A-Diction – New Film Clip “Lost For Words” [Taken from the album Walkin' Alone']

30 12 2010

Here is the brand new clip for A-Dictions track Lost For Words taken from the 2010 Release Walkin’ Alone, distrbiuted by Obese Records.
Find our album review below and the link for the interview below that.

Walkin Alone is the title to Melbourne duo emcee’s Breach and Boltz. Many will recognise these two, with previous mixtape releases under their belt, some may also remember Boltz’ classic Wishlist release from years back. Walkin Alone is an album which combines the observations of city life, relationships, the future and even the 7 deadly sins into a hip hop painted outline of Boltz and Breachs reality. Walkin Alone the title track to the album has Breach and Boltz asking the hip hop community to join them on a journey or they will be going it alone. Lewis One provides the beat to the lead single and was the answer to our A-Diction – Walkin Alone competition. We had three copies to giveaway and those winners have been announced below.

As the level of pressure increases on groups to produce quality debut albums, no shortcuts we made on Walkin Alone. The list of producers include some of Australia’s best, M-Phazes, Jase, Lewis One, Mules and Whisper. Behind the mic the guys are joined by a range of respected emcee’s with Haunts and G-Force making memorable contributions; in addition to Scott Burns, Billy Bunks, Whisper, Raven and Fraksha who appear on the posse cut track Capital Vices. We should also mention the amazing vocals from Vida Sunshyne and Bekah.

“Routine is another word for habit,
do something enough and you’ll forget why you began it
God damn it now your old and gray
and still searching for a dream that’s been thrown away.
Kanyes definition of a man, is everything I’m not made me everything I am,
but as for me I thinking more honestly  everything I’m not,
is everything I wanna be.
My advice is life your life,  never let em say you’re not doing it right….”.

As we progress through the album it’s clear that Boltz and Breach have paid  considerable attention to the overall flow and structure of the album. Each and every track builds on the last, offering something new and exciting for your ears enjoyment. It’s with this dynamic flow that A-Diction are able to present an amazing ‘walk’ throughout the album and the lives of Breach and Boltz. We found ourselves wanting to listen to the album from start to finish every time, rather than jumping in at say track 4 then skipping 5 songs to our favorites. Obviously there are some clear highlights including the track Consistent feat.Bekah, with Mules delivering some absolute fire on the beat. It’s then backed up by an outstanding M-Phazes produced track titled One Fact. Both tracks will be keeping those chriopractors in business over the next few months.

“I manufacture tracks proper not just a,
monotonous records that get forgotten in seconds.
See its a habit of my that in the back of my mind,
I got these thoughts and they just happen to rhyme,
to have you clapping in time, I bless you with the rapping that’s fine,
I’ll come to your rescue like your were trapped in a mine…”.

The humorous Wingman “goes out to single guys” and has A-Diction discussing the plan of attack for any successful Friday and Saturday night. Whisperdoes a brilliant job on the beat with the bouncy feel tying in nicely to the theme of the track. Next track worthy a mention is the Drop The Beat (Remix), featuring G-Force and Vida Sunshyne. This is one of the most impressive remixes we have heard in a long time. Enough said?


Jase
delivers with a funky soul filled beat on Ladies and Gentlemen. We also pay the “That’s What She Said” joke….nice work fellas. There has been much talk about the posse cut track Capital Vices (prod. M-Phazes) feat. Fraksha, Billy Bunks, Scott Burns, Whisper and Raven. We all love a posse track but the way A-Diction tackled this one, was as  an original concept as we’ve seen. Each of the 7 seven rappers undertake one of the 7 Deadly Sins with each spitting a verse to great results. This will surely go down as one of the best posse tracks of the last few years.  Mules exceptional production work continues on the track Just You, which sees Breach and Boltz slowing things up with a nice soulful joint about the inner workings of friendships.

The ease for which A-Diction are able present a vast range of styles and pull off each and everyone is a testament to the skill and hard work that the guys have put in to prepare for this debut. At no point did the sound seem out of their depth, in fact the album was quite inviting and appraochable….sorta like that really hot chick who’s easy to get along with.  The track Unbalanced is a dark tale of humanity and the pain that ‘some’ share throughout the world. Trillholds it down for his only produced track on the album and once again A-Diction continue to deliver some great verses:

“The 3rd world starves the situations hectic,
while western obesity’s become an epidemic,
the greed and gluttony I’ve seen in my country
to me, it just seems to be a beast that is ugly.
Seems strange that we,
can still find things to complain about and its so crazy how,
we stress over the rent or new mortgage,
but we aint never had to worry bout a food shortage….”

