Death Starrs is a throwback to colourful video stores, puffy VHS jackets, and pays homage to cinema’s greatest movie composers with slick samples, inventive pop culture infused lyrics, and a masterful overtone of well crafted production. Immortal is the brand new track from Death Starrs feat. production from Suffa (Hilltop Hoods).
Both artists are no strangers to the aura of success; Syntax’s 2010 debut The Musical was credited with a whole swag of four and five star reviews, and branded the Gold Coast turned Melbourne rapper with a positive stigma as one of Australia’s most notable rap vocalists.
As a music man, Mules is well versed in the trade of effortless production. As one half of the duo Choose Mics, his music has earned him production credits among Australia’s most prolific artists, and critical acclaim as the producer for the international collaboration project Raw with US artist Quite Nyce.
You can hear the brand new track over at Death Starrs triple j Unearthed page here. Death Starrs were also the winners of the triple j Unearthed Hilltop Hoods remix.
Death Stars are Syntax & Mules. 2011 saw the release of a self titled 7 track EP. VHS funk for Star Wars gangsters and Home Alone homies. With samples crafted entirely out of old school movie scores, and raps ranging from George Lucas-inspired metaphors to full blown misogyny, this is an interesting listen to say the least.
Death Stars wasn’t an official Soulmate Records project, but one that filled all our hearts with joy. Syntax of course dropped The Musical on Soulmate in 2010 and is a member of In Good Company, who released a self-titled LP last year. Mules the beat maker behind this wonderful project is a member of Gold Coast’s Choose Mics and has been working hard on a variety of projects, keep an eye out in 2012. The Death Stars were special guests at IGC and Eloquor’s album launch late last year. An official film clip was also released for the title track, which you can check out here. We hope to see a follow up to the Death Stars EP very soon.
Drakezilla is a prehistoric creature that mutated due to atomic radiation and rose from the depths of the sea to make hot jams with his Atomic Breath… and stomp cities. Drakezilla is currently finishing up a new album titled Redhead Redemption which features production from Trials, Sammsonite, Engineer, Mdusu, Mules and more.
Guests include Smiles Again (Mind Over Matter), Syntax and Johnny Utah. Drakezilla has now dropped the official video for the track I Look Down which wasproduced by Trials, additional drums by Drakezilla and bass & keys by Mdusu. The whole video was animated by Elle Reid. You can check out the video clip below and also grab the track for free download over at Drakezilla’s – Triple J Unearthed page here.
Bad, Meet Evil Streetwear announces the release of Death Stars, the free EP from Soulmate Records artist Syntax, and Gold Coast hip hop producer Mules. The first single Death Stars is now available online below:
Death Stars is a throwback to colourful video stores, puffy VHS jackets, and pays homage to cinema’s greatest movie composers with slick samples, inventive pop culture infused lyrics, and a masterful overtone of well crafted production. It’s a seven track EP that is dynamism personified; an ensemble of razor edged wit, served alongside heeded warnings of not feeding the Mogwai after midnight, and shrilled screaming from muscled Austrian’s about getting to the chopper.
Both artists are no strangers to the aura of success; Syntax’s 2010 debut The Musical was credited with a whole swag of four and five star reviews (definitely one of our favourite releases from 2010), and branded the Gold Coast turned Melbourne rapper with a positive stigma as one of Australia’s most notable rap vocalists. As a music man, Mules is well versed in the trade of effortless production. As one half of the duo Choose Mics, his music has earned him production credits among Australia’s most prolific artists, and critical acclaim as the producer for the international collaboration project Raw with US artist Quite Nyce.
Every song on Death Stars features a prominent sample from a Hollywood film score, effortlessly looped and pushed through the Death Stars razzle dazzle filter; the ultimate synthesis of rap and nerdish fixations for the local video store. Death Stars will be available for free download from July 15, 2011 at the official Death Stars/Bad, Meet Evil website www.deflectorshields.com
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.
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. Whisper does 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. Trill holds 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.
A-Diction – Walkin Alone Comp Winners. Each will take home a copy of A-Diction – Walkin Alone plus a copy of the recent In Good Company Mixtape featuring Whisper and Syntax.
Tim Horder of NSW.
Thomas Page of VIC.
and Elliott Mahar WA.
Stay close to those postboxes people.
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.
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.
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.
Yet, having released a number of well received works (2005’s To be Announced EP; last year’s The Three Year Itch mixtape and more recently the In Good Company mixtape), the group have never released a full length LP; until now.
Their debut album, Walkin’ Alone, was painstakingly crafted from the rough and tumble reality of Melbourne life, and is best summarised by the events that led up to its release; it is an album that is bipolar in its thinking, a colourful swatch book of memories and observations that flitters between the lows of poverty and despair, and the highs of friendship and hilarity.
Years in the making, the LP has left no stone unturned when it comes to actively seeking musical collaborators; A-Diction have spared no expense in working with the likes of M-Phazes (Drapht, Bliss N Eso), Jase (Phrase, Daniel Merriweather, Pegz), Whisper (Equills), Lewis One (Twice As Nice) Mules (Hyjak N Torcha, Choose Mics) and enlisted the vocal talents of Vida Sunshyne and Bekah.
Behind the mic they are joined by a broad spectrum of respected and up and coming emcee’s with Haunts and G-Force making memorable contributions; in addition Scott Burns, Billy Bunks, Whisper, Raven and Fraksha join A-Diction on a posse cut that is sure to be an instant underground classic. Meanwhile Doc Felix, DJ Mathmatics and DJ Juice provide some world class cutting on the album.
Available nation wide through Obese Records Distribution on August 6th 2010, the album, 4 years in production, reinforces the adage that good things come to those who wait, and clearly demonstrates the power of quality over quantity. Backed with some impressive artwork by renowned illustrator R. Lyons, Walkin’ Alone is a definitive all in one package; a fitting debut for artists with ten times the commercial success, let alone two poetic Melbourne partners in rhyme.
Track listing:
01. Intro
02. Walkin’ Alone
03. Consistent
04. One Fact
05. Wingman
06. Drop the Beat (feat. G-Force & Vida-Sunshyne)
07. What We Do
08. Ladies & Gentleman
09. Capital Vices (feat. Fraksha, Billy Bunks, Scott Burns, Whisper & Raven)
10. Who Can? We Can (feat. Haunts of Choose Mics)
11. Just You
12. Unbalanced
13. Lost for Words
14. Hold On Prelude
15. Hold On
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.
