Michael Brock

When I first knew of Michael Brock, in high school in Fernie, BC, I recognized him as the preternaturally talented actor/singer in all of the highschool theatre performances. I have distinct memories of a certain Frank Butler in Annie Get Your Gun, positively singing his socks off.

And now, eight years later, after a series of maneuvers that’s brought him across the world from Berlin to Vancouver, from model to actor, he’s emerged from some sultry, smoky corner of the R&Bsphere with a six-song EP called Scorpio.

Released through Hybidity Music (alongside fellow labelmates such as Nelson-favourites HUMANS) Scorpio is 23 minutes of swirling, enticing, down-tempo soultronica. Brock has found a comfortable sound somewhere in between the alternative R&B of How to Dress Well, the tonal register of James Blake and the sexual subtext of The Weeknd.

But where The Weeknd is all sleaze and sweat, Brock’s R&B love songs have a warmth and welcome to them, despite their darker reverbed depths. Rapid staccato snares and clanging bells do little to distract from his voice on whirling track “Green and Black.” And a sample from Bon Iver’s song “Perth” upholds a sultry call-and-response melody in “Soundtracks,” set alongside gorgeous female backing vocals.

The album remains in the groove of smooth, queer and (beguilingly) minimal R&B until standout track “My Ocean,” where everything clicks, dropping into a deep bass rumble and a buzzing synth saw, his vocals multitracked and invigorated. It’s the sort of elevating moment that can define an album.

Brock is a talented fellow, and Scorpio is hopefully just the tip of that iceberg. - BC Local News

Soothing House is just what the doctor ordered today. Prescription filled by Vancouver’s & Chapel Sound‘s & Jellyfish Recordings & ASL Singles Club‘s Project Pablo. Official remix by way of Hybridity Music. - Future Classics

8prn is a G and this song is G too. I’ve never been one for words, so trust me when I tell you that this one presses all the right buttons. - Salicious Sound

It’s the afternoon and the struggle is real. You’ve got it all—the blunts, the bitches, the snacks, but something’s missing. Your iPod is as barren and desolate as a dubstep weekly at a college bar, and you start to panic. With only a few minutes left, you turn your browser to THUMP and are rewarded with the perfect playlist to smoke, toke, and lay out to. Here are my top 10 Vancouver artists to get high to:

1. Cyril Hahn
I’m starting this list off with the big daddy of chill, Cyril Hahn. First breaking into the forefront of electronic music with his slowed remix of “Say My Name”, Cyril is a necessary component of any high times playlist.

2. Kline
My first in real life encounter with Kline was in a dimly lit Gastown Lounge, I immediately got in an argument with him for distributing his music via email and not SoundCloud. A couple of rounds later, cooler heads prevailed and he went on to release a phenomenal debut EP through Low Indigo, “Mirror”.

3. Sabota
Sabota first popped up on my radar when I saw them open for Nosaj Thing at Venue mid-way through 2013. Since then, they’ve put out several stunning tracks through Hybridity and Scion Sessions that are welcome companions at any evening session.

4. Pat Lok
Pat Lok is the only solo Asian disco house producer that I know of. If you can think of another, you should tweet me their links, but for now his SoundCloud offers more than enough gems to keep me satiated.

5. Evy Jane
Evy Jane is a three-piece outfit led by front-woman Evelyn Mason, and their tunes are simply sublime. My favourite track of theirs, “Sayso”, is unfortunately un-embeddable, but if you click here you can listen to it just as easily.

6. Rook Milo
When the description of a track is simply “thanks to my drug dealer for making this all possible,” you know you’ve found the right song. Pitched in vocoding and in a supreme low-end, make this unassuming Drake remix a must-have.

7. Bobby Draino
Bobby Draino is one of Vancouver’s more elusive producers, and his house tunes are best absorbed laying flat on your back in complete tranquility. His latest EP, Brain Drain, on 100% Silk is a must-listen.

8. wmnstudies
Canadian duo wmnstudies produce a variety of styles of music, but they specialize in songs to make out to.

9. Aquarian Foundation
Mood Hut’s Aquarian Foundation piles layer upon layer in his rhythms, and it’s no wonder to hear that he’s getting nods from Four Tet. His tune “Mystery Track” was featured in Tet’s latest beast of an eloquently titled mixtape, 1234567890qwertyuiopasdfghjklz.

10. Michael Brock
Hybridity’s Michael Brock produces the kind of music that makes you weep a single, glistening tear for. He’s about to release an EP and only has seven followers on SoundCloud for some reason. - Thump.Vice (Canada)

For most of his life, West Coast songwriter Michael Brock has been known as more of an actor than an ambient R&B musician, having worked on such features as Jennifer's Body, Best Day Ever: Aiden Kesler 1994-2011 and the short-lived TV series Adventures in Parenting. Now, he's hoping to change all that with his first-ever EP, Scorpio, which arrives March 25 through Hybridity Music. While you wait, stream the EP in full on Exclaim.ca.

Drawing comparisons to the likes of James Blake, Sampha and the Weeknd, Brock delivers six tracks of sinisterly sexy downtempo on his debut EP, which are all the more enhanced by his radio-friendly vocals and sensual hums. "Green and Black" and the Bon Iver-sampling "Soundtracks" show off Brock's acute sense of melody, while tracks like "My Ocean" and the mini-effort's title track stand toe-to-toe with his peers' similarly smooth beats.

See for yourself by listening to Scorpio in its entirety in the player below. - Exclaim!