Backed with some impressive artwork by renowned illustrator R. Lyons, great beats from Australia’s best producers and also the dynamic duo that is A-Diction, Walkin Alone is set to awaken the sleepers. A-Diction deliver an amazing album that’s meant to be listened too and enjoyed. The guys have grabbed 2010 by the scruff of the neck, slapped that bitch up and left a nice big Walkin’ Alone imprint on her check. (We don’t condone violence against numbers). We really can’t fault this effort – all in all get some!
We score A-Diction’s – Walkin Alone 4.3 out of 5.

Interview here.





Syntax – The Musical

26 08 2010

Early on in your rap career you were one third of Queensland mainstays Trace Elements –  featuring hip-hop producer  M-Phazes and also emcee Tactic One. Tell us a bit about how that crew came together?
Myself and Tactic One were friends in high school, and we met M-Phazes through a mutual friend called Lee who worked at a local record store. He had heard about myself and Tactic through the grapevine and wanted to know if we were interested in meeting his friend M-Phazes. Being new to the whole music thing we were totally interested, and Lee played us a cassette tape of Phaze’s called ‘The Original’. I remember listening to it thinking, “Holy Shit, this sounds like came straight off a premo mixtape or something”. Naturally we met him the next night in the carpark of Burleigh Heads McDonald’s. We ended up becoming really good friends, and over the years have lived together, toured the country back to front, and each have a lot of good memories about it all. We’re all still good friends.

The Musical is the title of your brand new debut LP and is the result of many hard yards spent touring and learning the craft. Did you spend that time getting everything just right for you debut?
Absolutely. I had another 10 or so tracks either written or laid down in draft form, and those didn’t make the cut. I wanted this to be perfect, after all, you only get one debut. I also remember reading a quote from Jay-Z regarding Reasonable Doubt; he said that your sophomore release will normally take you 6 months to make, but your debut takes 26 years. That really struck me as something really noteworthy; at that point you’re not shaped by or jaded by ‘the biz’, you’re just you, with 26 years of life experience behind you.

The Musical is 16 tracks deep and features some great beats provided by the likes of M-Phazes and SDub but it’s Mules whose beats account for around half of the tracks on The Musical. What was it about Mules that got you salivating at the mouth?
Actually the bulk of the album was relatively new in comparison to the original track listing for the Musical back in 2009. Over Christmas last year Mules banged out and remixed an exceptional amount of tracks for me, and the album really didn’t take shape until then. Again, he was somebody else I met through Lee, and I knew straight away he was different. I also love the fact that Mules just seems to ‘know’ an artist back to front; even though he did most of the production work for the LP, it doesn’t have a Choose Mics sound to it. All the beats were originals, not off beat tapes, and they were samples that he had put aside especially for the kind of album I was making. All in all there were another 5 or 6 Mules tracks that didn’t make the cut; they’re being used for other promotional releases, but it just goes to show the hard work he puts in.

Kam Moye (the artist formerly known as Supastition) features on the track ‘Onwards’. Obviously a great feature, tell us a little about the relationship you have with Kam?
Of course the boys and I met Supa through M-Phazes; Kam was putting together a release after leaving Freshchest records and we just began talking to him from there; he even blessed us with a verse for Tactic One’s LP and for the Trace Elements mixtape in 06. In 2007 he did a short tour with DJ Forge and Trace Elements supporting; naturally we clicked straight away and built on work from there. Initially I wanted to get Kam on some punchline bragadocious type tracks, but after I heard the beat from SDub I knew that Supa would have been perfect to bless it; at the time Kam told me it reminded him of some retrospective Dr Dre. Little known fact: initially I also approached Mareko about jumping on that track too, but due to his album work he pulled out of it.


You write quite frequently, not just music, and we’ve gotten a great laugh out of many of your blog posts. Is this a way of honing your craft or just something you enjoy doing when your not spitting fire?
Well my family are all politically minded and quite talented with the written word. To be honest, even though it doesn’t seem like something that is genetic, I don’t doubt for a second that there is some kind of genetic process that controls creativity; it runs in the family. My father is a prankster, and my mother likes to think she’s the greatest comedian on earth. To be honest though, my writing style really only evolved after I began to absorb huge amounts of British comedy and immerse myself in books like The Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy (genius series by the way, exceptionally well written). To be honest I was a writer before I was a musician, and if I had to choose one path I would take forever it would definitely be the written word. I mean, have you seen Salman Rushdie’s ex girlfriends? Boom son, boom!

