The fact that Australia has its own hip hop festival is no mean feat.

The fact that said festival features an enormous line-up of artists is even more impressive. And the fact that the entire thing takes place in Brisbane speaks volumes about the local hip hop scene, if you ask Spit Syndicate’s Nick Lupi.

In the lead up to the second annual Sprung Hip Hop Festival in November, the Sydney duo reveal their plans to release a brand new single as well as album number three.

“For most of this year we’ve been in studio-mode, working on the new album,” Lupi says. “We actually share a studio with Horrorshow so we’ve got Adit doing most of the beats and production, as well as M-Phazes and Styalz Fuego. The only way to describe it at this point is that it’s a step up in production and the rhymes are much better and more advanced because we know how to use our voices now and record vocals properly.

“There is some dabbling in interesting directions on the album too – some of the songs we’ve done, I just feel that style hasn’t really been done in Australian hip hop yet. Especially working with Adit – because it’s been three years since Horrorshow released an album – he’s been playing around with lots of different sounds production-wise. We’re also pretty keen on using more instrumentation, like guitars and keyboards and synths, and a bit less sampling.”

Not having an official producer within Spit Syndicate has proven to be both a blessing and curse for Lupi and fellow MC, Jimmy Nice. Although it allows the duo to collaborate with a wide range of beat-smiths, it also means having to depend on others to supply the backing tracks.

“I think if we had just one, permanent producer in Spit Syndicate it would dramatically impact the output – and I’m not sure if that would be a good or a bad thing,” Lupi claims. “At this stage we like having the option of being able to go out and work with different producers and not being tied down to any particular sound. We’ve been able to work with lots of different producers and that’s also led to friendships and strong relationships with people in the industry. On the other hand, it can mean that we don’t always have a steady supply of beats like some other crews do.”

This is partly the reason more than two years have passed since Spit Syndicate released sophomore effort, ‘Exile’. And while the 2010 album was yet another success for the hip hop duo, Lupi agrees that it was their 2008 debut record, ‘Towards The Light’, which really knocked down the doors with an unexpected ARIA nomination.

“We were definitely in shock about that!” Lupi recalls. “That album was written and made entirely by two 18-year-old kids! And you can really tell now, if you listen back to it. It really wasn’t even a high degree of quality control, which made it even more of a surprise... But it was awesome. Even though we didn’t take too much from it and we still don’t really feel like we ever got that nomination – it was a nice feeling and a good night at the ARIAS! It’s so funny, you actually know who’s going to win by looking at the seating arrangements when you show up.”

In 2012, Spit Syndicate is a different beast with Lupi claiming punters attending Sprung Festival will get a preview of the duo’s new material.

“We will definitely be playing some new songs in our set. We’re so keen to do that because we’ve been isolated and in complete studio-mode for so long now – listening to the same songs over and over again – that you just can’t tell anymore what’s good and what’s shit! It’s been so weird... But, basically, we think the best thing at this point is to give people a chance to hear the songs, and also for us to have a chance to hear these tracks on the big system – then we can get a good idea of how it’s going to go. It always helps to see how people react for the first time when they hear your new stuff.”

Spit Syndicate play Sprung Hip Hop Festival at the RNA Showgrounds Saturday November 10.

Look out, Skrillex – roots guru Ash Grunwald is dabbling in dubstep and bass-heavy beats on brand new album, ‘Trouble’s Door’, and he’s got the US mega-star in his sights.

“Yeah, I was a bit worried that some people might be turned off... But I just ended up doing it anyway,” chuckles Grunwald while reflecting on his surprising decision. “It’s not like the whole album is dubstep or anything, though – there are elements of it. I love what Skrillex does – with a lot of his tracks, I’ve noticed how he uses samples from mainstream, poppy music, which is stuff that I would never listen to in a million years, but then he’s got these drops that are so huge and menacing! It’s really sonically powerful stuff. As a producer of music, a recording artist and as somebody who just loves sonic ‘phatness’, I get really excited when I hear it.”

Describing himself as a “bass addict”, Grunwald says he’s been playing around with new gadgets in the studio, while next on his agenda is developing his DJing skills. That’s right, forget the ‘singer-songwriter’ title, Grunwald is increasingly immersing himself in technology.

“I’ve actually got this DJ set-up going on in my live show,” he reveals. “When you see the show, I think it’s going to be very different. I’m using a lot of beats throughout, I’m almost DJing my own beats from my own album and into my own set. I’ve been mucking around with that and playing a bit of the organ as well, getting the dubstep wobbles happening, getting into the evil basslines – it’s been super fun!”

Grunwald’s fans aren’t likely to be the only ones surprised by the new musical direction on ‘Trouble’s Door’ – the singer claims he’s often as taken aback at how much his tastes and recording approach have changed in the decade since releasing his first solo album, ‘Introducing Ash Grunwald’.

“On the [new] album there is a song called ‘180’,” he points out. “It’s a bluesy song about some things that I used to think back in the day, which I now think of in an opposite way. It’s a song about change. For example, I never ever thought that I would ever use a synth – I hated synthesizers and now I absolutely love them. I used to hate multi-tracking for my own stuff, the layering, laying different things on top of each other ... I used to be all about the raw studio process – what you see is what you get. That’s how I pretty much recorded the majority of my first album, I mixed the whole thing in one day.

