No Luck Club

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 club’s beat-driven soundscapes have been shaped by the brothers’ 15 years of college broadcasting experience at CJSF Radio and by their eclectic tastes in music and art.

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. NLC’s 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 NLC’s infectious live show; a continuous, instrumental mix of music styles, tempos and moods. As the group’s 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, harmonies and additional rhythm. Their unique live performances have led to opening spots for Jurassic Five, DJ Krush, The Coup, M.I.A., Buck 65, Money Mark, DJ A-Trak, DJ Z-Trip, Mike Relm & Lovage (Dan the Automator, Mike Patton, Kid Koala & Jennifer Charles).

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 club’s beat-driven soundscapes have been shaped by the brothers’ 15 years of college broadcasting experience at CJSF Radio and by their eclectic tastes in music and art.

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. NLC’s 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 NLC’s infectious live show; a continuous, instrumental mix of music styles, tempos and moods. As the group’s 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, harmonies and additional rhythm. Their unique live performances have led to opening spots for Jurassic Five, DJ Krush, The Coup, M.I.A., Buck 65, Money Mark, DJ A-Trak, DJ Z-Trip, Mike Relm & Lovage (Dan the Automator, Mike Patton, Kid Koala & Jennifer Charles).

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 club’s beat-driven soundscapes have been shaped by the brothers’ 15 years of college broadcasting experience at CJSF Radio and by their eclectic tastes in music and art.

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. NLC’s 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 NLC’s infectious live show; a continuous, instrumental mix of music styles, tempos and moods. As the group’s 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, harmonies and additional rhythm. Their unique live performances have led to opening spots for Jurassic Five, DJ Krush, The Coup, M.I.A., Buck 65, Money Mark, DJ A-Trak, DJ Z-Trip, Mike Relm & Lovage (Dan the Automator, Mike Patton, Kid Koala & Jennifer Charles).

NLC’s latest release, Prosperity (2006), is a diverse, genre-smashing sonic collage comprised of four musical suites. The album begins with brooding, cinematic fare (the Hong Kong gangster noir of "Triad Zone" and the melancholy "Better Times Will Come"), switches to an uptempo groove (the hard funk of "Turntables on the Bayou" and the Bollywood-inspired "Dosa Hut Chase"), takes an introspective twist (historic tales of Chinese Canadian racism on "Our Story") and concludes with an epic smorgasbord of latin rhythms ("Mais Ritmo no Carnaval").

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 today’s progressive music culture.