Pumping hip-hop mixed with hardcore, live guitar riffs and beats, Project Wyze is one of Canada's most exciting new bands.
Unlike the majority of hybrid rock/rap bands that have evolved out of punk or metal, Project Wyze originated as a pure hip-hop outfit. While still at high school, Project Wyze's two MCs, Yas and Bobby, established a strong reputation in the underground hip-hop scene and earned opening spots for acts such as Public Enemy, Dream Warriors, Maestro Fresh Wes and Michee Mee.
In 1995, Yas and Bobby were invited to freestyle with a punk-rock band. They took to the stage and immediately clicked with the fusion of sounds and the fresh audience. "We were used to the hip-hop crowd," explains Yas, "and suddenly we were up there in front of kids with mohawks, beaten up Docs and ‘Anarchy’ t-shirts. We’d never experienced so much madness and pure excitement from the audience."
Energized by their live collaboration, Project Wyze cracked out the pens and pads and got to work on a record. In 1996, the band completed its first six-song, indie EP, ‘Trapz Of Poetic Poison,’ in a grueling, three-day recording session at Metalworks Studios in Toronto, ON.
In 1998, the band decided to put their live show to the test. With just enough money to buy gas for their beaten up van and subsisting on a burger a day for each band member, Project Wyze completed a successful tour across the United States – performing 57 gigs in only 65 days alongside artists such as Papa Roach and the Step Kings.
The band’s current bass player, Elie, was a new addition to the band after their US tour, hooking up with the band through an ad placed in a local newspaper. Through Elie, the band also found a new drummer. Befriending total strangers at a bar one evening, Elie mentioned that Project Wyze was looking for a drummer. His newfound drinking companions recommended Brad Dean. No one had a pen or paper so they just told Elie the telephone number to call and he somehow managed to memorize it. The band jammed with Brad Dean and knew instantly that he was the perfect fit.
On the brink of recording their second EP, the band lost one of its original members and oldest friends, in guitarist Jay. With their plans on hold, they went on one final search and found Sasha. "Sasha was the final piece of the puzzle," Yas recalls. "He brought a new vibe to the band and gave a new twist to our sound."
Writing in their new line-up, Project Wyze began to work on material for their second indie release, a 9-track EP entitled ‘Only If I Knew’ in Grant Avenue Studios in Hamilton, ON. A blend of the band’s diverse music tastes and influences, the music was becoming more intricately arranged and Bobby and Yas’ writing style more personal. "We’ve always enjoyed skillful word-play but for the first time we began to talk about our own experiences and observations," Yas explains. The band pressed a thousand copies of their second EP in 2000. All were sold within three months.
With a reputation for their energetic live performances, and a growing fan-base who were purchasing their music faster than they could produce it, Project Wyze began to attract the attention of the major labels. After fierce competition, the band inked to Sony Music Canada and began work on their major label debut, ‘misfits.strangers.liars.friends,’ in 2001. Recorded at Oasis Studios in Toronto, produced by Jeff Dalziel, and recorded and mixed by Lenny De Rose, the album was finished in three months. "It only took us three months to record, produce and mix because we already had the songs. We all had the same vision and we knew what we wanted," Bobby explains.
The band chose to record a great deal of the record during the ‘graveyard’ shift. "Recording at night, when no one else was around kept us focused," recalls Brad. "The energy was different and that made the music more intense."
One of the highlights of the recording process was working with underground rap superstar and Eminem rival Cage (1/2 of The Smut Peddlers). Cage agreed to guest on the most hip-hop flavoured track on the album, "Jacobz Ladder," and the results are hot as hell. "We love what he did," Yas enthuses. "Cage captured the vibe of the song and brought something new and different to the record."
Another high point occurred when recording the fast-paced vocal takes for the song "Erica." Interwoven with dark melodies and angry guitars, the two vocalists spark off of one another, cutting in and finishing each other’s sentences. "We ran through the song," recalls Bobby, "and were so into it we didn't know that we were being recorded. We recorded a few more takes, but the first was the most exciting and dynamic. It was one of those magical moments in the studio."
All of the music on ‘misfits.strangers.liars.friends’ is written collectively by Project Wyze. "No one of us goes away and writes complete songs," explains guitarist Adam. "Our way is much more fun and unpredictable. Sometimes the melody comes first, sometimes the lyrics. A song might begin with Sasha bringing some sick guitar riff to the table, and then Bobby and Yas will come back with something. Or maybe I'll come up with a melody and the others will all start jamming."
While the entire band collaborates on the creation of their melodies, Yas and Bobby are solely responsible for the lyrics. Their song-writing chemistry has driven their partnership for over 13 years. "We feed really well off of each other," Yas explains. "Bobby will say something and it will just make my head spin and I'll be off. We're totally comfortable and in tune with each other and it’s been that way since day one."
At times playful, at others serious, their fast-paced lyrics form a social commentary – painting vivid pictures of everyday life with a twist. "We figure if we’re putting 11 songs on the album then we don’t have many opportunities to talk," Bobby explains. "We only have 11 topics and they all have to be meaningful and positive so we don’t want to waste words."
Writing everything together, they confess that at the beginning of a song, they are often undecided as to who will sing which lines. "There is no "his verse" and "my verse", explains Yas. "Sometimes we choose, other times it doesn't really matter and we flip a coin. Of course we gravitate towards certain lines that are an expression of our more personal experiences, but we still write those lines together."
In the track "Denial," for example, there was never any doubt in Yas’ mind that Bobby would deliver the emotionally charged lines:
"I remember the time when I was a little child My father wouldn’t call or visit He denied the fact that I even existed"
"It's true, it's about me," Bobby confesses, "but we both wrote it. We help each other to find the words." The song challenges its audience to break free from the paralysis that can result from clinging to lies and refusing to deal with hard truths.
The antithesis of this song is "Room To Breathe." This is the song, above all others, that Project Wyze feels represents its essence as it recreates the energy of a live performance:
"We consider ourselves a live band. Like no other song, this one showcases musically what we are about. There's a live feeling, and lots of energy." Sasha explains.
As the guitar riffs build to heights of frenzy, the immediacy of the lyrics reach out to the audience:
"If I was the mic I'd give you feedback, believe that… Nobody can match this ‘cause I make crowds do backflips… If I was the stage I'd make the crowd flip I'm the first kid alive that was born inside a mosh pit"
‘misfits.strangers.liars.friends,’ is an explosion waiting to happen. Consider yourself warned.
Source: http://www.projectwyze.com/
