Toronto’s No Tourists Fuse Drill, Grime, Dancehall And More On ‘Guerilla’

Much has been made of the long-standing cultural relationship between Canada and the UK, and that goes double for London and Toronto. Both locations share the deep-seated influences of the Caribbean diaspora and with that comes a unique musical language and a lineage of music scenes continuously crossing back and forth. Newly-minted Toronto collective No Tourists — aka Keynes Woods, Deelo Avery, James Wesson, Kafayé, Lan’do, and producers Universes and Abdullah — are a direct product of that and it’s embedded into every second of their new EP Guerilla.

In just three tracks, the seven-piece outfit explore drill, grime, rap, dancehall, jazz and more experimental sounds that are so tightly woven together they’re impossible to separate. As much as anything, this debut pays homage to soundsystem culture and everything that comes with it, not least the unrestrained creativity and disregard for genre boundaries. Guerilla sets a thrilling precidence for what’s to come, and judging by the other influences No Tourists cite, there’s no telling what their next release will sound like.

Speaking with Complex via email, they told us: “Prior to forming No Tourists, and as individual artists, we’ve always been fans and creators of several genres of music. Whether it be hip-hop, grime, jazz, funk, R&B, house or dancehall, we’ve always strived to diversify our musical palette through our own work or through collaborative efforts. And when we came around to developing our own sound, we always wanted to dive deeper into the art beyond just a musical standpoint. We wanted to create worlds where our listeners can engulf themselves and feel a deeper sense of connection with the art that we are creating. Guerilla is our first conceptual attempt at creating and showcasing a world where No Tourists boast an aggressive, gritty attitude that’s demonstrated through the soundtrack and the visuals that we pair with it. We wanted it to feel raw, heavy, and just all out insane, guiding listener through this world we’ve developed in Toronto.”