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LOOSE CHANGE INTERVIEW


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Loose Change is a Sydney based Hip Hop trio comprising of MC’s Ellesquire, Rapaport and master beatmaker P Major. They are founding members of ascending record label Big Village Records, and having just released their second album are currently on the road promoting “Listening Party”.

What are your earliest memories of music?
Probably listening to my dad playing old records like The Animals “We gotta get out of this place” he is really big fan of music and always used to play heaps of Rock and Blues music when I was young. First time I ever personally took a big interest of music was really listening to my sisters Nirvana and Led Zeppelin albums when I was about 11 or 12.

What first got you into Hip Hop?
The first Hip Hop I listened to was Cypress Hill and Beastie Boys as I was coming from more of a Rock background. From there I started getting into Public Enemy, Wu Tang, A Tribe Called Quest and The Roots about a year later and then Blackalicious, and Soundbombing Vol 2.

Who were your musical influences growing up?
Pretty varied, I played guitar pretty intensely at high school, more so than rapping so for me I was really inspired by Hendrix and Led Zeppelin and Rage Against The Machine, and later on got more into Jazz and World music as well. Hip Hop has always been a big part of my musical influence but its part of a wider landscape of sounds. Major rap influences are Mos Def, Atmosphere, Roots Manuva, Talib Kweli and of course A Tribe Called Quest.

How and when did Loose Change form?
I knew Peter (P.Major) from playing together at high school, and he arranged the horns on my solo album “Laughing on the Inside” which I produced in 2008. After he did the last recording he gave me a beat tape of his own beats and it was so good I was kinda shocked, I couldn’t believe how good it was. At the time he gave me the beats I’d also been trying to work with Luke (Ellesquire) and he was more down with that smooth sound that P.Major does, so I just kinda hit him up we started working on tunes. Me and Luke had just broken up with long term girlfriends at the time so that first Loose Change album really came out really easily, and for me it was the first straight up Hip Hop thing I’d done and I thought it worked really well.

What does each member bring to the group?
We all have our own different styles, Ellesquire brings the soulfulness and P. Major is the overall sound guru, he has the full vision for how it all fits together. I feel like me and Ellesquire have very different styles in the way we write so when it comes to a concept we both just attack it in our own way.

How do you write Loose Change songs what’s the recording process like?
Starts with a beat from P.Major, then one of us writes a hook or verse then we meet up, have a chat and then both write in our own spaces. When we record we all give input into the writing and performance. We dont hold back with criticism, it not unheard for one of us to say, sounds good but you can do better after hearing a new verse or recording something. I think that is one of our strengths that we are very honest to each other about the creative process and we are all happy to hear criticism so that we can create a quality product.

You are both solo artists in your own right what are the pros and cons of being in a group?
I guess the pros are you have another brain to bounce ideas off and work off. The cons are sometimes it is slower to work on something as both writers have to be together in the same place, and then both of us have different views on music, what works and what doesnt. We both value each other opinion so on the whole I think we work really well together and manage to create a different sort of sound than either of us would create solo.

It’s been a while between albums why the long wait was it hard getting back into group mode?
Just a lot of things going on, Ellesquire did his solo album which he started as soon as the loose change album came out in 2010 and he has been touring that since just before “Listening Party” came out. I have been busy managing Big Village and putting out both BV compilations and also running the show Sketch The Rhyme. P.Major, keeps making beats regardless, he would make beats all the time no matter what.

What were some of the obstacles you faced in making the new album?
Mostly time constraints at first as we were all so busy one of us would be on tour, they would get back and then the other would go away on tour, so it was difficult to get all three of us in a room together. when we got together the difficulty is getting everyone to like an idea, we are all pretty critical so every song and chorus had to be really worked on until we were all happy with it.

How would you describe the Loose Change sound?
I would say honest soulful Rap music, with a range of musical influences from Jazz to Afrobeat. We try to make music that we want to listen to that means we take influences from anywhere.

What is the meaning behind the album title?
We felt like the album was really geared for a listening party, more of a home listening experience than banging out at a show, and we really like to push the idea that the album was written to be enjoyed in its entirety. Also with the the words listening party both words have their own meaning listening to music which is what we do to learn about music, and then having a party which is what its all about really.

What’s your favourite track off “Listening Party” and why?
I’d say “Grown Up”, just because everything kind of worked together nicely and it sums up the theme of the album.

You are currently on the road promoting the album what can people expect from your live show?
I think myself and Ellesquire have a good chemistry when we perform as we have rapped together for over 5 years so on stage its a pretty comfortable affair and we have a lot of fun.

What is one thing Australian Hip Hop needs right now?
Taking risks, Australian Hip Hop is too safe in my opinion. There are a lot of great Aussie Hip Hop acts at the moment, but to me there is still a lack of artists taking risks with their sound. I’d like to see more diversity in the sounds, tempos and styles of production and more musicality in the raps, more like an instrument and being flexible with timing and experimenting with rhythms and themes. There is also a lack of cultural diversity at the top end of Australian Hip hop at the moment, I don’t have any solutions to that but it is evident that most of the top artists in Australia are still white males, even though the make up of Australian music fans is very diverse. I think the more diverse the artists are that are making the music, the more diverse and creative the sounds will be.

Which artists are you currently listening to?
Kendrick Lamar, King Krule, Chance The Rapper, Home Brew Crew, Homeboy Sandman, Run The Jewels, Trim, Wiley, Sean Price, TNGHT, Preditah, Hessle Audio – (UK electronic label), Paul Kelly

What is the best piece of advice ever given to you?
There is only one part of the music business that you have total control over and that is the recording you create, so you gotta put everything you got into that to make that the best it can be. Everything else is to some extent beyond your control.

What does the future hold for Loose Change?
We will keep touring with this album for a few more months, perhaps a remix CD early in the year. We are keen to start working on some fresh tunes as soon as we get the chance.

What’s your definition of Grindin’?
Grindin’ is working on your craft day in day out for as long as it takes, its being in the office til you can’t keep your eyes open and getting up the next morning before sunrise to fly to a show. That’s pretty much the grind.

Interview by Duggs.

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