There aren’t words enough to describe the impact of performances delivered by the artists at Scribology, Ottawa’s first annual music and spoken word event. The evening was held at the Library and Archives Canada on Feb. 27 and showcased the talents of three groups of poets, lyricists and musicians.
“We’ve got three bands representing a really wide diversity of sound, coming from different parts of the country, using different types of vocal and musical influences to create soundscapes and spoken word performances that are among the best that can be found anywhere,” said Greg Frankson, Capital Slam co-founder and event co-ordinator of Scribology.
The Young Griot Collective is an Ottawa group known for their socially conscious lyricism recited over a classical ensemble.
Young Griot Collective formed as a group in July 2008, but each member has been writing and performing on their own for five years. The group includes established local poets FreeWill, Musk Ox and Hyfidelik. FreeWill said they take inspiration in their writing from “the fact that despite all that bullshit that went on in the past, people still chill and love one another, and build and create art.”
“They can’t stop us,” FreeWill said.
FreeWill said they are inspired by the things that haunt them, too.
“The history of Canada and all of the horrible, racist, fascist genocidal things that our government has done. The reality of things, and shedding light on that, is important,” FreeWill said.
The Kalmunity Vibe Collective, a nationally acclaimed live organic improvisational group from Montreal, is composed of 10 members, including a trumpet player, a percussionist and a tap dancer. Their songs had audience members singing, grooving in their seats and dancing in their aisles, before performed songs that had audience members singing, grooving in their seats and dancing in the aisles, and their verse recited in English and French held the audience captive in silence.
Canadian Folk Music Award nominees The Fugitives were also in attendance, making a stop in Ottawa for the event in the midst of their national tour. The night was capped off by the The Fugitives’ last performance, where Frankson, other artists and members of the audience who were already dancing in the aisles crowded the stage to jam along with the band.
Everyone in attendance contributed to Scribology’s atmosphere, from nodding heads and snapping fingers in agreement with the low-key rhymes to ultimately creating an energetic mosh pit out of a government building auditorium. The Library and Archives Canada was alive with people participating and returning the artists’ generosity with equally diverse shows of appreciation.
Slam poetry and spoken word have seen a dramatic rise in popularity in Ottawa in recent years.
“I think part of the reason is that Capital Slam has been a big part of it, the show that Greg [Frankson] started,” Musk Ox said.
“That’s created a monthly space, a monthly show, where people go and they feel comfortable enough to express themselves. People keep going and they realize, ‘Wow, we can go up onstage and do a poem for the first time.’ And that’s really cultivated a lot of new people,” FreeWill said.
Audiences are drawn to spoken word not only because it is entertaining, but also because it’s informative and honest.
“People are tired of all the deceit and lies and nonsense that we see happening in the media, so once they hear an honest person on stage, it’s different. People forget what it’s like to be spoken to as a human, not as a dollar sign. So when people realize, ‘This person isn’t trying to sell me something, he’s just being himself,’ it’s refreshing,” Musk Ox said. “People almost don’t realize that they’re missing that until they see it.”