As a born and bred Sudburian before relocating to Southern Ontario, I’m very happy to see The Sudbury Star give some space to local rapper Mickey O’Brien. Only a portion of the article is pictured below, but you can read the full article if you click on the image or the link below.
Read the full article here: https://www.thesudburystar.com/news/local-news/sudbury-miner-rises-from-the-deep-releases-first-album
01 – My Drift (feat Billy John)
02 – Beg Borrow Steal
03 – Freedom (feat Salvatori)
04 – True Romance (feat Steph Fyfe)
05 – Vedder Than You
06 – Don’t Be Like them (feat Nadia Costanzo)
07 – Day in the Life
08 – Honey Bear
09 – Groundhog Day (feat Lee Reed)
10 – Bleu Nuit (feat Mindbender Supreme)
11 – Parasite (feat Jor’Del Downz)
12 – Terminally Unique (feat D-Sisive)
13 – Listen (feat More Or Les & The Mighty Rhino)
14 – Strangers (feat Laura Willet)
All lyrics by Mickey O’Brien except for featured artists
Produced and mixed by Fresh Kils at Kilzone in Toronto, ON
Vocals recorded by Fresh Kils at Kilzone in Toronto, ON; Billy Bruhmuller in Sudbury, ON; and Evan Rautiainen at Iron Horse Studios in Los Angeles, CA
All scratches done by Uncle Fester in Halifax, NS
Mastered by Dorc at Banging Masters in Toronto, ON
Album Design by Ghettosocks
Mickey wants to celebrate St Patrick’s Day by giving away for free for that full day the title track from his album.
About “My Drift”:
“My Drift” is a shout-along Irish drinking song, a working class anthem, and an ode to lost family and friends. Dealing with personal trauma through music, by turning the negative into a positive, Mickey writes a song to honour the memory of four of his best friends and his dog, whose bark can be heard at the beginning of the song. With Celtic-inspired “East Coast loops” supplied by MPC button-masher and production master Fresh Kils, the result is a rousing yet touching drinking song!
Available FREE FOR DOWNLOAD on St Patrick’s Day only!
Some of Backburner will be performing at SXSW this year…
The first single from Mickey O’Brien’s My Drift album is “Groundhog Day”, a 21st Century critique of organized religion and the failed policies of the church. It’s an all-out verbal attack, not on spirituality, but on those who wield the power of religion to divide, control and conceal. History is doomed to repeat itself, like in the Bill Murray movie, as long as humanity as a whole doesn’t evolve together. Sharing vocal duties is fiery anti-capitalist rapper Lee Reed (Strange Famous), with production from Fresh Kils and frantic closing cuts from Uncle Fester. The video, directed and edited by Dan Jardine for Boom Shoal Enterprises, perfectly captures the theme of the song with a tragic storyline and exciting visuals filmed on location in a beautiful church in Toronto.
Written and performed by Mickey O’Brien and Lee Reed
Produced by Fresh Kils
Cuts by DJ Uncle Fester
Mastered by Dorc for Banging Masters
Video directed and edited by Dan Jardine for Boom Shoal Enterprises
Mickey O’Brien’s My Drift drops on March 22, but the pre-order is now up with two songs to sample, including first single “Groundhog Day” featuring Lee Reed… The video should be ready soon.
01 – My Drift (feat Billy John)
02 – Beg Borrow Steal
03 – Freedom (feat Salvatori)
04 – True Romance (feat Steph Fyfe)
05 – Vedder Than You
06 – Don’t Be Like them (feat Nadia Costanzo)
07 – Day in the Life
08 – Honey Bear
09 – Groundhog Day (feat Lee Reed)
10 – Bleu Nuit (feat Mindbender Supreme)
11 – Parasite (feat Jor’Del Downz)
12 – Terminally Unique (feat D-Sisive)
13 – Listen (feat More Or Les & The Mighty Rhino)
14 – Strangers (feat Laura Willet)
All lyrics by Mickey O’Brien except for featured artists
Produced and mixed by Fresh Kils at Kilzone in Toronto, ON
Vocals recorded by Fresh Kils at Kilzone in Toronto, ON; Billy Bruhmuller in Sudbury, ON; and Evan Rautiainen at Iron Horse Studios in Los Angeles, CA
All scratches done by Uncle Fester in Halifax, NS
Mastered by Dorc at Banging Masters in Toronto, ON
Album Design by Ghettosocks
Mickey O’Brien aka OB OreBody was born and raised in Copper Cliff, Ontario in the shadow of the iconic Sudbury smelter. As such, his music represents the raw, unfiltered experience of the working class man in the modern world, expressed over a soundtrack of 90s era boom bap beats. In fact, by day, Mickey O’Brien works as a hard rock miner, literally exploring the underground. But by day and night, he’s also an underground MC, simultaneously channeling a variety of influences and predecessors — Atmosphere, Eminem, Nas, and Jay-Z, to name a few — to deliver hard-hitting raps that touch on class struggle, love & loss, and the daily trials of life.
