WE SUPPORT SASKATCHEWAN’S ENTERTAINMENT & MUSIC SCENE

Whether it’s reaching out to a newly released project, musician or creating a spotlight for local talent to be heard on any of our stages, as well as opportunities to be heard opening for larger acts on our full-venue stage. We look forward to reopen and launch our newest concepts that strongly support the local music in our city. The local music scene is super important to us – we are a small city, but we have big dreams. Let’s grow and support each other – putting Saskatchewan on the map for premium music and entertainment experience.

TRAILBLAZING, CULTURE SEEKING, AND TREND SETTING – NOT LIMITED TO THEIR TALENTS. ALEX BENT + TEFRONDON ARE IN THEIR OWN LANE

Alex Bent + The Emptiness is the brainchild of multi-talented musician and creative, Alex Bent. Yes, his real name is Alex Bent – sounds like it could made up. Alex Bent has been creating music for along time now – you may know him from his hit “Vanilla Blue”, from his latest album ‘Baby’, or maybe you’ve been to one of his unforgettable ‘balaclava’ live shows. He is one of the most musical talented and creative individuals that Canada has to offer, and he is just getting started.

Ron Baldoza is TEFRONDON. TEFRONDON made his name in Saskatoon, SK by throwing well-curated and well-attended parties. A DJ throwing a party? Yes, Ron planned them – set them up then DJ’d. His local success made noise across Canada – now he’s calling Toronto a ‘home away from home’. TEFRONDON has performed worldwide, and has played opening spots in large venues for Lil Mosey, and Russ – to name a few. Ron’s ambition is one of a kind, we see big things from him in the future.

Alex Bent and TEFRONDON join us to discuss how they got their start in the music world, Trifecta Sound Co, their creative identity, influences, some of their favourite moments, what they have been working on, connections in Toronto, and their new ISO Radio Show launching this weekend. We also chat with Trifecta Sound Co’s founder Marvin Chan. Marvin drops wisdom, some history of Trifecta Sound Co and so much more.

TEFRONDON TOPS THE BEST DJs IN SK, YOU ARE JUST GETTING STARTED. 

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO GET INVOLVED IN MUSIC? WHAT’S THE STORY OF HOW YOU WERE INTRODUCED TO THE DJ WORLD?

TEFRONDON: Music was exposed to me at a very young age. Earliest memory would be karaoke at a family friends place or secretly singing/rapping in the car with my dad. I would go to my cousins and he would put me on to a lot of different music whether it was alternative rock, j-pop/k-pop or hip-hop. My first CD I bought was Green Day’s American Idiot. I went through a lot of different phases with genres. In elementary, I was in band and played percussion. Later on my parents got me into piano lessons. Once MP3s and iPods started being a thing, I would hop of the family computer and go crazy on limewire and torrent sites. Years later after accumulating a good beefy eclectic collection of music, my DJ friends encouraged me to start DJing myself. The rest was history!

“A TRAVELLING CLOWN CAR OF MISFIT CHILDREN”

– MARVIN CHAN OF TRIFECTA SOUND CO

Introducing Molson Ultra – This Premium Molson product uses the best ingredients this land has to offer. This clean, light, refreshing beer is created using the best Canadian water and barley. When we say ‘clean’ – we meant it, this product has no preservatives. Lightweight, with 70 calories and 2 grams of carbs.

A Clean Canadian Classic – 3% alcohol.

FROM LIL MOSEY TO RUSS, PLAYING FOR PACKED ROOMS WORLDWIDE. 

YOU HAVE OPENED FOR SOME OF THE BIGGEST NAMES. HOW DO THOSE OPPORTUNITIES HAPPEN? TELL US YOUR FAVOURITE MOMENT.

TEFRONDON:Ah man, these opportunities happen through the homies and through the unexpected ‘right place right time’ situations. Seriously. Doors started opening for me when I worked at Momentum Clothing. Two of the staff members, Kidalgo got me first gig at The Spadina Freehouse and Brennan Elliott when he asked me if I wanted my first residency spot at Flint. Then I met Marvin (Merv xx Gotti of Samurai Champs), we met up at a Carl’s Jr and he talks me into DJing for Samurai Champs and asks if I wanted to go to Hamburg Germany for a music festival. I obviously said yes. I can never thank you guys enough for everything.

Favourite moment would be playing SXSW in 2017 with the bros, Samurai Champs. Representing Saskatchewan as the only hip-hop/r&b band in Austin Texas was a surreal experience for sure. I’ll never forget the shenanigans and artists we saw. Grabbing a backpack full of red bulls from the artist lounge, going down a very busy 6th street running into Nardwuar, eating that good barbecue and Jessie Reyez giving me the death stare. That’s another story for next time.

BEING PLAYFUL WITH YOUR CARTOON MASHUPS IN YOUR LIVE SETS, IMAGERY FOR YOUR PROJECTS, AND YOUR PRODUCTION METHODS.

YOU SEEM TO NOT TAKE YOURSELF TOO SERIOUSLY WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR IMAGE. HAS THIS ALLOWED YOU TO EXPLORE OTHER AVENUES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN MUSIC WHILE BEING RELATABLE?

