I had always known of Circle Research peripherally - I'd seen them warming up the stage at hip hop shows, and heard great things about their radio show on CKLN 88.1. However, it was upon hearing their first single, "Speak & Read", that they really struck a chord with me. I daresay that it even spawned a mini-crush.

"Speak & Read" is a hip hop track which, not by coincidence, samples a Texas Instruments Speak & Read unit. The actual Speak & Read unit is the younger brother of the Speak & Spell, an educational toy that came out in the late 1970s, and was the source of my nerdy childhood claim to fame of learning to spell at the age of 2. Anyone who can make such a funky ditty out of something so mundane, and simultaneously evoke such a strong sense of nostalgia, is golden in my books.

Astro and Nix followed "Speak & Read" with a number of other 12" singles, as well as a full-length album titled Mulligan Stew, the latter which was released on Do Right! Music. In addition to these releases, the guys have dedicated a significant portion of their time producing and remixing music for a number of other artists, as well as DJing Friday and Saturday nights. And that is on top of each man working a 9-5 job.

On this particular Sunday afternoon, the guys tell me to meet them at their studio, "Astro's Turf," on the second floor of a multi-level house in Little Italy. In addition to being the home of their studio, they share the house with three other hip-hop music industry roommates as well as a golden retriever named Clovis - think of it as a modernized, hip hop version of the Monkees. "Rule 1a, no liquids of any sort on any of the equipment," he says, rolling over a mini-table for my glass of water, then taking a seat. I laugh, asking him if this is the only rule.

"Actually no, the second rule we made, 1b, is no feet on the gear," he says, a hint of a smile on his face.

"Are you sure that was it? I thought Rule 1b was 'no blunts in the studio except for clients,'" clarifies Nix.

"I don't think we actually made a 1b, truthfully," says Astro.

The two debate the rules like an old married couple, and decide that 1a is the only rule that has actually been agreed upon, and designate the other two as 1b and 1c, moving forward.

THE WONDER YEARS

Astro and Nix both grew up in Etobicoke, a suburb in the west end of Toronto. Etobicoke is a borough composed of a disparate set of communities - while the northern section is largely ethnic, the middle and southern tip are largely filled with whites, and the latter happens to be where the two grew up. This being the early 1990's, grunge reigned supreme, and it was very difficult for the two to find an outlet for hip hop individually. They ended up meeting through a mutual friend who was into breakdancing.

"In grade school and high school, if you were into hip hop and you weren't black, you would be called slurs like, 'Wigger' or 'Jafakin'," explains Astro. "It was just completely unacceptable at that time."

"And the worst thing is, I bet all those guys that were saying those things at the time all listen to hip hop now," says Nix.

Disconnected from their classmates, the guys would head downtown to all ages jams to get their fix, and from there, they went home and developed their own hip hop basement sub-culture.

"In retrospect, I'm glad that we were involved with hip hop then - I see some of the guys I went to high school with sometimes, and either they have kids, they're on drugs, or they're working at Kelsey's as a server," says Nix. "It's almost depressing."

I ask them if they still do any breakdancing.

They look at each other and laugh.

"Sometimes during lunch time, if I hear a good song on the radio, I'll do some moves in the corner when no one's watching," laughs Nix.

In addition to their excellent camaraderie, Astro and Nix also have a very complementary relationship musically. While one has his ear to the crates, the other has his to the streets. Typically, you can find Astro digging through dusty bins of old records at Cosmos and Rotate This during his lunch hour. Nix, on the other hand, keeps his radar trained on what is happening in the Top 40 and college radio spheres. Certainly, these interests come in handy in informing their radio show and all their production work.

Circle Research has actually come a long way since they released "Speak & Read" - while their radio show and their music used to be exclusively limited to hip hop, they have expanded their repertoire to embrace a number of genres.

"After awhile, you kind of get sick of listening to hip hop all the time - however, you do learn a lot about other music through samples in hip hop - soul, jazz, etcetera - and this is what got us interested in producing other types of music" explains Astro.

"I guess what we're trying to do is close to what the Neptunes have done - not in terms of replicating their style, but in the sense that we'd like to be versatile enough to produce for any kind of genre," explains Nik.

In this case, it was only logical that Circle Research sign with Do Right! Music, whose roster includes artists such as Keb Darge and Afro Dizz, and made them the only hip hop act on the label at the time. Circle Research had been wooed by other labels, mainly of the Canadian hip hop breed, but went with Do Right! as it afforded them an enormous amount of latitude in the creativity department. Similarly, with such an international presence, the label was a logical choice for the two.

RELAX WHAT?

This being a guide to Toronto, I attempt to find out what the guys do for fun. They admit that outside of music and their 9-5 jobs, they have little time for much else.

"Normally when we're not busy, we'll hit up some shows - the last ones we went to were people like Feist, Roy Ayers, Sharon Jones, Alice Russell - none of them were really related to hip hop, but were amazing," marvels Astro.

To my utter amazement, the guys count musicals, ballet, and cooking feasts with their roommates as other ways that they pass their spare time. As if you couldn't get any more lothario-esque than that.

