Album Notes

Vandalography

Jason Schadt, also known to the world as Vandal, is an emcee/producer & world traveler from Toronto, Canada. He began making beats on a Boss drum machine in '86 and then in '92 he got his first sampler/workstation. He's been writing songs and short stories for over 16 years and in '91 he started emceeing. Over the past 16 years Hip Hop has played an important role in his creative expression. From breakdancing on the street for money with his friends in '87, to emceeing for 1000+ people in Mauritius in '99, Vandal has made the most of his time and opportunities.

In the summer of '94 Vandal participated in the Fresh Arts music program. Along side other young aspiring Toronto Hip Hop artists (Kardinal Offishall, Marvel, Double Soul...), he gained valuable experience performing and recording and had a song featured on the Fresh Arts compilation tape.

In '95 he formed a crew with his friends called Cryptik Souls, which in '99 had members from across Canada and a song and video, "Cryptik Souls Crew" (featured on Len's "You cant stop the bumrush" album, Sony Work). As a part of Cryptik Souls Vandal gained more and more performing and production experience and began putting together a studio in order to begin recording his own material.

In '98 he was accepted into a program that enabled him to travel and do music. Something he's always wanted to do. Through the help of Environmental Vision Exchange, Jason voyaged to Mauritius and Madagascar to hook up with local Hip Hop artists and perform. Without knowing anyone there Jason relied on his traveling experience and the support of Stach, another participant of the program and fellow singer/songwriter. The trip had such an impact that Jason continued on to Malaysia and Singapore before coming back to Toronto, 7 months later. Traveling in general has had a great impact on Jason. He's been to 27 countries in the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia. In '93 he participated in a Canada World Youth cultural exchange with Indonesia, where he lived with a family in a small village in Central Java for 3 ½ months helping with rural development projects and experiencing Indonesian culture.

After returning from a trip to Malaysia and Singapore at the end of 2000 Jason began working with a crew called Symbolik Music. Made up of former members of Cryptik Souls, Symbolik Music Crew has been performing a unique brand of stage show, which incorporates Theatre and Hip Hop. The response has been really good and Symbolik Music has done shows at NXNE, CMW and in Kingston and Guelph, along with a long list of shows around Toronto.

In May 2002 Jason participated in the first Innoversity Creative Summit at the Sheraton Hotel, Toronto, and walked away a two-time winner. He pitched a radio show idea, "Frequency Jam", to the CBC and was awarded a pilot episode. The pilot is now complete and will be airing in the very near future. He also pitched a short radio piece entitled "The Urban Soundscape", that aired on CBC's Metro Morning show November '02.

Currently Vandal is ready to release his latest album, "The Rebirth of a Classic Obsession" in summer 2005.