Monthly Archives: July 2007

dB Magazine, Music, Review, Writing

Beastie Boys – The Mix-Up

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When I reviewed Beastie Boys’ To The 5 Boroughs, I lamented there seemed to be something missing, and noted that it could be the instrumentals. Well, after a slight 3 year gap, we have a new Beastie’s album that is entirely instrumental, and it indeed does fill a gap that is sorely missed.

The Beastie’s instrumentals have always been pretty unique in their sound, and this album is no different. Blending a mix of genres, the whole album is full of wonderful tunes that reflect all the Beastie’s influences. There are tracks like Kangaroo Rat which are clearly influenced by the 1970s funky police show sound tracks, whilst Freaky Hijiki, reflect a more psychedelic surfer laced guitar tracks. Dramastically Different has an almost Middle Eastern feel to it.

Suco De Tangerina, is a nod to the Latin guitarists, and The Gala Event, is a slower, deeper track that wouldn’t be amiss on a “trip hop” compilation from the 90s. Then there’s tracks like Off the Grid, which starts out slow and funky, then drops into a wall of noise that recalls their punk roots. The Rat Cage has a post-punk mentality, with its heavy driving bass making me recall the Pixies every time I hear it begin.

One of my favourite aspects of the album is the sense of fun injected into the record. The muted chatting between the songs, the whistling and cheering at the end of songs, and the hand claps to the beats and random blow whistle blasts give a real sense that this is just the boy’s jamming in a garage, rather than locked up in a studio doing take after take.

Some people might not like the laid back attitude of the songs, especially considering their previous hits, but I enjoy the languid beats and funky wah guitar sounds and groovy Rhodes keyboard sounds. This isn’t the sound of aging hiphop stars who refuse to go out ungracefully, nor a group catering to an audience that’s grown old with them, but a group of people who wanted to do something different and have fun doing it.

dB Magazine, Interview, Music, Writing

Vents

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Vents is the latest signing to Obsese records, the home of Aussie hiphop and label for Pegz, Bias B, Funkoars and of course, The Hilltop Hoods. His musical style is pretty unique in Aussie hiphop, being brash, aggressive, and more in your face than most of the other Aussie hiphop which tends to be a little more laid back. And this is a deliberate move by Vents.

“I’m not really ‘starting out’”, when I ask him about his first album ‘Hard To Kill’, “because I’ve been rhyming for close to ten years maybe, and it was only when I started taking it seriously that an album actually got done. Theoretically I should have had an album out by now with the amount I’ve written over the years,” he chuckles.

“I used to do the same old shit, but then I started getting more lyrical and creative and thought I could go somewhere with that. I think I started writing better rhymes when I put my self in the state of mind that I wanted to be the best at the type of thing I was doing. Not necessarily the best at battle rap or whatever, but carve a niche for myself, and make sure nobody can beat that, not yet anyway,” he grins. “I don’t try and follow a formula which most new guys seem to do, and to me good music transcends genres so I try to appeal to outside the hiphop realm without selling out, if you know what I mean.”

Our talk shifts to other hiphop in Adelaide – mainly the Hilltop Hoods, whose influence has spread far and wide, and the Funkoars, who seem to be on the threshold of crossing over. Both groups have had input into ‘Hard to Kill’, with Suffa rapping on one track, Sesta and Trials on a couple more, with Trials producing the album. “I might throw Trials some beats and samples and see if he can do anything with them, and I give them to him and watch him destroy them,” Vents laughs. “But usually he has a heap of beats and asks me if I can use them and I’ll write something and go and record it, and when he gets it back he does his magic with it, makes it sound real good.”

I find it interesting that Adelaide has such a diverse range of really good rappers, and Vents agrees. “It’s weird. You’d expect, because they’ve got such big populations, bigger populations of better MCs in from Sydney or Melbourne, I guess,” He ponders. “I remember someone asked the Hoods a similar question back in the day and I think they said it was the water supply,” he chuckles. “But I think it’s the vanguard – The Hoods, Certified Wise, Funkoars, they never sold out. A lot of people take shots at the Hoods because they’ve blown up, but they’re super lyrical and I expect that’s had a big impact on the rest of us”.

