Apparently the best part of the recent BET Awards.
Nicki Minaj, Buckshot, Crown Royyal, and Joe Budden.
Wale, Gsan, Nipsey Hussle, and KRS-One.
Mos Def, Black Thought, and Eminem.
Viewing entries in
Music
Freshhhhhhhhh.
Anyone who has frequented Brunswick St in the past year or two would have almost certainly noticed a poster or scribble on a chalkboard about Simon Wright and/or The Eclective. We were lucky enough to open for the boys at the Evelyn Hotel last year, and the whole band are great guys and very talented musicians.
After travelling up and down the east coast of Australia touring, the boys managed to get in the studio and bang out their debut EP. This coming Monday 2nd November (Cup Day Eve) will see Simon and the band launch their EP at the Evelyn (351 Brunswick St, Fitzroy), so if you're in Melbourne, get on down!
Simon managed to slip me a couple joints from the upcoming EP, the smooth 'You Don't Know' (which I'd heard before in the live format) and the laidback, jazzy 'Holding On'. Really hanging to hear the EP in full, so I managed to catch up with Simon to have a chat about what's been happening in the world of the Eclective...
Hey Simon, how's things man?
Real good Cee, Summer's comin' and things are happenin'. I love this time of year.
So every time I hear about you, you're somewhere in the country, touring. What's been happening lately?
Well actually the band has been layin' low lately. We've been in the studio finishing off the EP and in the lab workin' on some new material. Basically gettin' ready for a big summer.
I know you've been playing your ass off for years with a variety of bands and musicians, so you're finally dropping the EP! Tell us about it.
Yeah man, it's been a long time comin'. My first band "The Wright Brothers" released an album, but since then I haven't had a solid enough project to warrant the investment. The time I've spent in Melbourne putting together "The Eclective" has been amazing so far and we all felt it was time to start working on the next level. The band are all very focused at the moment. The EP itself is a collection of what we've been getting up to since "the Eclective" first began, it's eclectic obviously as tha'ts what we are all about. There's are elements of funk, soul, reggae, latin and of course Hip Hop. "Choi", the producer, has done great stuff with it. We wanted to capture as much of the live element as possible as ultimately that is where our strength is.
What's the line up for the band for this project? Have you played with these guys for a while?
Yeah this is the official "Eclective" line up these days. Hasn't changed much in the past year:
Drums - Travis Constable
Bass - Owen Downie
Keys - Andrew Vollmer (He also did a lot of the Sax on the EP)
Guitar - Tristan McCoppin
and Myself - lead vocals, acoustic guitar and MC
We also had a few friends come in for sessions including:
Candice Monique and Kate Kelsey Sugg - Backing vocals
Nick - Trumpet
Ivan "Choi" - Percs, bits n bobs (He also produced it)
Oscar O'brian - Trumpet
Gus Rigby - Sax
You've got the big launch for the EP at the Evelyn, next Monday 2nd November. What can the people expect from the show?
This will definitely be our best show yet. We are launching a bunch of new material, as well as remakes of our old favorites. We have spared no expense on sound and lights and our supports are both amazing, "Direct Influence" and "Unleash the Nugget" two of my favorite upcoming Melbourne acts. The night is goin' to be great fun!!
I've always been curious, especially since your style is so varied, but who are you main musical inspirations?
I've been inspired by so many people over the years and all of them are very different. I'd have to say my biggest musical influence has been my father. He was giggin' around while I was a kid. I didn't realise until recently how much that influenced my music and life in general. Other than my old man, though:
Ben Harper
Michael Jackson
Stevie Wonder
Common
Talib Kweli
Bob Marley
Fat Freddys Drop
De La Soul
Jimmi Hendrix
Muddy Waters
........ so many more
Do you plan to tour the country off the back of the EP?
Yeah we have an east coast tour planned for Dec/Jan and down to Tassie in Feb. Then hopefully over the west coast late Feb.
What's next from here? Are you working on any other projects?
My focus is with the "Eclective" 100% at the moment. I'm writing a lot and the whole group has really come together of recent. We're looking at getting professional representation and try crack the Aussie festival circuit. From there we'd love to get over to Europe. The next EP is already in planning, so just keepin' it movin' really
Any other gigs coming up or residencies we should know about?
Well it has not officially been released yet but we return to the Evelyn for our Monday night residency straight after our EP release. We have taken a couple of months off there to finish the EP and write some new material, but we are lookin' forward to gettin' back there for summer.
