dr.rift

About

Dr.rift is a musical project by Winnipeg artist Kyle Halldorson, founder of the Western Canadian Music Award winning act Dizzy Mystics.

RIYL. Queens of the Stone Age, Soundgarden, Rush, Yes, Radiohead, White Denim, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets.

A flurry of tribulations at the start 2020 were the embers that created the first flames of budding dr.rift songs. Halldorson's phone filled with voice memos of beat-boxed rhythms and non-word melodies during his work days, while the dread of the pandemic and an ending relationship hummed in the background.

Lockdowns created a unique process of remote song-building tennis. Halldorson’s beat-boxed rhythm ideas were the first serve, to ex-bandmate turned family man and pilot, Edward Oakes. Oakes returned live drum-kit interpretations of the mouthed beats via iPhone recordings. Halldorson then Frankensteined separate drum clips into song structures, tracked all his guitars / bass / keys / vocals on top, and volleyed them back to Oakes. "It was like sending a drum beat out into the universe, and getting a full song back." Oakes recalls.

Over the course of two years the duo strengthened its legs. After rehearsing together, Halldorson re-recorded the entirety of the project to a click in preparation for Oakes to track the drums in studio, planned for mid-February of 2022. 

But Halldorson’s father passed away less than two weeks prior after a long struggle with alcoholism that led to liver cirrhosis and finally cancer. A figure known for his role in the Winnipeg country / rock music scene, and a major factor in Kyle's musical path. Halldorson’s reality and personal relationship to the dr.rift debut record shifted deeply and unfathomably.

Devastation loomed during the preparation for studio dates, incapacitating Halldorson. Oakes’ dedication, however, endured as he knew intimately the experience, having lost his own father at age 16. The talented drummer intensely practiced to the re-recordings Halldorson made, and come studio time, shaved four booked days at No Fun Club down to 2.5, nailing the 10 intricately robust rhythmic compositions. 

Outfitted with the final drum tracks and the heaviest emotional challenge of his life, Halldorson home-recorded the remainder of the instrumentation with a particular fire to him. The completion process shifted into a vessel for casting out the demons, and to tend to wounds.

The final product is a hypnotic and emotional blend of Psych Rock, Funk, Indie, Folk, and Prog that pulses with his Indigenous / Celtic roots.
A complex and cathartic bloodletting of grief and anxiety to honor the dead, the living, and self. The songs are catchy in an off-kilter way, due to their makeup of seperate quirky puzzle pieces, pieces that only make sense accompanied by the rest of the puzzle.

Mixed by Cory Hanson (of L.A. psych rockers Wand - Drag City Records).
"This record was a lot of fun to mix and the arrangements were very well thought out.  In places it reminded me of something a more introspective Zappa would write, but each song would turn like a multi sided die, zip into some sugary pop - almost Michael Jackson-esque - then segue to a rhythmic wah hocket out of Angel's Egg era Gong.  It really flows in a lot of different directions and I always appreciate records that do that."
Mastered by Riley J. Hill at No Fun Club.

Keep an eye out for dr.rift's live outfit. Comprised of Tanner Stregger, Kyle Fox, Aaron Bacon, and Tirian Plett. A well dressed display of explosive and dynamic live kaleidoscopic rock led by Halldorson, adorned in a signature night blue blazer and a bolo tie set with his father's ashes.