Music
Press
"...the Chan brothers erect a mighty wall of sound on their debut album, Happiness, a sprawling neo-funk opus for the ADD generation." - Apr 2004
"The Chan brothers served up a mesmerizing set of hip-hop and funk, as one dropped laptop beats for the other to pulverise with astounding turntable skills. These Vancouver beat-makers are easily one of Canada's greatest musical treasures." - Apr 2004
"Like Art Blakey and the soul jazz scene of the '50s, NLC have carved out a space to be creatively funky while avoiding the cool school (or today's equivalent, the laptop IDM crowd) without having to go pop (gangsta)." - Dave Morris (Jul 21, 2005)
"Their '03 opus was one of our fave instrumental-hop albums of that year" - Feb 3, 2005 (Issue 488)
"...jazzy montages meet political and satirical snippets, blended via hip-hop DJing, but done so subtly, so that the needle-based tools are serene and not necessarily heard." - Dennis Romero (May 10, 2007)
"...over 50 minutes of meticulously designed music marked by innovative layers of industrial and hip-hop beatmaking, supplemented by delicate turntable handiwork and quirky sampling. Each listen reveals subtleties previously missed, and the jazz-like improvisations and syncopation will ensure unexpected twists and turns in each composition. It’s edgy enough to make you wonder if the band even knows where a particular song is headed, but tight enough to keep you glued." - Quentin B. Huff (April 30, 2007)
"Beat-driven soundscapes augmented with ingenious samples and funky instrumentation. Sure, you can dance to it, but Happiness is versatile enough to be the perfect soundtrack for doing, well, just about anything." - Mar 2004
"Finally, a record [Prosperity] that is like a cinemascope, discharging sonic luminaries like we were all starring in Chaplin’s Modern Times." - Helder Gomes (Nov 20, 2006)
“This scratch-laden and beat-based sophomore opus further advances their virtuosic widescreen sound." - Joshua Ostroff (Nov 3, 2006)
"...a hard-as-nails set of driving, sampledelic and ever so slightly techno-edged hip-hop that stunned with both its technical proficiency and mind-addling funkiness." - Ben Rayner (Mar 21, 2005)
Discography
2007 Prosperity (Expansion Team)
2003 Happiness (Ill Boogie)
2000 Newfangled Moments (Demo)
Photos
Bio
no luck club (nlc) is the instrumental hip hop project of two brothers from Vancouver, Matt and Trevor Chan. They started out as high school DJs, programming a hip hop show at CJSF, the local university radio station (although they should have been hosting a talk show on youth issues). Upon graduation, Matt became a resident DJ at a popular downtown club spinning house and hip-hop music. Meanwhile, Trevor became an assistant music director at the radio station and used his status to attend many shows during the 'don’t-call-it-alternative' music heydey of the early 90s.
In 2000, the Chan brothers created a cut-n-paste mix cd called 'Newfangled Moments'. This resulted in a recording contract with Dan the Automator's 75 Ark Records. Although the label imploded, their debut album, 'Happiness', was eventually released by Ill Boogie Records in 2003 to wide acclaim. Their most recent release, 'Prosperity' (2007 Expansion Team), is an eclectic, genre-smashing sonic collage comprised of four suites of music.
nlc’s infectious live show is a continuous, instrumental mix of music styles, tempos and moods. Matt is the musical improviser. He uses a turntable, mixer and various effects units to create atmospheric lead lines and polyrhythms. Meanwhile, Trevor is the rhythm section and employs an arsenal of laptops and media controllers to manipulate samples and establish the grooves. Their unique performances have put them in front of folk festival audiences throughout Western Canada. They have also opened for artists such as Jurassic Five, M.I.A., Kid Koala, DJ Krush, Buck 65 and DJ Z-Trip.
no luck club recently made its theatrical stage debut at Vancouver’s PuSH International Performing Arts Festival (2009). In collaboration with Theatre Conspiracy, they co-created, composed the music and performed in 'Live from a Bush of Ghosts'; an interdisciplinary art-dance-theatre project based on Brian Eno and David Byrne's seminal album, 'My Life In the Bush of Ghosts'. nlc is currently working on 'Longevity', a new album inspired by exploitation film soundtracks from the 70s. It is also the last chapter to a trilogy of recordings named after the Chinese gods of luck and fortune.
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