Universal Heartbeat
An ethos for my new DJ residency, plus a new track with Dampé
In my memoir Bedroom Rapper, there’s an essay all about DJing and my overall music philosophy called “Universal Heartbeat.” The general idea is that after decades of sustained, obsessive consumption of any songs I could get my hands on, I’ve started to observe underlying connections between works that might be from disparate genres and eras. Everything is tied together by that ancient beat, whether it’s apparent or not.
I’ve been interested in sharing this genre-agnostic perspective in different ways over the years. During the early months of the pandemic, I did my Quarantunes livestreams on Twitch, which were a wonderful outlet for all the digging for tracks I did when we were in isolation. That also led to the crystallization of my Charcuterie Music concept:
Seeing music as genreless has obviously influenced the Cadence Weapon project. This radical way of thinking probably came from my dad Teddy Pemberton, the host of a college radio show called The Black Experience in Sound for over twenty years on CJSR 88.5 FM in Edmonton. I’d often see my dad packing up records and CDs at home. To the outside observer, it was a real hodgepodge: quiet storm R&B, hardcore New York hip-hop, Jimi Hendrix, ‘80s new wave, the theme song from 2001: A Space Odyssey. It seemed wild at the time but he found a way to make it work, decades before anyone had ever heard of a mashup.
I’ll be DJing more this year (working on getting some internet radio going again soon) and it all starts next week with the first edition of my new residency in Hamilton at Mills Hardware. Naturally, it’s called Universal Heartbeat and it’ll be free to attend. You can RSVP here to ensure your spot. I specifically designed this particular series with my fellow parents in mind. It starts at 8 pm and won’t go too late, making it perfect for getting a babysitter.
I also plan to play only old music. This edition will be all hits and oddities from the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s. I’ve had this urge for awhile to completely eschew modern songs from my DJ sets. Most of the best times I’ve had DJing were done with some type of self-imposed challenge. I remember playing only ‘60s music one night at the Ossington in Toronto back in the day and it went crazy. Similarly, I used to do theme nights when I lived in Montreal, such as when I played all African music one evening at Eastern Bloc.
We’re gonna throw one of these parties each season with a different theme. My vision is that they might become enough of a thing that people will start coming to Hamilton from Toronto to check them out. So if you’re around on April 17th, take a walk on the wild side and come join us in the Hammer for the first edition of Universal Heartbeat!
Universal Heartbeat starts on Thursday April 17th at Mills Hardware in Hamilton
My next Toronto show will be alongside the hometown legends themselves, PUP. July 18th at Danforth Music Hall is gonna be madness. Tickets go live at 10 AM on Friday but I think you can sign up for presale access at the link as well.
Got a new track out there with UK electronic producer Dampé. I decided to highlight my current home of Hamilton in a similar manner to what you might see in UK drill and grime videos. Big shout out to Geoff Fitzgerald and Cameron Veitch for their work on the vid. Check out “Hard to Say” on all platforms.
You can find me updating my playlists or hanging on Bluesky and Instagram. You can listen to my music on Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp and you can get Cadence Weapon merchandise here. Read my monthly column in Hazlitt. Pick up your copy of Bedroom Rapper here and please rate it on Goodreads.
Thanks so much, this sounds great, I'm sure some will be music I used to dj also and I look eagerly, eagerly forward to it