Take two hip hop aficionados that live, eat and breathe music, mix with equal parts clever production and drive to push the sound to the next level, and you get Circle Research. Producers, Astro the Guillotine and Nix the Finger Prince met way back when, through the common interest of records, djing and breakdancing. They formally embarked on their research mission to spread Hip Hop love in 1995, first through sharing choice headnodding cuts with audiences live at shows and later on the radio with the infamous "Circle Research Show" in Toronto on CKLN 88.1 FM (Wednesdays 2-4 AM on www.ckln.fm).

The Circle Research patented cut-scratch-and-boogie ethic that permeates their DJ sets, both at clubs and on air, naturally extends into beat-making territory. Fresh drums, basslines, and melodies drenched in jazzed out soulful funk meet heaping dollops of b-boyism and old-school Hip Hop flavour. First taste of this potent combination was experienced on the now-classic "Speak and Read" 12" that flew off record shelves the world over. Now entering is Mulligan Stew, the first full-length from the Circle Research phenomenon that's taking Canada and the world by storm.

Each track on the album has been carefully brewed to ensure maximum flavour that keeps you smacking your lips long after the last listen. Beats concocted at CR's HQ are sauced with thoughts from some of Toronto and New York's most talented underground rhymeslayers such as Abdominal (Abs and Fase), D-Sisive, Aceiks, Mike Swift (HeadBop Music), Ken Boogaloo (Wee Bee Foolish), Subconcious (Third Earth), Tara Chase (The Circle), Yushin, Paul Ryger, Planet Pea (The Quartertones), Phatt Al, as well as members of Oddities (Psy, JSN JNS, Bookworm, J-StaRRRrrr!!!) and members of Pangea Project (Kamau, Change a.k.a. Yaseen, Equinox 199). Flowing like those stop-record tapes you made off the radio when you were just a kid, the mood moves from straight-up braggadocio to thoughtful reflection, clever wordplay to pure jokes, all couched in some of the most diverse production ever laid down.

"Mulligan Stew" is a snapshot of Circle Research and its extended family bringing the sustenance to feed a Hip Hop weary soul. Grab a plate and fill up!!

Reviews for Circle Research - Mulligan Stew:

"Rhyme styles: B+. Beats: A+" XLR8R, USA

"Keep an eye on these guys, they're set for bigger things" IDJ, UK

"Canadian Hip Hoppers Circle Research show that minimality on the production tip can let your sentiments ring true" Blues & Soul UK

"An hour of pure, distilled illness from Toronto's subterranean rap royalty' Now, Toronto

"Mulligan Stew is a tight record that gives equal nods to classic retro hip-hop and current flavours from an important pair of hip-hop figures in this country…" Exclaim, Canada

"Wouldn't it be grand if all the mainstream hip-hop artists made music the Circle Research way?" Eye, Toronto