When i first moved to the sunshine coast in 1999-2000, i met a very strange and hilarious hippy kid, who i was to learn was pretty far from being a hippy . After a witnessing a couple of wilder edged adventures, which would probably render many people insane, i came to regard him as one of the more cynical and intelligent people i had ever met. The last time i saw him on the coast, around 2001, he was wearing patchwork corduroy and a huge felt hat. The next time i saw him, after he moved to Nelson, he was about as hiphop as it was possible to be. He was WAY more comfortable and at home in that sort of environment. As a music producer and MC, going under the monikers Yan Czar, and CyphaNex, Yan produced edgy hiphop with scathingly intelligent vocals.
I would run into Yan every year at Shambhala, usually in the crispy and delicate early morning hours by the beach where he often lurked, waiting to get into fascinatingly hilarious conversations with random people, in a panda mask. As i explain this, it sounds like maybe this guy might be less than the totally on point and lucid character he is. I assure you, do not underestimate him.
Yan has changed his production moniker to Yan Zombie, producing a varied blend of crunk mashup, ranging from the super heavy party rockers, to the more contemplative easier listening new bass style hiphop instrumentals. Always splattered with well placed and hilarious sampling, on point and often grimy, this music defies genre descriptions.
Onbeyond began working with yan directly in 2009, doing visuals for his live shows opening for mat the alien. Recently i did the packaging for his amazing down-midtempo full length CD: The Hold-on Tight. This album follows in the vein of the classic full length, meant to be listened from beginning to end as a narrative exploration of love and confusion, a cathartic journey through the harrowing pathways of relationships in the modern age.
Yan is an unapologetic button pusher, who never shies away from controversial or mind provoking content, as well as the dirtier side of electronica. this album represents both the beauty and the seamy side of finding and losing love and remaining solid enough to tell the tale.
Tl Nelson BC. album launch for this new era opus is on the 29th of july. check out the full on live zombie experience