Before You Heard: Horrorshow 'Push feat. Taj Ralph'

Before You Heard takes you exclusively up close and personal with an artist, to learn more about what the song was like before you heard it. 

We caught up with the Horrorshow boys to get an insight into the development of the lyrics and beats for their latest single 'Push feat. Taj Ralph'. 

Here you can hear Solo talking about the lyricism and meaning behind the song, and Diddy talking through the beat writing and arrangement, as well as working closely with Sticky Fingers pianoman and old friend Freddy Crabs.




 

Grab your copy of 'Push feat. Taj Ralph' here via their website.

When I lived on Gladstone... Welcome B Wise

Photo by Mclean Stephenson

We caught up with our newest homie, rising Sydney based MC, B Wise, to learn more about his musical and family roots in which he pays homage to in the music video for ' No Questions'.

What was young Wise like growing up?

Growing up, I was very active and played a lot of sports. But I was a bit mischievous, a menace, a joker - it depends who you ask, but I was always approachable. My experiences taught me how to handle different people and situations - I feel I can go anywhere, hang with any kind of crowd, adjust and feel comfortable. I'm different today as I've grown up, I'm a man now and I take responsibility for my actions and what I do. I used to follow a lot of my friends and make poor decisions, but I've outgrown that now. Then again if I had never made those decisions I wouldn't be the person I am today.

Me and my parents have a great relationship - our family is very close. Like all parents they want the best for their children so they were very active in being part of me and my sisters' lives. They taught us that you have to work hard and that there are no short cuts. They taught us respect for others and humility.

What was it like growing up in Gladstone?

So in this photo there's my two younger sisters Amy and Nonye, and the two boys are brothers who were our family friends growing up called Toosi and Orwell. This house is actually where we first lived when we moved back to Sydney from rural NSW. This house was in Chester Hill - we lived there just over a year before we moved to Gladstone Close which I make reference to in 'No Questions'. We actually just used this pic in the video because I didn't have any photos of my house on Gladstone Close, but it drove the same message in the lyrics: "But we would have mad fun when I lived on Gladstone".

How did you get involved with rap? 

Left to right, that's Emmanuel we call 'Egasm', Junior we call 'Young Glove', and Mini - she didn't rap but was like our extended crew friend. One person not pictured was Yaw, we called him '2 Deep', He was another member of K1 (Konnected as 1). This pic was taken at some party we crashed lol in 2006 I think. 

I got involved with rap mainly with those guys. I've always loved rap music but started writing my first raps with Young Glove. But I always had a creative side, and used to do music at school and perform with the school music group. I would then rap (other people's stuff) and play bass guitar. 

I've had to fight very hard to make a path in music. It never happened over night like it has for some. I've literally had to pull myself up from the bottom and I'm still going. To better my craft all I would do is keep writing and keep recording - it was the only way I got better. 

What drew you to ET and why did you feel it was the right fit for you?

Working with Tim (Urthboy) was the initial introduction to anyone from ET. I'd always heard of the label but didn't know anyone from there besides Sky'high. When me and Tim were working together, he and my manager had some talks and it pretty much stemmed from there. I felt it was the right vibe for me because it seemed to have a close family vibe and attention to detail which impressed me. I also love that the label allows me to continue to be myself, do what's comfortable from a music perspective and in fact, encourage it.

You’re currently touring the country with Horrorshow as main support. How has your experience been with ET since signing?

My experience so far has been pleasant, and I feel the love right now. It means a lot to be a part of something that's been moving for almost 18 years and they make you feel like you've been there since day one.

What's currently driving you as an artist?

It's always first about my passion to create something new through music and see what reaction it gives people. I'm also driven to make something of myself and I feel music is my vessel to do that and is my business card to open other doors in the future.

B Wise's debut EP Semi Pro is out now. Grab your copy via our website here.

Voting in this Year's Federal Election...

Who are you voting for tomorrow?

According to some of our artists it isn't an easy decision, but you should definitely read about party policy - and when casting your vote remember the past and recognise what will work for the future...

Read more about who to vote for in your electorate at the AEC.

