The Front is a kinetic mix of different personalities, backgrounds, and musical influences – an unlikely combination of forces that, when integrated, makes for some incredibly compelling hip-hop music.
The band formed in 2002, when vocalists/ MCs Benjamin Arce and Jarrett Martineau decided to assemble some live players for a jam. Benjamin and Jarrett had been performing together at hip-hop and spoken words shows for several years as part of the Lost Tribes of the Sun collective, but they were growing tired of the conventional ‘two turntables and a mic’ hip-hop format.
The Front was born when drummer Jess Conn-Potegal, keyboard player Allan Ollivierre, and then bassist, Chris von Szombathy showed up for a jam at a tiny rehearsal space in a downtown office building. Luckily it was a Sunday and no one was around to complain about the noise.
The band members, most of whom didn’t know each other prior to that first rehearsal, formed an instant musical chemistry and the band began rehearsing regularly – after office hours, of course.
Since then, The Front has honed and developed its particular brand of hip-hop music and made a huge impact on Vancouver’s live music scene. With their combination of a killer rhythm section and rapid fire lyricism, The Front brings it back to the basics of groove-based music by playing live instruments and packing dance floors.
They have become known for their incendiary live shows and mind-bending
vocal complexity, and have performed alongside luminaries such as Michael Franti,
K-OS, and Kia Kadiri. In 2003, they became the first hip-hop band ever to be crowned CiTR’s SHiNDiG battle-of-the-bands champions, and have since rocked club shows and festivals in Vancouver, Victoria, Whistler, and Toronto, including recent high profile gigs at CMW, NXNE, World Ski & Snowboard Festival, Vancouver Folk Festival, and the Under the Volcano Festival.
The Front recorded their debut album Signs of Life with co-producer/engineer Ben Brown (Blue Wave Studios), and it was independently released in the spring of 2004 on the band’s own Sound in Front imprint. After quickly selling out of its first pressing, the band rushed to meet demand and recently re-pressed the album for distribution to national college radio and media outlets, and for sale online at MapleMusic.com
Drawing inspiration from the band members’ diverse backgrounds in hip-hop, soul, gospel, electronic, blues and rock music, ‘Signs of Life’ is rooted in the hip-hop tradition but extends its reach into new sounds and styles. From the gospel-infused ‘Behind the Mask’ to the rocking, digi-funk of ‘Power Theme’ the band explores a musical and lyrical terrain that aligns them with progressive hip-hop artists like Outkast, Mos Def, Blackalicious, and Common.
Having taken a few months off to focus on songwriting and bringing new bass/guitar player Patrick Quine into the fold, The Front is preparing to record a follow-up EP this winter and tour Canada and the UK in the summer of 2005.
