Dig Your Roots (compilation albums)
Dig Your Roots/Découvre tes racines is a Canadian series of compilation albums, released by the National Campus and Community Radio Association (NCRA/ANREC) in the 2000s to promote new and emerging artists.[1] The project was launched in 2002, utilizing development funding that Corus Entertainment provided to the NCRA/ANREC as part of a benefits package relating to a major radio acquisition transaction.[1]
Dig Your Roots | |
---|---|
Compilation album | |
Released | 2003–2007 |
Genre | Hip hop, spoken word, electronic dance, roots, Canadian aboriginal, experimental jazz |
Label | National Campus and Community Radio Association |
Each year's Dig Your Roots compilation focused on a particular genre of music. Submissions were judged by a panel that first chose up to 100 artists to be featured through streaming audio on the project's website.[2] It then chose the 15 best entries for the CD compilation. The albums were also promoted by a series of live concert broadcasts which aired on participating campus and community radio stations across Canada.[2]
Project 1: Hip Hop (2003)
The first album, released in 2003, featured unsigned hip hop artists.[3] The five associated concert shows were held on March 17 in Surrey, British Columbia; March 20 in Winnipeg, Manitoba; March 23 in Toronto, Ontario; March 26 in Montreal, Quebec; and March 29 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.[4]
In Exclaim!'s review of the album, critic Thomas Quinlan called it "the greatest Canadian hip-hop compilation since Cold Front", claiming that it had corrected "the mistakes of Rap Essentials."[5]
- Vandal (Toronto) – Urban Camper (3:51)
- First Words featuring Cess (Rothesay) – Down With Putting Raps Down (3:51)
- Wyzah (Montreal) – Three Angels (3:42)
- The Goods (Halifax) – Monkey Motion Shuffle (2:52)
- War Party (Hobbema) – Feeling Reserved (3:26)
- Illa Brown/Kutcorners (Vancouver) – Rock On Ya Block (3:37)
- Classified (Halifax) – Unexpected (3:49)
- Dangerous Goods Collective (Edmonton) – No More Nice Guy (4:10)
- Kamau (Toronto) – Brain Storming (2:04)
- Frek Sho (Winnipeg) – Fort Rouge (2:42)
- Les Architekts (Montreal) – le diable joue un jeu (4:45) 1
- Half Life (Montreal) – Secrets of Society (4:45)
- Ink Operated (Surrey) – Chant It Ooh Ah Oh (3:06)
- Josh Martinez (Vancouver) – Another Day (4:10)
- Eye + Eye (Toronto) – Snapshots (5:52)
Notes
1 Due to manufacturer error, another song, Anodajay's "Le détenu", was mistakenly substituted on the CD for this one. Dig Your Roots subsequently released a special three-song sampler of Les Architekts' songs to compensate for the error.
Project 2: Spoken Word (2004)
The second album, one of two released in 2004, focused on spoken word poetry and storytelling.[6]
- Steph Berntson (Sackville) – Barreling Madly (2:07)
- Kevin Matthews (Winnipeg) – Arsenic and Boldface (3:05)
- Derek Bradford (Halifax) – I Spy (1:53)
- Ève Langevin (Montreal) – Bulletin de nouvelles en bref, version 1 (1:09)
- Gein Wong (Toronto) – A Paper Son (2:35)
- Khyro (Montreal) – Fragment de Réflection du Mirroir 2: Forêt Vierge (1:55)
- Jeremy Gorman (Fredericton) – Pussycat Pussycat (1:29)
- Barbara Adler (Coquitlam) – In the Time Before (3:50)
- Nico Rogers (Winnipeg) – Hard to choke your artichoke heart (1:22)
- Julie Parrell (Winnipeg) – Untitled (2:23)
- Odessa Thornhill (Montreal) – I Sold My Wealth (1:02)
- T.L. Cowan (Edmonton) – homebody/homegirl (4:40)
- Heather Majaury (Waterloo) – Mother’s Song (4:25)
- Janet Marie Rogers (Victoria) – Make Me / Sombrio Spirit (4:18)
- Unblind (North York) – Mythology (1:43)
Project 3: Electronic Dance (2004)
The third album, also released in 2004 simultaneously with the spoken word album, focused on electronic music.[7]
- Alexandre (La Butte) – Qu'elle a dit (3:58)
- D_MON (Dartmouth) – Don't Listen (3:51)
- Chinese Jetpilot (London) – Return of the Phat Dragon (DYR Edit) (3:28)
- Blackjwell (Montreal) – Falls (4:38)
- East Coast Disaster Complex (Victoria) – Robbiemart (3:38)
