2Wars & A Revolution

October 2001

After an extremely productive year -- capped with the recent release of their essential compilation, Year One Volume One -- Toronto label 2Wars & A Revolution Records is poised to take the international breaks and electronica scene by storm.

With a roster that includes a dynamic range of talent including Simon Paul, Jelo (voted the Most Trend-Setting, Innovative DJ in eye's Magazine Toronto's Best DJ Poll), U.K.'s Scissorkicks and the talents of one they call the Phat Conductor, it's little wonder that almost every 2Wars record has charted in the Top 10 of the Stickmen Record Pool, considered the most influential record pool in the country.

"Our new single, 'Wish You Well' by Myagi with the Czech remix, just came in at No. 1 on the Stickmen Record pool," says head Rich Poplak, who runs the label with partners Tamir Moscovici and Anthony Hudson (a.k.a. in-house producer the Incredible Melting Man). "It beat out both Daft Punk's and the Utah Saints' latest 12-inches!"

By topping their international peers in the pools, 2Wars have also earned their respect. The label's releases have been charting well on the playlists of some of the biggest names in dance culture, with their singles having been dropped by such heavyweights as Adam Freeland, Carl Cox and DJ Dan.

"The guys at 2Wars are totally amazing," says recent label addition the Phat Conductor. "They provide the unifying force behind Canada's breaks scene and enable us to represent Canada to a global audience in a way that is completely unprecedented. They're organized and professional without losing their senses of humour and they work their asses off for us."

Now, having established themselves on a domestic level (thanks to major distribution through Koch), the 2Wars crew are concentrating on attacking the most significant market: Europe. While success at home is a good sign, 2Wars hope to break into the European scene through their involvement with Scissorkicks, a wildly talented U.K.-based producer/DJ.

"Basically our main focus is Europe," says the Melting Man, "in terms of getting everything out over there vinyl-wise and really pushing the CD end with the Scissorkicks album and our first compilation. When we started this thing, we didn't want to take on more than we could handle. I've been hand-picking these artists really strategically, and the reception in the States was phenomenal. We started with Canada and we quickly picked up with the States and now we've got a strong foothold in North America. And it's only going to pick up with our next release, Jelo's Live in Halifax recording -- it's awesome."

Jelo, recognized locally as a groundbreaking DJ and now as a cutting-edge producer, is responsible for one of 2Wars' most successful releases. His Dirty Thumper remixes are already being played by the likes of Soul of Man and DJ Icey. His single "Chaos Bringer," off the Saturday Night EP, has been included on recent mix CDs by Donald Glaude and on Bad Boy Bill's Bangin' the Box Vol. 5 on IHR. His Live in Halifax release hits the streets Oct. 24.

Phat Conductor

"Rich, Tamir and Anthony want to take this all the way and I'm excited about all the possibilities," Jelo says. "I'm fortunate to be involved in a cool indie and developing group of really great people."

The sentiment is shared even by local DJs outside the immediate 2Wars family.

"The fact that they have the Incredible Melting Man as their A&R guy proves they know what they're doing," says local breaks big-timer D-Monic. "I play their tracks fairly often. They have the potential to do really, really well, especially if they get some more distribution deals. It seems that in the international breaks scene, not many people are making the funkier breaks anymore and that's what 2Wars seems to be focusing on -- there may be a resurgence in funky breaks, and the 2Wars guys are the ones with their eyes and ears open. They know what's going on."