October 11 is BENT Day. DoFlame has officially release his label debut along with an incredible video for blistering focus track “Too Loose.”
Two years after the release of his DIY debut DoStroy, the Brampton artist signed to Blue Grape Music out of NYC and dropped singles “Can’t Stand No One“ and Fastlanes earlier this summer.
Masterminded by 21-year-old punk Mateo Naranjo, DoFlame is like the hardcore version of a coming-of-age movie, capturing all of the joy, confusion and determination of being young and unsure of what’s next, just as effectively as it blends the unbridled aggression of heavy music with the swagger of hip hop.
Now listeners can fully experience Naranjo’s vision, perfectly captured in the video for “Too Loose,” a groove-laden track that blends organic drums and programmed beats, a perfect example of DoFlame’s genre-twisting ways.
Alternative Press called BENT “raucous, swaggering hardcore” adding Naranjo “specializes in unbridled shoutalongs that bring people closer.”
For a solo artist, Naranjo is uniquely fuelled by his fascination with making the most out a music scene. Growing up moving between the suburb of Brampton and the city of Toronto, he became immersed in punk and hardcore–and enamoured with the sense of community that can be fostered in underground subcultures.
As DoFlame began to churn out singles and eventually release 2022’s debut album, DoStroy, Naranjo spearheaded the start of OFFLEASH, a collective of friends and collaborators doing everything from filming skate videos and music videos, to designing and manufacturing clothing, to hosting shows and even community bbqs around the city.
“I just wanted to make some kind of central hub for everyone to join in and identify with,” he says. “I wanted kids to see that you can do cool things, you can make cool things, you don’t just have to sit around or party. I want to document this scene we have and show the world through our eyes what’s happening with our friends and our city.”
Now he brings that same spirit to BENT: combative, catchy, creative hardcore that has personality to spare.
DoFlame – BENT
1. Intro
2. Can’t Stand No One
3. Bent
4. Flower City Do It (feat. Mile End)
5. Too Loose
6. The Ick
7. I Don’t Remember (Interlude)
8. Rats
9. Hit Where It Hurts
10. Fastlanes
11. Find Out