I wondered if it was a class thing – all these crews grew up in poorer areas around Adelaide’s south. “I think hiphop is definitely a working class type of music, but it’s the same with anything. You look at any great group like Black Sabbath, they’re working class. Maybe it’s a desire to get out of that routine. I dunno though, I’m working class and I’ve never been hard up, never gone hungry before, you know”.

Vents album tackles subjects such as media manipulation, corrupt police and politicians and war. It’s pretty ferocious, and it’s clear how Vents got his name. “I make it a point to be anti-war; I’m not just against Iraq. Because it’s always poor walking class people going to fight for rich people and maintain their world. And I’m anti-State to be honest with you – they just rob the working class – those who make everything… There’s some commie propaganda for you, put that down” he laughs.

Vents is about to embark on an album launch tour, and is looking forward to getting on the road again after the successful Block Party Tour. “I was trying to take it easy, pretty much,” he says of his first time on the road. “In Tasmania on the first weekend we got fucked up, I can’t remember anything! I remember wandering around the city and rocking up to the hotel at 5:30 the next morning,” he laughs, “But after that I got serious.”

You can see Vents get serious at the official launch party for Hard To Kill on Fri 24Aug at HQ with the Funkoars.

24Seven, Interview, Music, Writing

The Herd

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What’s been happening with the Herd lately? What have you been doing?
Hanging out on the Central Coast of NSW writing another album, playing computer games and eating Rok Poshtya’s (our bass player) ill cooking (that means Good cooking, Mum!). Plus Sulo, our resident Italian is showing us a thing or two about pasta. It’s great times.

When’s the next album going to drop?
Sometime in 2008.

How is Elefant Traks doing?
It’s cruising along nicely – we have a good position to unleash new artists and promote our current crop of fine young cannibals.

Who are the newest signings?
The Tongue – he is a very talented vocalist whose album will be released in 2007.

Is it hard being an indie label in Australia?
It’s not hard unless your measurement for success is loads of money. If you want loads of money I suggest you become an arms dealer or a corporate executive. We have a lot of passion for these little records we put out and that probably results in them going further than your average indie release.

How do you see the direction of Aussie hiphop at the moment?
Getting plump, watching TV and not going out much. Perhaps it’s too much takeaway food and beer. Probably could lose the extra tyre lurking in the beer gut.

Do you see Aussie hiphop having appeal beyond our borders?
Of course, the powers that be have delayed the growth of localised forms of music many times before, by not reading the possibilities that the future holds. But that’s fine – it allows for more development and more avenues for the artists that will command international attention to break through. Either that or you accept that hip hop will only ever come from America – I think a lot of Australians (and people around the world) would object to that status quo.

Are you looking to reach a wider audience, or are you content with this one?
Central to our successes thus far is the conviction to pursue our own ideas rather than trying to fit into mainstream radio’s framework, for example. It’s meant that we haven’t simply blown up at any point, but we’ve got a loyal live following and we sell a lot of records for an indie band. Without sounding like a wanker, at least our music has a sincerity there rather than a contrived attempt at reaching more people.

You guys seem to tour a lot. What’s your favourite place to play?
Byron Bay is always good, Melbourne is a vibrant place, Adelaide is the one place we haven’t gone that often (maybe 6 or 8 times in the last 5 years). I love crossing the Nullarbor though – it’s incredible from the sky.


Do you like the big festivals, or do you prefer more intimate surrounds when performing?
Intimate gigs are great – more personal and much more interesting shows. Festivals can be great if there are no technical problems, because everything is so quick. Live music is where it’s at though – there’s no way you can get the same kind of energy in CDs and recorded music. In the live context, it’s more exciting, more lively and memorable.
Your cover of John Schumann’s “I Was Only 19” was well received – do you know if sales improve for Redgum since its release?
I have no idea, particularly as John is involved in numerous other projects like ‘Lawson’ which is touring around the nation and playing festivals etc.

