Australia’s most dexterous producer Chasm will be releasing a series of EP’s this year. The first of which, Diamond Cuts, out March 15th, features long-time collaborators Skryptcha and Rachael Berry. Lead single Oo La La La will be available from iTunes when the EP drops.
EP’s to come see Chasm team up with esteemed artists Monchichi, Guilty Simpson, and Blak Twang. Check out the behind the scenes video for Chasm’s next clip Dreamin feat. RUCL and Gappy Ranks below.
Earning his stripes in the UK’s underground live circuit, Fraksha has proven himself to be one of the UK’s finest MC’s. Having shared the stage with artists like Skinnyman, Kano, Klashnekoff & Blak Twang as a founding member of the UK outfit Nine High, Fraksha spent time honing his craft and sold out two mixtapes, a testament to his tenure in the UK scene.
Opting to move to the greener pastures of Australia in 2006, after a previous visit in 2002/03, Fraksha hit the ground running, joining Aria Award winning Bliss N Eso on their sold out Get Loose tour, giving Fraksha the opportunity to slide into the Australian Hip Hop scene with ease. With the love received on the Get Loose tour, Fraksha re-pressed his Take Two (Nine High) mixtape which received rave reviews and sold out within just a few months of release. Since his 2006 arrival into Australia, Fraksha has shown his versatility, being regularly booked to perform at cross-genre events (Void in Sydney, Rukus in Brisbane, Too Much and Heavy Innit in Melbourne, resident at Wobble 2008-12) displaying his unique UK flow and demonstrating his refusal to be boxed in to any one genre. From drum n bass, to grime, to dancehall to dubstep and anything in between you name it, he can rap on it and well. As an in-demand mc for events throughout the country, Fraksha is considered one of the top Grime/dub-step MC’s in Australia.
With a critically acclaimed self titled debut album with Nine High (released July 2009) under his belt and collaborations with notable Australian artists such as Reason, Ciecmate, Tornts, Kerser, Choose Mics, M-Phazes, Sky’High & That’s Them, as well as contributing one of the highlight tracks to M-Phazes Aria winning Good Gracious (‘That’s What We On‘) album and performing on the subsequent national tour, Fraksha is now a well known and widely respected MC in the Australian scene.
Most recently, Fraksha has released his first solo offering It’s Just Bars, the first official grime release to come out of Australia. It’s Just Bars, mixed by DJ Affiks and featuring production from M-Phazes (M.O.P, Pharoahe Monch), Loco (Joe Budden, Miss Dynamite), Juzlo, Youthful Implants, has received great reviews throughout the country and the first single Next Sound Level has since been remixed by Loco, MatCant (Scattermish) and renowned dub-step producer Spherix. The mix-tape went on to win mix-tape of the year 2010 in the annual ozhiphop.com awards. With his fingers in many pies 2010 also saw Fraksha commence presenting The Sunday Roast show on Kiss FM in Melbourne, Australia’s only purely grime radio show! 2010 also saw Fraksha coming together with fellow MC’s Diem (Hospice Crew), Scotty Hinds (Nine High) and Murky Depths to start Australia’s first grime crew; Smash Brothers. Noted for their high energy live shows and regular radio appearances, Smash Brothers are THE crew to watch. Having received coverage on grimeforum and recording a one off set for them, they were personally asked by legendary grime producer Dexplicit to record the official Australian vocal of Pull Up Dat 2011.
No stranger to airports, 2011 saw Fraksha being booked to undertake a short tour of New Zealand alongside Dizzee Rascal, Dead Prez and more. This Kiwi connection also spawned a massive remix of Next Sound Level by New Zealand dub-step royalty Optimus Gryme and further work with the highly respected Bulletproof who collaborated on the Sky’High and Smash Brothers track and video Reign. In 2011 Fraksha also collaborated with the production duo Karton, providing the vocals on the explosive first single and video Bang from their well received album Find The Constant. While continually tearing up shows Smash Brothers kicked off 2012 with a bang dropping video’s for the incendiary Gangsta, produced by dub-step kingpin Filth Collins, Loco produced Areyouf***ingmad and the fan favourite from Fraksha & DiemCrepes. Continually pushing and spearheading the grime sound in Australia this year also saw Fraksha team up with Affiks and Arctic to start the grime night 50/50 bringing to Melbourne grime heavyweights such as Teddy, Rude Kid and Swindle. Not one to rest on his laurels through the Winter months, Fraksha has been hard at work in the studio and 2013 will see him proudly release his debut solo album through Broken Tooth Entertainment.
For those in the know, it is no earth shattering news that Fraksha has now signed to release his next album, My Way, on Broken Tooth Entertainment. Fraksha has been kicking around the scene for years doing his thing and always staying mad prolific. In recent years, his work with Smash Brothers has garnered a great deal of attention alongside Scotty Hinds, Murkey Depths, and the one and only Diem.
