by SCOTT C

After years of international gallery openings, creative collaborations and lots and lots of paint, Montreal's Heavyweight Production House has joined forces with California's Ubiquity Records to put their stamp on the music game.

"Music has always been an integral part of Heavyweight," explains founder Tyler Gibney. "I wanted to put together a compilation of music that we were into, and that I felt you would hear at a Heavyweight party."

If you've never seen a Heavyweight installation at work, it basically consists of artists Gene Pendon and Dan Buller creating spontaneous paintings while a performance from musicians or DJs fuels the creative process. Jetting to festivals, clubs and music events in Puerto Rico, New York, San Francisco, London, Tokyo and Amsterdam has allowed them to rub shoulders with musicians and artists who had a similar respect for great art and music.

"Originally, the record was supposed to come out on Ropeadope, but I was working with Andrew Jervis at Ubiquity on some other projects, trying to do some work with Platinum Pied Pipers and Sa-Ra Creative Partners, so it made sense to do it with them. I made a short list of artists that we had already worked with, like Rich Medina, DJ Language and Osunlade, and those were the people who were down first. A lot of the artists that contributed to the compilation traded us art for music, so it was based on collaboration and respect."

The compilation, called Music Is My Art, is slated for release on September 13, and showcases world-class contenders like Seiji, Yam Who?, Steve Spacek and Black Spade, zeroing in on next-level electronic, soul and hip hop joints. The first 12-inch from the comp is available now, and features music from Plantlife, Radio City and John Arnold, as well as Heavweight's trademark design on the cover. If the eyes and ears of the world weren't already paying attention to what Heavyweight is doing, they'll probably be tuning in very soon.

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