“These days, I spend months of painstaking work. I’ll do tracks with 150 layers. I’ve evolved a lot and I’ve realised how important change is, it’s what inspires you.”

A self-confessed lover of the album-making process, Grunwald laments that records as we know them are quickly going the way of the cassette tape. It’s a sad state of affairs, according to the singer, but more and more it’s becoming obvious that longplayers are simply becoming obsolete.

“I would be very sad to see the demise of the album, which I believe will probably happen,” he says. “I just don’t think people will buy albums anymore. I think they’ll buy singles and songs on their own, but just the notion of selling any kind of music is slowly deteriorating. For someone like me, I’ve been a DIY muso all my life, so I’ll miss immersing myself in the whole album-making process.

“Spotify is probably a good indication of things to come. My Spotify stats that I’ve just recently found out are interesting to say the least... I’ve been on it for a couple of months now overseas and I’ve had 29,517 people stream my tracks, but I’ve only actually sold 11 tracks. I’ve made a grand total of $180 so there you go. I’d be a rich man if that was the amount I actually sold.”

Not that Grunwald isn’t living the good life at the moment. International iTunes sales have seen the roots musician “making good money overseas”, while the general lifestyle of the musician has meant Grunwald is far from bored, with a satisfying family life (wife and kid) providing a sense of security. Nevertheless, the troubles of the world are never far from his mind, hence the title of his new album.

“It’s an interesting contrast about me,” Grunwald admits. “Most of the time I am surrounded by sunshine and surfing; I’m having a good time on the road, I’m happy, I’ve always been that guy who’s into having a party and dancing around.

“Music has been very good to me and I’ve seen the world because of it. I’ve got a cool set-up at home, a nice house, a kid and a wife... But in the back of my mind, there are things that still concern me very much as a human being. A lot of that came out in this album. Remember those ‘80s sci-fi films like ‘Robocop’ and all the Arnold Schwarzenegger movies set in the future where the world is run by a government corporation? Well, it seems more and more that’s actually coming true. Our only ethic seems to be money; capitalism seems to be more pronounced each year.”

The system just doesn’t work, as Grunwald states, and nobody’s quite sure what to do about it, including the singer himself.

“I don’t know how it could be fixed!” he laughs. “The capitalist model isn’t working but it’s the only model we have. I don’t begrudge anyone trying to make a buck, but when it’s rampant and there are little backroom groups that gradually get big enough to influence government policy, bad things happen. It’s why we’re still using fossil fuel. In the ‘90s they had electric cars which were perfectly functional and people started using them, then they took them back and crushed them once Bush got in power. What do we do about it? Well, you’d need a radical change, like you’d need a government that is like the Dalai Lama, someone who is incorruptible! But it’s not all bad, I think technology has helped us become a much more democratic society than ever before. We can get in touch with one another so easily and if something really matters to the community, we can get enough groundswell to support it. The album also hits out at rednecks a few times, which is something I’ve always wanted to do but never really found the right excuse! I’ve always wanted to be seen as the ‘party guy’ and not get involved in that kind of stuff, but once you’ve met an idiot one too many times – people who hate on refugees when their own forefathers came to Australia on a boat – you can’t hold back anymore. So the album is not all doom and gloom, but it does take a look at some serious issues that I think everybody should be concerned about.”

Ash Grunwald plays the Hi-Fi June 15 and the Coolum Civic Centre June 16. ‘Trouble’s Door’ is out now.

The Prodigy

One minute Pendulum were conjuring up their hard-hitting brand of dubstep in a tiny home basement – the next they were relocating to the UK, becoming bonafide dance superstars.

Still, as far as Gareth McGrillen is concerned, it’s finally conquering their native Australia that the band consider their greatest achievement yet.
“It’s pretty amazing to think that we’re already at the tail end of the ‘Immersion’ tour,” McGrillen says of the band’s third studio album. “But it’s good to wrap it up back at home in Australia because it’s always been a long way away and touring is hard because of that. It was just sad that at one point we were massive all over the world but we had no influence on our own country.”

Before Pendulum set off on a well-deserved holiday, McGrillen says there’s nothing quite like playing to a home crowd. “But before anything happens, we’re definitely having a bit of a break. I’m still excited about this tour, though, we’ve got a massive set and loads of screens and the visual element is actually literally triggered off by the music itself.”

In fact, as McGrillen says, before the entire ‘Immersion’ cycle comes to a conclusion, Pendulum are releasing one last single off the album. “‘The Island’ is a track that we did just because we wanted to try something different – it’s basically house music at a tempo Pendulum had never tackled before. We believe we now have the creative license to be able to do it! For me personally, though, I love the collaboration we did with In Flames [‘Self Vs Self’] – they’re such an inspiring band! Their music is widely different to ours but we have a lot more common than you’d think!”

‘Immunize’ — featuring Liam Howlett of Pendulum’s supposed long-time rivals, The Prodigy — is another favourite of McGrillen’s. “We always heard stories how much they hated us, or how much we hated them… It took a while for both bands to realise it was all media stirring up bullshit and generating animosity, so we put an end to it after we had a chance to actually hang out with them at the Big Day Out in 2009 ... Hopefully it will just put an end to lies that both of our bands have been putting up with for years.”

Pendulum headline Summafieldayze on the Gold Coast January 2. summafieldayze.com