SOME CIRCLE RESEARCH SPOTS When the guys in Circle Research aren't making their own culinary or musical feasts, the following are a couple spots that they frequent regularly: Roncesvalles Bakery & Deli (173 Roncesvalles Ave., 416 535 7143) "Back when Astro was living in Roncesvalles and our studio was still over there, we would go to the Roncesvalles Bakery & Deli to grab some food there, it's owned by this funny Polish man named Vlad, who calls us 'Mr. Bono' and 'Bruce Lee'. Usually we'll get some schnitzel, lasagna, coleslaw, or some cabbage rolls. Actually, they even have two cabbage rolls: a 'normal' one and something called a lazy cabbage roll," says Nix. I ask them what the difference is between a normal cabbage roll and a lazy cabbage roll. "Well, a normal cabbage roll you have to steam the cabbage first, and then you roll all the stuff in," explains Astro, "but the lazy cabbage roll they kind of scrunch everything into a ball and then steam it afterwards." "Actually, the extent of the explanation was something along the lines of (Nix mumbles something incoherent in an Eastern European accent for about 10 seconds, then,) 'See? Eeez a lazy cabbage roll!'" he laughs. "If you check online, I think they put up a testimonial that I wrote, I think they thought one day that we would make it big," explains Astro. No word of a lie, my friends. Queen of Tarts (283 Roncesvalles Ave., 416 651 3009) "This is another Roncey institution," explains Astro. "It's pretty much the only place I know of in Toronto that sells Montreal bagels. The owner also sells amazing gingerbread cookies that are decorated to look exactly like real people - she made a couple that looked like Martha Stewart. Legend has it that Martha Stewart's hairdresser or manicurist or something, came in, and saw the cookies, and was so impressed that she brought some back to Martha, and then Martha called up the owner of Queen of Tarts and asked her to be on her talk show," explains Astro. Albert's Real Jamaican Foods (2 locations at 542 St Clair Avenue West, 416 658 9445 and 558 Queen West, 416 304 0767) "The place is the spot for Jamaican food," declares Nix. "Pretty much anything you get here is amazing. The most interesting thing you can find here though, is something called Irish Moss or Sea Moss, which is this drink that they call a natural Viagra. A natural aphrodisiac if you will," he clarifies. "I really like their coleslaw there, and actually, I asked the guy behind the counter what was in it, and he replied, 'God,'" laughs Gil. Maggie's (400 College St., 416 323 3248) "These guys have these serious breakfasts, but the best thing is their French toast and orange mango juice. Actually, we brought J-Staxxx here before a recording session, and he ended up liking the juice so much that he ordered three of them," exclaims Astro. "He couldn't stop talking about it for days, he was like to his homies, 'Yo son, I had some fine juice with my Japanese and White friends, let's hit this place sometime,'" says Nix in a gravelly voice. Wagamama's Cafe (766 King St. W., 416 603 0369) "This is the spot for some good Globe coffee, and they also make amazing bread," explains Nix. "Actually, they have some crazy jams too, stuff like ice wine jam, apple cider chardonnay jam - I think there's some in the fridge," says Astro, looking in the direction of the kitchen. Bangkok Paradise (506 Queen W., 416 504 8210) Young Thailand (3 locations including 81 Church Street, 416 368-1368, 165 John Street, 416 593-9291, and 2038 Yonge Street, 416 932-2221.) Nik and Gil debate over the best place to go for Thai food. After much deliberation, they conclude that Bangkok Paradise is the go-to place for emerald curry, and Young Thailand for green mango salad. Toshi (565 King St. W., 416 260 8588) Ichiriki (120 Bloor St. E., Unit 103, 416 923 2997) "For the record, I love Japanese food," explains Astro seriously. "For the record, he is Japanese," laughs Nix. "There are a ton of Japanese places in Toronto, but I'll go to either Toshi or Ichiriki for Japanese food," continues Astro, ignoring Nix's comment. "Both of these places are actually owned by Japanese people and always have really fresh fish. I've gone by myself on solo sushi missions, and I'll ask the sushi chef what is fresh - uni, tuna, saba, or whatever it is, and order that. I completely trust their judgment."

OUTRO

I have enjoyed my afternoon so much that I am completely left unawares that I have spent almost 3 hours in the studio with the guys and am on the verge of getting a parking ticket. As I am packing my bag to go, Astro stops me.

"Wait - aren't we supposed to play you a top secret track?"

Recognizing the fact that I could not possibly pass up The Disclosure of Exclusive Information, I delay my exit as Astro lets his studio equipment warm up. He flips a couple switches, presses a couple buttons, and suddenly the top secret track is playing. It is sung by a soulful female voice tinged with sass, and accompanied by an impressive array of beats and an insanely catchy chorus. I'm hooked.

I try to press Gil for more information.

"All I can say is, right now she is unsigned, and this is the first recording she's done. Me and Nik are really excited to be producing her work, since we'll be creating this 'sound' that she'll be known for. But that's the most I can say right now," he reiterates.

Why am I not surprised - the guys who won over my heart with their first single, go to musicals and ballets, and pull a Emeril Lagasse once in awhile, are also big teases too. The crush continues.

You can find Circle Research at a number of places during the week: Wednesday mornings from 2AM-4AM on CKLN 88.1, Friday nights at Tempo (596 College St.), and Saturday nights at Supermarket (268 Augusta). Keep track of their releases at Do Right! Music