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Sweatshop coming through for a hip-hop Halloween

West Coast hip-hop collective Sweatshop Union is coming back to Whistler for a Halloween show at Garfinkel’s this Sunday evening, the same place they celebrated the release of sophomore album Natural Progression this past February.
sweatshop-union

Who: Sweatshop Union

Where: Garfinkel’s

When: Sunday, Oct. 31

Tickets: $15 - $20

The second collaboration project of four West Coast hip-hop groups: Dirty Circus, Innocent Bystanders, Creative Minds and solo artist Kyprios, Natural Progression made waves with its conscious messages and diverse vocal styles, garnering a Juno nomination for Best Rap Album almost directly upon release.

According to Dirty Circus’s Metty the Dirt Merchant (no relation to the trail in the Whistler Mountain Bike Park), the group has gone back to the studio this month to record their third album.

They’re endeavouring to be more focused this time around Metty said, something Sweatshop members agreed was lacking from the tangential Natural Progression . The group is working with Swollen Members producer Rob the Viking, and expects to release the album in March 2005.

The recording process has been hindered somewhat by the difficulty in scheduling an extended period of time for the four working elements of Sweatshop to collaborate, Metty said, especially in light of the tremendous success of Kyprios’s 2004 solo album Say Something .

Kyprios will not be accompanying the group to Whistler this weekend, however, the nature of the group means they are used to being short a member or two and shouldn’t skip a beat.

Sweatshop will be joined by Saturday night house DJ Rob Banks. The night includes prizes for best female, male and group Halloween costumes.

Tickets for the show are $15 for the first 200, $20 at the door, available in advance from the Electric Daisy Internet Cafe. The club is currently holding a contest for a VIP package of 10 tickets for the Halloween party, included in which are two "platinum" passes to any show at Garfinkel’s during the entire 2004/05 season.