Aside from the basic format, Australian hip hop doesn’t greatly resemble the style of music conceived in The Bronx in the late 1970s. However, much like it was for the genre’s American founders, Aussie hip hop’s rise to prominence has been hard fought. Without the do-it-yourself determination of this country’s early hip hop practitioners, the scene couldn’t have become the massive movement it is today. The genre’s ongoing expansion is largely indebted to support from a bunch of local independent labels, such as Obese Records, founded by MC Pegz, and Elefant Traks, which is co-run by Tim Levinson, AKA Urthboy of The Herd.
“A label like Elefant Traks has a following because of the artists that are on there,” says Sydney DJ/producer Joyride. “So when they put the spotlight on a new artist, people instinctively are drawn to it. The fact that they back different or otherwise unheard acts not only gives the artists a chance to be heard, but fans a chance to listen to some cool shit. You look at the Jane Tyrrell album, which is one of my favourite albums in recent memory – five, ten years ago, if you said an album like that was going to come out on Elefant Traks, people would probably laugh at you. The fact that there’s an openness to this other stuff, it’s super exciting.
“I think Hermitude have a bit to do with that, and even The Herd, Urthboy and Horrorshow as well. None of the artists are particularly bound to a true kind of hip hop sound. There’s always experimentation going on, which means that other artists are willing to take chances as well.”
You might recognise Joyride as Spit Syndicate’s DJ and one-seventh of the all-star hip hop collective One Day. Or perhaps you’re familiar with him as the host of FBi’s hip hop program The Drop. However, when Joyride first came into contact with Levinson, his career achievements weren’t yet so impressive.
“It was Horrorshow’s first gig,” he remembers. “Adit didn’t want to DJ for Horrorshow so I was DJing. We were playing at the Bald Faced Stag and Tim was there and we had a bit of a chat. I was… I don’t want to say star-struck, because he’ll read it and get his tires pumped up, but it was something similar to being star-struck. I was like, ‘Oh fuck, Urthboy’s here watching us play. That’s crazy.’”
This meeting happened eight years ago and not only has Joyride’s career since progressed, but his relationship with Levinson has continued to grow. “You know what?” he says. “I think the tables have turned. I think he gets star-struck around me now.”
Perhaps it’s true, for Levinson has chosen Joyride to appear at Elefant Traks’ forthcoming Vivid LIVE showcase at the Sydney Opera House. Clearly a man of many talents, Joyride will take this opportunity to showcase his lesser-known solo material.
“I’m going to be singing and maybe playing some instruments and stuff like that,” he says. “I’ve got a few new ones ready to go as well, which will be good. I’ve been working on my first album, which is exciting. So I’ll have some tracks to play off that as well. I’m just going to try to bring the party vibes. Hopefully we’ll get some people dancing.”
Along with Joyride, the lineup features Adit from Horrorshow, DJs MK-1, DGGZ, and Elefant Traks’ latest signing, electronic producer Jayteehazard. Jaytee’s debut EP for the label, Red Shift,came out in March, and the longtime DJ is still fine-tuning his performance approach.
“I was always at odds thinking, ‘I can’t just DJ, I have to do something,’ but I managed to pull the tracks back a bit, so there are elements left out that I trigger,” Jaytee says. “It is a bit more of a DJ set, but it’s all my own music. It was something I’ve really been worried about, because I’m so used to being like, ‘I’m losing the crowd, I better put this track on.’ You can’t really do that when it’s your own original music. But these last few shows supporting One Day, the crowds have been so good and people are starting to know the music a little bit more.”
While Jayteehazard joined the Elefant Traks roster just recently, the producer is also one-third of hip hop project The Last Kinection, who’ve been signed to the label for the last five years. He reflects on his first encounter with Levinson.
“I was in a group called Local Knowledge, which was the precursor to Last Kinection, and we did a gig with Urthboy. Then there was just lots of gigs every now and then that we’d be on the same bill, so we just crossed paths a lot. Tim was really interested in what we were doing with Last Kinection and we supported The Herd on tour in 2008.”
Undoubtedly, Elefant Traks’ stamp of approval has given both projects an invaluable boost. “The Last Kinection already had a pretty strong indigenous following,” says Jaytee, “but when we came over to Elefant Traks, it helped us tap into a crowd we didn’t really have before. For my own stuff, it’s huge. I just DJ in nightclubs and do production on the side for other acts, but [Jayteehazard] is relatively unknown, so to have them behind me, it’s exposed me to so many people.”
Elefant Traksfeat. Joyride, Jayteehazard, DJ MK-1, Adit, DGGZ, is on atSydney Opera House‘s Studio on Sunday May 31. The Studio is presented by Red Bull Music Academy.
