Curse ov Dialect

Last updated

Curse Ov Dialect
Origin Melbourne
Genres Alternative hip hop
Years active1994–present
Labels Mush Records, Staubgold, Valve (Aus), Mistletone (Aus), Poetic Dissent, Curse Music
MembersRaceless
Volk Makedonski
Atarungi
Paso Bionic
Past members2 August
Malice
Website curseovdialect.bandcamp.com

Curse Ov Dialect is an alternative hip hop group based in Melbourne. It consists of Raceless, Volk Makedonski, Atarungi, and Paso Bionic. They are the first Australian hip-hop group to be signed to an American record label.

Contents

Musical career

The group formed in 1994 with the original lineup consisting of MC Raceless, MC Malice and DJ Paso Bionic on turntables. This lineup recorded their demo cassette Evil Klownz (1995) and Hex Ov Intellect (1998). Not long after the release of Hex Ov Intellect, they met Ollie Olsen (Max Q, No) who went on to produce their self-titled EP Curse Ov Dialect (2000). Malice left the group during the recording of Curse Ov Dialect and was replaced by Atarangi, 2 August and Volk Makedonski. With this lineup, they grew in popularity due to their wild live shows and strong anti-racist, anti-homophobic and internationalist message at a time of rising xenophobia in Australian politics and society.

After shows supporting Anticon (Doseone, Sole, and Jel) in 2001, they landed a record deal with Mush Records which released Lost in the Real Sky in 2003. [1] The album was mixed by Paso Bionic and mastered by Simon Polinski. Upon release, it was awarded 'Album of the Week' on 3RRR and 3PBS. Sebastian Chan says that "whilst [the album] radiates strong psychedelic surrealism, at the core, there are strong anti-racist, multiculturalist themes – which give the record a very specific Australian-ness. Likewise, the beats are drawn from literally everywhere – Arabic, mediaeval English, and of course traditional Macedonian." [2] Anthony Carew in The Age wrote "from acknowledging racist states, to attacking such prejudice, to dreaming of some utopian global community in which 'all cultures come together', the album, unlike so many rap records, finds the lyricists talking about not just themselves, but the world at large." Brian Ho at Dusted Magazine described it as "a wonderfully imagined album that successfully borrows and reinterprets sounds from all facets of music and culture, creatively but still with enough energy and bounce for frequent neck exercise." [3]

Curse Ov Dialect followed with Wooden Tongues in 2006. Mixed by Cornel Wilczek and mastered by François Tétaz, their second effort for Mush Records received equally positive praise. Brian Turner of WFMU described the album as having "flowing rhymes and scratches [that] complement Muslimgauze-ish beats, baroque horns, kid choruses and operatic flights, Bollywood cooing, Balkan horn blasts all presented in sharp precision appropriate to the assorted lyrics (which focus, needless to say, on worldly diversity/cultural unity). It's admirable that all this can be presented with total energy and cohesiveness while *still* acknowledging all that is right about hip-hop history". [4] Beat Magazine noted that "the biggest shock is that the second half plays with shade and texture, revealing subtlety to be one of their strengths, possibly the only thing not sampled on their debut." [5]

Their next album Crisis Tales was mixed by Danielsan and mastered by François Tétaz. The album was released in Australia by Mistletone and internationally via Staubgold in 2009. The song "85 percent" received high rotation on Triple J. Dan Rule in Music Australia Guide found that "while as untethered as ever, new record Crisis Tales is also Curse's most concise. Even with jaunts into previously unexplored terrains... there's an unswerving quality to the production that harnesses each of Crisis Tales' disparate strands." [6] Shaun Prescott in Mess+Noise wrote "Crisis Tales is a maximal cluster fuck of references, lectures, wordplay and contorted surrealism. It's a result of a hip-hop generation tanked with input and ever greedy for more, eager to be overloaded by disparate textures and unorthodox style/aesthetic/philosophical cohabitation." [7] Ron Hart in Pop Matters noted that "some may not have much interest in issues such as Aboriginal rights or the rampant political corruption of Curse Ov Dialect's home continent, Crisis Tales nevertheless commands attention, thanks to the uncanny mic skills of MCs Raceless and Volk Makedonski and their unique back-and-forth with vocalists August the 2nd and Atarungi." [8]

