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Bliss n Eso Tassie hip-hop fans, you should be very, very proud of yourselves. Those rising stars of rhyme, Bliss N Eso, were so impressed with the reception from their fans in this state that they’ve chosen to launch their remixed edition of “Day of the Dog” in Launceston this September. SAUCE head honcho Dave Williams – who himself compares BNE’s last Launceston show with seeing Public Enemy, no less – got Bliss on the phone… So what have you got on today? We’re actually in the Gold Coast at the moment; we’re remixing our album, and getting ready to put
we don’t work on new stuff for ages, just because we’re busy with touring and stuff. But eventually the buzz just…you can’t avoid it. You just have to come back and write some new stuff; you’re inspired or whatever. So we always keep our paths close, you know what I mean? What’s the split, in terms of writing? Who does most
It’s unusual for us to do such big tours, full-stop out a limited edition version with a separate disc, and the whole album is remixed by a producer up here called M-Phazes. So I’m just in the studio right now, working on that with him. I guess that’s the main thing going on in the land of BNE at the moment? Yeah…almost the main thing. We’ve also got a big tour coming up as well, so we’ve been organising all that – getting all the artwork done. So it’s all systems go in the land of BNE! In terms of producing new material, do you guys constantly write and produce? Or do you go into the studio and bang a lot down? Is it a progressive thing? It kind of comes in ways. We have times where
of the writing? Basically the lyrics are done by myself and Eso. We basically write all our own lyrics, then generally collaborate for the choruses and bridges – we write that together. As far as production and beats goes, we have a range of different producers who we work with. The last one was basically a whole bunch of our friends contributing beats. What we do is we get the raw beat off them and then bring it into the studio, lay down lyrics and then produce it further, and work on it from there. Have you written any new material since putting out “Day Of The Dog”? Yep, we have. We’ve got a couple of new tracks which are actually going to be on the limited edition.
So what was the last track that you guys wrote? What’s that track about? It’s a track called “Worldwide”; it features a French MC called Octa, which we’re pretty excited about, because I don’t think anyone in Australia’s really done any tracks with a French MC. So we were pumped about that. The track is all about the worldwide hip-hop movement, and how you can be from anywhere in the world, and hip-hop can be a common bond wherever you travel. You’ll find a way to be cool through hip-hop kind of thing. It’s also our take on it, from different perspectives. P Money actually did the beat from New Zealand. So yeah; it’s a banger. It’s a good track. It wasn’t too long ago that you guys did a national tour for “Day of the Dog”, and you’re about to go on another – is that unusual for you guys to do such big tours so soon after each other? It’s unusual for us to do such big tours full-stop. This is the biggest tour we’ve ever done. It’s been a massive year for us, and basically, the last tour was such a success; we had a lot of buzz generated from that, and immediately had a lot of people asking for more shows. So we thought, “Sweet!” We already had this idea of doing a remix album, so we were like, “Cool – we’ll tie it in with that. We’ll put this remix album out and then we’ll do another, bigger tour, and we’ll go to heaps more places we’ve never even been. On this one, we’re going to Townsville, Cairns…a lot of regional places. And the regional spots are often the best, because they get so few…especially hip-hop crews, that when something comes through the kids just come out in force, and the buzz is just awesome. You’d have to include Tasmania as regional… Yeah, absolutely. And Tassie…we’ve been to Tassie a few times now, and it’s always been off-the-hook. It’s never really let us down. This time we’re extra excited because we’re going to Burnie as well. We’ve never been there, but we’ve heard a lot of good things. The remix CD – when do you reckon that might come out? It’s coming out on the ninth of September, and I think we hit Tassie on that weekend. The actual ninth is our Launceston gig; that’s going to be a big party, because that’s going to be the official launch for it. Bliss N Eso play Hobart’s Curly’s Bar on the 7th of September, Sirocco’s in Burnie on the 8th and launch the album in Lonnies nightclub in Launceston on the 9th.
By Dave Williams
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Heads of State Mynse DJ Grotesque – otherwise … B r i n g i n g m o r e h i p - h o p known by the slightly less a c t s d o w n t o H o b a r t … interesting moniker of Jason Hoggett – wants more. A member often; performing regularly around Tasmania for last three years. He also ran the ON POINT of Hobart hip-hop collective Heads the MC Battles at Mobius – an event which has since Of State alongside Mdusu, Dameza evolved into Syrup’s “SMACKDOWN” – sharing and Dunn-D, their forthcoming debut hosting duties with Mdusu. While primarily a showcase of battles, it was also another vehicle may be called “Making the Best of they created to showcase local talent. What We’ve Got”, but it doesn’t there I recognized a need in Hobart for a mean they ever had any intention of “From small independent record label to give the talent settling for it. here a chance to get their material out,” he “Take what you do seriously,” he begins, “and you’ll be taken seriously”. And he is, as the head of S.L.U.T Productions (Support Local Underground Talent. What – you thought it meant something else?). Founded four years ago with the aim of bringing more hip-hop acts down to Hobart – and, in turn, raising Hobart’s profile – the company has in the time since brought down such high-profile national acts as Muph & Plutonic, Bias B, DJ Select and numerous others. “As a hip-hop fan myself, I was sick of the lack of shows,” he tells us. Of course, they weren’t his only reasons for starting the business. “…As a DJ I wanted more shows to play at.” DJing is a craft he knows well, and one he works in
explained, “So I joined up with Tom Butler [Mdusu] and James Walsh [DJ Dameza].” Together they focused on various projects, including the release of the debut album from Mdusu and Dameza, “Sounds From our Town”. Around that time, Heads Of State was formed with Dunn-D, who is also an MC with Unleash The Nugget. In the time since, they’ve supported such high-profile acts as De La Soul and Blackalicious, as well as national stars Bliss N Eso and The Herd. Heads Of State support The Funkoars at Hobart’s Republic Bar & Café on August 5th, and are touring with The Herd from August 17th to the 19th
By Tom Wilson
You might find him on stage supporting Bliss N Eso as one third of hip-hop crew Altrueism. You might find him at the mixing decks of gigs around Tasmania. You might find him beatboxing outside a pub for drunk guys to freestyle to. An artist with more versatility than a Swiss army knife, Mynse has become well known for his talents as an MC and hip-hop DJ. It’s fitting that he last appeared in SAUCE straddling a cannon – as a live performer, he’s blown us away. These days, to say that a hiphop artist comes “from the streets” is beyond a cliché, but in Mynse’s case, it couldn’t be more accurate – he lives and breathes hip-hop and has travelled the hard road long enough to deserve every success he has had in music, both as part of Altrueism and, more recently, as a solo artist. And he works hard for it. He’s a common sight behind the mixing decks at gigs around northern Tasmania – working as a sound engineer for everyone from fellow MCs to punk and metal bands. He’s been creating music since he was thirteen, but it wasn’t until four years later when the seventeen year old scored a pair of Numark decks and a mixer. After spinning records at parties, it was soon clear to him that …He last appeared he wanted to s t r a d d l i n g a c create music, rather than just showcase it as a DJ. With fellow hip-hop enthusiasts Ethic and Azrael, he formed Altrueism, and in the years since they have gone from the opening act of the notorious Freakshow cabaret night to supporting national luminaries Bliss N Eso at their Launceston show. On his own, he’s working on an EP called ‘The Mynstrual Cycle’ which will be out early next year.
in SAUCE a n n o n …
Altrueism is supporting 3to2 on the 17th of August at the Republic Bar.
By Tom Wilson PAGE 5