Sled Island presents: The Sled Island Kick-Off featuring DRI HIEV + guests

PLAYING MAIN FLOOR

DRI HIEV

Explosive industrial act DRI HIEV is one of the best-loved live bands in Calgary. Anchored by anvil-sized beats and synth, with overlaid squalls of sax and guitar, frontperson CC Crough eats up the stage with a surreal presence somewhere between enticing and menacing. 

Little Destroyer

Electro-punk trio Little Destroyer bring huge beats and livewire energy to their unmissable live shows. With hooks and productions that could fill a stadium, but the charred grit of a gutter-dweller, the band has found a sweet spot between anthemic and nihilistic. Latest singles “hitman” or “Alpha” — which has nearly 2 million streams on Spotify — are great places to start for the uninitiated.

Yoo Doo Right

Drawing from various corners of the wiggity world of psychedelic music — e.g. krautrock, post-rock and shoegaze — Montreal trio Yoo Doo Right creates all-enveloping walls of sound. 2021 LP Don't Think You Can Escape Your Purpose uses massive sheets of distorted guitar and space-age synth to traverse the cosmos, with the hyper-bombastic drums and motorik bass as its rocket fuel.

Ghostkeeper

The long-running art rock band returns with its first album in five years this May. Anchored by the duo of Shane Ghostkeeper and Sarah Houle, the band’s experimental take on blues-inflected rock sounds alive and well on recent singles “The Trees” and “Grassy Plains.”

HYMMMelodies

At a regular HYMMMelodies set, listeners will experience Iranian Santur, Arabic Oud, electric bass, guitar, clarinet, saxophone, percussion, and vocals. The band’s sound is a frenzy of jazzy, traditional (and contemporary) melodies from around the world. The group was featured at TEDxYYC, and notably by CKUA during the launch of Alberta Music Week.

 

PLAYING DOWNSTAIRS

Teen Daze (DJ Set)

Cathartic club producer Teen Daze is back with the new album Interior, a bouncy, glitchy and soulful collection of house-adjacent bops. Influenced by French house, synthpop and electronica, the album is mostly instrumentals made up of sampled funk bass and crunchy filters, but notable single “2 AM (Real Love)” features an inspired guest turn from Cecile Believe.

Carissa Gem

Electronic music producer and CJSW 90.9 FM host (What Will The Neighbours Think) Carissa Gem makes bass music with a healthy dose of hip-hop. A veteran of festivals like Bass Coast and Shambhala who has been invited to create mixes for international music collectives, Gem is a beast behind the decks who explores dance music genres with elegance.

Maky Lavender

Acclaimed bilingual rapper Maky Lavender brings a dynamic range and impressive tonal range to pop-forward productions. His best known single “Bloom” is a romantic, emo-rap anthem while songs on the more recent maky lavender album work with harder trap tones that are dance-floor ready. His prolific output and chameleon-like qualities make for a live show without a dull moment.

Dragon Fli Empire

Dragon Fli Empire has been at the forefront of Calgary’s hip-hop scene since forming in 2002. Composing conscious, cerebral tracks, the duo of Teekay and DJ Cosm take inspiration from classic acts like A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul. A pair of forward-thinking collaborators, DFE has featured upcoming Canadian hip-hop talent since its inception.

 

About Sled Island

The Sled Island Music & Arts Festival is a five-day, multi-venue festival taking place June 22 - 26, 2022. The full festival lineup and schedule is now available on SledIsland.com. 

Everyone has the right to feel safe and included at Sled Island. All festival attendees agree to abide by Sled Island's safer spaces and inclusion policy, which can be found here.

Sled Island acknowledges Calgary as the traditional territory of the Blackfoot and the people of the Treaty 7 region in Southern Alberta, which includes the Siksika, the Piikani, the Kainai, the Tsuut’ina and the Ĩyãħé Nakoda First Nations, including the Chiniki, Bearspaw and Wesley First Nations. Calgary is also home to Métis Nation of Alberta, Region III.