You recently joined the SoulMate label, the home of 360 and Pez. Whats it been like finding that right label for you, artistically and personally?
I think from day one I always wanted to sign with Soulmate, purely because the label had been interested in what I did for a long time. I really loved that aspect; I’ve heard horror stories about the relationships that other artist’s have when signed to larger more established labels. I didn’t want to be one among many, I wanted to be able to pick up the phone and talk to the label director directly, have a beer with them, and discuss issues face to face. Actually I signed the contract over a meal at Nando’s, there’s probably Peri-Peri sauce on the original somewhere. To be honest, Soulmate was the first label that was interested after the LP was complete, I didn’t even bother looking around after the deal was on the table. Previously in 2008/2009 I had been approached by two labels, and I was sick of people seeing ‘potential’ but never acting upon it. Soulmate are a powerful force in the industry, small enough to avoid confusing administration, but packed with artists that command sales and respect.

Celebrated Sydney artist and hip-hop connoisseur Mark Drew did the artwork for the album and he has done an exceptional job.  Are you a fan of Marks and how did you see his art relating to your album….we did pick up on the cool A side, B side theme that played out through the album?
I hadn’t been exposed to Mark Drew before I signed with the label. Chris at Soulmate had heard about Mark Drew through a series of art shows he had put on called C-90, which was a total throwback to early 90’s cassette tapes. We knew we wanted a 90’s feel to the art purely because of the production that was on the album; it sounded clean, yet gritty. Mark’s artwork just fit the bill perfectly, especially, as you mentioned, the ‘Side A’ and ‘Side B’ aspect.  At first the cover wasn’t what I was expecting, but the more I looked at it I realised it was on some 90’s mean muggin type shit. It was perfect.

The film clip has just dropped for the banging  track Fact Not Fiction. The beat by Mules is a killer and the clip was filmed in a library. We hear you hooked up with Heata and Discourse of Crate Cartel for the filming of the clip?
I remember watching that Crate Cartel video (Memories – Geko & Fluent Form) and flipping out; the track was amazing and the video complimented it perfectly. Heata & Discourse (Full Clip) are a perfect pairing, Heata has an exceptional amount of experience filming in the industry, and Discourse has the audio and video editing thing on lock. The shoot was no more than a day and the fact they were hip hop dudes themselves made the experience extremely worthwhile. In regards to the track, I was actually surprised how it came out; initially I recorded it over a different beat. It was originally recorded over a retrospective Hi Tek beat and Mules came and remixed it. I wasn’t expecting the track to be as upbeat as it was, especially considering the lyrics, but after listening to it more and more I realised that Mules knew exactly what he was doing.

What do you hope to achieve from this release, do you have any plans on looking abroad in the future?
To look at The Musical as anything more than a building block is pie in the sky type stuff. It’s like a calculated game of chess, you spend time moving the pieces into position, and then bam, checkmate. I’ve already started working on the follow up, it’s a collaborative project with a producer from Brisbane called Cam Bluff (The Optimen, The Tongue, Spit Syndicate), and I’m excessively excited about it. His production reminds me of a mixture of so many amazing musical influences; I can hear Dr Dre in there, Buckwild, lots of Dilla, it’s just the music I’ve been dying to make for years.

Album launch, any details on that or upcoming tours?
I’m currently touring with my good friends Choose Mics on their “Beggars can’t be touring”…err…tour. I love being on the road with them, and have been doing so since 06. If I had my way I would make sure we did every show together. If you’re in Melbourne or Adelaide on September 17 and 18, the whole gang will be back together under the same roof (Myself, Choose Mics and M-Phazes), and I can’t wait. You can peep the show updates from the Soulmate Records blog at http://www.soulmaterecords.com

Make sure you grab your FREE download of Fact Not Fiction taken from Syntax – The Muscial, right here.


Syntax – Fact Not Fiction





A-Diction – Walkin’ Alone

6 08 2010

The name A-Diction says it all; wordplay, cleverness, and an overall obsession with the previous two points. Born and raised in Melbourne, the duo consists of emcee’s Breach and Boltz. Breach, the precise wordsmith with focussed flow and witty punchlines, and Boltz, the crooner known for his explosive debut album The Wishlist, which featured international heavyweight Royce da 5’9” and local producer extraordinaire M-Phazes.

