Alex en Espagne, Art, Globe-Trotters

Introducing rapper/producer Derek Powell alias Impakt

Posted by Gee on 11.05.10

Mon séjour en Espagne tire déjà à sa fin; dès jeudi je me dirigerai vers les sommets enneigés des alpes Italiennes. Avant de mettre en ligne mon dernier post j’ai pensé vous présenter Derek, un woofer Canadien originaire de Victoria avec qui j’ai partagé un lit superposé durant les 5 dernières semaines. Derek est un des ces artistes DIY qui rap et produit ses propres beats. Il transporte avec lui dans les fermes où il séjourne un petit studio d’enregistrement afin de contenir le feu de sa passion même en voyage. Sa contribution au vibe et au lifestyle de la Casa Luz fut indéniable. Je vais toujours me rappeler certains des après-midi passés à relaxer dans la casita après une session de surf alors que, sans avertissement, Derek décidait de raconter un couplet ou deux à son micro.

Derek de Vinci

Il me fait donc plaisir de vous présenter, à travers quelques élucubrations et photos tirées d’une journée passée à errer dans Cadiz à la recherche des districts défavorisés afin d’augmenter sa street cred, Derek Powell alias Impakt.

Part 1. Introductory rantings

Full name	Derek Powell
Place of birth	Victoria BC Canada
Raps since	1998
Favorite dish	Fresh cherry tomatoes
Favorite drink	Water
Favorite animal	Panther (Cat family in general)
Favorite tractor brand	I’ll tell you when I have one
Last good movie seen	Into the Wild
Last good book read	Le grand cahier from Agota Kristof (Thanks X)
Also likes	WESTCOAST!!!
Not too keen on	Judgement of others

Derek runs the show... and the assistance

Derek runs the show... and the crowd

Part 2. More rantings

Q. Ok so why do you hate the police?

DP. I try to not use the word ‘hate’ it is such a powerful word that is misused way too much. I believe we would be better off as a whole earth if people thought out their feelings a little more before they said that word. Having said that, no one likes abuse of power. Also prefer it when people act on what they believe in and not what a written law says. Pretty hard to do that when you have sworn to uphold those laws…. plus I grew up with NWA… you know how that goes…

Q. Could you describe your art in one word?

DP. Nope.

Q. Could you describe your art with a haiku?

DP. Describing my art
truthfully is something that
only you can do.

Q. Is it the kick, the snare or the high hat?

DP. Depends on the track homie! What I’m bumping right now is all about the snare. Heavy and pronounced… without it the track would not be the same.

Q. Can you tell us about the small mix you’re putting out for us?

DP. The songs you’ve got in that mix are from a few albums. The intro is from a song I recorded in la casita that Alex and I are living in. The first and last songs come from a project I did in 2006/07 with my good friend Tosh, titled Piquanté. That project is dedicated to Chelsea Elizabeth Robinson. The songs in between are from my latest project titled Impakt – Believe, which was released in December 2009. The funny thing about them is the difference in sound quality between the two projects. I mixed Believe on my own while travelling, and am really not happy with the masters. After releasing Believe, I did some research and learnt how to mix and master a whole lot better, which is reflected in the Piquanté album. I spent two weeks mixing Piquanté in the beginning of January 2010 and it came out sounding way fresher and clearer.

Impakt sampler pour ouisurf.ca

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Pour ceux qui seraient intéressés, vous pouvez écouter en entier ou télécharger gratuitement les deux albums d’Impakt sur soundclick.com.