Vegas Aces is a duo consisting of 4TH and producer Cam Bluff. After previously winning triple j Sprung Hip Hop competition – they went from strength to strength releasing their first debut and then a follow-up EP which saw the duo tour around the country several times with acts such as 360, Seven, Mr Hill to name just a few.
Now the guys are set to release their 3rd installment – Black and Purple, today. Vegas Aces are showcasing a more refined and matured sound and bring a few special guests along for the ride including Spit Syndicate, Seven, Mr Hill and Jackie Onassis.
Amidst the mayhem that was touring with Australian sensation, 360 and heading straight back on the road with label mates Seven and Mr Hill, Vegas Aces have managed to craft an EP touted as ‘next level’ by the local hip hop scene.
The Departure is VA’s coming of age, both lyrically from emcee 4th and in the production from Cam Bluff, who is fast becoming Australia’s man to beat behind the boards. The two clearly set out to craft their own sound in making The Departure, a title directly related to a change in sound since their debut, VA All Day. The boys called on Adelaide stalwarts and fellow up and comers, Prime and Purpose as the only features for this release on the futuristic Nebula. Following Day Dreams (feat. Kaysie Rowe), the second single taken from The Departure is All That Shines.
Proven to be a success live, All That Shines is a raucous portrayal of 4th’s view on his standing within the Australia music scene. VA celebrate the launch of their website with The Departure EP, available for free download NOW. Tongue in cheek as always and accompanied by world class production, Vegas Aces truly are the next benchmark of local hip hop.
Born Fresh Records is hosting one hell of a block party and you’re invited! This weekend, June 16, Coniston Lane in Fortitude Valley will be hosting the very cream of the Brisbane hip hop crop with sets from Rainman, Seven, Mr Hill & Rajconkas, Crate Creeps, Vegas Aces, Prophet Rayza along with many other special guests. Tickets are on sale now.
Vegas Aces – comprised of 4th and Cam Bluff are fast becoming one of the most exciting hip hop acts to come out of Brisbane. Since releasing their debut E.P V.A.All.Day in 2010 they have moved from strength to strength – from winning the triple j Sprung Festival Competition to being one of the first Featured Artists on the newly established Unearthed digital station – they show no signs of slowing down.
The duo have been carefully crafting their next free digital release Departure, as well as the full length album Coming Home, both due for release in 2012. Fresh off the sold out 360 Boys Like You Tour and currently at the mid point of the No Way Home Tour - it’s soon to be V.A. all day everywhere.
After both artists had been doing their own things respectively, (Cam Bluff & 4th) Vegas Aces linked up officially mid 2010 and have been creating buzz ever since. The two have been crafting their sophomore EP at the same time as well as trail-blazing the live show circuit with many incredible acts such as Spit Syndicate, Illy, 360, Seven and Mr Hill just to name a few.
We hear that Vegas Aces will be aiming to release a free EP at the end of the month, can you tell us a bit about this project? Well this project has been in the making for the last 8 months. Its going to consist of 7 tracks and will be dropping May 7 for free download. Its going to be called Departure. We came up with the title after we noticed the change in the way we where making music. It refers to departing from what people know our sound as. We want to show people that we can be diverse. The last Ep consisted of the same attributes. This release is going to focus on many diverse and different aspects of todays hip hop, showcasing our talents as both artists and individuals.
The first tastes we’ve seen from this EP included the track Vs Up. Will the EP showcase a diverse range of your production styles or will it be similar to the Vs Up track? The whole EP has a fresh, innovative, diverse approach to todays australian hip hop sound. We’ve tried to incorporate many sounds from all aspects of what makes hip hop enjoyable, same goes with the lyrics and song arrangements. You could say we have incorporated more electronic aspects to our songs.
Is there a plan for a full Vegas Aces LP? We are currently working on an album and we are hoping for a late 2012 early 2013 release. I guess the EP will set the tone for the album.