Walkin’ Alone is the title of your first LP release and features a whole range of crews and mates chipping with vocals, beats and cuts on various tracks, from M-Phazes to Fraksha and Mules to DJ Juice of the battlehogs, Doc Felix and more. Has this release been a great project to work on because that reason?
Breach: Yeah, I guess when you put it like that the whole thing was a huge collaborative effort from a lot of people. This is part of the reason that the album took a little longer than usual, but is also the reason we’re so happy with the final product. Some of the people involved are mates, some are artists we’ve never met face to face before, but regardless we’re happy with everyone’s contribution.
Boltz: I feel like every track has a different personality to the last thanks to the guests and producers.  I think if you’re a Mules fan or a Jase fan or a Phazes fan etc. you’re really going to listen out for the tracks we did with them; but in saying that, there’s cohesiveness between all of the tracks and we kept that in mind when we were choosing beats and guests.  I think you can tell from the vibe of the album we had a lot of fun getting all of our mates and favourite artists involved.

2005 is where things starting coming together for A-Diction with the release of the ‘To Be Announced EP’, we then saw last year ‘The Three Year Itch Mixtape’ and more recently the ‘In Good Company Mixtape’. What was the most important thing A-Diction have learnt and put into practice since your first release?
Breach:
To be honest, if you wanted a 16 bar verse from me about nothing in particular I could have it back to you in 5 minutes, but being able to actually write a song, that’s something that has taken me some time. I think The Three Year Itch had a lot of tracks from me that were basically exercise for the album, I was writing like 50 bars at a time at that point but most were non-topical, and had no real song structure. Moving on to the IGC mixtape and Walkin’ Alone, I’ve tried more to enhance my song-writing ability, which is a very different thing in my opinion. The mixtapes are great to put out, get some shine, and hear what the heads might like / dislike about the music you’re making.
Boltz:
For me, it’s always been about patience, quality and doing the little things.  I’m not saying every release we’ve done is perfect; I’ll still go back to our first EP and even our last mixtape and think “I could have said that line with more energy” or “Maybe we could have done this differently” but at the time we made sure we re-recorded anything we weren’t happy with and we spared no expense when it came to buying the beats we wanted or advertising in a particular magazine.  I’m glad that when it’s all said and done we can say that from our first to our last release we always put in 100% and never released anything sloppy or half assed.

It’s clearly been a long road to this moment what will it be like to finally see the Walkin Alone LP in the punters hands?
Breach:
HELL YES! I was talking to Jase (Beathedz) about this; me and him spent a lot of afternoons at his place mixing the album and one thing he said that stuck in my mind is that ‘putting out an album is like giving birth’… I couldn’t agree more, except we don’t have stretch marks to show for it after it’s out! People are ALWAYS asking “Hey where’s your album?” The last 3-4 years has all come down to this Friday, August 6th, when the album hits the shelves, we can’t wait.
Boltz:
Breach is a bit more anxious than me because I dropped my solo LP so I’ve been through it once before; I have to keep reminding myself that this is still the first A-Diction album!  It certainly doesn’t seem like a debut because we’ve been writing and recording for so long; it feels like a second or third album to me.  Having said that, this will definitely be my proudest moment; better than the EP, the mixtapes and the solo joint- all of those things were just appetisers and this is the main course.
Breach:
Anxious is an understatement haha

The track Walkin’ Alone contains a great verse and goes something like ” There’s too many emcees not enough talent, not enough quality too many haters, not enough honesty too many faker’s, too many freebies not enough payers, not enough retirees to many stayer’s…” Do you think that these are some of the negative aspects of the hip hop scene in Australia or in general?
Boltz: Yeah, that was the first track we wrote for the album so it’s one of the oldest verses on the LP.  I think when I wrote it I was probably feeling a bit disillusioned with the scene; if you pay too much attention to what you read on internet forums or listen to some of the heads at shows, it’s easy to think there’s nothing but a world full of haters and know-alls out there.  I’m probably a bit more mature now and I can see both sides of the coin.  Whenever I go to a packed out show or hear a local act on the radio I am amazed at how much our scene has grown and how accepting the wider public has been towards some of our artists.  In terms of the other stuff, everyone knows the music industry is going through some changes right now which has bought about the Myspace MC’s and an abundance of free mixtapes etc; it’s not all great but I guess you have to take the good with the bad.

