Vancouver’s Swollen Members have a new disc to introduce to the masses, and the acclaimed band is including Red Deer in a newly-announced string of dates.
They perform at The Club May 26.
The band was founded in the mid-1990s by Mad Child (Sane Bunting), Prevail (Kiley Hendriks), and Moka Only (Daniel Denton). Having begun a solo career while living in San Francisco, California, Mad Child returned to Vancouver to work.
That’s where he teamed up with Prevail and Moka Only, and Swollen Members was born.
Their first releases were three singles on Mad Child’s record label Battleaxe Records between 1996 and 1998. A critically acclaimed debut CD, Balance, was released in 1999. Landing the 2001 Juno Award for Best Rap Recording, the project also features collaboration with Everlast, Divine Styler and Dilated Peoples.
Next up, the guys released Bad Dreams in late 2001 which featured guests such as Chali 2na of Jurassic 5, Son Doobie, Joey Chavez, and Moka Only. Several singles reaching platinum status in Canada.
The CD also went on to earn the band their second Juno Award and four MuchMusic Video Awards including best rap video, best director and best independent video.
Monsters in the Closet followed in 2002. A collection of B-sides and outtakes, the disc included a handful of new tunes including Breathe which featured singer Nelly Furtado.
Their next project, Heavy, was released in 2003. Then, in 2005, Moka Only decided to break off from the group for a second time and continue work on his solo career.
The following year, Swollen Members released their fifth CD Black Magic, and their latest project, Dagger Mouth, hit shelves just last month sporting its first single Mr. Impossible.
-Weber
