Conquering Alexander mix genres and language in debut EP.
Whistler group releases 9202, available on all streaming platforms.
Apr 1, 2021 10:00 AM By: Alyssa Noel
Conquering Alexander might have been born out of the COVID-19 pandemic, but to trace the group’s true origins, you have to go back to 2014.
That was the year Sebastian Rubio and Elliott English first met in Whistler while working at The Keg.
Rubio, originally from Chile, had been a writer since he was 15 and English had been playing guitar just as long.
“We would go to the Crystal and do open mics,” Rubio says. “He’d do riffs and I’d spit rhymes.”
That informal jamming came to an end when Rubio moved to Edmonton to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology. In the meantime, English was in Banff after finishing a biology degree in England.
“We were like, ‘Let’s meet up.’ He had his guitar and the first thing we did was started jamming,” Rubio says of their visit in the Alberta resort town. “It was a better level than what we were doing at the Crystal in 2014.”
But it wasn’t until he finished his degree and was passing through Whistler—with his eyes set on Vancouver—that Rubio connected with English again.
“I messaged Elliott—he was my closest connection and I knew he was in town. He said, ‘How’s it going? Let’s meet for a beer,’” Rubio recalls.
That night they headed back down to their old stomping grounds at the Crystal, where English introduced him to his friends William Ravenhall and William Osborn. “He explains, ‘I went to university with these guys.
This guy is a singer and this guy is a rapper. I’ve been telling them about you. Maybe we can all hang out one day and jam and see what’s up,” Rubio says.
One drink turned into another and one day turned into that evening. “We were pretty tipsy, but it was still a fantastic jam session,” he adds with a laugh. “I had that feeling. It was incredible how the universe puts you in a situation where you feel like, ‘I shouldn’t be anywhere but here.’ Everyone was on the same page.”
Still, they reconvened—sober—a few days later just to make sure the initial impression stuck.
“This time, it was a higher level,” Rubio says. “We connected at a deeper level. What our lyrics were saying, how the guitar was screaming, how our soul singer was doing voices, it came out beautiful. At the end, we were like, ‘This is something.’”
Conquering Alexander—gleaning its name from the idea of conquering Alexander the Great, “one of the greatest conquerors of all time”—was born.
This being 2020, though, it meant that hopes of performing anywhere any time soon were on hold. Instead, the group got busy songwriting.
Mixing hip hop, R&B, and soul, with lyrics tackling the human condition, they turned out about 10 songs before cutting the list in half to create their debut EP, 9202, which they officially released on all streaming platforms on Saturday, March 27.
Rubio sums the tracks up: “‘The Realness’ is about how you gotta be real, accept things as they are; ‘Mama Don’t Play Around’ is about seeing where
your boundaries are; ‘Lost in the Midst,’ you’re on a journey, keep grinding; ‘No More Love’ is about self love, everything you need to have it. We don’t need that extra validation.”
It’s all rounded out by “Society Soldier,” a song about following your path rather than societal standards.
Adding another unique twist, while the album is largely in English, it also features Spanish and French.
“Me being from Chile, I started rapping in Spanish back in the day,” Rubio explains. “I developed this English persona; it was a novel thing there. For me to express everything I had in me, I had to express myself in Spanish and English. Why limit myself to just one?”
With an EP launch behind them, and the prospects of in-person concerts uncertain, the group is still forging ahead with a commitment to spreading their music, despite the times.
“Our vision is, we want to do this for the rest of our lives,” Rubio says. “We want to grind and travel doing this. Of course, it’s hard … After the EP, we expect more hard work. We have more material, we’ll keep going to radio, push an online presence, get on playlists. We want to be on tour in 2022. If it can’t be this year, it has to be next year.”
Conquering Alexander: 9202
The new release from hip-hop group Conquering Alexander is a testament to serendipity, spirituality, and the right creative ingredients.
Want to heal your soul but don’t know where to start? Try searching within. And, while you’re at it, put on 9202 by Conquering Alexander for guidance.
The newly-formed hip hop group dropped 9202, their first release, on March 27th, 2021. I had the pleasure of interviewing Sebastian Rubio (better known as S.E.B) who raps for the group and also serves as their main producer.
How Conquering Alexander began
First, let’s talk about the band’s origin story and the band itself. From left to right, meet the members of the Whistler-based quartet: S.E.B., Ravn, Brûlé, and Ell.
So, how does a die-hard New York hip hop fan with Chilean origins meet three Europeans—two of which are coincidentally named William—including one who speaks fluent French?
S.E.B originally met the band’s guitarist Elliott English in Whistler while bartending at The Keg. The two got along well but eventually drifted apart due to school. Eventually, their paths crossed again in Banff, but unfortunately, history repeated itself and they once again went their separate ways.
If you had a feeling that S.E.B and Elliott were destined to cross paths one more time, you’d be correct.
Fast-forward to July 2020 and the pair run into each other in Whistler once again. This time they are joined by William Ravenhall and William Osborn. Elliot was able to vouch for both Williams since he had encountered their musical abilities back in England.
“It was all impromptu,” S.E.B. reflects. “We immediately clicked at the bar. I told the boys that I had a place in Whistler where we could jam. We packed up, headed out and made some great music. We met up again afterwards. This time we were sober. We clicked so well that we decided to get serious with it.”
At this moment, Conquering Alexander was born.
Spiritual music stylings
The above photo was taken during their first jam session in February. As of March, the band has already released their first extended play.
The five-song project explores a variety of interesting topics. One prominent theme is spirituality. The third track, “No More Love”, hits us with a reference to astrology right off the bat. Ravn sings, “a Libra might be who I am, but I wear this Sagittarius mask on my face.” Shortly after, S.E.B introduces his thoughts on love: “I don’t need more love, I’m in need of a bunch of answers from the one above,” says the Chilean-Canadian.
During our interview, S.E.B. describes the band’s relationship with religion. “Spirituality plays a huge role in our music. We’re all open to learning more about what we’re unable to see. But one thing that we all agreed on is that we have to search for answers within ourselves first.”
Everybody struggles with picking themselves back up after a downward spiral. Whether it is a break-up, lay-off, or the feeling that nothing is going your way, it is easy to lose yourself in the day-to-day struggles of simply being alive.
Optimism
Conquering Alexander provides some much-needed optimism with the track, “Lost In The Midst”. S.E.B. reveals he was going through a devastating break-up while writing this song. His biggest takeaway from his relationship ending was to live in the moment and take everything as it comes. “You’ll find yourself in situations where you’ll be lost, and you’ll have no idea where you’re going. I find it’s important to realize that you’re lost, and to just go with the flow. Not everything is going to work out, but you can always learn from a bad situation.”
“Spirituality plays a huge role in our music […] one thing that we all agreed on is that we have to search for answers within ourselves first.”
– Sebastian “S.E.B.” Rubio of Conquering Alexander to Rhythm Changes
After listening to the band’s introductory project, it’s already obvious what they’re about: Conquering Alexander seeks to inspire listeners to reflect on what it means to be alive. Being alive means that you’re destined to make mistakes even when you’re certain that success is on your path. As long as you are willing to find a silver lining in every situation, you will be content with the life you’re living.