Virgin

Twelve years playing together has given Perth band Gyroscope a lot of time to grow as musicians. Guitarist Rob reflects on how they have developed.

“We’ve grown as songwriters and arrangers and as players, you know.”

Things aren’t always perfect, but Rob explains that this is all part of the process.

“If you’re serious about what you do you pick up little mistakes. It might not be noticeable, it might just be you but you pick them up and iron them out and promise yourself you won’t do them next time.”

“You learn, that’s the best thing. All your mistakes you learn from.”

And one thing they have learned is that touring is an integral part of being in a successful band.

“Coming this far, eleven or twelve years with the band we know that’s how it works.”

“Without that touring formula there’s nothing. We started as a touring band and we’ll end as a touring band. The studio and all the other stuff is kinda the fun stuff in between.”

Getting older has made it more difficult to head out on the road for long periods, but Rob maintains that it’s still a necessary part of the job.

“It gets harder with age ‘cause you get older and get more attached to home, your family and friends, but fundamentally it’s the same thing as when you started touring that first time, when you were bright eyed and bushy tailed. You really wanted to get out there and you know that you have to do it because it’s promoting the songs you’re writing.”

The band cut their teeth negotiating the vibrant music scene in Perth. The “sort of mentality where it’s very eager and keen and competitive but healthy at the same time” and an environment that pushed the band to work harder.

“There’s a whole bunch of quality bands that are gigging week in and week out over here. You don’t have an industry type that’s breathing down your neck. We tend to just go hard until we’re ready to show the rest of the country or the rest of our peers what we’re about.”

“There’s not a lot of venues. Everyone’s competing for that dream to get over east. The eastern state bands might take that a bit for granted because that’s something they can do easily. That’s essentially what it is. We know we’ve got it hard so we go harder.”

For the next couple of months Rob says Gyroscope will be busy working on new material and keeping the touring to a minimum.

“Just a few festivals here and there on the weekends but apart from that we’re doing some writing.”

“We’ve got about ten demos at the moment. That’s where we’re sitting at the moment and that’s where we’ll be for the next few months until we get in there next year and record the album.”

Any new album brings with it new ideas, but Rob is unsure how it will all sound when they’re done.

“I don’t know yet man. It’s hard to say. It’s all sounding good though, very happy with it all.”

For more info, check out http://www.myspace.com/gyroscope

Words: Dan Clarke, Interview: Mikey Carr. Musicfeeds - Spanish for awesome!

Dialectrix might just be one of the hardest working artists in Aussie hip hop. This album was written and recorded while the Sydney local toured the country and held down a regular job. I find it hard enough sometimes to find time to read the paper, and I don’t even tour.

The speed at which these tracks were put together give them a raw feel, an understated production that serves to make it all sound more genuine, more legitimate. Dialectrix has refined his art to a point, sounding Aussie but not too Aussie, spitting lyrics with the voracity of a well-established artist.

His turns of phrase are so interesting and the production varied enough that I wonder whether many of the guest vocals are really all that necessary. Far be it for me to separate an MC from his extended crew, but I’d have been just as compelled to hear Dialectrix on his own. That aside, they all add to the effect and The Takedown is an epic crew track that is reminiscent of the best of American hip hop collaborations.

This is a damn solid first release, and cements Dialectrix as an up-and-comer worth keeping an eye on. For more info, check out http://www.myspace.com/dialectrix
9/10

…And Then Tomorrow Came is an interesting album. I am tempted to think I could tire of the vocal delivery of Muph & Plutonic on their own, but this release manages to vary styles and accompaniment enough to create a satisfying long player.Yesterday’s Basement reminds me of the Herd remake of I Was Only 19. This time though the war in question is an internal one, accented by powerful imagery and accompanied by a subtle classical guitar track that adds to the emotive impact.

Today is well executed, showcasing four distinct approaches to rapping and vocal sounds that all come together to form a forceful track that deserves a second play right after the first.

This is an appealing album, boosted by the duos ability to push the envelope. There are other artists on the Obese roster with a more varied vocal range, but all would be well advised to take note of their ability to keep things interesting. Muph & Plutonic are at their best when they deviate from the established formula to mix up their sound and keep things interesting.

Check out http://muphandplutonic.com
8/10

Musicfeeds - It’s Spanish for awesome!

There is a clip on the Thundamentals MySpace page that quite conveniently sums up the underyling principles behind their musical philosophy.

DJ Morgs - “I guess Thundamentals to me has always been about fun. Havin’ my three best mates in my crew with me is like… probably the dopest thing anyone could ask for.”

Jeswon - “We just stay true to the music that we believe in and takin’ it back to the root of hip hop which was havin’ a good time and representin’ for your crew, representin’ with ya mates and not takin’ yourself too seriously.”

Having fun, having a good time. It’s a theme that seems to run through the conversation as I sit down to talk to the crew. There is something more significant to their rhymes than just the superficial party exterior, but the Thundamentals assure me that when they’re on tour it’s all about connecting with their audience.

“We’re not all blasé party raps. You know, we’re tryin’ to get a bit deeper than that but essentially when you come see a live show we just want to have fun, meet the locals and hang out with you guys. That’s the main objective.”

“There’s no fuckin’ wankerish bullshit about pretentious fuckin’ performers. We want to meet the people and fuckin’ get down.”

I get the feeling these guys are trying to connect on a personal level, despite their larger than life personas. There’s nothing controversial in their approach to music and it’s endearing to hear them talk about it.

“Thundamentals are all about peace, love and unity. It’s all about the music. People get in to whatever music they like to get in to. Hopefully they enjoy the stuff that we’re doin’.”