Bekah and Vida Sunshyne both feature on the album with Bekah on the track Consistent and Vida on the Remix of Drop the Beat. Did you just have to have these guys on the album?
Breach:
In terms of Bekah, me and Boltz have seen her perform a number of times, and every time she hits the stage its like the whole room freezes. We’re cool with her boy Ceefor too so it just made sense to get at her to contribute. We’re really happy with what she did for us and the album wouldn’t be the same without her.
Boltz:
As for Vida, G-Force fans would recognise the original verse of ‘Drop the Beat’ from his debut album ‘Clouded’.  When we heard that song with Vida on the chorus I said to Force “Dude, you have to let us remix that song; that hook is amazing!”  Every one involved in the remix agreed that the new version sounds amazing and came out sounding like the hook was written specifically for the verses as opposed to the other way around.

The track One Fact features a great little sample from Brad Struts ‘It’s Official’, no need to mention the amazing beat by M-Phazes and cuts by Doc Felix. Was that sample bit of a shout out to Strut?
Breach: Man this track is really special to me, as soon as I heard that beat I contacted Phazes’ management and said I wanted it 100%, it’s just like that sometimes. The Strut sample is definitely a shout out to him, he’s still number one in this country in my opinion, and I still bump Legend: Official all the time. I contacted him and asked if it was cool to use the sample, and he was down, too easy. It also made sense to get Doc Felix on the cut, we’re mutual fans of each other and he is one of the most genuine dudes in the scene. See you on the next LP Doc!!

The track ‘Capital Vices’ featuring Billy Bunks, Scott Burns, Fraksha, Whisper and Raven will have fans reaching for the repeat button with its approach. Do you think the posse track is becoming a must have on a lot of releases?
Breach:
I think a posse cut is a must have IF it’s done proper. This one did take a while to put together, but the final result will be an instant classic. What’s different about this particular track is that most posse cuts are just about “yeah yeah, we’re dope, your wack, blah blah”… Boltz came up with the idea of each MC choosing one of the Seven Deadly Sins and kicking 8 bars each and I think it worked really well. Every MC absolutely smashed it, shouts to Whisper for coming through at the final hour!!
Boltz:
They’re definitely a lot of fun to hear but they are a bitch to organise!  Ha ha.  I would like to hear more themed posse cuts; like Breach said the braggadocio ones have been done to death so hopefully “Capital Vices” encourages others to put their thinking caps on next time they’re putting together a big colabo.

A-Diction will be officially launching Walkin’ Alone on Friday the 17th of September 2010 as a double album launch with the Gold Coast’s finest Choose Mics @ The Espy in St Kilda. We know your big fans and close mates with the Choose Mics crew, what will it like launching albums with them?
Breach:
Man we can’t wait! Honestly, for me, all this hard work comes down to the launch; it’s like a celebration of what we’ve achieved. Sharing the night with Choose Mics couldn’t be more fitting; those dudes are just as hungry as us and have been down since day 1. It’s gonna be a CRAZY night!!
Boltz:
I agree man, ‘fitting’ is the only word that comes to mind.  Throughout the making of the album we would talk to Mules and his manager Adam all the time to get advice and ideas regarding the songs and also the business side of things.  Adam gave us a lot of tips along the way and really helped us whenever we needed it.  Mules too; whenever you asked him for a favour he would literally drop everything and you’d have what you needed within 24 hours, usually less.  I’m really looking forward to having a drink with those guys, and Haunts, on the night and celebrating both of our releases.





Gutless Wonders – Force & Sparts (Interalias remix)

1 08 2010

Relative new comer to the scene Sparts, joins G-Force, following his successful debut release Clouded, to bring you a free offering of straight spitting madness to go with your summer beverages.

Featuring guests Mol One, Haunts, Maundz and Thorts plus a mix of exclusive beats from WIK, Blazin Marty and Xcise, plus a few jacked favs, ensures Powerlines bangs from start to finish.

Here is a remix that Interalias made for the track Gutless Wonders by Force & Sparts.

If you havent already, download Force & Sparts - Powerlines - Mediafire link here.





M-Phazes – Good Gracious album launch tour

28 07 2010

On March 27th in Melbourne’s Espy Gershwin Room, Australia’s #1 Hip-Hop producer M-Phazes brought together some of Australia’s finest emcee’s and performers to help him launch his debut album Good Gracious and allaussie hip hop were lucky enough to be there.
Drapht, Phrase, Pegz, Illy, Muph with Candice Monique, Mantra, 13th Son, Dialectrix, Delta, Nine High, Haunts, a full band, mini choir and even a marching band made up the 35+ crew performing as part of M-Phazes unforgettable show!

