Folk Fest: Whiteman keeps on hustlin’
Photo courtesy Albert Douman. Andrew Whiteman, creator of Apostle of Hustle, says the group is crafting its new music in more concrete themese, something he believes is extremely positive for the group going forward.
Andrew Whiteman likes being the boss.
That’s why the long-time frenetic guitarist of Juno award-winning Broken Social Scene ventured off on his own enterprise creating Apostle of Hustle in 2001, a sort of indie-hip-hop hybrid group.
“I get to write the bulk of the music and kind of determine the group’s direction and focus. I get to play in minor keys, we don’t do that in Broken Social Scene, not really. It’s just intense to play with 8-15 people on stage (with Broken Social Scene) but this allows me to do something else with just three people,” Whiteman explained.
Now, trying to share time between his eight-year-old creation and never-ending Broken Social Scene commitments has left the Whiteman busy to say the least.
“I don’t really ever see it stopping, personally,” Whiteman said of future endeavours. “It’s loving money, that’s how always part of how anyone does it really.
“If you are fortunate enough to love your job that’s great, sometimes you don’t really know where your job ends and your love begins. I just keep going, I don’t really have enough time to do everything I want to.”
Folk Fest Spotlight
Apostle of Hustle
Shows: Friday Twilight Stage 4, beginning at 6 p.m.
Saturday 10:30 a.m. Stage 3 (with Woodchoppers Association, Jah Youssouf, Jay Crocker, Justin Adams & Juldeh Camara) and 12:50 p.m. Stage 5 (with Tarhana, The Acorn, Pacifika)
For the band’s website click here
Eats Darkness, Apostle’s third full-length album released last May, showcases the band’s ever evolving sound, while also serving as tribute to hip-hop and rap artists of old.
“Eats Darkness is a record about conflict and violence and battling,” Whiteman said. “There is a lot of of great tradition that revolves around musical battles. In our time we have seen a lot of hip-hop battling.”
The album also incorporates loads of ambient noise, starting right from the opening track, “Snakes,” which screeches to life with a high-speed car crash. Whiteman explained that using the sound bytes is a traditional tactic on hip-hop albums to tie the entire body of work into one concept.
“When I sat down to actually start adding in those little in between bits, I figured I was just going to add in a littler here or there and they would only be five seconds long; but then they kind of took hold of me and took on a meaning of their own . . .,” Whiteman said.
He said reaction to the unconventional use of sound has produced a range of reaction from critics.
“The new album, I find, has been slightly divisive, which is a good thing actually,” Whiteman said. “Some people can really tune into the various meanings of the record and totally appreciate the sort of soundscapes that have gone into it. At the same time, some people just don’t get it at all.”
“I’m not their teacher, I’m not going to explain it to them. Some people have a very short attention span and so you do what you do and put your art out there.”
While Broken Social Scene was one of the headliners at 2006’s Folk Fest, this will be the first appearance for Apostle, which consists of Whiteman, his Social Scene bandmate Julian Brown on bass, keyboard and backup vocals, Dean Stone on percussion and Martin Davis Knack, who adds the samples and sound loops.
The number of instruments the band uses and the intricate, yet constricted, sound they produce has Whiteman very excited the the future.
“That’s why the last album was such a huge deal for me. It really showed that we can create a theme that holds throughout and I hope to continue on with similar work like that in the future,” he said.
Whiteman also recently released his first Apostle of Hustle video on the band’s website and hopes to delve further into the world of film in the future.
