STOP DIE RESUSCITATE

TO DIE AND LIVE IN T.O.
A metropolis tends to eat its own at night.  Stop Die Resuscitate, then, make the sound of paranoid dusk falling on a city street (with your name on it).  Since 2002, this Toronto-based trio of steady-grinding rap / electro whizkids has been honing its intense, informed musical vision that makes no time whatsoever for jaded scenes, industry ignorance, or tired sounds. Next, or nothing.
In 2004, SDR’s debut album, HELL.O (mastered by buddy Noah Mintz (Broken Social Scene, Danko Jones, The Dears), was released independently, to deserved acclaim. “[HELL.O is] a record that just exudes the now,” wrote Toronto Star pop music critic Ben Rayner, in a column devoted to the group. Toronto music guru Denise Benson dubbed SDR “a weird, wonderful blend” and EYE Magazine described them as “the sonic equivalent of a psychotic episode – but in a good way.” 
Since, SDR has stunned crowds at punk joints, electro nights, rapstravaganzas, scenester shows, glam-encrusted stages and open-air benefits.  
In early 2006, the band was signed to up-and-coming Vancouver-based record label S.L.U. (Summer Lovers Unlimited) for a future release, and received Mexican distribution for their debut HELL.O (Noise Kontrol). They have been playing their new material to rapidly increasing interest and wilder, wilder crowds. 
SDR are possibly the only band that can lay claim to having played or toured with acts as diverse as; techno stars Ellen Allien and Miss Kittin, soon to be Can-Con rock stars controller.controller, Vancouver’s hip-hop cut ups No Luck Club, Philadelphia’s gallery rappers Plastic Little, next gen-soul sensations LAL, Brit pop chart-toppers Hard-Fi, and Canadian diva-darling Esthero, all the while gaining new listeners.  Keep that ear to the ground.
Roll call, roll out: Producer Lyle Crilly (aka Surge Gainsboard) is a MUTEK vet and knob-twiddler whose compositions have been described as “wizardly”, and Denise Benson crowned him “a genius”. The man on the mic, coolhandLuke, is an impeccably dressed spitfire with a hawklike eye for observation and a wizened grip on industry trappings – which makes for some of the most bs-free post-everything emceeing you’ve ever heard.  Nova Scotian Joshua Van Tassel, SDR’s newest addition, rounds out the crew by adding furious, jazz-precise live drums to the experience.
Stop Die Resuscitate weave a hardline DIY ethic with deft electronic sensibilities while remaining firmly rooted in hip-hop culture. These kids are up on everything and down for whatever, two things often claimed but rarely delivered in an industry rife with eclecticist posturing belying inter-scene ignorance.  They’re on the real, and they know what you want.  Exhale on your own time.

Selected Press

“...has a hypnotic sound that sends a brooding backbeat of electric chills with mesmeric vocals that feel like it's bringing the heyday underground '80s…with a hundred zombiefied partiers." - Josef Carmelo, URB Magazine

“Brilliant!” – Grant Lawrence, CBC Radio 3

"Genre-oblivious electro hip hop with techno textures, R&B hooks and a politicized righteousness that would make Joe Strummer proud."  – Ben Rayner, Toronto Star

"… SDR should fill your cravings for dirty, low-fi jams deliciously soaked in derision. All about making party tunes for those tired of the all-too-serious scene."  – Evan Davies, Now Magazine (Toronto)

"… art-synth hip hop trio showed it is poised for international notoriety with its tastefully eclectic pop noir." – Steph Davidson, The Gazette (London, ON)

"…like a kid on his first Ritalin trip. It's a weird physical paradox. " - Mike Bell, steelcitymusic.ca (Hamilton, ON)

"brash and deafening" –  Desmond Carter, Queens Journal (Kingston, ON)

" …if you know their song Bad Night... stop reading right now. You're too young and probably too poor to be interested in any of these traditional upscale sedans." – Jeremy Cato, Globe& Mail

“if you want my informed opinion, this band never stops making innovative music..." – Melodie Carew, thecyberkrib.com

" SDR provides the perfect soundtrack to a Blade Runner-style future chaos or for any and all kinds of hot sex in dark alleys" – Matt Thomas, Wavelength (Toronto, ON)

"Toronto's experimental electro-rock hip-hop mavericks..." -  Raf Katingbak, The Montreal Mirror

Festivals/Tours /Conferences

ARCFest (October 2006, Toronto)
OCFF Conference (October 2006, Ottawa)
POP Montreal (October 2006 )
ALL CAPS! (August 2006, Toronto)
Kultura: Filipino Arts Festival (July 2006, Toronto)
NXNE (June 2006, Toronto)
Humanitas Festival (May 2006, Toronto)
controller.controller/ok go  tour  (Feb 2006 ON/PQ)
Perpetual Motion Roadshow (Oct 2006 US/Canada)
no luck club tour (July 2005 -  ON/PQ)
NXNE (June 2005 - Toronto)
POP Montreal (Oct 2004 )
Gobsmacked Festival:: Harbourfront Centre (Aug 2004 Toronto)
Santa Cruz (w. Ghislain Poirier, Masia One – July 2004, Toronto)
Fringe POP (June 2004, Montreal)