Live performances

The group are renowned for their intense live performances involving elaborate costumes, audience participation and Dadaist stage theatrics. Sebastian Chan in Cyclic Defrost writes that "their early shows had more in common in terms of theatrics with Throbbing Gristle than anything hip hop" [9] while Joe Tangari in Pitchfork Media describes their performance as "like the Village People gone to the dark side, with a caped, masked weirdo and a staff-wielding Maltese duke flanking the stage and two guys in the middle dressed respectively like a South Asian prince and a mental hospital patient with severe head trauma." [10] Early performances involved stage diving, twisted impersonations, nudism, throwing food at the audience and shows spilling out of the venue and onto the street. At the 2002 Big Day Out Festival, they played a notorious improvised collaboration with experimental supergroup Testicle Candy (Oren Ambarchi, Robbie Avenaim, Lucas Abela, Ray Ahn, and Martin Ng) and Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters) on drums where Grohl was struck on the head with a watermelon but continued to play. [11] In 2003, their live performance was featured in the Melbourne episode of Lonely Planet Six Degrees.

They have toured the world playing in Europe (2004, 2007, 2009 and 2010 and 2019), the United States (2004), Japan (2009, 2010), and various music and arts festivals including Big Day Out (1999–2004), Laneway Festival (2007), Livid (2003), What is Music? (2000–2003), This Is Not Art (2001, 2003), Liverpool Biennial (2004), Incubate (2007), and Fusion Festival (2010, 2019).

Amongst others, they have supported Slippy Mane, Public Enemy, Future Islands, Peaches, Yamataka Eye, Kool Keith, Blackalicious, Chicks on Speed, Anticon, Buck 65, Busdriver, Saul Williams, Edan, Atmosphere, Kid 606, Severed Heads, Florian Hecker, V/Vm, and Cobra Killer.

Discography

Albums

Guest appearances

Music videos

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anticon</span> American independent record label

Anticon was an independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1998 by seven musicians and manager Baillie Parker. It was collectively owned among six musicians, co-founder Parker, and manager Shaun Koplow. The original musicians signed to Anticon were once referred to as the Anticon collective. Following the death of one of its founding members in 2018, the label dissolved.

<i>The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse</i> 2002 studio album by Jay-Z

The Blueprint 2: The Gift & the Curse is the seventh studio album by American rapper Jay-Z. A double album, it was released on November 12, 2002, by Roc-A-Fella Records and Island Def Jam Music Group. The album serves as a sequel to his sixth album The Blueprint (2001). The album debuted at number one, shipping with first-week sales of 545,000 units. The album is certified 3x Multi-Platinum by the RIAA. In 2013, Jay-Z cited this album as his second-worst due to an overabundance of songs on the album. A one-disc reissue, titled Blueprint 2.1, was released in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TZU</span> Australian hip hop group

TZU were an Australian hip hop group, formed in 1999 by Joelistics, Yeroc, Seed MC and Paso Bionic. They used instruments in live performances, giving their shows a rock-infused feeling. Duzy What joined in 2005. TZU released four studio albums, Position Correction (2004), Smiling at Strangers (2005), Computer Love and Millions of Moments (2012), before disbanding in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Akrobatik</span> American rapper (born 1974)

Jared K. Bridgeman, better known by his stage name Akrobatik, is an American rapper from the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. He is also a part of the hip hop collective named The Perceptionists with Mr. Lif and DJ Fakts One, which released Black Dialogue in 2005.

<i>Ten</i> (Clouddead album) 2004 studio album by Clouddead

Ten is the second and final album by American hip hop trio Clouddead. It was released on March 8, 2004 on Big Dada in the United Kingdom and on March 16, 2004 on Mush Records in the United States. "Dead Dogs Two" was released as a single from the album. The album peaked at number 17 on the UK Independent Albums Chart, as well as number 16 on the UK R&B Albums Chart.

<i>Clouddead</i> (album) 2001 studio album by Clouddead

Clouddead is the debut album by American hip hop trio Clouddead. It was released on May 1, 2001 on Big Dada in the United Kingdom and on May 8, 2001 on Mush Records in the United States. It features guest appearances from Illogic, DJ Signify, Sole, the Wolf Bros., Mr. Dibbs, and the Bay Area Animals.

Mush Records is an American independent record label. It was founded by Robert Curcio and Cindy Roché in 1997.

Joelistics is an Australian MC, producer and multi-instrumentalist, who is a member of the Melbourne-based Australian hip hop group TZU and a solo artist on the Elefant Traks music label.

Kamal Humphrey de Iruretagoyena, better known by his stage name Radioinactive, is an American hip hop artist from Los Angeles, California. He is a member of The Shape Shifters. He was a member of Log Cabin along with Eligh, Murs and Scarub. He has released a number of solo albums, as well as collaborating with artists such as Busdriver, Daedelus, and Antimc.

