Wiz Kilo

FEB-2006

WIZ KILO

Coming from another city can be hard when trying to break through in the entertainment industry. Imagine yourself moving to a place where everyone involved knows each other, and you have to prove yourself worthy of being noticed. Well that’s exactly what this artist has done. As a singer, songwriter, music producer, and dancer, Wiz Kilo has worked his way in to stay, as he is on the forefront of the new and talented promising stars of the next generation in the music industry.

Wissam “Wiz” Kilo was born in Aleppo, Syria, where he lived for the first 5 years of his life before moving to Montreal, Canada with his family. Being the baby in a family of 4 children sure got him a lot of attention, but mostly because of his ability to entertain, Wiz’s family loved to watch him impersonate big stars.

His talents came through at the age of 4, when he started singing, and later on, writing poems at the age of 12. At that time, his domestic situation was difficult, and the end result was Wissam’s father leaving. “From then on, my poems became songs of self-expression more than anything else, it was a natural progression, music was my refuge and I listened to anything that made me feel alive”, he says.
Entering the studio for the first time, Wiz, a driven 17 year old had no idea what destiny had in store for him. Just a few months later, he appeared on Chum City’s “Musique Plus” doing multiple interviews about the projects he was crafting. Making demos of his ideas gave Wiz the opportunity to open up for BMG recording artists Muzion, and Shawn Desman. “Opening up for Shawn was a complete fluke, and fortunately for me, when I went around asking who was putting together his performance at Montreal’s Grand-Prix, I landed on the organizer himself: Martin Samuels”, says Wiz. Martin Samuels, a promoter from Toronto, liked Wiz’s segment of the show so much that he invited him to Toronto to perform at Canada’s Wonderland’s Latin Fest, a full day concert that hosts a crowd of roughly 22,000 people. At the time, Wiz had a one-man show going on, without any dancers backing him up. Though his performances were satisfying to the crowds, he felt that in order to take his act to the next level, he needed to incorporate his dance skills. The only problem was: where would he find the dancers?

While in Toronto for a couple of shows, Wiz met a young an aspiring choreographer by the name of Leon Blackwood and his friend Simone, a fellow dancer. This opened the doors to Toronto’s dance industry, as he met quite a few interesting people along the way. Dance became a passion, more and more as the days went by, and within a year, Wiz decided that moving from Montreal to reside in Toronto full-time would be the best move for his professional path. Having seen that music and dance go hand-in-hand in the entertainment field, he trained with some of the most respected names around, such as Luther Brown of “Do Dat Entertainment”, and Jae Blaze of “Blaze Entertainment”. His hip-hop technique was improving, as he started seeing the dance industry as a business, not just a hobby.

On that note, Wiz was introduced to Jordan Setacci (aka Jay Das) through mutual contacts, and the two hit it off very well, as they both had ambitions of “making it big” as artists. Though connected through dance, music production was something they found in common as well. “Buzy Cats was a ‘weekly get-together jam session’ that turned into a well structured project”, says the young entrepreneur who’d been producing since he was 14, “making good music’s what brought this together”. “The next step was to get people interested in my newest project, and it seems like things came together”, he says. In fact, things came together quickly, as he made a name for himself in Europe. His music played in clubs, climbed up many charts, and now he is getting offers to tour in Germany, Sweden, and Holland amongst other places. The stage is like a second home to Wiz, having performed in multiple venues and events these past years, including Montreal’s Hard Rock Café, Ottawa’s Suicide Awareness Show on Parliament Hill, Hurricane Katrina’s Relief Concert in Toronto, Cookers Night Club in London, both Mobile Beat DJ Shows in Las Vegas Nevada & Niagara Falls New York, and the list goes on.

His live shows are very important, as he’s currently working with dancers from Toronto’s “Rukus Entertainment” and Christoph Clarke’s “Nexx Level”, as well as Montreal’s “Say What Entertainment”, to name a few. “I’ve had and hope to continue having the opportunity to work with the finest talents out there, I mean who else gets to work with Sony/BMG recording artist Keshia Chanté’s dancers? ”
This past summer, Wiz Kilo took part in Luther Brown’s hip-hop dance play “On My Way Home”, which featured rising star J-Man. It was a great learning experience for Wiz, as he was still relatively new to Toronto’s dance scene. Soon after, - Wendy Wood for DanceCanada.com

FEB-2006

WIZ KILO

Coming from another city can be hard when trying to break through in the entertainment industry. Imagine yourself moving to a place where everyone involved knows each other, and you have to prove yourself worthy of being noticed. Well that’s exactly what this artist has done. As a singer, songwriter, music producer, and dancer, Wiz Kilo has worked his way in to stay, as he is on the forefront of the new and talented promising stars of the next generation in the music industry.

Wissam “Wiz” Kilo was born in Aleppo, Syria, where he lived for the first 5 years of his life before moving to Montreal, Canada with his family. Being the baby in a family of 4 children sure got him a lot of attention, but mostly because of his ability to entertain, Wiz’s family loved to watch him impersonate big stars.

His talents came through at the age of 4, when he started singing, and later on, writing poems at the age of 12. At that time, his domestic situation was difficult, and the end result was Wissam’s father leaving. “From then on, my poems became songs of self-expression more than anything else, it was a natural progression, music was my refuge and I listened to anything that made me feel alive”, he says.
Entering the studio for the first time, Wiz, a driven 17 year old had no idea what destiny had in store for him. Just a few months later, he appeared on Chum City’s “Musique Plus” doing multiple interviews about the projects he was crafting. Making demos of his ideas gave Wiz the opportunity to open up for BMG recording artists Muzion, and Shawn Desman. “Opening up for Shawn was a complete fluke, and fortunately for me, when I went around asking who was putting together his performance at Montreal’s Grand-Prix, I landed on the organizer himself: Martin Samuels”, says Wiz. Martin Samuels, a promoter from Toronto, liked Wiz’s segment of the show so much that he invited him to Toronto to perform at Canada’s Wonderland’s Latin Fest, a full day concert that hosts a crowd of roughly 22,000 people. At the time, Wiz had a one-man show going on, without any dancers backing him up. Though his performances were satisfying to the crowds, he felt that in order to take his act to the next level, he needed to incorporate his dance skills. The only problem was: where would he find the dancers?