Fraksha – My Way drops March 1, 2013 through Broken Tooth Entertainment.
This Is How We Never Die is the refreshingly on-point third instalment from prestigious Sydney producer Chasm. Joined by local and international artists; Chasm approaches beats like a learned artist with a brush, building on classic principles to create evolutionary new music.
aahh: This Is How We Never is the title to this absolute masterpiece of a production album. Explain to us the concept behind the title of the LP and what the you wanted to accomplish with this album? Chasm: The title is taken from a Currensy line I heard on one of his latest tapes, ‘Real music lasts forever, this is how we never die’. I just really like the phrase and I have always loved that idea with music, that it’s a legacy, something you can leave behind when your gone and people can hear it twenty, fifty years later and still feel it.With this album, I was just making music that I was feeling, I was just interested in working with MC’s that I loved and respected and making good soul music, that’s it.
aahh: When did you begin developing the concept to this album and how long did it take you to complete from start to finish? Chasm: I sat down with my manager and kinda said ok let’s do this now, maybe eight months ago, something like that. Before that I just had a verse done here, a verse done there and had a bunch of beats I knew I wanted to use. But I was busy with other projects so it was just a matter of organising a timeline and making the whole thing happen, but once it got underway it came together quite quickly really. For this album I used the MPC 5000, Logic, Maschine, records, a bunch of soft synths and a Moog Source. That was the artillery.
aahh: The emcee’s featured on This Is How We Never Die reads out like a who’s who of hip hop. We’d like to ask you about all the artists involved, but can you just give us a little background on a few of your favourites and how the relationships came about. Chasm: I had a great session with Guilty Simpson and Phat Kat when they were in town, such humble good dudes and we had a dope studio session. Both were inspiring to be in the lab with. Also to collaborate with Lazy Grey, Delta and Brad Strut was for me a huge thing. All legends of the scene and crazy talents so to have them bless my joints was killer. Gappy Ranks was another highlight, he came down to my studio when he was on tour out here, he just vibed on that beat in the lab and wrote and recorded it on the spot, another inspiring session watching him work like that.
aahh: The first single from the album is titled The Truth and features The Tongue, Hau and Dazastah. Tell us a bit about the recording process with this one we hear it was knocked out pretty quickly by the MC’s? Chasm: Yeah Daz had a day booked at 301 studios here in Sydney. He was out here on tour, and had a day in the studio finishing off collabs I think. So he had invited a few people down to work on stuff and asked me to pass through. So I took my MPC down with the original of ‘The Truth’ just chopped really simply on the sampler. When I played the tune those guys were all vibing on it and the energy in the studio was ill that day, just a good creative vibe, so they all ended up writing that afternoon and recording later that night. It was dope. Hau put down the chorus a couple of months later.
aahh: Your no stranger to the music scene in Australia, you’ve released albums with Astronomy Class through Elefant Traks and also solo work through Obese Records including numerous other side projects. What keeps you inspired and motivated to keep producing music? Chasm: I just love music and I love being creative so it’s just something I always will do, even if I get frustrated and sick of the industry, give myself a few days off and I’m excited again to get in the studio and make something. I guess mainly its just hearing music old or new that is inspiring that gets me pumped to make more music, and just life, things in my life motivate me to express myself through the music.
aahh: What was one of the hardest challenges you faced on producing an album like this, especially with its international artists? Chasm: It was just time-consuming organising everyone, making sure I got all the parts back when I needed them and making sure everyone recorded when they said they would.The hardest thing though was the different microphones and booths that were in the mix! For one track you could have two or three different recordings so there was no consistency with the mic and room sound for all the vocals which made it tricky when it came to mixing. Trying to make it all sound cohesive was a tough one.
aahh: You launched This Is How We Never Die at the GoodGod Small Club in Sydney earlier in the month with a host of local names plus a special guest in DJ Neil Armstrong. Tell us about that. Chasm: It was a great night, all my people’s showed up so it was a nice vibe man, I appreciated the love that was shown from the crowd and all the rappers that jumped up with me, it was a mad night, I had a ball. We busted out a bunch of Astronomy Class tunes which is always fun, having Ozi Batla and The Tongue and Sir Robbo on stage and Thundamentals fellas got up and did some older joints that we did together which was cool.
aahh: Four dates have been announced in the This Is How We Never Die tour, are there any more dates planned and do you have any details you’d like to share on that? Chasm: Through July I’ll be touring the country in support of the album. The show will be a sound system style show with Hau on the mic to hype the crowd for me, should be a lot of fun. Will be having guests jump up at certain shows too!
aahh: What’s next for Chasm? We know you have many side projects, will we see say a Dr Don Don album soon? Chasm: Yes Dr Don Don album is pretty much done so gonna drop that after a couple more singles. Astronomy Class are hopefully gonna do an EP this year too and I have some ideas for the next Chasm release so hopefully will begin that too.
