The Capitalocene EP
On "The Capitalocene EP," the Wes Carroll Confabulation delivers four tracks that hold a mirror up to this moment. Moving through hip hop, soul, and roots, the music shapes a sound that's grounded while walking forward. In the collection, one story bleeds into the next: consumerism's grip, collective action's promise, the weight of corporate rule, what it means to be a good ancestor—and a medieval-feudal rebellion, because history is with us now.
Slide guitar drifts through the recordings, its metal thread weaving alongside the shimmer of vibraphones, percussive vocals, and the echo of guitar solos. The result is a soundscape that feels both urgent and reflective. The EP doesn't shy from contradiction—alongside its weighty themes, it finds room to parody capitalist advertising, reminding us that even our rebellions get scanned at checkout. So "head right down to your local convenience store" and give it a listen.
🎹 - Dakota Hoeppner
𝄢 - Steven Taddei (tracks 1,3,4,5)
𝄢 - Wes Carroll (track 2)
🥁 - Sascha Enns (track 1, 3, 4, 5)
🥁 - Cyril Lojda (track 2)
🎸, 🎤, Vibraphones - Wes Carroll
BG 🎤 - Greg Baan-Meiklejohn (track 1,2,4)
BG 🎤 - Toni Mendel (track 1 & 2)
Recorded at Marss Audio with Julian
Main Album Cover Graphic Design - Lucas Bell
📷 Jen Wong - all photos on page
#1) Capitalocene
This track stands on the shoulders of social justice inspired rappers from the past 50 years who have stood for healthy communities, and self determination despite the constant expansion of the influence of the 1% leading to "The Capitalocene" in our global ecosystem. This track blends slide guitar, rap, hip hop beats, and a double time swing section inspired by "For Free" by Kendrick Lamar.
The Capitalocene is an alternative to the simplistic "Anthropocene" that helps to explain the story of how Capitalism has changed the planet. The Capitalocene is in our own psychology just as much as it's expressed in imperialism, trade agreements, and social alienation. "It runs on lithium and coal and steam and souls and dreams and public debt. and it's on for $4.99 so head right down to your local convenience store"
#2) It’s Our Turn
'It's Our Turn" blends folk, soul, & hip hop with a marching band beat throughout the second verse. It's an steady ode to the brave and silly ancestors that each of us have who fought the expansion of capitalism throughout its enclosure of the commons, while embracing feminine wisdom, and community. It's a call for us to hold the torch and in doing so, be good ancestors.
500 years after the German peasant war, this song pays homage to our ancestors who have fought for liberation. We are not alone in this struggle and need to feel the warm love of our ancestors deep in our bones. Let's hold that warmth dearly and wrap it around the next generation as they come. Let's blue the skies of the narcissistic capitalist and colonial dim that mutes joy and connection... Also, things haven't changed as much as we think. In 1524/25 German peasants fought to abolish serfdom, feudal dues, and to restore common lands... Now, Real Estate Investment Trusts are buying up more and more rental properties while the unhoused are pushed from every nimby neighborhood. Organizing on the left looks different but is alive and growing. It's Our Turn.
#3) Apolitical
Apolitical is a driving hip hop track that strives for clarity in a dreamland of illusions. Swirling vibraphones and soaring slide guitar weave around swinging rap vocals that keep pressing on.
This song holds a special place in my heart. Writing it was a political act in a time of deep discouragement on Vancouver Island after the RCMP, despite over 1200 arrests, returned Fairy Creek to Teal Jones with minimal supports put in place for the Pacheedaht, Ditidaht, and Huu-ay-aht Nations. The line “I’ve got capacity but just can’t seem to put it in place” repeats like a mantra of frustration, a feeling so many of us know. But the song isn't an endpoint; it's a starting point. It’s about recognizing that the apathy capitalism encourages is a design flaw, not a personal one. We all have capacity—an ocean of it—but the system scatters our focus and builds barriers to meaningful participation. Look at Canada still sending arms to Is@€l, despite years of protest and clear public opinion. It makes you wonder what could possibly break such entrenched complicity.
In "Harlem Streets" Immortal Technique says "I'm sick of feeling impotent watching the world burn. In the era of apocalypse waiting my turn". We are trained for this impotence. Movements come and go and we need to figure out how to build sustaining coalitions that do more than administer damage control of the boom/bust and vilify/colonize cycles of imperialist capitalism as it marches towards fascism.
It’s been two years since writing this. New movements have bloomed, and I am in awe of the incredible, creative, silly, and poetic ways people have risen to the challenge. The tide is slowly turning. I have found myself in a gorgeous community being political, then apolitical, then political all over again as I find a sustaining groove. Solidarity to anyone feeling the same, in any phase of that rhythm.
#4) All Aboutt
"All Aboutt" is an upbeat indie rock track driven by percussive vocals and bouncy, insistent rhythms. It channels the frustration of lonely consumerism into a call for collective action, breaking through alienation with solidarity — and a soaring, cathartic guitar solo at the end.
I wrote this back in 2015 when I was working in retail and while getting more organized in local socialist organizing. Much of my working time was spent feeling alienated and bored but in collective action, I was finding so much meaning, hope, and solidarity. This song first appeared on our 2018 album “Off Empire”. It’s our first time recording a song for the second time in studio.
