What is Saskatchewan Sound?

Saskatchewan.”

Regina’s Pimpton, born Kyriel Roberts had some strong statements about general attitudes towards rap and hip-hop music in the province, mentioning that he’s often mistaken for a Roughrider and that women have come up to him in the grocery store and touched his dreadlocks without even asking permission.

The 23-year old University of Regina student isn’t discouraged though; he sees himself as a pioneer in creating a hip hop scene in Saskatchewan. He has a way to go, but I was surprised to see how busy The Bureau nights at Flip Eatery in Regina were every second Thursday.

“There’s a market for it; no one’s touching it,” explained Phil Smith. Smith is an aspiring rapper. His day job is as a manager at Atlantis Coffee. Still working on his performance skills, Smith is both anxious and nervous on The Bureau nights to run up on stage during open mic jam times between acts.

“People love their country music and obviously pop music has its place. But I definitely think there’s room for something new,” said Derek Friesen, The Bureau trumpet player.

Sound Society, a band started in 2010 and its offshoot band, The Bureau, created  just before last spring’s Sask Fashion Week are examples of a growing market for local music, in general. The partnership between the band and Flip is good for both business and music. The band helps to draw people in and provide something to do downtown on a week night. In turn, the restaurant provides a needed venue for local and up and coming artists.

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Friesen says the feel in Flip is similar to a place he went to often when he lived in Montreal, more urban perhaps than what is common in Saskatchewan, but as the province continues to grow and attract more immigrants – and as Saskatchewanians travel more often outside of the province, I think it’s not surprising to see all sorts of different music influences emerging here as well as venues supporting local. (Another good example – in this episode, Shanelle Kaul sits down with Regina’s Jeffery Straker, who is headlining at this weekend’s music festival at the Lancaster Taphouse.)

But despite the popularity of these particular events, Pimpton notes Saskatchewan is behind when it comes to music appreciation – calling out some people who’ve never been to a local show, suggesting, “their mindsets are solely on that monetary gain system and they haven’t really opened themselves up to artistic contribution, other than what they’ve seen on TV.”

Again, strong statements – and they’re difficult to refute. How many local shows have I gone to in the last year? I had to ask myself how open I was to new sounds and in some cases, not yet polished sounds.  Last month, I was invited out to the Artful Dodger in Regina for a performance by a francophone band from New Brunswick, called the Hay Babies. Similar to my surprise at Flip, I was not expecting standing room only at the Artful Dodger and I was equally impressed with the band. It was a good sign that there is a local climate for live music in the city (and the province) for great talent from here, as well as great talents that pass through here.

But I wasn’t the only one taken aback. It seemed everyone there that night was a little surprised – and pleased – that a relatively unknown all-women band that sang mostly in French, no less, could attract such a large and accepting crowd. It’s the Saskatchewan curse. Much like how the lead singer of Rah Rah slept through the Juno nominations because “not many people know about the band,” it’s characteristic of Saskatchewanians to always underestimate ourselves.

Shanelle Kaul offers, I think, some good advice to the Juno-nominated band and to all of us: “You can give yourself more credit than that.”

If we can banish our stereotypes of what a certain genre of music should be, now’s a good time to start discovering new talent and exploring what it is that is Saskatchewan Sound.