A prime example of what happens when two crazy people come together to create at Big Village HQ. Roleoʼs driving Afro/Jungle style beat meets eccentric ragga style flow, screaming and chanting exaltations to life.
Fans will recognise Muteʼs melodic style and conscious lyrics from his collaboration with Verbaleyes, Lingua Franca which was one of the stand out tracks on the Big Village compilation Big Things Volume Two and was added to Triple j rotation in 2012. But the Mute x Roleo story goes back to their collaboration Forever Breaks on Big Things Volume One which was named as FBI’s album of the week and sparked a partnership that would eventually become Mute x Roleo.
“This is what Africa/Australia taught me, Reverse Polarities nurtured and Big Village encapsulated. Raw, concrete jungle meets barefoot bushman. The rest is sweat and fire, gyrating bodies in the moonlight.” - Mute MC
Across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane there are USBs embedded into walls and buildings in public spaces. Inspired by artists such as Banksy and Isaac Cordal Sydney band True Vibenation decided to release Standby [Project USB] using the guerrilla offline sharing technique, concreting USBs to the wall and marking their locations on their website while on the road for the Standby Tour.
Find the USBs, attach your laptop or take a photo and upload it to the band’s facebook to receive a download of the full project and a shoutout in the next True Vibenation album due for release on Big Village Records in late 2013. True Vibenation’s Standby Tour is as much a music tour as it is a guerilla installation art experiment. The Project blurs the lines between online and offline file sharing. The USBs are placed to give fans an interactive experience of discovering new music, while they are also open to potential manipulation by the user.
Made up of twin brothers Verbaleyes and Native Wit and childhood friend Klue, True Vibenation has emerged as one of the most innovative groups on the hip hop scene with the diversity of their sound and an electrifying live show that sees them shed the traditional live hip hop format of two turntables and a microphone and transform in to a blasting horn section and live beatmaking band.
Keep your eyes and ears open for Standby [Project USB] appearing in city walls and spaces around Australia now!
Sat 13 April – Melbourne – Laundry Bar (downstairs), free show Fri 3 May – Sydney – Goodgod Small Club With Hypercolour, Elemont, Cornerstore Superheroes, Meare, DJ Migz Fri 10 May – Brisbane – The Joynt With Bullhorn Sat 11 May – Maroochydore – Sol Bar With Bullhorn Fri May 31 – Wollongong – Wollongong Town Hall With King Tide
Monkey is the first single off the collaborative effort from Reverse Polarities founding member Mute MC and Daily Meds producer Roleo. The song has already been getting love on triple jand is a prime example of what happens when two crazy people come together to create at Big Village’s HQ, Hibernian House.
Roleo’s driving Afro/Jungle style beat meets Mute’s eccentric ragga style flow, screaming and chanting exaltations to life. Due for a late April release through Big Village the self-titled project is a collection of songs combining the crunchy, synth heavy beats of Roleo with sharp, introspective and heartfelt lyrics from Mute.
In the words of Mute: “This is what Africa/Australia taught me, Reverse Polarities nurtured and Big Village encapsulated. Raw, concrete jungle meets barefoot bushman. The rest is sweat and fire, gyrating bodies in the moonlight.”
Today, March 22 Big Village will release the debut solo EP The Story So Far from Daily Meds front man P.Smurf. In the lead-up P.Smurf has been streaming a song a day on soundcloud before the record goes in stores and online.
This sun drenched 7 track EP is a testament to the last 8 years of hard work the Sydney MC has put into mastering his craft, and it shows. During The Story So Far P.Smurf goes into depth on what makes him tick, both as a person and an MC. Splicing his trademark spit-fire lyricism with tales of love, romance, inner city living and the unrelenting pressures of modern society.
The Story So Far features some familiar guests with fellow Daily Meds members Billie Rose, Mikoen and producer Roleo all making an appearance. The first single I Heard The World Screaming, which has already been added to triple j rotation, is a summer soaked dub tune laced with an irresistible doo-wop hook and sharp, reggae-tinged production from ex- Down Under Beats crew members Platterpush & Codeks while Melbourne singer Screamy also features with jazzy vocals reminiscent of Ella Fitzgerald.
Big Village go-to producer P. Major rounds out the production side of the The Story So Far, providing the majority of the beats with his boom bap style that gives a nod to producers such as Premier and J Dilla.
Upcoming Shows: Sydney, May 31st, ‘The Story So Far’ EP launch at Goodgod Small Club
Featuring visual artists, hip hop MCs and a full live band, Sketch The Rhyme is a brilliantly unique game show where freestyle rapping meets fast paced illustration and live animation in a number of hilarious improvised games, inspired by Pictionary, Celebrity Heads and Mr Squiggle. Sketch The Rhyme is a fresh, fast and funny interactive hip hop game show where speed drawing meets freestyle rapping to the sounds of a live band.