You recently finished up touring with 360 on his ‘Boys Like You’ Tour which saw you hit a heap of stops around the country, what was that tour like? The tour was incredible, every show brought something new to the table. It’s always fun touring with the Born Fresh Crew and we always bring it. I’ve got mad respect for 60. A lot of people neglect the fact that he is an ever evolving artist. His material is always fresh and interesting. Big things coming for the man.
While on the 360 subject, you also released the official remix of the 360 – Boys Like You. How did that come about? I actually approached Flagrant in relation to wanting to release a remix. He mentioned this track along with a few others, though I decided to move forward with Boys Like You. We had previously released the Hearts A Mess Remix with 360 a few months prior, so I thought it would be fitting to drop this.
You’ve also started working with the ‘Business Man’ DJ Nate Flagrant, tell us a little about whats in store from this brilliant partnership? We have a few things on the cards at the moment but can’t discuss anything just yet. We’ve been slowly branching into the US, so everyone should start to see some tracks coming out of that part of the world soon. He’s been a huge help during these last 12 months we’ve spent working together.
You’ve also got a beat EP in the works, tell us about that and where do you find the time to fit all of this in? I’ve actually had this idea for a while now though. I’m actually going to try to drop something towards the end of the year. I might be getting some help on it from another up and coming producer, but more on that later. Man, working full-time and fitting all this in really takes it out of you.
You recently travelled over to the US. How was that experience? The states were amazing. I initially went over my girlfriend lives there. Got to spend some time in Philly, which is an incredible city. The highlight would have had to have been NY. I got the privilege of meeting because Phat Garry (manager for DJ Premier). We met up in Headquarterz studios in Manhattan and spent the day going through the bulk amount of my beats, talking shop, and discussing the nitty-gritty of the business side of the music industry. It was crazy sitting there playing all my shit in the same room where all my influences and idols once stood and came from.
What are your plans for the rest of the year and for the start of 2013? I’m actually working very closely with The Tongue on his next release due out early 2013. Keep an eye out for new Spit Syndicate, Illy and Sky’high. I’ll be involved on all projects with plenty more to drop by the end of this year. I’ll also be making the move to Melbourne in early 2013 to work closer with Flagrant and to focus more on my music production and relationships with fellow musicians.
We may have asked you this briefly last time we talked, but let us know what gear you are using at the moment? I’m using Ableton Live, Native Instruments, Novation Key 49, Akai MPC 2000xl, and a shit load of software synths and plugins.
After both artists had been doing their own things respectively, (Cam Bluff & 4th) Vegas Aces linked up officially mid 2010 and have been creating buzz ever since. The two have been crafting their sophomore EP at the same time as well as trail-blazing the live show circuit with many incredible acts such as Spit Syndicate, Illy, 360, Seven and Mr Hill just to name a few.
The debut E.P V.A.All.Day has been out for a moment now and featured Seven (winner of the triple j M-Phazes comp), Laneous (of Laneous and the Family Yah), and the incredibly talented Claire Walters. Currently on the No Way Home Tour with Seven, Mr Hill & Rahjconkas, their new EP The Departure is due very soon.
Following Vegas Aces’ triple j unearthed win in 2011, fans were born all over the country, appreciating the Vegas Aces quality over quantity attitude as they continue to combine world class production with next level lyricism. V’s Up is a new track lifted from the Departure EP.
Rahjconkasand Mr Hillhave just released their debut albumThe Feebackwhich dropped early 2012. Guest artists who have thrown their support towards this release include Trials, The Tongue, Hau, Jeswon, Joyride, Seven, Phatchance, 4th & Joyride.
Joyride teams up with Mr Hill & Rahjconkas on the track banging track Find My Way. This track is a monster with the newly released film clip out earlier this week. You can check it out below.
Writer/Producer/Director: Oliver Lofgren Director of Photography: David La Roche Editor: Sebastien Carew-Reid - Stunts: Chris Hannam
Vegas Aces are ready to reveal their full hand and show it to the country. Day Dreams is the first single from the duo’s upcoming EP The Departure. 4th (MC) shares his daily battle between juggling ‘real’ life and what may be, accompanied by flawless production from Cam Bluff.
