Introducing Sydney group Jackie Onassis comprised of lyricist Kai Tan and producer Raph Zakov. The duo chatted about their debut release (Sex, Drugs and Homework- keep an eye out), their upcoming show (Annandale Hotel July 9th- be there) and what it means to take the “hip-hop road less travelled, but still gravelled”.
How would you describe your sound?
Soul tunes by unlikely motherfuckers. It’s like airing out your thoughts over some computer Miles Davis. Truth be told, I don’t really know how to describe our sound, cause we’re still pretty new, and I’m not sure what it is yet myself. We really just make whatever we’re hearing in our heads, so maybe our songs are just the 4/4 versions of our personalities.
What are your main musical influences?
Raph: They are definitely broad. We spent our teen years listening to mostly New York influenced hip-hop, plus a lot of Dilla. After High School our tastes broadened quite a bit due to a variety of influences; from Uni to travel, girls, drugs, clubs and life in general. It was dub-step in ‘05. In ‘06 I did a bit of the Indie-rock thing but that was mostly to impress girls. Now days, for me at least, it’s a bunch of Russian and Scandinavian 8-bit stuff and Bay Area hip-hop. I know Kai was in an indie band for a bit… it’s all influenced my beats.
Kai: Cosign Raph’s response. I could go on forever, but to provide a considerably briefer synopsis: Jay-Z and Atmosphere. That’s by no means exhaustive and there’s obviously so many more examples in both hip hop and every other genre, but the levels of swagger and introspection (not necessarily respectively) that those dudes (and many artists) bring have probably had the greatest impact on my brain. Actually scratch that: NERD are ill and pioneered some shit, they deserve a mention.
Your debut album is to be titled “Sex, Drugs and Homework”. What inspired the lyrical content on the album?
Kai: We all do some funny shit, myself included, and it really intrigues me… I think a lot about processes, particularly in our everyday lives. That encompasses your character and everything you bring to the table as well as where you end up, what you’re left with, and why you experience what you do in between. That’s pretty broad, I hope it makes sense. If you were after specifics, I’d probably say my biggest influences were fornication, narcotics and academia. Spring break, bitches.
Your Facebook page says that your genre is a mix between hip hop, glitch hop and electronic. What the fuck is glitch hop?
R: Haha, it’s basically just a form of bass heavy, glitchy, electronic music that’s the same tempo as hip-hop. Strictly speaking we’re not a Glitch Hop act, not enough glitches, robot or gameboy sounds, but I guess it’s a reference to the synthyness and bassyness in lot of our tunes.
K: x_x
Your debut single ‘The New Dumb’ takes a sudden tempo and stylistic change halfway through. Can we expect this kind of eclectic production throughout the album?
K: Not so much, the production on the album is more orthodox, but there’s still some surprises in there. Its all still quite varied though and I can definitely say I’ve had alot more fun working with Raph on the production for this one than any music I’ve made before. As far as The New Dumb goes, we were pushing the envelope a little bit to see what we could do/get away with sonically, and aimed at making the track into a bit of a journey. It was also an excuse for Raph to show off his production skillzz.
Jackie Onassis was described by “Savvy Women’s Magazine” as a “fashion icon”. What brand of shoes are you wearing?
R: I don’t half-step in my suede Louis. I ain’t even playing no mo’.
K: The most fucked up pair of SB Dunks you ever saw
I noticed you made use of some dipset hats in “The New Dumb”. Is southern hip hop a big influence within your production style?
K: Increasingly so the more I hang with Raph.
R: Yeah, I used to listen to a bit of that New York Dipset stuff, not so much anymore, but certainly that Southern 808 groove pops up a few times throughout the album, as well as some of that Bay Area swag shit. I’m a big fan of the 808 drum machine, the sound is just so swagged out if one were to ask me.
The tracks released thus far have a very ‘Inner West’ vibe. How do you feel about the local hip hop scene?
R: There’s a fair few dudes doing interesting, progressive stuff, and a lot of them are from Sydney’s Inner West. But a lot of dudes both here and countrywide in the scene are rehashing the same boring, generic shit that’s been done before, and done far better than anyone could hope to build upon. I know every scene probably has an abundance of less able bands, but I think that Hip-hop in Australia moves way slower than alot of other genres, except maybe Country.
K: I disagree with Raph, even if your songs aren’t progressive or cutting edge it doesn’t change the fact that they’re hot if they’re hot. There are plenty of songs on the radio right now that, out of context, you’d be hard pressed to place them at a particular point in the last decade, but when they come on, you still dance to them. Of course, your style in relation to the times is a factor, but I don’t know if it’s worth fixating on. With that said, without a doubt the scene has developed alot in the last few years, and even “that hip hop song” is a lot more complex and musical now.
In terms of the inner west, there’s some pretty fucking dope dudes from around here who are making progressive, crazy tunes, and have definitely had a huge influence on the style of the whole genre. Its also fostered a suprisingly large cult following amongst a whole bunch of local kids, and reduced the number of dudes in the street who give me looks when I play my ipod too loud, which is pretty awesome.
The production on ‘The New Dumb’ and ‘Said and Done’ impressed me greatly. Do you mainly sample material or do you create and record original material in the studio?
R: Those tunes don’t use any samples, just me on the keys and synths for both of them. Although there are a few tunes on our album that are sample based… it’s probably about 50/50. Kai plays keys on a lot of our tunes too, he’s got way more skills than me.
K: I used to be strictly sample only and a few of our songs definitely reflect that, but lately I’ve started playing alot more guitar and keys/synth for our beats. My piano playing also kinda picked up recently (Chopin, Nocturn Op 9, No 1, son), so I’ve been putting it to work.
Tell us a little bit about the writing process.
K: Its kinda hard to pin down. Sometimes, like with The New Dumb, I’ll already have my verses written, so we’ll put them down over some basic drums and then Raph will make the beat around them. Other times, like with Said and Done, it’s the exact opposite. Raph had this dope sketched out beat, and I based my lyrics around that. With beats, quite often I’m sitting at the piano and I’ll think up a riff which gets dummied straight into my iphone then I’ll beatbox the other parts in separate takes. Or maybe it’ll start from some patch that Raph’s made on one of his synths. We don’t really have a structure or a formula, it’s just whatever happens and what’s available when an idea hits you.
If you could support any artist, dead or alive who would it be?
R: Suicide in the late 70s for me for sure.
K: Jay-Z. Damn, imagine that…
Kai, I noticed you’re a fan of Gossip Girl. Chuck or Nate?
K: Guess, I think you already know the answer.
Gucci Mane recently acquired a tattoo of an ice cream cone with lightning strikes through it on his face. If you had to get a tattoo of a confectionary item on your face, what would it be?
R: Reese’s Peanut Butter cup. There is no doubt in my mind about this.
K: Wine Gums dude.
Do you have any shows coming up?
We have a show at The Annandale on July the 9th with a heap of other great Sydney bands. Drinks are $3.50 all night and there is free Ping Pong and Arcade games, so it should be super fun!
What can we expect from your live set?
K: Raph plays a drum machine with lots of lights, I rap and get excited, the music spans a whole bunch of sounds and genres and gets you dancing, and with any luck it all blows your mind.
Thanks for your time boys! Any last words or shoutouts?
R.I.P LulzSec and big ups to Lulz Lizards Internet wide. Coke on the rider promoters. Also, thanks Ripe Cunts!