Inspired by Mr Squiggle and Pictionary, this game-show-with-a-twist is made up of a series of playoffs between the artists and the rappers. The artists speed-sketch pictures relevant to a theme, topic or clue and project them onto a large screen for the rappers and audience to see. The MCs then freestyle their response in rhyme, whether its improvising a story, guessing the catch-phrase or trying to deduce the identity of the dead celebrity drawn before them. The audience plays the vital role of judging the rounds – their cheers letting the rappers know they’ve guessed correctly.
Big Village is proud to present the first East Coast tour and Adelaide Fringe Festival season of Sydney-based live art hip hop gameshow Sketch The Rhyme. The strikingly entertaining show pits teams of artists and rappers against each other in a fast-paced, MC-driven battle of wits, played out with the accompaniment of a live band, and not-so-serious nods to famed drawing duels: Pictionary and the legendary Mr Squiggle.
Conceived by Big Village Records MC, label manager and creative director Rapaport, Sketch The Rhyme was developed during the 2008 Underbelly Festival, Carriageworks, through collaborations between esteemed visual artists, freestyle MCs and improvising musicians. Spurred on by the sheer fun and creativity of those initial brainstorming sessions Sketch The Rhyme has gone onto to feature at Edinburgh Fringe Festival [2011], Woodford Folk Festival [2009 & 2010], Melbourne Fringe [2009] and the Sydney Comedy Festival Great Debate.
Bringing together Big Village MCs Rapaport, P.Smurf from Daily Meds and Jeswon from Thundamentals Sketch The Rhyme teams the label mates with artists Claire Nakazawa, Duckman, Sam Clouston, Edgarr and Mie Nakazawa, whose expertise in a range of visual disciplines from street art and graffiti, to comics, cartoons and painting creates one hell of an engaging hip hop show.
Featuring visual artists, hip hop MCs and a full live band, Sketch The Rhyme is a brilliantly unique game show where freestyle rapping meets fast paced illustration and live animation in a number of hilarious improvised games, inspired by Pictionary, Celebrity Heads and Mr Squiggle. Sketch The Rhyme is a fresh, fast and funny interactive hip hop game show where speed drawing meets freestyle rapping to the sounds of a live band.
Inspired by Mr Squiggle and Pictionary, this game-show-with-a-twist is made up of a series of playoffs between the artists and the rappers. The artists speed-sketch pictures relevant to a theme, topic or clue and project them onto a large screen for the rappers and audience to see. The MCs then freestyle their response in rhyme, whether its improvising a story, guessing the catch-phrase or trying to deduce the identity of the dead celebrity drawn before them. The audience plays the vital role of judging the rounds – their cheers letting the rappers know they’ve guessed correctly.
Big Village is proud to present the first East Coast tour and Adelaide Fringe Festival season of Sydney-based live art hip hop gameshow Sketch The Rhyme. The strikingly entertaining show pits teams of artists and rappers against each other in a fast-paced, MC-driven battle of wits, played out with the accompaniment of a live band, and not-so-serious nods to famed drawing duels: Pictionary and the legendary Mr Squiggle.
Conceived by Big Village Records MC, label manager and creative director Rapaport, Sketch The Rhyme was developed during the 2008 Underbelly Festival, Carriageworks, through collaborations between esteemed visual artists, freestyle MCs and improvising musicians. Spurred on by the sheer fun and creativity of those initial brainstorming sessions Sketch The Rhyme has gone onto to feature at Edinburgh Fringe Festival [2011], Woodford Folk Festival [2009 & 2010], Melbourne Fringe [2009] and the Sydney Comedy Festival Great Debate.
Bringing together Big Village MCs Rapaport, P.Smurf from Daily Meds and Jeswon from Thundamentals Sketch The Rhyme teams the label mates with artists Claire Nakazawa, Duckman, Sam Clouston, Edgarr and Mie Nakazawa, whose expertise in a range of visual disciplines from street art and graffiti, to comics, cartoons and painting creates one hell of an engaging hip hop show.
Adelaide MC and producer Koolta has just announced final dates and supports for his upcoming Possessions single tour in early February. 2012 was a huge year for the hip-hop favourite, releasing his debut album The Extraordinary Average Joe, supporting the Hilltop Hoods, opening the Adelaide leg of the national Parklife Festival tour and being awarded the MRC’s Clip It! Initiative.
Taking in four dates only, Koolta is bringing some of his mates with him, with support nationally from Sydney’s Electric Elements crew, along with DeathStarrs (BRIS), Prime (ADL), Ry (MELB) and Mute MC & Kit Complete (Big Village – SYD). Tickets to all shows are $10 presale and $12 on the door. All pre-sales come with a free download of an exclusive EP courtesy of Koolta.
Tickets are on sale now.