<i>Whispermoon</i> 2003 studio album by Listener

Whispermoon is the debut studio album by Listener. It was released on Mush Records on July 29, 2003. It peaked at number 163 on the CMJ Radio 200 chart and at number 4 on CMJ's Hip-Hop chart.

Macedonian hip hop covers the Macedonian hip hop culture and the Macedonian language hip hop music primarily created in Macedonia, but also in the Macedonian diaspora.

<i>A Heap of Broken Images</i> 2006 studio album by Blue Sky Black Death

A Heap of Broken Images is the debut studio album by American hip hop production duo Blue Sky Black Death. It was released by Mush Records in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aesop Rock discography</span>

Aesop Rock is an American hip hop rapper who is currently signed to Rhymesayers Entertainment. His discography consists of nine studio albums, three extended plays, ten singles, four collaborations, one compilation, nine music videos, and many appearances on other artists' tracks and on compilations.

<i>Flowers in the Pavement</i> 2004 studio album by Bliss n Eso

Flowers in the Pavement is the debut album by Australian hip hop group Bliss n Eso, which was released on 23 August 2004 via Obese Records.

<i>Trampled – The Elefant Traks Remix Album</i> 2006 compilation album by Various Artists

Trampled – The Elefant Traks Remix Album by various artists is the first compilation remix album via Australian hip hop label, Elefant Traks, and was released in August 2006. The label's artists remixed tracks by fellow label mates from the previous eight years.

<i>Thru</i> 2006 studio album by Thavius Beck

Thru is the second solo studio album by American hip hop musician Thavius Beck. It was released through Mush Records on October 3, 2006. It includes "'98", which was East Bay Express' "MP3 of the Day" on November 10, 2006.

<i>10 Seconds</i> (album) 2002 studio album by Jel

10 Seconds is the first studio album by American hip hop producer Jel. It was released on Mush Records on October 22, 2002. The title derives from the limited sampling time of E-mu SP-1200.

Villain Accelerate is a Canadian instrumental hip hop duo. It consists of underground hip hop artists Sixtoo and Stigg of the Dump. To date, the duo has released one album.

Matthew Alsberg, better known by his stage name Antimc, is an American hip hop producer from Los Angeles, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel T. Herring</span> American singer

Samuel Thompson Herring, also known as Hemlock Ernst, is an American singer, rapper and actor from Baltimore, Maryland. He is best known as the frontman of the synth-pop band Future Islands, with whom he has recorded seven studio albums. He has also previously been a member of Art Lord & the Self-Portraits, The Snails, and Trouble Knows Me.

References

  1. ↑ Segal, Dave (15 August 2003). "Lost in the Real Sky". XLR8R. Archived from the original on 26 October 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  2. ↑ Chan, Sebastian (2003). "Curse Ov Dialect – Lost in the Real Sky" (PDF). Cyclic Defrost.
  3. ↑ Ho, Brian (24 June 2003). "Curse Ov Dialect – Lost in the Real Sky review". Dusted Magazine.
  4. ↑ Turner, Brian (1 November 2006). "Curse Ov Dialect – Wooden Tongues". WFMU.
  5. ↑ "Curse Ov Dialect – Wooden Tongues". Beat Magazine. 24 June 2003.
  6. ↑ Rule, Dan (November 2009). "Curse Ov Dialect – Crisis Tales". Music Australia Guide.
  7. ↑ Prescott, Shaun (2 December 2009). "Curse Ov Dialect – Crisis Tales". Mess+Noise.
  8. ↑ Hart, Ron (21 November 2010). "Curse Ov Dialect – Crisis Tales". Pop Matters.
  9. ↑ Chan=2003, Sebastian. "Curse ov Dialect – Lost in The Real Sky" (PDF). Cyclic Defrost.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ↑ Tangari=26 March 2007, Joe. "Laneway Festival 2007". Pitchfork . Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ↑ Drever, Andrew (15 August 2003). "Delirious dialects". The Age.
  12. ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine : Curse Ov Dialect - "Twisted Strangers"(ft. Hemlock Ernst)(Official Music Video). YouTube .
  13. ↑ Pitchfork (16 September 2015). "Future Islands' Sam Herring Revives Rap Alias Hemlock Ernst in Curse Ov Dialect's "Twisted Strangers" Video". Pitchfork . Retrieved 22 November 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.