959. That’s […]

Just like that, it’s been 5 years. I can’t fucking believe it. When Kaewonder and I started this podcast in January of 2009 it wasn’t even its own brand yet – it was still under the Real Frequency umbrella – a monthly bonus for fans of my former hip hop radio show with Musiklee Inzane, […]

After epic back-to-back episodes with Big Jacks and Bozack Morris, we went to back to basics on this one. There’s a definite jazzy vibe happening here. Also, I just threw up a little after writing the words ‘jazzy vibe’. I fucking hate that phrase. Maybe because when I think of contemporary music with a jazz […]

Bozack Morris loves music. 90’s R&B? New rap? 70’s funk? Library records? He’s got an opinion. And it’s an informed one. I’ve known Bozack since volunteering at CHRY 105.5 FM back during my university days at York.  And even then, he was a music nerd. He’s brought that sensibility to locally successful brands like Grand […]

Big Jacks was sifting through the stacks of a local record shop during a trip to the D. It was logical that Jacks make the periodic 4-hour journey from Toronto, since Detroit has been home to not only to endless Motown classics from the 60’s, but a slew of modern soul and boogie records – […]

I don’t know where the term boogie came from. But when I first started buying groups like SOS Band, Starpoint and Rene & Angela back in the day, I was under the impression I was buying R&B and soul records. In fact, I actually never heard the term until some time within the last 3 […]

Country. Big Band. Dixieland. Ragtime. Not exactly my favourite sections in any given record store. I don’t have anything against fans of New Orleans Jazz, but let’s just say I ain’t out here trying to complete the Preservation Hall Jazz band discography. But every once in a while, mining through a stack unwanted Scott Joplin […]

Cratery has never been and never will be about the first level flossery of posting up rare record after rare record. We’re not here to impress the legions of completist nerds who are waiting to pass judgment on our collective collections. We are here, however to celebrate discovery. Discovery is why we do this. Whether […]

I’ve got a zebra, she can fly. That’s the title of a 1967 song by forgotten psych outfit The Unfolding, featured on this month’s episode. Years later, I can’t help but SMH at the shit some of these hippies came up with back then. Take a flying zebra to your domepiece, homepiece. No coincidence it’s […]

This particular Cratery episode is kinda like the opposite of some hip-hop shit. Allow me to explain. We all grew up with a love and understanding for hip-hop culture. Collecting records and understanding the foundation of the music was a natural part of that b-boy aesthetic. And that foundation was breaks. If you’re on this […]

I’ve been on a temporary work stint in Vancouver since February of this year. Our formerly weekly Cratery nerdouts have turned into monthly events for the squad as a result. Cratery 52 was recorded during one of my brief returns to Toronto earlier this year. Looking at this month’s track list, I can only assume […]

This month, we add another hommie to the distinguished list of Cratery Alumni: DJ FamousLee. While currently best known as one-half of Toronto’s beloved monthly boogie party “Love Handle” (a duty he shares with former Cratery guest Alister “Catalist” Johnson), FamousLee isn’t one to be pigeon-holed. He goes joint for joint with us on an […]

The record collector is no stranger to impulsive purchases. Sadly, we’ve all dropped loot on numerous pieces in our collections that are far from timeless. You know the ones I’m talking about: the one-trackers, drum breaks and vocal samples that have no business on the same shelf as the classic albums that have truly shaped […]

Things done changed. Dollar bin digging ain’t what it used to be. When I first started buying breaks back in the early 90’s, my OG homies like Mr. Attic would take me to spots like Vinyl Museum, a long gone institution in the city of Toronto. I’d say about 90% of the stock in their […]

Singer/songwriter Sixto Rodriguez was recently immortalized in the documentary “Searching for Sugar Man” which debuted at Sundance in 2012. It’s the story of an artist who is completely unaware of the impact his music has had on an entire generation. I can say that about much of the music that we play on Cratery. Most […]

This month, Kaewonder, DJ Serious and I trade our traditional 1-for-1 Cratery format for a 5-for-5 format. We each play 5 records in succession, allowing us to create 3 individual sets. Truly groundbreaking stuff – we know, we know. I kick off my set with “Peter and John” from Andrew Wartts’ gospel funk masterpiece There […]

The good folks at MAGMA reached out to us about collaborating on a mix for their up coming Fall/Winter pop-up shop this weekend. Naturally, we had no choice but to submit to the laws of mutual dopeness and agree. Since MAGMA plans on previewing some new wears, we thought we’d hit you with a little preview […]

CRATERY 46: The OST Sequel (Session B) Intermission’s over. You’ve rolled an appropriate amount of chronic. Secured an appropriate amount of snackage. And drained an appropriate amount of pee-pee from your pee-pee. Time for part two. Kaewonder kicks off session B of our OST spectacular with a piece of from the elusive Shogun Assassin soundtrack. […]

CRATERY 46: The OST Sequel (Session A) In February 2010, we dropped Cratery 14, our first ever double-episode dedicated to exclusively to the OST: Original Soundtrack. But like all successful franchises, we couldn’t resist a sequel. Two years later, we return with back-to-back podcasts highlighting our love for compositions from film and TV shows past. […]

Apparently, 45’s are in again. Not that we ever stopped collecting them. But the amount of DJ’s and collectors instagramming pics of their new 7” discoveries has skyrocketed in the last few years. Not to mention the countless 45-only parties popping up all over the world. We kick off our 3rd annual ode to the […]

I found Syd and the Troubadors’ Positively Spicy album at a local record show earlier this year. Cardova is a nice slice of West Indian funk that also happens to be a take on a Meters’ classic. The nerd in me will always be drawn to the novelty of finding an odd cover of a […]

The Canadian content on Cratery is at an all-time high. Could be the influence of our bi-coastal brethren Sipreano and Birdapres. It could be a desire to snatch up that local shit for trade leverage. Or an overwhelming source of national pride (It’s probably not the last one). The CANCON on this month’s episode arrives […]

You should probably be getting the gist of this by now. It’s Cratery. It’s a bunch of songs. From no particular genre. In no particular order. If you’re actually missing our usual writeup, you should probably think about re-evaluating your priorities in life. You can start by clicking the download button below. You’re welcome. — […]