This Is How We Never Die is the refreshingly on-point third instalment from prestigious Sydney producer Chasm. True to the quality displayed throughout debut album Beyond the Beat Tape (2008), and Move (with Vida Sunshyne, 2010) Chasm proves himself once more as a consummate composer.
Joined by local and international artists; This Is How We Never Die features USA underground vocal heavyweights AG (Showbiz & AG), Guilty Simpson (Stones Throw), Vast Aire (Def Jux), and Fashawn (One), New Zealand’s Dave Dallas, and Blak Twang (UK). Not to mention an assortment of Australia’s top lyricists including Solo, Lazy Grey, Mdusu, Delta, Dialectrix and Brad Strut.
Chasm approaches beats like a learned artist with a brush, building on classic principles to create evolutionary new music. The collection of beats chosen for the album vary from old to new, moving through down tempo, blunted soul, up-tempo funk, and reggae. The This Is How We Never Die Tour will consist of dates throughout July and August. Chasm will be joined by various contributors from the album in their respective states, and Hau will be onboard for the whole tour!
Tour Dates: Fri 13th July – Mojo’s – Perth Fri 27th July - The Laundry, Melbourne Sat 28th July - Republic Bar, Hobart Fri 3rd August – Alhambra Lounge, Brisbane More TBA
This Is How We Never Die is the refreshingly on-point third instalment from prestigious Sydney producer Chasm. True to the quality displayed throughout debut album Beyond the Beat Tape (2008), and Move (with Vida Sunshyne, 2010) Chasm proves himself once more as a consummate composer.
Joined by local and international artists; This Is How We Never Die features USA underground vocal heavyweights AG (Showbiz & AG), Guilty Simpson (Stones Throw), Vast Aire (Def Jux), and Fashawn (One), New Zealand’s Dave Dallas, and Blak Twang (UK). Not to mention an assortment of Australia’s top lyricists including Solo, Lazy Grey, Mdusu, Delta, Dialectrix and Brad Strut.
Chasm approaches beats like a learned artist with a brush, building on classic principles to create evolutionary new music. The collection of beats chosen for the album vary from old to new, moving through down tempo, blunted soul, up-tempo funk, and reggae.
The new clip for the track Smokey lifted from This Is How We Never Die and is produced & directed by Bryce Hooper & Tristan S Edouard.
This Is How We Never Die is the refreshingly on-point third instalment from prestigious Sydney producer Chasm. True to the quality displayed throughout debut album Beyond the Beat Tape (2008), and Move (with Vida Sunshyne, 2010) Chasm proves himself once more as a consummate composer.
Joined by local and international artists; This Is How We Never Die features USA underground vocal heavyweights AG (Showbiz & AG), Guilty Simpson (Stones Throw), Vast Aire (Def Jux), and Fashawn (One), New Zealand’s Dave Dallas, and Blak Twang (UK). Not to mention an assortment of Australia’s top lyricists including Solo, Lazy Grey, Mdusu, Delta, Dialectrix and Brad Strut.
Chasm approaches beats like a learned artist with a brush, building on classic principles to create evolutionary new music. The collection of beats chosen for the album vary from old to new, moving through down tempo, blunted soul, up-tempo funk, and reggae. Lead single The Truth with its eclectic sample combinations, fuses Latin piano loops with brass accents and futuristic synth solos. Bringing a new shine to the art of braggadocio, the track features emcees The Tongue, Hau, and Dazastah.
Vast Aire and Dialect team up on the sample-heavy Intergalactic. The two brilliant rappers attack the beat as it slams alongside an eerie drone, while delicate piano flourishes glint throughout. I Am Legend features the masterful AG and Delta riffing over classic boom bap teamed with driving keys. Lyrically the track is a soulful reminisce to hip hop’s greats and the legacies left and lived by. This Is How We Never Die is certain to be a historical cornerstone reflective of the unifying strength hip hop inspires. A testament to the power an accomplished producer possesses, bringing the most diverse of artists and fans together.
