New Music + Interview – Magnolius–A different new sound of Canadian independent hip-hop
With the release of their debut album "Ode to Hyde", MAGNOLIUS shares with the world a project almost twenty years in the making. Though the project was recorded over a much shorter period of time, it is the product of a life long friendship between members Shan Vincent de Paul and Derek DaCosta. Both members have been writing and performing as part of a larger six man collective known as Soliva Spit Society. As a collective, the group released their debut EP "Test the Waters" in 2003 and began to create a buzz in the Canadian independent hip hop scene. The group went on to share the stage with some of hip-hop's key figures such as Del the Funky Homosapien (Hieroglyhics), Louis Logic, Edan, C-Rayz Walz (def jux), and Canadian heavy hitters Kardinal Offishall and Swollen Members.
After several years of experimentation and sound searching, MAGNOLIUS isolated themselves in the studio for nearly six months early 2007 and aimed to create something the world has never heard before. The outcome? Their first full length opus entitled "Ode to Hyde". "Ode to Hyde" is nothing short of an experience. The album's ten tracks hurl the listener through a melange of experimentation and moods. The chemistry between the two emcees throughout the album is unparalleled. Shan and Derek's nimble word play juxtaposed against the eclectic concoctions of the album's majority producer, Mike Denheyer, is a marriage made in the cosmos.
After the completion of the project, the duo took their sounds on the road. Pushing the limits on record was simply not enough for the MAG. Within 8 months, the duo set off to promote "Ode to Hyde" on a western Canadian tour quickly followed by the "Destrjoy! Tour" across Asia, including shows in Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, Taipei, Tokyo and Seoul, to deliver a performance unlike any other. Accompanied by their unique visual projections, the emcees spew out their tracks with intense energy while a video montage is displayed and perfectly co-ordinated with the lyrics and music. The subtle intricacies and dynamic stage presence that MAGNOLIUS displays is simply a testament to a decade of performing experience.
Arize had the pleasure to sit down with MAGNOLIUS and to much avay came up with a in-depth interview just as colorful as their music and personalities. Enjoy.
Arize: Since a lot of us Americans have been sleeping on The MAG, I’m going to allow you guys to re-introduce yourselves…
Shan Vincent de Paul: MAGNOLIUS is myself and Derek. We make music, do shows, make films, and throw rocks at old folk’s homes.
Derek DaCosta: 20 years in the making.
Shan: But the rock throwing only started ten years ago.
Arize: So when exactly did you fall in love with Hip Hop or did you just fall into doing it?
Derek: For me, it all started with the whole 90's west coast scene. My cousin first played me his Doggystyle tape on Christmas Eve and I was in from there. Then in high school, somehow met these like-minded characters and that friendship slowly grew into Soliva.
Shan: I was always fascinated with the whole hip-hop culture, but it was when I first heard artists like Ras Kass, Canibus, Pharoahe Monch, Outkast etc. who took lyricism to another level that really made me want to sit down and write seriously. Plus, just growing up around a group of people that shared the same passion for hip-hop, made it inevitable that we’d take this path.
Compromising our sound would only contradict what the MAG represents in the first place.
-----Shan
Arize: I read somewhere that you guys were part of a bigger group, The Soliva Spit Society right…? So how did you come to evolve as a duo?
Shan: Yeah, Soliva consists of MAGNOLIUS, DJ Alibi, Al Buddy Black, Bang Cheeto (of Svelt St.), and Demelo Melod. We put out an EP in 04’, and now everyone in the crew is really just focusing on separate projects. As for the MAG, I think we just shared a similar vision in terms of creativity.
Derek: Shan and I have known each other since the beginning of time, so MAGNOLIUS was just inevitable. 'Ode to Hyde' was really a project 20 years in the making. We just needed the time to unravel it.
Shan: Truthfully, I hate this guy and would’ve stabbed him a long time ago if it weren’t for the music.