While in Toronto for a couple of shows, Wiz met a young an aspiring choreographer by the name of Leon Blackwood and his friend Simone, a fellow dancer. This opened the doors to Toronto’s dance industry, as he met quite a few interesting people along the way. Dance became a passion, more and more as the days went by, and within a year, Wiz decided that moving from Montreal to reside in Toronto full-time would be the best move for his professional path. Having seen that music and dance go hand-in-hand in the entertainment field, he trained with some of the most respected names around, such as Luther Brown of “Do Dat Entertainment”, and Jae Blaze of “Blaze Entertainment”. His hip-hop technique was improving, as he started seeing the dance industry as a business, not just a hobby.

On that note, Wiz was introduced to Jordan Setacci (aka Jay Das) through mutual contacts, and the two hit it off very well, as they both had ambitions of “making it big” as artists. Though connected through dance, music production was something they found in common as well. “Buzy Cats was a ‘weekly get-together jam session’ that turned into a well structured project”, says the young entrepreneur who’d been producing since he was 14, “making good music’s what brought this together”. “The next step was to get people interested in my newest project, and it seems like things came together”, he says. In fact, things came together quickly, as he made a name for himself in Europe. His music played in clubs, climbed up many charts, and now he is getting offers to tour in Germany, Sweden, and Holland amongst other places. The stage is like a second home to Wiz, having performed in multiple venues and events these past years, including Montreal’s Hard Rock Café, Ottawa’s Suicide Awareness Show on Parliament Hill, Hurricane Katrina’s Relief Concert in Toronto, Cookers Night Club in London, both Mobile Beat DJ Shows in Las Vegas Nevada & Niagara Falls New York, and the list goes on.

His live shows are very important, as he’s currently working with dancers from Toronto’s “Rukus Entertainment” and Christoph Clarke’s “Nexx Level”, as well as Montreal’s “Say What Entertainment”, to name a few. “I’ve had and hope to continue having the opportunity to work with the finest talents out there, I mean who else gets to work with Sony/BMG recording artist Keshia Chanté’s dancers? ”
This past summer, Wiz Kilo took part in Luther Brown’s hip-hop dance play “On My Way Home”, which featured rising star J-Man. It was a great learning experience for Wiz, as he was still relatively new to Toronto’s dance scene. Soon after, - Wendy Wood for DanceCanada.com

The critics are in the house: the A&R Panel

CMW 2007 A&R Panel

The 2007 A&R panelists claimed the likes of Nelly Furtado, Keane, and Nickelback as their signing success stories. Consistently the most heavily attended panel by artists, the A&R panel at CMW offered up the standard submission advice: be professional, be concise, present your best work. Two bits of advice that were particulary interesting: “I systematically fastforward to the chorus.” Note to artists here, when submitting a demo, pick songs that get to the chorus quicker. Age was also mentioned as a factor in A&R decision making. If a band has potential but needs to grow a bit, and they’re teenagers, they could get some looks. If they’re a bunch of thirty year olds, forget it.

After a few questions, the demos were queued up for panelist feedback. This was what the room of hopeful, aspiring young musicians had come for. The panel took on the feel of an American Idol episode as each panelist gave the demos a thumbs up or down. Out of a dozen or so demos, two artists got six out of six votes. First, Professor D of The Dope Poet Society electrified the room by leaping up and lip syncing his lyrics, illustrating a point one of the panelists had just made: “personality sells.”

Wiz Kilo also got positive marks for his smooth vocals. A panelist advised him that his musical style was doing well in Germany now, and he should look into getting his music played there.

The hopeful buzz in the room and direct communication from industry to artist was a fascinating interaction, and continues to make industry events like CMW worthwhile.



Article Source:
http://www.sixfingerthinktank.com/blog-wp/?m=200703 - SForzando

The critics are in the house: the A&R Panel

CMW 2007 A&R Panel

The 2007 A&R panelists claimed the likes of Nelly Furtado, Keane, and Nickelback as their signing success stories. Consistently the most heavily attended panel by artists, the A&R panel at CMW offered up the standard submission advice: be professional, be concise, present your best work. Two bits of advice that were particulary interesting: “I systematically fastforward to the chorus.” Note to artists here, when submitting a demo, pick songs that get to the chorus quicker. Age was also mentioned as a factor in A&R decision making. If a band has potential but needs to grow a bit, and they’re teenagers, they could get some looks. If they’re a bunch of thirty year olds, forget it.

After a few questions, the demos were queued up for panelist feedback. This was what the room of hopeful, aspiring young musicians had come for. The panel took on the feel of an American Idol episode as each panelist gave the demos a thumbs up or down. Out of a dozen or so demos, two artists got six out of six votes. First, Professor D of The Dope Poet Society electrified the room by leaping up and lip syncing his lyrics, illustrating a point one of the panelists had just made: “personality sells.”

Wiz Kilo also got positive marks for his smooth vocals. A panelist advised him that his musical style was doing well in Germany now, and he should look into getting his music played there.

The hopeful buzz in the room and direct communication from industry to artist was a fascinating interaction, and continues to make industry events like CMW worthwhile.



Article Source:
http://www.sixfingerthinktank.com/blog-wp/?m=200703 - SForzando