In 1995 Derek Christoff was already building a name for himself as D-Sisive at Toronto’s Planet Mars open mic nights while further decimating the competition on the Eat the Beat freestyle battle segment of DJ X’s infamous radio show The Powermove on CKLN 88.1 fm. Two years later D-Sisive was ready to release his debut EP, J.A.C., a touching collection of songs dedicated to his dearly departed mother, featuring his now classic “Just A Child.” Enter D-Sisive as the introspective emcee.
J.A.C. led to collaborations with DJ Mastermind, hip-poppers Len, Abs & Fase, Classified and DJ Serious, with D-Sisive dominating as class clown, emphasizing humourous punchlines and comedic performance art stage shows labeled D-Siggy’s Playhouse. When “Popped,” a condemnation of pop music from DJ Serious’s Dim Sum compilation in 2000, resulted rather ironically in worldwide attention for D-Sisive, interest from the major labels followed. Big headed like Christina Ricci, as he explains it, D-Sisive wasted the opportunity presented to him, and instead regrouped and reevaluated what he wanted, returning refreshed and renewed in 2005 with two singles on DJ Format’s If You Can’t Join ‘Em, Beat ‘Em, which debuted at #1 on the UK Independent Music charts. A European tour followed.
He followed that up in 2008 with the critically acclaimed ep, The Book (urbnet), short for The Ballad Of Orville Knoblich. Here he exposed his Beach Boys influence with Brian Wilson, a song about D-Sisive’s struggles with creativity, as well as his interest in Tom Waits, who sanctioned the use of his voice and music for Ambulance, and Daniel Johnston, who he covers on album opener Intro (The Portrait of an Artist).
Available on December 30/08, URBNET follows up The Book & Like This (plus three), with Nobody With A Notepad (plus three), a new EP of music featuring a collaboration with Pacewon, a Like This remix featuring the return of Toronto’s Frankenstein. D-Sisive’s long-awaited full-length, Let The Children Die, coming February 2009 on URBNET.