Track List 1. New Day 2. Rusty Griz Feat. Lazy Grey 3. I Am Legend Feat. AG & Delta 4. The Truth Feat. The Tongue, Hau & Dazastah 5. Soldier and a Thinker Feat. Hau & Blak Twang 6. Highs and Lows Feat. Fashawn, Solo & David Dallas 7. Ruthless Feat. Guilty Simpson & Brad Strut 8. Intergalactic Feat. Vast Aire & Dialect 9. Smokey 10. Dreamin Feat. Gappy Ranks & RuCL 11. I See You Feat. Marvin Priest 12. All Lovely Feat. Phat Kat & Mr. Clean 13. King Pin Shottas Feat. Guilty Simpson, Mdusu & Hau 14. We’ve Arrived Feat. Jeswon, Tuka, Skryptcha, Scott Burns, Rinse & Dialectrix
Chasm – This Is How We Never Die is available through Obese Records on April 27.
Chasm’s highly anticpated LP release This Is How We Never Die is due April 27th through Obese Records and features big names such as AG (DITC), Delta, Lazy Grey, Hau, Brad Strut, Guilty Simpson, Fashawn, Solo, Blak Twang, David Dallas and many more.
Chasm is one of the leading hip hop producers in Australia, signed to Obese Records for his solo work and to Elefant Traks for his work with his crew Astronomy Class featuring Ozi Batla and Sir Robbo. Having released 2 crew albums, Exit Strategy (2006) and Pursuit Of Happiness (2009) and 2 solo joints in the last five years Beyond The Beat Tape (2008) & Move, Chasm also has a stack of production credits and remixes to his name.
The Truth is the new single from superlative producer Chasm, the first instalment from his upcoming LP, featuring three of Australia’s most proficient emcees; The Tongue, Hau, and Dazastah, the track is innovative and brazen.
From the get-go the track detonates out of a vocal crescendo into its punchy, progressive party feel. Chasm with his exceptional ear for eclectic sample combinations fuses latin piano loops with brass accents and futuristic synth solos. Bringing a new shine to the art of braggadocio, the three emcees effortlessly glide through verses, each repping his distinctive style with assurance. The Tongue, Hau, and Dazastah all wrote and recorded their verses for The Truth in one day.
As a member of the UK group Nine High, Fraksha has consistently displayed a level of skill to put him up there with the big boys. Playing shows extensively around the UK alongside most of the scene’s heavyweights including such artists as Skinnyman, Klashnekoff, and Blak Twang has given him the ability to hype crowds of any kind impressing fans and peers alike with his wordplay and presence in the live arena.
In 2006 after having sold out two well received mix-tapes in the UK, Fraksha and Nine High made the move out to Australia where they had previously made good connections on an earlier visit. Within days of landing in the country they joined Bliss n Eso on their Get Loose tour smashing each show and gaining new fans wherever they went. This prompted them to do a re-press of their ‘Take Two’ mix-tape which again sold out in a short time. Due to visa issues the other members of Nine High went back to the UK in late 2007, but not before they threw a jam packed farewell show at the Melbourne hip-hop institution Revolver.
Since that time Fraksha has shown his versatility by being regularly booked to perform at an array of different events around Australia displaying his unique UK flow and refusal to be boxed in to the hip hop mould with his ability to rhyme on any type of beat, from drum n bass, to grime, to dancehall, dubstep and anything in-between. He is in constant demand as a host for events around Melbourne and most notably spent 18 months as host for Melbourne’s number one monthly event at the time, Late Night Hype alongsideDJ Flagrant. Among the hip hop artists that Fraksha has recorded with while in Australia include Reason, Ciecmate, Phrase, Choose Mics, M-Phazes, Autism and DJ Bonez. The past two years has also seen Fraksha join the Obese crew on their infamous Block Party shows.
Nine High released their eponymously titled debut album in July 2009 too much critical acclaim. The album also say the release of two popular video’s; Fugs need hugs and Cookout. They also played many well received shows in support of the album, including shows alongside American heavyweights Ghostface Killa and The Game.
As well as the Nine High related offerings Fraksha has also come together with fellow emcees Diem (Hospice Crew), Scotty Hinds(Nine High) and Murky Depths to start what is, one of Australia’s first grime crews – Smashbrothers have become noted for their high energy live shows around Melbourne and lively regular radio appearances.
2010 has seen Fraksha begin work on his first solo release due out in April and tentatively called It’s Just Bars. This promo CD all mixed by Affiks features production by amongst others, M-Phazes, Affiks, Loco and Jermz alongside guests including Scotty Hinds, Diem, Murky Depths, Tornts, Brinks, Byron, 1/6 and more. The CD has already seen the release of theAffiks produced Next Sound Level song and video which has proved a major hit at dubstep events around Melbourne and has since been remixed by Loco, MatCant (Scattermish) and renowned dubstep producer Spherix.
It’s Just Bars is set to be followed by a Smashbrothers E.P and a Fraksha solo E.P later in 2010. Look out!
Due to the constant distro problems throughout Australia, Nine High have released their 2009 self titled album for free. Get it by following the download link in the player.