Friday Feb 1 – Rhino Room Adelaide
Saturday Feb 2 – The Toff In Town, Melbourne
Friday Feb 8 – The Jubilee Hotel, Brisbane
Saturday Feb 9 – Brighton Up Bar, Sydney
As a founding member of Daily Meds, Reverse Polarities, Big Village and Sketch the Rhyme, P.Smurf has been mastering his craft for over 8 years. He has now decided to present audiences with his first solo effort in the form of the Smurf Village mixtape. P.Smurf’s rapid flows, work ethic and easy going personality have made him one of the most recognisable artists in the Sydney hip hop scene.
P.Smurf’s persona is relatable yet avoids becoming shallow allowing him to swing easily between comedy, satire and political themes. ’Smurf Village‘ features a myriad of guests from Sydney’s hip hop community and serves as a testament to the calibre of artists the 24-year-old MC has worked with, featuring original production from P.Major, Roleo, Dj Morgs, Down Under Beats, Native Wit, Herb and DJ Bomb. Plus guest appearences from Mikoen, Mute, True Vibenation, Hyjak and Nehi.
The Reverse Polarities beatmaker Kit Complete has been working on his first solo release for several years now and after hearing the bangers on this beat tape were pretty sure not just Kit Complete’s friends will like these beats.
With crisp dums, soulful samples and a knack for getting your head nodding ‘Some Beats My Friends Like‘ is a remarkable effort from one of Big Village’s most talented beatmakers.
Don’t sleep! Download ‘Some Beats My Friends Like‘ here.
Big Village Records are genuinely thrilled to announce the forthcoming release of Big Things Vol Two. Dropping August 10th, Big Things Vol Two is the labels latest compilation and features all exclusive new tunes from Big Village founding members Tuka (Thundamentals), Ellesquire, Daily Meds, True Vibenation and Loose Change, as well as collab tracks and solo tunes from Reverse Polarities, Suburban Dark, Rapaport, Klue and Tenth Dan.
In what can only be described as a gargantuan undertaking by anyone’s standards, to celebrate, they’re taking the whole damn label on the road for a national tour to launch said album– that’s nearly 20 of Sydney’s finest MCs, DJs and Producers.
Big Label: Since its beginnings in 2010, Big Village has been a collectively run and forward thinking label that has focused on raising the standard of quality and diversity in the Australian hip hop landscape. Big Village was originally created by 13 predominantly Sydney based hip hop artists, MCs, DJs and Producers (namely Daily Meds, Loose Change, True Vibenation and members of Thundamentals, Tuka and Jeswon), many of whom had already been working together for years. Hence, all seeking a platform to release high quality hip hop music, they combined their networks, skills and support to create their own record label, owned and run by the artists it represents.
Big Things Volume Two will be Big Village’s 8th official release and the list of achievements across those releases has been exceptional. Suffice to say that for starters, between all Big Village Acts, main projects and side projects inclusive, there’s been about 10 tracks on triple j rotation since the labels inception.
Here’s a taste test of the Big Village posse’s live video Be My Guest. All audio and video was recorded live from one single take on a rooftop and illustrates the diversity and skills of the various artists, as well as the joy and natural chemistry between them as label mates.
Big Album: Big Things Vol Two is as creatively adventurous as it is maturely executed, a darkly tinged buffet of bass heavy tunes that range in style and content but share a no bullshit attitude to making hip hop music. Released in May last year, Big Village’s first label compilation Big Things Vol 1 was both the triple j hip hop show ‘s and FBI ‘s Album Of The Week. The label itself was nominated for a 2011 SMAC award for Best Collective (FBI radio).
Big Tour: Big Village has undertaken the audacious task of taking their entire label on the road for the Big Things tour across September / October. The tour will feature the full roster of current label acts including Tuka and Ellesquire performing a dual headline set, Daily Meds fresh from their Happy Daze album release and tour and True Vibenation who also recently completed their own national tour. Coming along for the ride are Loose Change, Reverse Polarities and speed-draw-freestyle-rap-gameshow Sketch The Rhyme, featuring Big Village members Rapaport, P.Smurf and Jeswon.
That’s a lot of people, but then that’s why it’s called the Big Things tour folks. The tour also represents the first time proper that the Sydney based label will truly unfurl itself at a national level, so look out. From the Annandale to The Oxford Arts Factory, the last 4 Big Village presents shows in Sydney have all sold out.
The Big Village fam invites you to come and experience this travelling party and get a sense of the groups undeniable passion and respect for both each other and the wider hip hop community.
Tour Dates: Sept 14th @ OAF – Sydney Sept 22nd @ Northcote Social – Melbourne Sept 28th @ Connistan Lane – Brisbane Oct 5th @ The Cambridge – Newcastle Oct 6th @ Gearins – Blue Mountains
