01/07/2009

 

 

In the last week, we spent some time at MVM recording studios at Mona Vale in Sydney recording some tracks for Lary's album, "Talk To 'Em" (we should have some footage up on the site soon so stay tuned). The recording process has been awesome.

 

Our engineer, Moose, is a boy genius when it comes to gear and capturing a good performance from each member of the band on a deadline. We have just completed Lary's first single, "Bring The Rain", and it should be available very soon for purchase through the website.

 

Within the next few weeks, will be releasing the song officially to the world, meaning we will be pushing for radio play and TV coverage of the "Bring The Rain" video clip, which we are in editing stages of right now. This will mean we will need all of you guys out there to support LaryKan and request "Bring The Rain" on Triple J, FBi, Nova 96.9, The Edge 96.1 as well as the video on rage (ABC), MTV and Channel V.

 

Stay tuned to the website in the coming weeks, as we are heading into a very busy period for the band and we should have lots of exciting news and funny stories from the studio and the road.

 

P.S. if you live in Sydney, come and check out LaryKan with live band at the Old Manly Boatshed on Sunday July 12th, 2009 from 8pm. See ya there!

 

 

Peace!

 

a2z.

 

 

 

---a2z is a Hip Hop artist and producer from Dee Why, Sydney, Australia. He is the musical director of the LaryKan live band, as well as executive producer and chief collaborator for LaryKan's debut album, "Talk To 'Em".---

 

 

 

17/06/2009

 

 

Last time I spoke about how hip hop began. Basically, it's good to know your hip hop history and pay respect to the people who have come before you. But that doesn't necessarily translate to what hip hop is to you and me in the year 2009.

 

I wanted to spend a little time talking about where I think hip hop has come from, musically, to where it is today, and how we are trying to create our own sound within those two.

 

For me, hip hop will always be about drums and lyrics. That's really what it's all about.

 

You could have the most banging beat in your hands with horns and all kinds of crazy shit going on, but if that kick doesn't have the right punch to it or the snare doesn't pop quite right, the track as a whole will not sit together properly with the lyrics placed on it.

 

The same goes with lyrics. You could be an MC that flows as well as AZ or Tech N9ne, but if you don't have the punchlines in your lyrics that make people laugh or relate (or rewind), then you can never have a truly great hip hop track. I think the combination of those two things are what hip hop artists spend their whole life trying to achieve.

 

This tradition of drums and lyrics goes back to a much more primal origin than the one described in my last colomn, and yet still forms the basis of every hip hop song to this day. However, as the sound of hip hop beats, instruments and recording techniques have gotten better, more focus has been placed on the beat and less on the lyrical content than in the past.

 

Looking at artists today, there are very few who could rhyme with the vocal skills of say, a Kool G. Rap, or a Rakim, or a Big Daddy Kane. There are a few such as Papoose, Joell Ortiz and Saigon who are displaying true originality whilst staying true to themselves and their experiences.

 

Also, respect must go to those MC's who don't rely upon recording techniques and effects to carry their songs, rather using what hip hop is all about to entertain their crowd. Drums and lyrics.

 

Peace!

 

a2z.

 

 

 

---a2z is a Hip Hop artist and producer from Dee Why, Sydney, Australia. He is the musical director of the LaryKan live band, as well as executive producer and chief collaborator for LaryKan's debut album, "Talk To 'Em".---

 

 

 

30/05/2009

 

 

In this column we will hold discussions about the music of LaryKan, and hip hop music in general.

 

Hip Hop music was started in The Bronx, New York City in the 1970's by Jamaican born DJ Kool Herc, known as the "godfather" of hip hop. It began at block parties which were popular in New York City at the time by DJ's who isolated the percussion sections of hit songs at the time, realising that these were the sections of the song most people would dance to.

 

Because these percussion sections (breaks) were generally short, Herc and other DJ's at the time began using an audio mixer and two records to extend these phrases. Mixing and scrathing techniques developed along with the breaks. This looping and sampling can be traced back to Jamaican dub music, and has become a trademark of the hip hop style.

 

Vocalists then began to improvise phrases over these looped sections to encourage people to dance. These vocalists became known as MC's or "rappers".

 

Hip hop, though, is not only a style of music but a culture consisting of four basic elements: DJing, MCing, graffitti art and breakdancing. The fifth element which most see as a necessity is beatboxing, the art of using your mouth solely as a percussion instrument. It can be argued that Hip Hop is the last great Western contribution to arts and culture of the 20th Century.

 

Hip Hop has now spread to every corner of the globe, from Germany and France to Japan and the Phillippines and like in the South Bronx, each area it spreads to gives the music a new sound, a new inspiration, a new localism. Hip Hop has emerged globally as a genuine art form with the music and the culture continuing to celebrate its global status while staying true to its local roots.

 

In the coming weeks, I will continue to fill in the history of LaryKan and how we relate to hip hop music as a whole.

 

Peace!

 

a2z.

 

 

 

---a2z is a Hip Hop artist and producer from Dee Why, Sydney, Australia. He is the musical director of the LaryKan live band, as well as executive producer and chief collaborator for LaryKan's debut album, "Talk To 'Em".---