ALEX BENT: That has to do more with authenticity and being myself. My sense of humour is a pretty big part of who I am and I feel like if I can’t incorporate that, its hard for me to be comfortable on stage or whatever it is that I am doing. 

WHAT IS TRIFECTA SOUND CO?

MARVIN CHAN: We’re an artist collective that grew out of Trifecta Music Festival, SK’s first free, multi-genre arts & culture festival. We wanted to build a platform where niche genres and artists of colour could stand proudly in SK, a province that has been largely known as an endless sea of “5 white guys in a country/rock band”. Today, we’re a collective of artists, DJ’s, and creatives, working to bring together SK’s coolest sounds and raise them to the rest of the world. We’re a music startup, researching new ways in which to build music and community in 2020. We focus on artists of colour, as the majority of our backgrounds root from 1st & 2nd gen immigration stories, largely from SE Asia. Last, we’re a band of introverts, a travelling clown-car of misfit children, searching for “The Sound of “New Canada”.

WHAT IS ISO RADIO?

TEFRONDON: ISO Radio is a community radio station broadcasting from downtown Toronto. Founded by DJ’s (Josephine Cruz) and Freeza Chin (Mike Chin), the online station holds 30+ resident hosts including DJs, producers, journalists, and artists who showcase an array of international sounds and unique discussions. Our artistic director, Marvin Chan, was in Toronto attending a music conference back in 2017. With myself, we ended up at Apt. 200 on Queen St., where I spotted Jayemkayem DJing. I’ve been following her on instagram and listening to her mixes, it was a trip seeing somebody you idolize IRL. Marvin then approached her, pointed me out then bonded over shots of tequila. The next day, Josephine took Marvin and I out for ramen. Being from Calgary, Josephine talked about her own experiences being a DJ, creative, and person of colour in the prairies. Since then, Josephine has been one of the main reasons how Trifecta was able to build a foothold in Toronto. She helped me get my first DJ gigs at Apt. 200 and Cold Tea Bar. She and her partner, Mike, were celebrity judges at Trifecta’s first official NXNE showcase. Once ISO Radio was formed, she invited Trifecta members regularly for interviews and DJ appearances in the station’s programming. All these led to our current project, one we’re most proud of – TRIFECTA SOUND on ISO Radio.

Trifecta Sound Co visiting ISO Radio in Toronto (pictured: Trifecta Sound Co members – LOA, Denise Valle, and Daigoro)

TRIFECTA SOUND CO LAUNCHES THEIR MONTLY RADIO SHOW ON THE ISO RADIO PLATFORM THIS SATURDAY. WHAT CAN WE EXPECT?

ALEX BENT: We’ll be doing Trifecta Sound Co artist hosted episodes as well as guest DJ mixes, interviews and whatever else we are feeling at the time. I have always loved the radio format and I am excited to connect with our fans in a fun and creative way.

TEFRONDON: So the first pilot episode is going to be a supermix of strictly Trifecta artists. I’m excited for the show because I know Alex and I are so proud and stoked for everybody’s individual sound. You’re going to get hip-hop, r&b electronic sounds and more. As for future episodes, Alex and I are going to be showcasing a lot of music that we’re into, artist interviews and special DJ sets. Make sure to stay posted!

HOW DOES IT FEEL TO HAVE CONNECTIONS AROUND THE WORLD? AND SUPER SPECIAL CONNECTIONS IN TRIFECTA SOUND CO’S UNOFFICIAL HOME OF TORONTO, ON?

MARVIN CHAN: We’ve been blessed to have so many connections and opportunities from around the world, largely due to the export and touring missions of our artists. Samurai Champs toured to SXSW, and most recently, Singapore as the first SK band ever to play in Music Matters Live. LOA and VBRTR have toured from the UK to the Netherlands, performing in Europe’s largest hip hop industry festival, New Skool Rules. Our most recent artist additions, Denise Valle and Alex Bent + The Emptiness, have begun to tour across Canada, showcasing in Montreal, Halifax, and even the Yukon. We’ve been so lucky to tour the globe and share Trifecta’s story of SK-made culture to the rest of the world. Toronto has always been particularly special to us, because it was where this all started. In 2016, the last year of Trifecta Music Festival, Samurai Champs, LOA, & TEFRONDON, embarked on Trifecta’s first Canadian tour surrounding their performance at Toronto’s Canadian Music Week. From this first tour, Trifecta was able to start building connections to festivals and industry all over the world. Last year, during Canadian Music Week and NXNE, Trifecta had two full houses of +15 SK artists ready to perform in two Toronto festivals. From opportunities like these through Jayemkayem, NXNE, and ISO Radio, we were able to build our foundation in Toronto. This past February, after our 9th Toronto export mission, or “op”, as we call them, the city truly felt familiar, like our second home. We’re excited, once the pandemic dies down, to continue building the bridge between SK and Toronto. We can’t wait to return to Toronto for our 10th op, and to eventually relocate as a collective to Toronto, our second home.

LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT’S TO COME…