Aussie Rapper Allday Talks Startup Cults, Album Torrents and Recording Hungover
Signed to Illy's own label, debuting his album in cult buses, VIP at Lord of the Fries; who is this kid?
If your idea of Australia's hip hop scene is one of skepticism and smirks, you probably can't be blamed — especially if your car radio is tuned to B105. One might associate Aussie hip hop with angsty trios, the ARIAs and dolla-dolla coins y'all, but Australian rapper Allday is a welcome, somewhat askew addition to the scene, quickly becoming a fan-laden leader of free verse.
Like all great leaders, Allday's got a following to match — from his self-initiated bus cult to reverence by Lord of the Fries as a VIP, the 22-year-old might soon be hailed as this generation of rappers' Chosen One. In the last few months, he's been turning as many heads as tunes; with songs that border on lovey-dovey before hardening into deeply gutsy. Earlier this year he performed a remarkable cover of INXS' 'Never Tear Us Apart' gaining two thumbs up from Hutchence fans, and he's been proving his worth through EPs, live performances and singles. Plus, he's just as savvy with his sound as he is with Facebook and Tumblr — cue teenage swoons.
Now, having just wrapped up a nationwide tour, Allday has fully-fledged album Startup Cult out now through Illy's label ONETWO. We had a little chat to Aussie hip hop's newest asset about the road so far and what fans can expect ahead from this young gamechanger.
You've been making a hell of a lot of waves this year on the Australian music scene — how have you found 2014 so far? What's been the highlight?
Thank you! There have been a lot of highlights, but for me the best thing was getting better as a musician — feeling like I had a breakthrough on the quality of music I am able to make. That has been the best part.
Can you tell us a bit out your bus 'cult'? How did the idea come about, and was it a success — will Allday soon be synonymous with Children of God?
Well, I have always gone to ridiculous lengths to give a good experience to my fans. I had an idea to just drive around and pick people up in a car, then play them the album one-on-one. Then I realised if we did a bus we could get to more people. It was a success from my perspective and it seems like people had a fun time.
What can we expect from the new album, Startup Cults?
It's pretty different for a rap album from Australia, I think. There's a lot of R&B and pop influence on it, there's also a lot of good rapping on it. I guess it's a pretty personal album, maybe a little dark in parts.
You said in an interview that if fans can't afford the album, they have your permission to download it. Why be so kind?
Well, firstly I know what it's like to be poor. When I was 20, I was still driving a $600 banged up car to my pizza delivery job and making 50 bucks a night. Then when I moved to Melbourne, I was on Centrelink because I couldn't get a job. I said that because a fan messaged me saying, "I didn't pay my phone bill so I could buy your album." I was like, "Fuck that, pay your phone bill and torrent my album."
Have you found your style and process has changed since Noue Yesue?
For sure. Noue Yesue was my first EP and it was just something I did as a Sunday afternoon hobby type thing. I recorded it at my friend Koolta's house and he was the only one I knew with beats, so I rapped on his beats. I spent maybe 30 minutes recording each track. If you listen to it now, it sounds like my voice was deeper then — that's actually because I always had a hangover and I would lose my voice in a club the night before recording. It took me all the way until this album to realise that you have to be more hands on with the process. This time I sat with producers and crafted the sound myself, from snares, synths to vocal takes to mixing.
In the past few months, have you found you've been thrown into a wider music community — not just the hip-hop world?
A little bit. Sometimes people get photos with me and I think they know of me but don't really listen to me. That's pretty weird. I'm not necessarily aiming for just a hip hop market though. I think I make good hip hop, but hopefully I can make music that everyone can get.
You've just wrapped up a tour, any highlights? Can we expect another soon?
Brisbane was awesome — we finished the tour in Brisbane and it was (as always in Queensland) a highly excitable and awesome crowd. I'll be announcing a new tour soon... October!
Startup Cult is out now via ONETWO.
Want to check out more new Aussie hip hop artists changing the game? Head over here for our round-up of must-hear ones-to-watch.
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