- Balboa (Winnipeg) – Ballad of the Lonely Mogwai (3:56)
- Alucard (Winnipeg) – Triple Wave (edit) (4:27)
- DĀV (Montreal) – Parisian Dream (4:31)
- d*rogers (Ottawa) – Did 2 Much (Grooveboy Remix) (4:46)
- Big Phat McNasty (Kamloops) – Rogue State (4:15)
- Gary Flanagan (Rothesay) – Driver (3:16)
- DJ Oxide (Winnipeg) – Sundae (4:05)
- Zenobia Salik & the United ElectroSoul Underground (Vancouver) – Headphones (Vegas Lounge Mix) (5:04)
- Guru-shishya (Hamilton) – Cagian 3 (3:56)
- vitaminsforyou (Montreal) – quand peanut fait dodo (3:24)
Project 4: Roots (2005)
The 2005 album centred on roots music artists.[8]
- The Cracker Cats (Saskatoon) –Darkness (2:45)
- D. Rangers (Winnipeg) – Coughin Up Blood (2:55)
- Paul Paulin (St. Joseph du Lac) – J'ai pas n'cent su moé (3:47)
- Anne Louise Genest (Whitehorse) – Paradise Road (3:38)
- John Wort Hannam (Fort Macleod) – Church of the Long Grass (4:06)
- Penny Lang (Montreal) – Prairie Sky (3:08)
- Jory Nash (Willowdale) – Citizen's Waltz (3:49)
- Glen Reid (Burk's Falls) – Lifeline to the Heartland (4:04)
- The Flummies (Happy Valley - Goose Bay) – Comb Your Hair Flat Down (3:06)
- Les Chauffeurs à pieds (Québec) – Marie la chamelle & reel du poteau blanc (5:31)
- Barley Wik (Victoria) – View of the Station (2:23)
- Jane Eamon (Kelowna) – Ruckus in the Henhouse (4:26)
- Tim Harrison (Toronto) – Elizabeth's Lament (3:38)
- Petunia (Fredericton) – The Lonesome Pine Hollows (3:56)
- Rob Currie (Halifax) – Rape of Grand Pré (3:23)
Project 5: Aboriginal (2006)
The 2006 album focused on aboriginal music by First Nations, Métis and Inuit artists.[1][9]
- Sandy Scofield (Vancouver BC) – Faith (feat. Kinnie Starr) (4:49)
- Shirley Montague (Norris Point NL) – Ijiatsuk (3:54)
- The Pappy Johns Band with Murray Porter (Ohsweken ON) – Going Back (5:02)
- Elaine Jakesta (Watson Lake YT) – Healed Heroes (2:20)
- Ed Peekeekoot (Crofton BC) – Wild Lilies to Wheat Fields (3:12)
- Jef Tremblay et les Éléments (Québec QC) – Tanite Etuteiak (3:48)
- X-STATUS (Winnipeg MB) – Still Around (2:55)
- Sinuupa (Kuujjuag QC) – Simple Man (Explicit Language) (4:46)
- Eekwol (Saskatoon SK) – Too Sick (4:15)
- Tagaq (Cambridge Bay NU) – Breather (5:27)
- Rez Villain (Bedford NS) – Charismatic Manner (Explicit Language) (3:45)
- Leela Gilday (Yellowknife NT) – Rage (4:12)
- Richard M. Gloade (Fredericton NB) – The Mean Song (3:11)
- Graeme Jonez (Toronto ON) – Black Magic Goldmine (3:18)
- Digging Roots (Barrie ON) – Going Back (4:48)
Project 6: Experimental Jazz (2007)
The 2007 album featured experimental jazz artists.[10]
- Georges Koufogiannakis, "Yo, Mo D." (5:05)
- TFC, "Acting on the Assumption" (4:48)
- Colin Fisher, "Zig Zag" (6:05)
- Bitchin, "2005-05-27 08:13:55" (6:43)
- Duane Andrews, "Improvisations on the First Movement of Mozart's String Quintet in G Minor K516" (2:49)
- Avi Granite: 6, "Ghetto Panda" (7:13)
- Inhabitants, "Main Drag" (5:11)
- UniSecs, "À Travers" (5:16)
- Gordon Grdina's Box Cutter, "Tidal Wave" (5:37)
- The Barriomatic Trust, "The Ruined Map" (3:29)
- The Beni D Band, "Walk'n' the Ave" (5:11)
- Sons of Colborne, "Up v. Down" (4:25)
- Jesse Zubot, "Nootropics" (4:23)
- BoboK (2), "Erroné" (4:03)
- Tyler Hornby, "Shadows of a Brighter Day" (5:18)
References
- "Digging for talent; Dig Your Roots searches below the surface to uncover Canada's great music potential". Telegraph-Journal, November 21, 2005.
- "Dig Your Roots Talent Search". Sudbury Star, November 10, 2005.
- "Dig Your Roots Expose Independent Hip-Hop". Chart Attack, January 29, 2003.
- "Dig Your Roots Hip-Hop Tour A Go". Chart Attack, March 5, 2003.
- "Dig Your Roots". Exclaim!, January 1, 2006.
- "Dig Your Roots: Spoken Word". Exclaim!, May 31, 2004.
- "Dig Your Roots: Electronic Dance". Exclaim!, March 31, 2004.
- "Roots artists unearthed, including Islander". The Guardian, January 7, 2005.
- "Dig Your Roots wants to hear from Aboriginal artists". Ontario Birchbark, January 31, 2006.
- "What’s The Frequency, Campus?: Dig Your Roots". Torontoist, March 23, 2007.