Hit us with your contact details so the people can get at you!
www.groovecollective.com.au
MySpace
Facebook
So the homie Jermiside been dropped his long awaited mixtape, Die Jerm Die, with DJ Low Key on deck. Shit is a heater, Jerm is a beast on the mic so he doesn't disappoint. Another quality release from the Lessondary crew. Look out for more of Jerm on upcoming Movement Fam releases!
DOWNLOAD - Jermiside - Die Jerm Die (tracked version)
DOWNLOAD - Jermiside - Die Jerm Die (untracked/podcast version)
Shad - The Calling from 360 To Nowhere on Vimeo.
Spotted @ The Audacity of Dope.
The homie Jermiside is murkin' it. Seriously. This is the unofficial video from Shad's joint off the Danny Diggs EP, dopeness.
You thought the art of battling was dead? Far from it.
Earlier tonight I watched one of the biggest battles in a long time - Thesaurus VS Illmaculate (of Sandpeople fame).
They teamed together to win tournaments in both the World Rap Championships and the notorious Scribble Jam. This time they went head to head. Check it out below.
Pato Pooh is an emcee out of Stockholm, Sweden who speaks both Swedish and Spanish fluently. Luckily (for us) he chooses to use English for his raps.
The video for the track Follow Me, which features Adam Tensta, is an ode to 8-bit video games of old. Heaps of references to classic Nintendo games to be found below.
Oh, and the production and flows are bananas. Check it.
Travis Barker on the drums is always insane. This is the kind of live instrumentation craziness that is needed at all Hip Hop shows.
There's a Bun B verse on the end of this one as well in which he mentions Slaughterhouse. No idea if this is from some proper remix of the track.
"We Were Once A Fairytale" - Kanye West Dir: Spike Jonze from Yooj‽ on Vimeo.
Haven't seen this yet, should be interesting...
OK, just watched this. Wow. What drugs are these dudes on? This is actually kinda cool in an arthouse kinda way. Apparently it was pre-MTV Awards meltdown too. Check it out.
Mase Makes Puff Release Him In The Middle of V103's Ryan Cameron Show from shudduptv on Vimeo.
Just watch.
New Alicia Keys joint. Peep.
J.Cole 'A Star Is Born' Documentary Part 2 from Chris Knotti on Vimeo.
"In what will be a four-part series, Knotti chronicles the rise to stardom of a future legend, Jermaine Cole. You happen to know him as J. Cole.
This episode features footage from an interview earlier this year and a performance of “Grown Simba” at his “The Warm Up” mixtape release party on June 15, 2009.
Just 4 months ago, me & Karen were right next to Cole on that bench he’s standing on in that screenshot. Now he’s on a nationwide tour with Jay-Z & Pharrell. Crazy."
So the big homie Chaundon (Hall of Justus) has recently dropped a double mixtape, entitled 'Black Dynamite'. Haven't copped it yet but I've heard it's nuts. So peep the video after the jump, dude is running a competition, the likes of which I've never seen before in the Hip Hop world. The 5000th customer to cop 'Black Dynamite' gets $1000, the person who referred them gets $1000 as well. Same deal for the 10,000th follower of his new blog and the referrer.
Melanie is killin' it right now. Check this amazing video of live shows on the NYC subway.
Word to having way too much money.
Yeah, so I'm in love.
The homie on Facebook just posted about this wonderful young lady and I'm flabbergasted. Her voice kills me. Check out Kina Grannis' YouTube channel for more amazingness, but peep her versions of some of my favourite songs ever below. Kills them all. I have no words.
So this is what the Ghostface show Down Under could have looked/sounded like...
This is actually pretty cool. MCs will know the deal but for the non-initiated, the Slaughterhouse boys drop some science, yo.
Man, it's dope to see Vida doing her thing. I worked with her on the Soul District record back in 2003, and to see her go from strength to strength is inspiring.
Here's the deal:
"The song is the first released from the much anticipated sophomore full length album from acclaimed Sydney producer Chasm, who has teamed up with Melbourne-based singer Vida-Sunshyne for the collaborative soul/reggae/hip hop album Move. Featuring guest spots from UK artist Million Dan, Damajah, and Mantra, the album is a wonderfully eclectic and global effort that will surely appease music lovers all over."