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Mature Minds is a collaboration that has been slowly brewing between Trevor Walker and Nordic Trax label boss Luke McKeehan since early 2010. After a vocal session with soul and reggae singer Gary Moore, aka Rankin Youth of Soul Jazz Orchestra fame, the ‘Concrete Castles’ song was born. The final mixdown involved Montreal-based producer Miguel Graca who completes the Mature Minds line-up and also contributes his own version. Nordic Trax enlisted the services of long-time musical friends Halo Vargo and Rise Ashen both of whom delivered deadly interpretations of the original. The end result: 6 sparkling versions of this high-powered anthem which glide easily between deep, tech house and broken beat, all the while carrying a heavy message for those whose minds are open enough to hear it.

Trevor Walker and Luke McKeehan are two renowned figures in the Canadian scene with over 40 years collective experience. While based on opposite coasts (Ottawa and Vancouver respectively), they share a love and deep passion for House and underground dance music culture that transcends the thousands of kilometres of Canadian prairie in between. Trevor Walker is credited as the primary catalyst and pioneer of the jazz/funk and House music movement in Ottawa. He has been in the business since 1989, a regular fixture on local radio since 1994 and a long-time resident at Mercury Lounge Ottawa since 1998. His extensive discography includes various solo productions and collaborations with the likes of Rise Ashen, Miguel Graca, Shawn Escoffery & Soul Jazz Orchestra on some legendary labels including: Hi-Bias, Bombay, Afro Art, Gotsoul, Balanced and Do Right.

Producer, DJ and club promoter Luke McKeehan is the owner and A&R for Nordic Trax. From 1996 – 2003 he ran two ground-breaking nightclubs in Vancouver (Chameleon Lounge & Sonar) and has continued to play hundreds of gigs around the world including opening for icons David Bowie, Jamiroquai and Kaskade. Vancouver Magazine named him among the Top 50 Artists & Entertainers in the city. He also regularly consults for major brands including Nike, H&M and Live Nation.

Together with partner Hipp-E and San Diego’s Siesta Records, Halo Varga shaped what eventually became knows as the ‘West Coast’ sound. He is responsible for many anthems as part of H-Foundation. In 2004 Halo re-focused on his passion for the deeper side of things and founded his own label Citydeep,releasing music by the likes of Dennis Ferrer, Marlon D and Franck Roger.

Miguel Graca is an icon in the Montreal club scene and produced his first club hit ‘There 4 U’ in 1991, which ended up charting in the UK. His track ‘Thankful’ on the legendary Hi-Bias label won the 1994 Juno Award for Best Original Dance song, and he’s penned remixes for A-list House names Masters At Work, Jestofunk, Roy Davis Jr and Llorca.

Ottawa based b-boy, producer and DJ Rise Ashen has devoted his life to the study of sound and movement. It’s easy to hear world music elements take form in his productions, which are predominantly nu-jazz, broken-beat and House. He has remixed and collaborated with the likes of Bebel Gilberto, Fred Everything, John Beltran and Angel Moraes, while taste-making deejays Roger Sanchez and Rainer Truby have licensed his tracks.

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Artist: Mature Minds Feat Rankin Youth
Title: Concrete Castles
Cat: NT068

Written by Trevor Walker, Luke McKeehan & Gary Moore
Produced by Trevor Walker, Luke McKeehan & Miguel Graca
Engineered by Miguel Graca. Mastered by Chris Alexander
Published by Nordic Trax [Socan]. Copyright 2010-2011 Nordic Trax.

Track 1 & 6 remix and additional production by Miguel Graca for Pronto Musique. Track 3 remix and additional production by Halo Varga, keys by Adam Pickrell & Halo Varga for CityDeep. Track 4 remix and additional production by Rise Ashen.