The two have refined their craft since releasing the VA All Day EP, mastering a truly unique style within the local Hip Hop scene. Not unnoticed, Vegas Aces have drawn praise from the countries finest as well as winning 2011’s JJJ Sprung Festival Competition to perform at Brisbane’s Riverstage. Vegas Aces will join 360’s ‘Boys Like You’ tour during February and March, promoting their freEPThe Departure. They will again hit the road in May and June with Seven and Mr Hill.
There has been quite a bit of buzz surrounding Soulmate Records latest signee emcee Prime’s – Good Morning release… Friday we all saw why. The South Australian emcee has released his debut solo for free download exclusively through his website.
The free download features 18 tracks with original production from One Above, Cam Bluff, Answer, Purpose, Mules and more. We also see Raven, Motive, 4th and Purpose share mic duties. Good Morning (with it’s 18-piece cover art series) is available for FREE download exclusively from PrimeIsHere.com
Stay tuned for our upcoming interview with Prime, dropping soon.
Tracklisting: 1. 8am – Produced by Mules 2. Tunguska – Produced by One Above * 3. Money – Produced by Answer 4. Alone (feat. Purpose) 5. For The First Time – Produced by Kelakovski 6. Right Here – Produced by Answer 7. Restore My Faith – Produced by Answer 8. The Closest That I Get (feat. Motive) – Produced by One Above * 9. Devilish – Produced by Answer 10. Unthinkable 11. Pour It On A Page (feat. 4TH of Vegas Aces) – Produced by Cam Bluff 12. You’re Only A Man (skit) 13. Three Men (feat. Raven & Purpose) – Produced by Answer * 14. House Of Balloons 15. Heaven And Hell – Produced by Purpose 16. Can Anbody Hear Me? – Produced by Ante Escobar * 17. One Click – Produced by Answer 18. Keep On Running – Produced by M-Phazes
aahh: The history between Vegas Aces goes way back to the days when Cam was working with Publik Relationz and you (4th) were apart of Pure Product, are we right? 4th: Yeah, I started sourcing beats for the Pure Product album and got put in touch with Cam through Mr Hill and Seven (Publik Relationz) and was just blown away at his beats, even back then. At the time I think he was just 18 and had only just started making beats, so I knew he was going to be someone to watch out for.
aahh: Fast forward to 2011. We now have the Vegas Aces partnership in full swing. Tell us a little about the new EP VA All Day? 4th: The EP really just started out us making a couple of songs and seeing how they turned out – which were Boomtown Shuffle and Two Sides. We really liked the sound that was coming out so we decided to do a whole thing. Originally we were just gonna make a few songs and chuck them out for free but as we made more, some friends of ours egged us on to release it properly.
aahh: Vegas Aces is an interesting name, are you both massive gamblers or does it go a little deeper than that? 4th: Haha not at all! No gambling here – it was more so at the time there were a lot of those sorts of references in what we were doing. And the fact that we were in the same circle it was sort of ‘shuffling of the deck’ to be super-corny for us to work together. To be even more corny, it’s also a nod to Bris-Vegas. Corn.
aahh: How long how you guys been working on the VA All Day material for this EP? 4th: The actual music didn’t take that long at all. Everything on there was the culmination of Cam sending me a beat and immediately I knew what it was going to be about and wrote it in a couple of hours. If it didn’t work like that – it’s not on there. All the other behind-the-scenes shit is what took the most time. I’m pretty picky so there was a lot of back and forth tweaking etc. Sorry guys!
aahh: The depth of this EP is impressive, Are you guys strong believers in the old adage of quality over quantity? 4th: Without a mother-effing doubt! We really wanted to put out something really solid to make a good first impression. Because obviously we were a ‘new’ group we had to start from scratch again and really turn some heads to get the name out there. There are so many great acts these days you need to bring something special to the table to stand out.