I have the perfect song for your next date night, I can almost guarantee that your date will end successfully. The song is ‘Scorpio’ by Michael Brock. This scolding song could melt even the coldest of dispositions. I’ve recently had the chance to speak to the crooner behind this track and the soon to be released EP by the same name. Michael is Canadian, based out of Vancouver, who is releasing his first EP this week on March 25, 2014 through Hybridity Music. Brock started his career out as an actor but made the transition to music, in which his sound was largely influenced by time spent in Berlin, Germany. Michael brings smooth R&B and marries it with electronic beats and indie influences.

Me: Are you excited about the EP release?
Brock: Yes and nervous

Me: What is your favorite track from the EP?
Brock: Scorpio, as it was the first song I ever wrote and, it has a special place in my heart. However, Black and Green is a close second because it is so much fun to perform

Me: What was the transition like from actor to musician?
Brock: It was more of a mental transition, it’s more about thinking of yourself as a musician and less of an actor. I went to Berlin shortly after I decided to make the change and that helped ease the transition

Me: What influence did Berlin have on your music?
Brock: Berlin had major influences on my music. The music in Berlin is largely heavy electronics with no vocals. I had a funny habit of writing songs during the day and then going out to the clubs and singing along with the songs at the club. The result was the Scorpio EP.
I also met Hugo Allon who produced two of the songs on the EP and will be producing more moving forward

Me: If you had the choice, who would you collaborate with?
Brock: I guess I would choose some of the people I have been listening to right now, Inc. and James Blake

Me: What are you going to do to celebrate the release?
Brock: I will be doing a show for friends and family a couple days later, it will be the first time I get to celebrate and see people’s reactions to the music

Michael gave us the inside scoop that after the EP is release this March he will be working on new singles which he will release throughout the summer. You can follow Michael through his Tumblr page to stay up to date on his latest news and the upcoming tracks. - Naked Underground

Romance. Most of us solely understand it as this feeling between two people. But what if it was about the everyday experience? What if you could find the romance in being by yourself on your bed, sad, (and maybe hung over), while the rain pitter-patters against your window? That sounds pretty damn romantic, and that’s the perspective local R&B singer, Michael Brock, used to create his buzzed-about, soon-to-be-released EP Scorpio.

The six-song project will be released worldwide on the 25th – the first single “Green & Black” dropped last month along with a mini-mix teaser of all six songs. It’s a soulful, dark and very sexy debut from the 25-year-old actor-turned singer. “The album is about love, but I’m much more interested in the complexities of the heart than the normalcies of love,” Michael tells me while we sip beers on his bed. The EP is being released by local label, Hybridity Music (Humans, Ladyfrnd), and has started to garner attention from various media and fans alike.

As we discuss these stages in his career, he recounts how this came to be, and it turns out the story is as romantic as the album itself.

“There’s a little bit of a hippy in me, being from Fernie,” Michael says with a shy, proud smile. “It’s a beautiful place. Every time I go home, it’s such a vacation to go to this postcard oasis.”

MICHAEL_BROCK_DEC_2013_0220eMichael credits growing up in the small town for influencing his feel for nature – something that reoccurs in imagery throughout the record. He didn’t always think of himself as a singer, though. He had a successful career as a young actor (even has an IMDb profile), and moved to Vancouver after high school to pursue an acting career. It wasn’t until he found himself in a rut career-wise, when he took matters into his own hands and actively decided to become a singer.

“Things petered out and I found myself in that terrible state that no artist wants to be in; not making any art, and you’re waiting around for phone calls for people to tell you that you can. I decided this was fucked up and I need to start writing music.”

And write he did – in fact it took him all the way to Berlin, Germany, in 2012, where he started fresh, introducing himself as a singer and finding his way around an entirely new scene. He says in a way, Berlin brought out the wildness within him.

“At parties in Berlin, I felt like everyone was an animal, and this really inspired me as a performer. It wasn’t a question of male, female, gay, straight, drunk, high, clothed, or naked. It was a question of being an evolved human and looking beyond all of that.”

After returning to Vancouver last year, he signed with Hybridity and has opened up for Humans and Aaron Carter at Fortune Sound Club. Michael wrote the songs, but tells me it was a collaborative effort with producers from London, Berlin, as well as Vancouver. Needless to say, the EP says a lot about his vision.

“I want poetic words with a message, I want a heavy bass line. I want rich pretty harmonies and I want to be able to sing it with soul.” To ensure the harmonies, he got two of his close friends, and local performers, Jenny Moase and Veronika Sztopa, to be the “pretty ghosts” on the record.

Michael says there will be something on the EP for everyone, and whether you’re in a relationship or not – it all comes down to the romance of it all.

“I love to give people love, I love to receive tons of love. I also love to be totally by myself, and get weird. And get dark. I think there’s power in solitude.”

For more information on how to get down to “Green & Black” and the upcoming EP release party – visit hybriditymusic.com. - Beatroute

If you hear the name of newcomer Michael Brock, you probably don't immediately think of emotion-laden electro-charged neo-soul. But that is what you get: his first release features wonderfully atmospheric vocals on a platform of future-bass and trip hop elements - and the result sounds like a dreamworld steeped in blue tones. All six tracks on this release are timeless and magical in their own way. Michael Brock really has created a little masterpiece with his "Scorpio" EP, that is bound to bring a load of attention not only to him, but also to the young independent Canadian label - Artistxite