After The Smoke Is Clear 711
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Below this write-up, you’ll find the track list, complete with artists, albums, and the city they represent. You can listen here and follow along, or if you’re using the Mixcloud app, hit the “…” to check out the track list while you listen. There’s also a video below from the Twitch stream where I slapped this mix together. I’m having fun week to week, come through and say hi, hang out and listen to music. I’m streaming often on weekday afternoons, either working on ATSIC, listening to the new releases on the radar each Friday or Saturday to make picks, doing Fly In Formation interviews on Tuesdays, or working on my own music when I can find time.
There is nothing more convenient for a listener looking to find more indie rappers than ATSIC. Every week I push the idea that Canada’s music is just as good as America’s, and that if we want to be a separate entity, and remain that way, we need to push our own culture to the forefront. It’ll never be possible to outweigh the amount of American influence we see on TV, movies, and online, but music wise, people can tap in with Canadians and tune out the corporate backed millionaires to the south. At this point it’s my opinion that all Americans are either bigots or cowards - there’s no other reason to let a fascist regime ruin the world, and that’s exactly what these pieces of shit across the border are up to.
On that note, this is the first week I’ve stopped using AI images for the cover art for the week. I’m not sure what I’ll end up doing, but likely I’ll find a photo I’ve taken each week and us that with the ATSIC logo over it. I don’t even care much about AI replacing photographers or graphic designers, that’s just the inevitable passing of time and technology emerging to replace jobs - I’m of the opinion that since I was never going to pay some wildlife photographer 300 bucks to use their shot of a polar bear, having AI make me my own shot of a polar bear (or whatever other animal) isn’t really taking any money from anyone’s pocket, and no one owns the rights to what a polar bear looks like. That said, I do hate these billionaire nazi weirdos who are making bank off pushing AI, and I don’t trust them to do anything except fuck us all over then hide in bunkers with automated robot guards while the world burns and we fight over drinkable water and breathable air once the oceans turn to acid. So I’m going to reduce my AI usage as much as possible. These covers don’t matter anyways, it’s about the music.
Anyways, turn that commercial bullshit off, you’re funding their rape islands and the murders of innocent people. Quit your job if you work for them and have accepted that destroying the world is just what needs to be done so that you can have a jetski and a vacation to a country where you can treat people like slaves every year. Go buy some music from an artist who makes art as a form of expression rather than as a product.
Maybe I’ll type more here later, but pay attention to the drop from Edmonton’s Illiam midway through the mix, it’s an ATSIC exclusive you won’t hear anywhere else for the time being. The rest is all new and all dope, from coast to coast.
Fly in Formation is back to weekly episodes every Tuesday for 2026 until July, with the interview with Hella Treez is online now! Next up I talk with BKRS Club representative The 6th Letter! That’s Tuesday March 30. You can watch every interview I’ve done up until this point on Youtube - Leave a comment, hit like over, or show some love and run up the playlist on a muted tab - it’ll help the algorithm show this content to more people, which will get more Canadian music in more ears.
Tune in every Tuesday for interviews with artists across the country as I continue to learn more about local scenes and artist’s creative processes, talking to artists we play regularly on ATSIC. Come through, hit subscribe on Twitch to skip the ads, and hang out and listen to Hip Hop.
I buy every track I play on ATSIC (unless it’s sent to me directly). Streaming barely pays, so it’s essential to support indie artists by buying their music, tickets, or merch to keep them creating. Listening to #ATSIC on Mixcloud is free for you, and makes sure that each song you hear pays the artist at least SOMETHING. Spotify pays 0.006 CAD per stream, and that’s only if the song hits 1000 plays in 3 months. Assuming a song gets 1000 spins, that means it takes around 125 Spotify plays to earn an artist the same .76 cents they earn from my 1.29 purchase on iTunes. Spotify is also now investing the billions they earn into weaponized AI drones, which is just awful, frankly. Fuck those guys - I use it because it’s the only realistic way to keep up with all these drops from all these artists, but I never listen to anything more than twice on there - because I go buy a digital single of anything I like that much. You could to, and the music industry would thank you.
Shows like After the Smoke is Clearalso need support. If you appreciate discovering new music without the algorithm, or if you appreciate my efforts to get indie artists music in more ears, consider donating via PayPal to help me buy the tracks and keep the show going. Every dollar helps indie artists and ATSIC alike.
If you can’t donate, that’s all good — people who can afford it are paying, and you get to enjoy a free show while I earn a living. Do me a favour though, and help spread the word to other people who love Hip Hop! Shoutout to everyone who is already supporting financially, by sharing the show, or by coming through in comments and chat to help build community.
Stay up.