Catch M-Phazes from August through September 2010 on his official Good Gracious album launch tour – This is one not to miss, sure to be one of the biggest events of the year.
Full details here.





Syntax – The Musical (August 23)

11 07 2010

Who is Syntax? The name might not immediately ring a bell, but if you’ve been familiar with Australia’s burgeoning hip-hop-scene long enough, you’ve more than likely had subconscious exposure to the Gold Coast veteran’s not inconsiderable talents.

With an apprenticeship served as one third of Queensland mainstays Trace Elements – the crew that birthed this country’s most preeminent hip-hop producer, M-Phazes – and time spent on the road with such luminaries as Bliss N Eso, Phrase and US emcee Supastition, there’s no doubt that Syntax has put paid to that old hip-hop notion of “paying dues”. What’s most surprising about the artist born Andrew Archer is that – despite numerous enthusiastically-received mixtapes and a formidable live reputation – he has never officially released an album… until now.

Syntax’s full-length debut, The Musical, is a hip-hop record in the classic mould of Illmatic, Ready To Die and Reasonable Doubt – a confidently individual emcee at the helm, a tight track listing, a smattering of hand-picked guests, and stellar beat selections from a handful of the best producers of the moment. It sounds local, but thinks global in its approach to time-honoured hip-hop craftsmanship.

In a rap scene where a hoarse ocker drawl is de rigueur, Syntax’s nasal Q-Tip-by-way-of- Drapht delivery clearly stands out from the pack over the album’s 16 tracks. Emphasising its potency are colourful musical backdrops provided by the likes of M-Phazes (Triple J Feature Album for Good Gracious, February 2010) and Matik (Pez’s ‘The Festival Song’, Seth Sentry’s ‘The Waitress Song’), as well as rising stars SDub, Whisper and Mules (one half of celebrated Gold Coast crew Choose Mics, whose dusty loop-based beats account for half of the LP’s tracks).

On the guest appearance front, The Musical boasts collaborations with emcees from across the cultural divide: Kam Moye (the artist formerly known as Supastition) adds his southern-fried North Carolina drawl to the soulful Onwards, while South Australian star-in-the-making Prime (Pagen Elypsis) makes his presence clearly felt on the wack emcee-slaughtering Talk. Meanwhile, Birmingham-to-Gold-Coast transplant Haunts (also of Choose Mics) contributes comic relief and unmistakable Brummy slang to the jazzy Action.

Topped off with hand-illustrated artwork by celebrated Sydney artist and hip-hop connoisseur Mark Drew, The Musical is a throwback to the glory days of rap record-making. Funk-fuelled lead single Build! probably best sums up the spirit of the record: ‘Do the time, put in work, feel the love back / one music, one love, we love rap.’ It’s a love that drips from every pore of Syntax’s being, and from the chapters of The Musical itself.
Syntax’s – The Musical will be released via Soulmate Records/Inertia on 23 August 2010.


Syntax – The Musical Album Previews

Renaissance – Produced by Mules of Choose Mics.


Open Mic Night – Produced by Mules of Choose Mics.


My World – Produced by SDub.


Stand Up – Produced by M-Phazes.





Choose Mics – Beggars Can’t Be Choosers (April 9)

25 02 2010

Choose Mics, the duo comprising emcee Haunts and DJ/Producer Mules, would have to be a couple of the hardest working geezers in the biz. With their debut album Beggars Can’t Be Choosers hitting stores in April, Choose Mics have also just wrapped up a massive east coast tour with aussie heavy weights Phrase, Bliss N Eso and Muph & Plutonic, the timing couldn’t be better for them to drop their first official release.

Now based on the Gold Coast, Birmingham born Haunts brings a fresh new flavour to the local hip hop scene. Described as a hard nosed and in your face emcee, Haunts’ story telling ability is tenacious, his flow is effortless and his lyrics wittier than an early Eddie Murphy stand-up routine. The other half of the duo, Australian born Mules, is quickly gathering momentum as a producer both here and overseas. Having produced tracks for a number of hip hop luminaries including the likes of Hyjak n Torcha, Rock from Heltah Skeltah and US artist MURS, Beggars Cant Be Choosers is sure to cement Mules’ reputation as one of Australia’s key producers over the next few years.

The album title Beggars Cant Be Choosers is an ode to the experience of creating an album, competing against established artists on the major labels with one per cent of the budget. Many sacrifices were made for the love of hip hop and the motto ‘Beggers Can’t Be Choosers’ got Choose Mics through when times were tough.