U R T H B O Y

The best way to detect future behaviour is by identifying past behaviour and with this in mind it's important not to take anything politicians say too seriously. Turnbull has shown he is incapable of navigating the maze of internal party divisions with any authority. He looks anything but a leader. This is one of the most powerful people in Australia, with a background of great corporate success and the towering arrogance that comes with it. Yet loony bit players like George Christensen and Cory Bernardi with their chirping influence, so easily undermine him. It's baffling how little fight he shows. We've seen Turnbull's short-sightedness on the NBN, stifling technology that should provide infrastructure for generations - this is a classic political compromise that will kneecap us for decades, particularly young people. He'll be on his $100k + pension and won't give a shit. We've seen a reluctance to tackle housing affordability - the chief reason being that older voters benefit from shutting young people out of the market. It'll be the LNP that suffer most from the resurgent populism of Pauline Hanson - or whichever straight-talking dimwit captures the imagination of a battling population desperate for someone to blame.

Bill Shorten, I admit, has performed better than I expected. That's not saying much. The backbone he displays in the occasional speech, is quickly dulled down by a desire to romance the middle. Who cares about conviction when you might actually win? The Howard era was partly defined by how effectively he wedged successive Labor leaders, perhaps that's become part of the Labor psyche and it's created an ingrained mentality of being anything but wedged. Don't be surprised when people think you're nothing. Part of me wants to believe in Labor, most of me can't and it'll take time for that to change.

I lean Green, but I'm not a member nor completely sold. They, alongside the independents, perform a vital democratic role of an alternative voice to the major machines. It's self-evident that this can be problematic, but to remove this aspect of the political process, is a much bigger problem. I also have a soft spot for any political party that News Corp wants to destroy - they must be alright.

How does an armchair critic like me comment on the internal dynamics of government? What would I know? I'm just a stupid musician who should go back to writing music and stay out of politics.

L - F R E S H  T h e  L I O N

I haven't decided yet. I know I'm definitely not voting Liberal and I'm very close to ruling out Labor as well. I don't agree with a wide range of their policies but more than that, I don't like the culture either of the two major parties perpetuate. I've voted Greens for the past few years but I've got more research to do before I settle on any particular party.

S O L O (H O R R O R S H O W)

Tomorrow I’ll be voting for the Australian Greens. There are a whole raft of reasons to vote Green, but one that is particularly important to me is their policies on immigration and asylum seekers – and especially their commitment to getting rid of mandatory and indefinite detention and the abolition of offshore processing in places like Manus Island and Nauru.

I grew up in a Labor household and for a lot of my teenage years I thought of myself as a Labor supporter. However, since the ALP’s hardline decision to expand offshore processing, I have been unable to support either major party and have instead looked to the more humanitarian (and common sense) policies of the Greens.

Asylum seekers and refugees are people too! They’re human beings with rights that Australia has been abusing for far too long. It’s morally bankrupt of us to shirk our responsibilities to some of the most vulnerable people in the world and pass the buck to less developed countries when we have the wealth and infrastructure to take refugees in. It’s sickeningly hypocritical of us to deny the opportunities of living in Australia to others when we as non-Indigenous Australians have benefited immensely from those same opportunities. I want to see an end to this cruelty and madness, and for that reason I’ll be casting my vote for the Australian Greens.

A D I T (H O R R O R S H O W)

This Saturday I'll be voting for The Greens. There are many reasons why as you can see, but below is one that doesn't often get mentioned.

The Greens have the best plan for guiding our economy into the future. They are the only party to recognise that running the country is about more than just balancing a budget. If that's all it took a thrifty 8 year old could do it! To run a strong economy you must invest in its people, their ideas, and the infrastructure and services that support them.
This is the real job of government. The Greens' policies are built around taxing those who extract the most wealth out of society, and investing that wealth back into education, health, technology, infrastructure, and social safety nets for everyone. They represent fairness and pragmatism and for this reason are the only party suited to lead us in the 21st century. #liberalsfallback

What will you decide..?

Make sure you read up and vote!!