My Drift, the debut album under the Mickey O’Brien monicker, departs from his more idealogical work as Kill the Autocrat, making the political personal by rooting it in his own life experience. Produced by Canadian beat-master and MPC button-masher Fresh Kils, with cuts contributed by DJ Uncle Fester, the two previously partnered as The Extremities. My Drift also features guest appearances from some of the most unique voices in Canadian hip hop: D-Sisive, Mindbender Supreme, More Or Les, The Mighty Rhino and Lee Reed, who appears on first single “Groundhog Day”. With “My Drift”, Mickey O’Brien shows that the genre can grow up and mature but that doesn’t mean it has to be any less gritty or abrasive.
#CatchMyDrift
The first single from Hiss 3 – Hissterectomy is anchored by a dope line borrowed from diggity Das-EFX and a funky, 420-friendly bassline, both perfectly suited for guest rapper Touch to brag about his impressive weed intake. The “Smiggity Smoke” maxi-single/DJ Pack includes three remixes that take the vibe further afield, each also featuring a third verse otherwise exclusive to the extended version off the 7” from Black Buffalo Records. While Touch and The Dirty Sample venture into the outer limits with their weird and creepy remixes, DJ Matto ventures onto the dance floor with his dark and epic, synth-heavy remix. Take your pick of four varieties of “Smiggity Smoke” now available for your stoner pleasure!
01 – Smiggity Smoke (Single Version)
02 – Smiggity Smoke (Single Version Clean)
03 – Smiggity Smoke (Touch Remix)
04 – Smiggity Smoke (The Dirty Sample Remix)
05 – Smiggity Smoke (DJ Matto Remix)
Plus Bandcamp bonus tracks:
06 – Smiggity Smoke (Extended Instrumental)
07 – Smiggity Smoke (Touch Remix Instrumental)
08 – Smiggity Smoke (The Dirty Sample Remix Instrumental)
09 – Smiggity Smoke (DJ Matto Remix Instrumental)
10 – Smiggity Smoke (acapella)
Lyrics written and performed by Touch.
Production and cuts on tracks 1, 2 and 6 by DJ Moves..
Production on tracks 3 and 7 by Touch.
Production on tracks 4 and 8 by The Dirty Sample.
Production on tracks 5 and 9 by DJ Matto.
Recorded & Mixed at Halfway House Studios, Truro, Nova Scotia.
Mastered by Dorc for Banging Masters.
Art by Rhek.
“Smiggity Smoke” is also available on 7″ from Black Buffalo Records featuring an extended version with an extra verse from Touch, with “Nightlife” featuring Fatt Matt on the flip side.
Cam the Wiz provides some b-movie horror visuals for his song “So Much Between Us”, one of five cassette-only bonus tracks on Whatevski’s Cult Classics album…
Mickey O’Brien celebrates the release of his new album, My Drift (Hand’Solo Records), with a short tour that starts in Toronto and hits Hamilton and Peterborough before finishing with a bang in Mickey’s hometown of Sudbury. Accompanying him on tour are label mates The Mighty Rhino and Ultra Magnus & DJ Slam!
TORONTO
Wednesday, March 13, 2019
Duffy’s Tavern
1238 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON
w/ Mindbender
FREE SHOW
HAMILTON
Thursday, March 14, 2019
Doors Pub
56 Hess St, Hamilton, ON
w/ local acts tba
$10 cover
PETERBOROUGH
Friday, March 15, 2019
Dreams of Beans
138 Hunter St W, Peterborough, ON
w/ garbageface
$8 cover
SUDBURY
Saturday, March 16, 2019
Townehouse Tavern
206 Elgin St, Sudbury, ON
w/ garbageface, Silvertongue, and special guests
$10 cover