aahh: What have been the some of main challenges you’ve faced in bringing this release to the people? 4th: The generic ‘being-on-a-small-label-and-lacking-a-big-budget’ one is pretty obvious as a factor. I don’t think being in Brisbane geographically is a hurdle in getting our music around the country though, for most part the scene here has been really supportive. I dunno, maybe because we started from scratch as a new group was our biggest hurdle? Hurdles have also been a pretty big hurdle.
aahh: A lot of artists talk about their influences and how it shaped their musical development. With such diverse backgrounds what were some of your early influences? 4th: I can safely say my influences now are pretty different to when I was starting out, but with that said, those early influences were very important! A few years ago I was pretty anti-mainstream which I’m sure every teenager goes through. My biggest influences overseas were probably early Eminem, Apathy, Copywrite… shit there is seriously too many to name, now I am really into Jay-Z/J. Cole, Evidence and Fashawn are getting a thrashing too, again though – waaaaaay too many to name! Locally though the biggest were Lyrical Commission, Left One, Lazy Grey + 750 and co, they made me wanna do it.
aahh: What do you think the most important aspects are to consider when constructing a track lyrically for your audience? 4th: That they can understand it and can picture what I’m saying. I find myself doing that when I write now. I more want to write shit that someone can relate to as oppose to having the most technical verse now.
aahh: For the gear geeks out there, what kind of equipment set up do you have? Cam Bluff: Im currently rocking my good old mpc200xl along with a m-audio key rig 49. Primarily i did start making beats on my mpc, however nowadays as i branch off into larger compositions i rely on my mpc as more as a midi controller than a beat machine. Accompanying my mpc and keyrig are also a m-audio profire 610 audio interface, a pair of behringer truths, a pair of stanton T.150′s and a 27” IMAC. I use Native Instruments complete 7 which is fantastic for laying down vintage or orchestral sounds. Keys,organs, retro 70/80′s synths you name it this package packs a punch. Its pricy though it pays off.
aahh: We’ve heard you’ve already started work on the full LP. Is it true that Cam has sent you a pile of beats but only one has made the cut so far. Has that been the general way you guys work together? 4th: Yeah I can be pretty notoriously picky with music. Lucky Cam is a fucking incredible talent and we are on the same page. There are actually a few beats that are definite now. Pretty much if I don’t love a beat and have a feel for what the song is going to be about straight away, then it most likely wont get used.
aahh: Can you give us a little insight on how the album will compare to the EP? 4th: In the early stages its more musical I suppose, Cam’s production is definitely moving forward in this way. Fundamentally I suppose it will be similar to the EP but I guess just ‘bigger better more’ (yo Opees!). We know what we want to do with it for this release, which I guess is a good thing.
aahh: How far into the album are you and will we see a 2011 release? Cam Bluff: We have a few songs written and roughly recorded and a few more beats picked out. And yes we are aiming for a late 2011 release.
aahh: With the recent floods and cyclones to hit QLD, there have been numerous benefit gigs and money-raising efforts. Vegas Aces were involved in a Rap Relief track. Tell us a little bit about the track and how these disasters have affected you on a personal level and as a member of the community? 4th: That track came together through Chris at Soulmate Records and mutual friends Choose Mics, Seven and Syntax. I dunno? I kind of just jumped on board, Cam was making a beat with the same sample which was meant to switch up or be a remix but didn’t end up happening in time. Then Tom wrote and recorded the chorus after I recorded my verse and that was that really. I wasn’t affected directly by the floods but I know people who were and it was fucking horrible. As horrible as it was, it also showed how altruistic we can be as a city/country with all the donations and charity gigs and that was brilliant! The whole world seems to be getting reamed at the moment thought… shit is hectic.
aahh: What’s 2011 hold in store both as separate artists and for Vegas Aces? 4th: As Vegas Aces we are aiming to have the album out late this year. We want to tour. Tour. And tour again. Basically just stay building and making music. Hopefully I will getting up and finishing the Pure Product album. Cam Bluff: Damn so far 2011 has kept me busy. Along with the VA album i will be reconnecting with Spit Syndicate on their next release. I have another project im working on with Syntax. We’ve pretty much chosen all the beats and we are looking at a late 2011 release.
