THUNDER BAY – ENTERTAINMENT – DJ Classic Roots, aka Josh DePerry, a Thunder Bay-born producer now living in Toronto, has been nominated for an Indigenous Music Award (formerly known as the Aboriginal People’s Choice Music Awards), for his 2015 album Hack the Planet.
DePerry, who has been making music for the last several years, has drawn inspiration from the city he now calls home to help create a relatively new sound on his debut album. With an EP entitled Addiction full of club bangers already in his music catalogue, Hack the Planet boasts 12 more tracks that showcase his growth as an artist.
The album has been nominated in the Best Pop CD category at the Indigenous Music Awards, which take place this September in Winnipeg, MB. The awards are determined by the number of votes each nominee receives from the general public (internationally) on the website.
DePerry recruited Thunder Bay-born musicians Natasha Fisher and Sam Louis for four of the tracks on the album, along with The Outerspacerz and Brazilian rapper Samukera LB lending their touch to the project as well.
The video for Hack the Planet’s first single, “It’s You,” which features the lyrics and voice of Fisher, was filmed in Thunder Bay in the fall of 2014 by Thunder Bay-based Jason Spun of Spun Creative with the assistance of ASCENSION. The video is currently sitting at over 15k views on Vimeo, and the numbers continue to climb.
“It’s You” flaunts DePerry’s growth as a producer (he also shared his vision of the video with the director in order to bring the concept to life). The video depicts a young man (played by DePerry) dealing with the loss of a loved one, and is beautifully shot and executed.
The juxtaposition of the black and white imagery in “It’s You”, which are like memories of a loved one in happier times, against the coloured present-day imagery helps to add an emotional depth to the video not really seen before in previous releases of DePerry’s.
Not one to forget his roots, DePerry also dons full-regalia and demonstrates his moves as a men’s fancy dancer, which is symbolic in the way of embracing his culture in order to deal with his loss in the video.
Today, DePerry continues to live a sober and healthy lifestyle in Toronto, and is an active member of Kaha:Wi Dance Theater in the city. He has stated on social media that moving to Toronto opened his mind to new ideas, especially when it comes to his music.
“It (the move) sure gave me more confidence and ideas,” DePerry wrote.
When it comes to being nominated for an Indigenous Music Award, DePerry said that he was pleased and is looking forward to what happens next with Classic Roots.
“I’m really happy that everything’s becoming more straightforward and slowly building up,” DePerry said. “Things are starting to work out. I’m really happy I was nominated.”
Fans and supporters can vote for Classic Roots at http://www.indigenousmusicawards.com until the polls close on Friday, July 24.
You can find out more info on Classic Roots at his website http://www.classic-roots.com
Hack the Planet is available for download on iTunes.
Stephanie Wesley