Would you consider doing another iconic Australian song as a hiphop song – maybe an Oils song perhaps? Do you think Peter Garrett would sing at a BDO with you?
Peter Garrett has been very supportive of us and his praise has definitely been higher up on our scale of compliments – but could you imagine his dancing in our show? We’d all out-awkward-dance each other.

Do you ever feel that through your music you’re just preaching to the perverted? For example, have you met any Young Liberals who are fans?
Funnily enough yes, because people aren’t neatly folded into a personality box without some creases. This doesn’t mean that we appreciate them – I couldn’t imagine anything sadder than a young liberal aspiring to the sorts of things John Howard stands for. Humans are contradictory characters and we see our music as another form of dialogue that gets thrown into the general mix. I think it’s fairly common for our audience to agree with us on some levels and then have points of difference on others – even if it’s just small things. At the same time, I think the majority of these people are pleased that we’re discussing this stuff in a musical context because for some reason, not many bands do.

Who do you think will win the next election? More importantly, do you really think it will have any kind of positive impact on Australia and our position in the world?
This is too long a question to ask in a hurry, as the Liberals are far too sophisticated to allow a newcomer to snatch their power – and Rudd needs to walk such a fine line pleasing the various conflicting constituencies. It’s too close to call – but at least it is close. This time last year there was no hope of dislodging the Coalition. The danger in the excitement of it being a contest, is the haste in painting Rudd as a saviour – which he most definitely is not – which might come back to bite him if any mud sticks.

24Seven, Interview, Writing

Breakfastaz

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Here’s a cautionary tale for all you producers out there. I’m talking to Merf from the Breakfastaz, who are about to hit Australia on their 3rd tour in as many years, and he tells me the kind of story nightmares are made of. “It was the first Bank Holiday of the year and we had just moved into our new studio and spent two months setting the place up. We actually had our office and tech room in the men’s toilets,” he chuckles, “because we had an extra set, so we dismantled them and put computers and stuff in there and it must have got a little too hot or something because three of our fucking hardrives just popped and we lost a shit load of stuff!” OUCH!

“When it happened we were all like FUCK! We couldn’t believe it. I didn’t believe we couldn’t get the data back, I was like ‘nah, we’ll be fine, we’ll get it all back’ and as the weeks ticked on it was like ‘oooh shit, maybe we won’t get it back!’ he laughs nervously. And although it was a pain in the arse for them, they’re pretty optimistic about the whole ordeal. “To be honest it hasn’t really set us back too much as yet. The next single we were planning was on that harddrive so that would have come out around October, but if we don’t have it back by then we’ll probably have to re-write it which will be the first time it would have really fucked us.”

“To be honest there’s two ways of looking at it – either it’s a major disaster or it’s something positive. We’ve got all our samples and programs and plugins on other computers so we can still do our work and do some new stuff, and in some kind of cathartic, Buddhist kind of way we’re like burning the past and we’ve got a fresh start and can turn over a new leaf,” he laughs again. “We’ve still very much got plans to crank out some two or three more singles on Breakfast Club by the end of the year, and then try and put something big together for around the start of 2008.”

Yes, a Breakfastaz album is on the cards! “It’s something that maybe we should have done already,” he says diplomatically. “I guess we’ve been a bit lazy but because we’ve changed labels every two or three singles and never found one company we were really comfortable doing it for. Now that we’ve got our own label we can do it ourselves. If some other bigger label wants to help out then fine.”

But don’t take this as a 100% confirmation. Their label is still fairly young, and the boys themselves are taking stock of the industry as it stands, deciding what to do. “It’s kind of tricky with the beatport and trackitdown kind of stuff,” Merf explains, “because punters are buying individual songs. Chances are if you put out a full album people are just going to download the songs they like anyway so it’s kind of confusing figuring out if it’s even worth doing and how useful it is, bar having to say ‘we’ve put out an album'”.

Their new label, The Breakfast Club, has the three of them excited and optimistic. Forming good relationships with distributors and promotion companies, the boys are looking forward to releasing their second single ‘Girls, Money, Drink & Drugs’. “It just makes more sense to run your own record label,” he says, “rather than giving away half of your tunes to someone just so they can do a little bit of the organisational work. It’s not that hard running an underground record label… I say at his point after only having done it for a few months,” he chortles. “I might be eating my words in six months time!”

