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Show Me the BodyPunk incinerators Show Me the Body made their major arrival with first album Body War in 2016, drawing on the elemental shape of hardcore to lash out at injustice. Then and since, the trio (currently made up of Julian Cashwan Pratt, Harlan Steed and Jack McDermott) has been a disruptor of the genre’s conventions. Shredding on banjo rather than guitar, vocalist Pratt slips occasionally from howls into rap and poetry, and elements of noise, sludge and electronic music frequently interject the trio’s punk core.
It’s not just in their music that Show Me the Body fights for space to exist and create. Partly inspired by their time spent with youth-run artist collective Letter Racer, Show Me the Body formed their own alliance, CORPUS, to unite artists in a community and connect with DIY scenes outside the five boroughs. The resulting mixtape, Corpus I (2017), saw them collaborate with acts like Princess Nokia, Moor Mother, Denzel Curry and Dedekind Cut.
CORPUS has since grown into CORPUS Family, a more fulsome representation of Show Me the Body and their associates’ values. “It’s supposed to be something that galvanizes people to work on their own communities,” Steed told The FADER. They have worked to increase inclusion in music communities, reclaim space, build solidarity and even advocate self-defense. Their direct-action initiatives have included a coat drive for the people of Queens, coalition support for the Black Alliance for Just Immigration, the CORPUS Family Mutual Aid Fund and more.
Second album Dog Whistle took punk on a whiplash ride between minimalist metal, invocation-ritual industrial and experimentations that don’t quite have a name yet. But if you’re looking for a starting point, there are three excellent options all released in the last year: LP Trouble The Water (Pitchfork said the band “strike gold” with “daring” music in a glowing review), a remix album (perfect to get a sense for their genre-agnostic experimentalism) and Live & Loose In The USA (a primer for the glorious chaos they bring to the stage).
While the band was supposed to make its Calgary debut at Sled Island 2020 (selected by Sudan Archives), now is an even-more vital time to encounter Show Me the Body, given their prolific-and-rewarding hot streak.
WiFiGawd
Called a “rapper’s rapper” by The Washington Post and “from the future” by Bandcamp, WiFiGawd makes singular hip-hop music that equally evokes chopped and screwed and Soundcloud rap — though he expands beyond the limits of both. His record CHAIN OF COMMAND is a must-listen, and a few credentials include opening for Show Me the Body on tour and releasing music through the band’s CORPUS collective.
ECHTHROS
Lingering agony and Indigenous rage fuels every droning sonic experiment of ECHTHROS. The voices of residential school survivors are sampled throughout their work, haunting the doom-noise sounds like memories that must never be forgotten. “Teeth Agape” is a crushingly severe single of droning anger that goes for the windpipe with sheer electronic violence.
D. Blavatsky
Producer, vocalist, DJ, writer, – D Baescu does it all and more, delivering punky electronic thrills under the moniker D.Blavatsky. His pounding break-beats and harshly layered samples have taken Montreal’s rave scene by storm, as has his debut album YOUR CHOICE, released last year on the label Non/Being, which Baescu co-owns.
L4ZER GR1D
Ripping through a portal from synthesizer hell, L4ZR GR1D has been unleashed on Calgary and can’t be stopped. Harsh walls of electronic noise are punctuated by guttural howls from vocalist Alix Au when this duo hits the stage – or the basement show. Bring comfortable shoes and earplugs to this glitched-out set of punk chaos.
OBROA-SKAI
If you’re looking for hope delivered in the most acidic and abrasive way possible, look no further than Edmonton’s friendliest screamo group, OBROA-SKAI. Rage against climate change and transphobia, amidst other current worldly challenges, but leave feeling inspired to build a new world - potentially with a few bruises from the pit.
LOOK ALIVE
Taking Calgary’s hardcore scene by storm, LOOK ALIVE enthralls with blistering energy and fists-high presence on their debut EP MIMIC. Blending the intricate stylings of post-hardcore, metalcore, and screamo, these raging locals defy description in their journey to make unabashedly earnest and powerful music.
About Sled Island:
Sled Island is an annual five-day independent music and arts festival in Calgary, Alberta that brings together a community of music, comedy, film and art with over 30,000 attendees in multiple venues across the city. For more information, visit SledIsland.com.
Upon entering a festival venue, the passholder agrees to being photographed, filmed or recorded in that venue, and agrees to the publication, reproduction, distribution and broadcast of all photographs, video or other recordings of the passholder's voice or likeness without further notice or compensation in any publicity, advertisement or other publication carried-out by, or on behalf of, Sled Island and in perpetuity in any manner and media whatsoever, including print, broadcast or internet.
Everyone has the right to feel safe and included at Sled Island. All festival attendees must abide by Sled Island's safer spaces and inclusion policy and agree to the code of conduct, which can be found at SledIsland.com/SaferSpaces.
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 Goodstoney First Nations. Calgary is also home to the Métis Nation of Alberta (Districts 5 and 6).
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
#1 Royal Canadian Legion, 116 7th Ave. SE, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
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