Getting things started on the album is the bangin’ first single, Let Me Go. A classic body moving hip hop joint, the beats are bouncing and the chorus is catchier than swine flu. This track showcases Haunts’ lyrical prowess and humour as he rhymes about his desires to be free from the daily grind. The confronting Magical World which slaps you in the face from the first bar with its big production sound and Haunts’ trademark skills as a relentless wordsmith. Taking things down a notch is the nostalgic 80’s Baby which will bring all those Gen Y’ers back to their childhood. With Run – featuring Sammsonite of Brisbane crew The Optimen (winners of Best Urban Artist & Best Film Clip at 2006 MusicOz Awards) and underground Hip Hop staple Robby Balboa, the Choose Mics crew show that they can bring healthy doses of  fun and funk on the table with this collaboration.

Translating this pure hip hop album into a live show, Choose Mics’ sets are energetic, confronting and in your face. Performed in true hip hop fashion, their dynamic set is delivered with two turntables and two mics. Performing their original tunes as well as a few classics thrown in for good measure, Choose Mics give the crowds everything they have – definitely not a show for the faint hearted.

Since forming in 2006, the perpetually busy Choose Mics have put out a pre-album, a remix album and now a new full length LP not to mention constant touring and collaborations with artists the world over. Beggars Can’t be Choosers is the product of two highly talented and passionate individuals and twelve long months of recording and editing that saw many tracks fall off the radar in the quest for perfection.  More coming soon. Check out the new film clip from Choose Mics – Let Me Go above.





Brooklyn Bridge – Bekay feat. Masta Ace (Prod. by M-Phazes)

20 02 2010

Australian producer M-Phazes is set to drop an absolute banger in the form of his production album Good Gracious. It will feature some of Australia’s top emcees including Drapht, Bliss N Eso, Phrase, Illy, Pegz, Muph n Plutonic, Delta, Solo, Spit Syndicate, Dialectrix, Mantra, Nfa, Nine High, Forthwrite (360 n Pez), 13th Son and Haunts. Good Gracious will be out on February 26 through Obese Records (check the previous post we did regarding this release here). If your not already excited, then here’s something to wet your appetite. M-Phazes recently produced a track for US emcee Bekay feat. Masta Ace. The track “Brooklyn Bridge”, which you can stream below or purchase on iTunes, is a prime example of why M-Phazes – Good Gracious will be one of 2010′s most exciting albums.
The Brookylyn Bridge remix is featured on The Hunger Pains Remix EP from Bekay. The remix EP, which dropped Feb. 9 through the Brooklyn-based indie Coalmine Records also features three other remixes that include production and features from DJ Babu, DJ Qvali, Dilated Peoples, Sha Stimuli and Push! Montana.

Matt Diamond, head of Coalmine Records, had this to say regarding the release of The Hunger Pains Remix EP.
“As a label, Coalmine places a strong emphasis on the producer as well as the artist and there’s not a better way to breath new life into a previously existing record than by creating a remix. The idea to release The Hunger Pains Remix EP is inspired largely from the days of when classic albums would be followed up with a 12″ or vinyl EP that would contain otherwise nearly impossible to find remixes. The concept of collecting and ‘digging’ for those hard to find gems is an element of the culture that has shifted from record stores to downloads. Although the experience has changed, the end result is the same…dope music.”

Tracklisting
1. I Am (Remix) feat. Dilated Peoples
2. I Am [Nodfactor.com Remix] (prod. by DJ Qvali)
3. Brooklyn Bridge [Part II] feat. Sha Stimuli & Push! Montana
4. Brooklyn Bridge feat. Masta Ace (M-Phazes Remix)





mdusu – new album + free mixtape

16 02 2010

Hailing from Hobart – Australia’s southern-most capital city, mdusu (pronounced muh-DOO-soo) is one of Tasmania’s premier hip hop artists. Since his first live performance as an emcee in 2003, the MC/producer has built himself a reputation Australia-wide for quality recordings and raucous live shows, a feat which is all the more remarkable considering the isolation of his home town. In just a few short years, he has performed alongside acts such as De La Soul, Jurassic 5, Jungle Brothers, Z-Trip, Swollen Members, The Herd, Drapht, Funkoars, Muph & Plutonic etc. and can even lay claim to having shared a stage with Wolfmother (before the Grammy). Mdusu has also performed at every major music festival in Tasmania’s history (the Basin Concert, Gone South, the Southern Roots & Blues Festival, Soundscape & the Falls Festival), and has been a performer on over 10 albums as either a solo artist or band member since 1998.