For this years tour down under, Merf and Gav will be gracing us as the Breakfastaz, leaving Froe to hold the fort back home. If you’ve never seen the Breakfastaz, never heard their sound, you’re missing out because their sets are full of energy and they have the big dancefloor party sound similar to the Freestylers, with a lot more enthusiasm because they’re not a bunch of old farts like Matt and Aston. They promise a jumping set with new stuff from artists like Far Too Loud, Control Z, the Freestylers and of course, their own stuff; providing their hard drive doesn’t give out on them again.

dB Magazine, Interview, Music, Writing

Guru

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Sometimes interviews can be a bit hairy. Timezones, telephone lines, traffic and schedules can all conspire to make things difficult for all involved. Such was my interview with Guru. Instead of the 15 minute chat from a hotel room, I had a 5 minute chat about Jazzmatazz 4 with both Guru and his new partner in crime Solar as they travelled in a taxi on the way to another interview. Not the most ideal situation to ask someone you’ve been a fan of you years everything you wanted to know.

So, I concentrated on Jazzmatazz volume 4. The Jazmatazz series was launched 14 years ago as Guru (which stands for Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal) teamed up with jazz greats Lonnie Liston Smith, Branford Marsalis, Ronny Jordan, Donald Byrd and Roy Ayers to produce the one of the first fusions of jazz and hiphop. Also featured on the album was French rapper MC Solaar and N’Dea Davenport of the Brand New Heavies, and it broke new ground in the hiphop scene. It crossed boundaries and introduced jazz to hiphoppers and hiphop to jazz listeners.

However, it’s been a number of years since the last iteration. “This has been an ongoing project,” Guru states, “but I wanted to put it on the back burner for a minute, finish up some other projects from my previous works, then hook up with Solar and get things up and running.” The Solar he is referring isn’t the French MC Solaar, but a New York producer who has stepped in the hard to fill shoes of DJ Premier, Guru’s ex partner in the now defunct Gangstarr.

Unlike previous releases in the series, there aren’t as many big names from either the jazz scene or the hiphop world. “We wanted a balance with the legends and contemporary, and of course the new up and coming artists,” Guru explains. “We wanted to balance it out and give something for everybody.” This is partly because the influence of the Jazzmatazz series is so wide reaching, being if not the father of many music genres like Acid Jazz and Neo Soul, then certainly a big fatherly figure in their lives. These styles can be seen as old and stale, where as Guru says “with us, we’re the originators so we can push ourselves and do our own thing, we decide the direction, because Jazzmatazz defines itself.”

Guru has been praised so much for his lyrical flow and delivery. “It’s all about taking experiences and making them universal through my writing,” he explains. “So my repertoire as Guru I filter my experiences – whether I’m talking about my rap skills or society or the industry or romance, it’s the thing I do, and now I’ve partnered with Solar he’s pushed me to new heights. It’s the tracks he makes that influence me to do what I do, and he hit me with some of the greatest music I’ve heard so it pushed me to new heights.”

He continues to lavish praise on Solar. “This work I feel is a lot more cohesive,” Guru continues. “I’ve teamed up with one of the hottest producers from New York and he’s brought a huge musical knowledge to the Jazzmatazz odyssey and taken it further in the sonic landscape, and conceptually with the song writing. He has a lot of ideas that he brings to the table song writing wise, so allows me to concentrate on lyrics and concepts and pushes me and the other artists to do the best work they’ve ever done.”

I quickly get a chance to ask Solar one question, so I ask if he thinks it’s fair that he’s compared to DJ Premier. “As a black man coming from America fairness isn’t something we see a whole lot of,” he says. “As far as my talent is concerned I feel my talent speaks for itself. I think Premier is a genius and one of the greatest talents to ever touch a drum machine, but then there’s all these people who buy the album and come to the shows and see me do what I do, and like it.” And I guess no one can argue with that.