M-Phazes has quickly established himself as one of the country’s top producers. After 2 years of nights locked away, computers humming, beats banging and unhealthy dietary intakes (not confirmed), a masterpiece has emerged. Good Gracious is the heavily anticipated debut album from lauded Gold Coast beat-maker M-Phazes. This 15 track LP features appearances from some of Australia’s most respected hip hop artists including Drapht, Mantra, Dialectrix, Pegz, Delta, Muph and Plutonic, Phrase, Spit Syndicate, Forthwrite, Bliss N Eso, NFA, Illy, 13th Son and Nine High……we could easily stop there.
Good Gracious is concofinay of hip hop styles riding under the one banner that is producer extraordinaire M-Phazes. Good Gracious takes you on a musical tour of the Australian Hip Hop landscape leaving no destination unvisited. Dirty drums, banging bass, electric guitar riffs, layers thicker then 5 day old milk, electro pop and a few beer glasses…it sounds like the remnants of a big night out, but it’s something quite different…
For a debut album M-Phazes has gone far and beyond any expectations. To bring together 15 artists on any one project is a mean feet in itself, but to deliver quality on track after track is something to be applauded. M-Phazes uses the huge variety of artists to his advantage and presents an album packed with personality and style. Good Gracious crushes your preconceptions early and reaffirms M-Phazes hunger for creativity and originality.
..I know this kid whose been digging through the crates for ages, born and raised gold coast of all places, ordinary joe goes by the name of Mark better know to most as M-Phazes….
The opening track For What It’s Worth featuring Horrorshow emcee Solo quickly brings the un-knowledged M-Phazes listener up to speed. This soulful boom-bap styled track quickly builds pace, craftily weaving the habits of a die-hard emcee with the unrelenting drive of a budding producer.
M-Phazes teams up with Mantra, on the appropriately titled track The Freak Show. Mantra is lyrically dangerous and implacably flawless (be sure to check out his debut solo release Power Of The Spoken) but M-Phazes and his DJ lead carnival style drum band is a beat to behold.
..we come from the streets and move on the pavement and you still don’t recognise truth in my statement, this bad blood needs purification slash my wrist and spill it on the music of Phazes….
Blind Man with Obese head honcho Pegz, features a brilliant little sample taken from Traffic’s track of the same name. This raw gritty track holds nothing back, it’s Pegz at his finest. Music Box places Phrase in a Justice inspired, electro pop layered beat. This track brings a unique flavor to an already massively diverse album. As we progress through the CD it becomes more evident that M-Phazes is a man on a musical mission, it’s time to pack away those headphones, play this album loud.
Tracks such as Goodbye Gravity, Triumph, Home, Take It From Me and That’s What We On are stand outs that break from their stereotypical shackles. Every note on Good Gracious has been meticulously arranged, every sample throughly searched for, every detail firmly scrutinized. Quality is the overall theme here and M-Phazes successful hits the nail on the head. While many production albums leave you feeling like it’s a rinse and repeat process, Good Gracious is in no uncertain terms a delectable audio feast.
This album has a little something for everyone, frist class production, first class emcees and first class craftsmanship. Good Gracious is a true snap shot of the Australian Hip Hop scene , taken through the eyes of M-Phazes. We give M-Phazes Good Gracious a plump and healthy 4.7.
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