Based in Vancouver, Canada, no luck club (NLC) is an instrumental hip hop group which combines turntable improvisation with sample-based rhythms. Founded by the Chan Brothers (Matt & Trevor), no luck clubs beat-driven soundscapes have been compared to the works of DJ Shadow, Kid Koala, Cut Chemist, Coldcut and Handsome Boy Modelling School.
The group started in 2000 when their mix CD and demo, Newfangled Moments, resulted in a recording contract with Dan the Automator's 75Ark Records. NLCs debut album, Happiness , was originally scheduled for an August 2001 release but unfortunately 75Ark imploded that year. Fortunately, the project was rescued by Ill Boogie Records and a revised version of Happiness was released in September 2003 to wide acclaim.
In late 2004, Vancouver DMC DJ champion, Paul Belen (Pluskratch) joined the group to complement NLCs infectious live show; a continuous, instrumental mix of music styles, tempos and moods. As the groups rhythm section, Trevor incorporates an arsenal of laptops and MIDI keyboards to generate the grooves and to manipulate samples. Meanwhile, Matt and Paul are the musical improvisers; employing their turntablist skills and a variety of instrument effects units to create lead lines, additional rhythm and harmonies.
no luck clubs latest release, Prosperity (2007 Expansion Team ), is a diverse, genre-smashing sonic collage comprised of four musical suites. The album is also the second chapter of a planned trilogy of recordings inspired by the Chinese deities symbolizing luck and good fortune. A self-proclaimed strange brew of hip hop, jazz-funk, scratching, tall tales and humour, no luck club is an idiosyncratic project seeking a place in todays progressive music culture.