If you haven’t heard the name Cam Bluff of late, then you surely haven’t been paying enough attention. 2010 has seen Cam Bluff produce some of this years most impressive beats with no intention of slowing the pace. We take a deeper look into the past, present and future of this amazing producer.
Past Cam Bluff born (18/02/1989) grew up in Kwazulu Natal (South Africa). Cam was always surrounded by music and heavily influenced by the country’s culture and people. He was constantly surrounded by music having both an aunt and grandma who were both music teachers. He was always into sports and from this, found hip hop through skateboarding videos.
After migrating to Australia in early 2001 he continued his involvement within the skateboarding scene and grew more interested in hip hop music and the production behind the genre. In his last year of school, He stumbled across a program a mate had accidentally given to him called Fruity loops. During lunchtime, whilst still at school, Cam’s mate would show him how to use Fruity loops. This is where he leant how to compile loops and to structure drum patterns.
As time passed, he later on bought himself an akai mpc2000xl after learning about the long relationship and history involved with drum machines and sampling. Keen to learn more, he then equipped himself with a turntable and records which he had bought from local thrift stores. He soon started sampling early 70’s soul/funk records, drawing inspiration from the likes of Pete Rock/CL Smooth, DJ Premier and J Dilla to name a few. Later on in 2007 he made the switch back to a computer based program called Ableton live 6, using his MPC now as a midi controller as well as a beat machine. He shortly attended sound engineering classes in early 2008 learning about the techniques involved in mixing the music he was creating.
Around the same time, Bluff started working with a couple of emcee’s from Adelaide, Purpose and Motive (Pagen Elypsis/Afore Mentioned). After sending countless amounts of beats, he managed to secure a track on their Afore Mentioned – Red October release which dropped in 08.
He later met DJ Butcher through Butchers cousin (who he was producing for at the time), Keen on working with local rappers, he soon was introduced to Publik Relationz which complied of Mr Hill and Seven, (winner of the M-Phazes comp 2010). Work on an EP quickly began. During Cam’s time working with PR, he met 4th (Pure Product) who quickly became interested in working with him. Publik Relationz EP unfortunately did not see the light of day, though Cams sound did manage to catch the ears of local rap icons, The Optimen.
After creating a bit of a buzz in late 2008, Cam Bluff was signed to Red Tape Entertainment, thus beginning a new chapter in his music career. This sparked big things for him, being given the opportunity to remix a track for the The Optimens work of art The Out Of Money Experience, which dropped this year.
During 2009 Cam contributed production towards Spit Syndicates – Exile, and Pagen Elypsis’ – One Way Ticket which both dropped this year. He also managed to secure two tracks on Rainman’s album (yet to be announced), as well as a few on Pure Products new album (due later this year/early 2011).
Present Cam is currently working with fellow Red Tape Renegade, 4th (Pure Product) on the Vegas Aces EP which is near completion, closely being followed by an album. Hit up Vegas Ace’s Facebook here to check for upcoming gigs/shows. He is also working with former Queenslander resident and rapper Syntax (Trace Elements), working on a full length LP. Old mateSeven (Born Fresh Records/winner of M-Phazes comp) debut EP is out now and features production from himself and DJ Butcher to name a few. Cam also produced a track on The Tongue’s – Alternative Energy LP, also out now. You will also be able to find production in the near future on Raven’s (Crate Cartel) new album Ravenous dropping 2010. Afore Mentioned – The 11th Hour album with the bulk of production being handled by himself and also Prophet Rayza’s – 6 Books dropping soonish. Red Tape Entertainment is also working on a Red Tape remix project, which will feature production by Bluff, and others on the Red Tape Entertainment label.
Future Bluff is proving to be an immense competitor in the hip hop scene, already working with some of the most well-known artists around the nation, and is quickly working his way up in the industry as a respected beat maker/producer. Keep an eye and ear out for him, there’s much more to come.
Interview with Cam, more about his Vegas Aces EP with 4th coming soon.
