Resolved Dissonance

Breakout Toronto Bands: Resolved Dissonance

Breakout Toronto Bands features local artists that we think you should give a listen to.

Resolved Dissonance, aka Sameer Kalra, is a Toronto-born, Hamilton-based beatmaker elbowing his way into the beat scene. He's making chill hip-hop vibes in the vein of Fredo and Oddisee - and has no plans to stop. We featured his track "Less>More" in our February collection of best Toronto songs. I caught up with the up-and-coming cratedigger this month to see what Resolved Dissonance was all about.

WHO IS HE?

An avid fan of in his teen years, Sameer nursed a growing interest in the beats scoring shows like Samurai Champloo. Beatmakers from America and Japan would produce the music for most of these shows, and Sameer fell in love with the music.

He began experimenting with his own mixing and beatmaking. A year-and-a-half tenure as the DJ for These Beats Are So Fresh on 93.3 CFMU in Hamilton allowed him to test his skills on a grander scale.

At this point, Sameer might just be a dude from Hamilton spinning awesome instrumental beats, but as he notes, the internet is worldwide and it is allowing musicians to connect to music fans regardless of distance. "It's still crazy to me how you can make something within the comfort of your own home," Sameer writes, "put it on the internet and wake up in the morning to a message from someone in Brazil telling you that they dig what you've done."

WHAT DOES HE SOUND LIKE?

RD's work features soft sample-based tracks that float from ear to ear, getting lost in reverb, with only steady hip hop and trap drum beats to guide the way. Often the warm, dreamy sampling is accompanied by horns or fluid 8-bit chimes and tweaked vocals. If you search back to his earlier stuff, you'll find beats that would sound right at home on Dilla's Vol 2: Vintage, while his new stuff seems to be heading more in the direction of Shlohmo and Gold Panda. Unlike many instrumental hip hop producers, Sameer doesn't just loop his beats, but works hard to keep them interesting throughout.

HEAR HIM / SEE HIM

For now you'll just have to keep watch on Resolved Dissonance - no live shows are scheduled for this year so far. With summer on the way and an album from this dude expected sometime this year, for now just sit back, turn up the beat, and start dreaming.

Follow Adam on Twitter and Instagram.


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