allaussie hip hop

The unique synergy created between artists was a defining character in the creativity and success of hip hop during the 1990s. Hip hop crews were bound together by their ideas in the moment and this interaction, at times tense, marked an incredible era in the genre’s history. Dialectrix, along with Mercury Prize winner Plutonic Lab and prolific Sydney DJ 2buck have taken this historical approach to produce Audio Projectile, the second album from one of Australia’s most talented wordsmiths. The album is the work of collaboration in the truest sense. Aiming to capture the vivid sounds of the classics, Audio Projectile is their enjoyment of the past, distilled with their own unique take on the present and future.

The album’s lead single, Pieces of a Puzzle, delves deep into mid-70s West Coast brass rock, recreating the stellar sounds textured with the memorable production work and Dialectrix’s unmistakable flow. The song’s up tempo vibes piece together an air of optimism, a salute to the great notion of a plan coming together. In Inner Heart Beat, the dynamic of this collaboration comes to an apex; an experimental and autobiographical take on Dialectrix’s musical life. Plutonic Lab’s assortment of aural textures is never more evident than in this track; boasting a wide array of sonic layers including kitchen utensils.

Having set the tone in previous releases with his unmatched vocal skills, Dialectrix turns his lyrical inflection to a different sound, working consciously to adopt a new style to reflect that distinct 90s vibe. Evident in Life Goes On, the audible pauses and stretching of syllables reflects better than ever this infusion of new in an old sound. Paying homage to the atmosphere of those times, songs like What’s Important and Holding the Lantern allow the listener to shut off their visual senses to travel back an era.

Fly On the Wall is a landmark track in the Dialectrix cannon. A bona fide throwback song, Dialectrix raps from the perspective of a fly- observing and judging humanity from an insignificant point of view. The song is in direct parallel to the working man’s plight and the feeling of helplessness that comes with being able to see everything, but being powerless to change it.

With the production’s striking palette, DJ 2buck’s masterful cuts are unmistakable, providing extended narrative like cut chorus’ akin to the likes of DJ Premier and Revolution high lighted on One More Time and Fly On The Wall. Audio Projectile is an exercise in true musical collaboration, a seemingly lost art in contemporary hip hop. Written and recorded over a short and intense 6 months, the energy bred from the live collaboration is both authentic and electric. Let this friction light the spark.

Track listing:
01. One More Time
02. Pieces of a Puzzle
03. Dead Set
04. Fly On The Wall
05. Audio Projectile
06. Life Goes On (feat. Hau)
07. Inner Heart Beat (feat. Joe New)
08. Whut!
09. What’s Important
10. Comin’ To Getcha (feat. Fluent Form, Maundz & Rigby)
11. Holding The Lantern
12. This Is Like, Mental
13. Zahir (feat. Tommy Illfigga & Joe New)
14. I’ve Been Told