“We just came to rock the part-ee” another member chides in over the top, a common occurence throughout the conversation. The crew can’t help but drop in over the top of each other sometimes, removing any doubt that this really is a crew full of mates out to have a good time. Those good times have been committed to wax recently for their new release.

“We just got a seven track Ep out. That’s self titled, and then hopefully pretty soon we’ll have an album ready. We’ve got a coupla tracks up our sleeves. They should be well and happenin’ about mid next year.”

“Ready for all the good people out there to… cop.” A good marketing slogan to be sure - “Straight cop that shit.”

With a healthy hip hop scene in Australia, the Thundamentals admit to feeling the pressure to establish an identity in the midst of all the quality (and sometimes crap) artists out there.

“Yeah, we’re tryin’ to be as professional as possible. It’s a very cutthroat market at the moment. There’s a lot of talented people come out of Australia, let alone Sydney. There’s a fuckin’ thriving scene here as well so you’ve just gotta have your game on.”

“Hopefully what may stand us in good stead is our work ethic and just tryin’ to maintain and be as busy as possible and push all fronts. Any opportunity we’ve got to get involved and push our name out there we’re gonna be takin’ it. Hopefully that will set us apart.”

They certainly seem to be maintaining a healthy amount of activity, with MTV associate producer and ‘good mate’ James Bullock lending a hand to produce a video clip for the single off the EP, Storm Warning.

“We’re just busy workin’ on that and I guess just trying to make this long player as bangin’ and massive as we can get it soundin’ for its release halfway through next year so yeah, just always got music to write and always got things on the go.”

“The Ep is just a learning curve for us so getting it out and doing video clips and all that kind of stuff is just tryin’ to prop us up for the long play and the albums we have yet to write. We’re just makin’ it all come together so we have a real good firm idea of how to bomb the scene mid next year.”

I’m already looking forward to their next gig with Dialectrix after sitting down with the MC, so I ask the crew what their expectations of the night are.

“Should be large. These boys are doin’ plenty of promotion. We’re gonna promote the turd out of it and just try and make it the biggest night Sydney’s seen I suppose. The Tongue will be on hostin’ duties, and a little bit of freestyle action with ourselves.”

For more info on the band, check out http://www.myspace.com/thundamentals

Words: Dan Clarke, Interview: Mikey Carr.

Musicfeeds - It’s Spanish for awesome baby!

Touring seems to be the most fun aspect of being a working musician. Heading out on the road for weeks at a time, neglecting concerns for personal health and indulging in excess at every turn seems to be part and parcel for most artists but as I sat down to chat with Sydney MC Dialectrix I started to realise that not everyone has it so easy.

“Whenever I tour generally it’s a Friday Saturday affair so they fly you out, they fly you back in and you have to make bread in between so all my experience of touring has been that kind of situation. Touring all weekend and coming back to work Monday to Friday. I was sick for eight weeks after the last time we toured. I got bronchitis.”

It can’t be an easy slog playing to thousands of fans on the weekend, then being confronted with the stark reality of a full week of work but Dialectrix seems resigned to the fact that passion and work go side by side. “I basically live to make hip hop, and everything on the side just makes me get fed and clothed and washed” he explains, before listing the myriad ways he’s endeavoured to “keep the hip hop lifestyle going.”

“I’m a roof plumber, I’m a cookie baker, I’m going to start helping out Soul Clap records. In the past I’ve been a sheet metal installer for air conditioning companies. I work to live, not the other way around.”

Already this year, Dialectrix has pushed his frantic schedule on tours with Chasm and the Obese Block Party. “Side by side, the two tours took their toll. I got to learn a lot about touring and got a feel for it. I loved it. Honestly, it was the happiest time of my life.” I’m starting to realise this is an MC that’s doing it all for the love of the music, not just chasing the duckets. “What can I say? Touring is great” he muses as a police siren echoes outside.

Somewhere between all of this Dialectrix has found the time to write and record his first solo Lp, Cycles of Survival, which he tells me benefited from a staunch deadline aiming for release this year. “I wanted to follow up on Chasm’s Lp and strike when the iron was hot.” Quite literally, the album was written over the top of his other commitments. “There were a lot of late nights when it came to the writing of it ’cause when I was writing it I was on tour so on the weekends I was away and when I came back I was working.”

This frenetic momentum has produced an album where “some parts are a bit raw and some things we could have come back and refined” but Dialectrix seems to think this helped the feel of the final product. “I think the fact that we didn’t go back and re-record and re-produce things gave it a rawness which I quite like.”

“For an album that I wrote so quickly I couldn’t have anticipated that I would have liked it so much. It gives it something that I probably wouldn’t be able to pull off if I sat there and scrutinized it for a year or two years which is what I dig most about.”

Reflecting on the nature of a solo release and the autonomy that brings, Dialectrix says “It’s quite a personal thing and quite an introspective album ’cause it’s the first time I’ve ever had total control over the music and lyrics.”

“After the last six months that we’ve put in to it I’m quite proud of it and we’re gonna tour and take it to the nation and hopefully everyone likes it.”

I can’t help but be impressed at the passion and enthusiasm Dialectrix expresses as he discusses his work as a hip hop artist, so I ask him when I can get the chance to see him spitting his lyrics on stage.

“The next Sydney show is with the Thundamentals at the Annandale hotel on the 14th of November and it will be hosted by The Tongue. It’s gonna be a massive show so I hope the people will love it.”

With three awesome acts on the same bill, I for one think I will.

Words: Dan Clarke, Interview: Mikey Carr

Musicfeeds - It’s Spanish for awesome!