After releasing their second album Pocket Full Of Dreams, Melbourne based hip hop duo DIAFRIX were named iTunes best Australian hip hop release in 2012. Just prior to their Newcastle launch date this Thursday local hip-hop artist MICKIE ‘Onemike’ WILLIAMS caught up with MC AZMARINO about industry politics, the importance of community radio and the capital of Australian hip-hop, Melbourne.
First of all, congratulations on the second album, Pocket Full Of Dreams and a big welcome to my home of Newcastle. So the Pocket Full Of Dreams album dropped 2012, the response has been phenomenal, your album was named iTunes best Australian hip hop release 2012 and you guys have played some amazing supports and festivals. How does it feel to have so much success after all the hard work associated with releasing your second full length album?
Yeah it’s nice. It’s definitely like our dreams are coming true. We have been doing this for a long time, and too finally get the recognition, the other stuff is just it’s really amazing.
As an artist myself, it’s definitely a hard slog to get to where you guys are at now.
Yeah especially right now, I feel like the music industry is one of the worst businesses to be in as apart of the entertainment industry, just getting ripped off, left right and centre by youtube, spotify and all this other stuff. It becoming very hard for artist to make a living, and it’s become so competitive, we are very lucky.
You guys just supported Macklemore & Lewis on a sold out tour and are now headlining your own “I’m A Dreamer” tour as we speak. How much fun are you guys having right now?
We always love touring around, when we done the Macklemore & Lewis tour it was really cool, we got to play sold out shows in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. Three sold out shows playing to 3000 people at each show is a very rare occasion, and to 3000 people who actually love hip hop, so yeah, we are always having fun, getting up to mischief and missing flights, ha ha.
I’m interested in the processes involved in making an album, the writing process, the production, the studio sessions. Can you give us a little insight into what it takes to make a great record like Pocket Full Of Dreams?
For one we were very lucky to score Aria award winning producer Styalz Fuego for production on the whole album that’s worked with 360, Seth Sentry, and a lot of artist right now. We usually look for an idea and a topic before we start the album, so we’re actually doing that process right now, we look at what’s going on around this time of year, and get into the studio, and work on the ideas, and look at the production, then we go back and see what sounds people are into, so that’s basically how we write.
Triple j and Nova have really supported Diafrix, on a more grass roots level. Can you tell us about your support from community radio stations in Australia? And how important is community radios role for an artist career?
We started Diafrix about eight to ten years now, so we survived on community radio, great radio stations like RRR, PBS, and things like indigenous radio. That’s basically how we survived, doing things like radio gigs, interviews, for such a long time. It gave us the tools to push further. Definitely, yes, a lot of artists just worry about Triple J when their album drops, and then the work is over you know, but there is so many other streams out there. Community radio is really important, there are a lot of local listeners that tune in to community radio you know.
You guys have toured in Europe twice now, and im fascinated by those experiences. If there was a moment that best captured that experience, what would it be?
Glastonbury festival, 200,000 people, 75 stages or something like that. It’s ridiculous, over 400 bands, in three days. It’s like wow man. I wish we could play that festival every year.
Melbourne is the Capital of hip-hop in Australia. Tell us what you love most about your home city of Melbourne?
Well I’m glad you said that, because for about three years it wasn’t looking that strong – Adelaide had Hilltop Hoods, Sydney had Bliss n Eso, a lot of Melbourne artists couldn’t pop up, and now we are all starting to take off about the same time, like us, 360, Illy, Seth Sentry. You know us boys have been playing around and supporting each other for a long time now, so it’s really good to see it happening now. You know, compared to the rest of Australia, the level of hip hop in Melbourne is something else man, there are so many pockets, like so many types of hip hop, there’s the underground, like 1/6, Mantra, just so many artist.
I was really impressed when I caught your show last time you performed in Newcastle. How do you find the Newcastle audience?
Well, we have been very unlucky, because every time we come here there has been something big happening in Sydney, we really haven’t had a big crowd yet, and that’s why we came back. A lot of people told us not to go back to Newcastle, it’s kind of like Hobart, we kept on going back and the crowds got bigger, so hopefully it’s the same in Newcastle.
Growing up in hip hop culture, did you guys do or still do any other elements, such as graffiti, Dj’ing, or breaking?
I wish man, but I’ve just never really had the time. I’m always surrounded by people and good friends that do the other elements, a lot of Dj’s. I don’t practice it, so I don’t do it, you know.
You guys are role models in your community, can you tell us whom your role models were, whilst growing up in the Melbourne hip-hop community?
Our number one for us is Joelistics from TZU, he was a big mentor, he was the one who helped us out in like early 2000 when we first started. He would give us support gigs and stuff like that.
He’s been at it for a long time yeah?
Yeah man, I don’t know if you know of people like Combat Wombat. We also supported The Herd on a National tour in 2003, Urthboy and all those guys are huge mentors, they are like brothers you know, all ways help you out and give you advice.
Final question, I find that musical genre’s such as jazz, blues, funk, and soul really inspire my writing and musical style. What inspires you with your music, what artists or genre’s, influence your creativity?
Same bro, I look for inspiration in soul music, I look for inspiration in jazz, it’s a huge part of our background, it’s a huge part of our traditional music. I listen to a lot of old school RnB as well like the Isley Brothers and things like that, yeah so that kind of music has inspired me…
Diafrix perform at the Great Northern Hotel, Newcastle, on Thursday, April 11, and Entrance Leagues Club on Friday April 12.