Arize: The instrumentation on your tracks is what caught my attn, kinda enhanced the emcee’n…what was the inspiration behind your sound?
Shan: A lot of it just has to do with trying new things and taking risks. So with Mike D’s production, it was something that we connected with right off the bat, cause it was a sound people often wouldn’t associate with hip-hop.
Derek: Mike D's music has worked like a backbone for MAGNOLIUS, where he just goes off and creates his opus and let's us know when shit's ready. Once we get a hold of the music, we just let Mike's mastery influence our ideas and vocals. Not to mention the countless hours of Mike Tyson interviews we watch for inspiration.
It's just that the market in the States is so over-populated with artists that create around the same sounds and ideas, that it's almost like a form of hypnosis.
-----Derek
Arize: I was listening to the lyrics in “Destrjoy”…pretty intense, have you guys ever been pressured to dumb things down a bit?
Shan: Honestly, we’ve never felt that pressure just because most people that listen to us know what they’re getting into. Plus, compromising our sound would only contradict what the MAG represents in the first place.
Derek: We’re pretty stubborn with our approach as well. Not a single person heard “Ode to Hyde” before it was released, except the guy who mastered it….and we made him fish food after anyway.
Arize: Mike Denheyer- is this the mastermind behind you guy’s sound or do you three take turns doing the production work?
Derek: Mike D is the majority producer throughout 'Ode to Hyde' along with our upcoming EP, titled 'Mary Musth'. With Mike, as I mentioned, he just hooks up the music and we then add vocals and a ton of post-production. So really, production is sort of split between MAGNOLIUS and the respective producer.
Arize: You seem to be gettin’ a lot of love across Asia with all the touring ya’ll got going on…do you think that people in the States purposely give a deaf ear to hip-hop artists overseas?
Derek: I don't know if they purposely give a deaf ear. It's just that the market in the States is so over-populated with artists that create around the same sounds and ideas, that it's almost like a form of hypnosis. On top of that, the foundations that back these "hypnotists" are multi-billion dollar corporations that blow any foreign acts out of the water.
Shan: Along with the oversaturated hip-hop market, I think a lot of people in the States and Canada underestimate how big the scene is overseas. Its really unfortunate because you have so many dope artists that are doing some phenomenal things out there.
I think any artist that experiments with new sounds outside of the "hip hop norm" will automatically receive the "progressive" or "underground" label just because people simply can't relate it to anything else.
-----Derek
Arize: I noticed your music often gets put in the “Progressive Hip Hop” or “underground” categories but how would you classify it?
Derek: I think any artist that experiments with new sounds outside of the "hip hop norm" will automatically receive the "progressive" or "underground" label just because people simply can't relate it to anything else. It's just a label.. just like when you go out and rent a movie and find something like Eraserhead in the horror section. It's not a horror film, but where would you put Eraserhead? Who cares. Just enjoy it, right?
Shan: I think we’ve been placed in so many contradicting categories, it doesn’t even matter anymore.
Arize: You guys rocked with Kardinal Offishal, (one of Canada’s finest might I add) but as a West Coast girl, I gotta know how you hooked up with Del The Funky Homosapien.
Shan: Del is the man! That was definitely a memorable show. In terms of how we hooked up, the promoter just put us on the same bill. I think Soliva was one of the more suitable crews to open for Del in Toronto at the time.
Arize: Ya’ll plan on doing some shows out here in the near future?
Derek: For sure. We actually have some pretty extensive touring plans for the next year with a few shows in Brazil this summer along with Europe in the fall. I don't see how the West could be missed. We have our good friend Bang Cheeto (1/6th of Soliva) out in San Fran. He's killing it out there with his duo Svelt St., so it's just a matter of time until the MAG shakes some ground out there.
Shan: World domination is the plan.
Magnolius-"Human Race"
Magnolius-"Autumn Eighted "
Magnolius-"Destroy!"
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