As an emcee, mdusu earned his stripes through the freestyle & battle scenes, winning countless emcee battles across Tasmania, and performing solidly in battles across Melbourne. His lyrical skill has gained him respect amongst the leaders of the Australian hip hop scene, and has led to collaborations with many artists from around the world. mdusu is also an accomplished producer, having laced beats for almost every emcee in Tasmania during his 10 plus-years as a beatmaker. A skilled multi-instrumentalist, mdusu has spent more than half his life playing various instruments in live ensembles, and has toured Australia & around the Pacific Islands as far as Hawaii, playing many different styles of music.

In 2007, he produced two tracks for The Tongue’s debut, “Shock & Awe”, and supplied a verse to super-producer Chasm for his 2008 smash debut LP, “Beyond the Beat Tape”. The following year saw him drop verses on Dialectrix’s debut smash “Cycles of Survival”, and Astronomy Class’ second album “Pursuit of Happiness”, which was nominated for the “Best Urban/Hip Hop” Album of the 2009 ARIA awards. mdusu also produced a track for Obese Records’ signing Skryptcha on the DJ Flagrant-mixed mixtape “Who’s Got Next”.

In May 2008, mdusu and Tasmanian DJ Dameza released their groundbreaking sophomore LP, Can we get a soul clap? On May 10th (distributed by Obese Records). The album was picked up by Triple J, and helped mdusu&dameza become one of Triple J’s Next Crop artists for 2008, an honour which is only bestowed upon 30 artists of all genres across Australia. The album was also made the Triple J Hip Hop Show “Album of the Week” (June 9th-15th).

In February 2009, mdusu embarked on his biggest challenge to date, to raise money for victims of the Victorian Bushfire: A 12-hour non-stop Freestyle Marathon. Not only did he manage this incredible and never-before tried feat, he raised over $1300 in the process, and set an unofficial world record (longest continuous freestyle rap) in the process.

After relocating to the Gold Coast for family reasons in July 2009, mdusu released his solo debut, “The Excess Baggage Mixtape” (available below) – which has over 500 downloads in just two weeks, and is currently putting together his debut solo producer album, which features some Australia’s best emcee’s, singers & DJs.

My new album is going to be the first solo effort I’ve ever done – all my previous stuff has been group stuff, so I’m excited as to take the leap of faith by myself, and see what happens. I’ve been working on it for about a year and a half now, and I’m just up to the stage of getting verses back from people and mixing the whole thing. Not sure if I’m going to approach any labels about it yet, but ideally I’ll be able to work out a licensing deal for release. Guests include: Muph, Solo, Louis Logic, Dialectrix, Jeswon of Thundamentals, Ozi Batla, Skryptcha, BVA, Scott Burns, Roshambo, The Tongue, Patto, Haunts of Choose Mics, Homebrew (NZ), Thorts, Class A, Syntax, Prime, Purpose, & Rigby, so it’s a real collaborative effort. It’s gonna be called Ex-Samples, and I’ll be handling all the production, so it’s a pretty massive undertaking.

Discography:
2010 – The Excess Baggage Mixtape – all verses and arrangement
2009 – Astronomy Class – Pursuit Of Happiness – Verse on “War Of The Worlds”
2009 – Who Got Next Mixtape – Production on Skryptcha “For You”
2008 – Dialectrix – Cycles of Survival – Verse on “The Takeover”
2008 – mdusu&dameza – can we get a soul clap? – Verses & all production
2008 – Chasm – Beyond The Beat Tape – Verse on “Cop a Lesson”
2008 – Unleash The Nugget – The Illustrated Guide to… EP – Drums & percussion
2007 – The Tongue – Shock & Awe – Production on “That Word” & “The Blues”
2007 – Heads of State – Making The Best Of What We’ve Got – Verses & all production
2006 – mdusu&dameza – sounds from our town – verses & all production

Direct Link Download Here






Force and Sparts – Powerlines download

16 01 2010


Relative new comer to the scene Sparts, joins G-Force, following his successful debut release Clouded, to bring you a free offering of straight spitting madness to go with your summer beverages.

Featuring guests Mol One, Haunts, Maundz and Thorts plus a mix of exclusive beats from WIK, Blazin Marty and Xcise, plus a few jacked favs, ensures Powerlines bangs from start to finish.

Fresh for the download, you can follow the link here to grab your copy.
You can grab the back cover below + track listing and production credits.
Visit the guys webpage here.









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