After coming Towards the Light, Spit Syndicate are now out of Exile with their new album. The Australian hip-hop scene had to wait two and half years to see what the Syndicate planned to spit next. Just like a hot virgin, it was worth the wait. Music Feeds caught up with Just Enough to see first hand, what’s been going on.
MF: How does Exile compare to Towards the Light: do you see them as two different bodies of work?
JE: I do, I think that we took some time after the first record, it’s been two and a half years, that’s a long time between records. I think we did a little bit of travelling, learnt a lot off the first record, did a lot of it off our own pocket. So this time round we knew how to cut corners, do things differently.
I think we had a lot more to say this time; just a lot has changed in both Nick’s and my life; we’ve moved out, got some perspective; it’s a more mature and advanced sounding album.
MF: Did the stuff you did in between, travelling etc, come into play when you wrote Exile?
JE: Exile isn’t a travel related album but it is travel inspired; wanting to get out and break the norm of home; the monotony of home. We went through Asia, even domestic travel, getting away from work and home; wrote some stuff overseas. We felt we had the clearest head there.
The ideas were born overseas, kicking it in Thailand. The hardest thing is getting back into it after you haven’t written for a while, so we’ve learnt now that you’ve got to write constantly.
MF: Do you write separately or together?
JE: For the entirety of this album, we moved out together with some friends. From start to finish we wrote it in our own house. We had recording gear, with a booth, so we spent most of a year decking out our house, making sure it was conducive to creativity. It was a bangin’ ass house.
Now we’re both back at home, at our mum’s houses. It was a cool time in our lives and I don’t think the album would be the same if we were stuck in our rooms.
MF: I saw Adit from Horrorshow produced the album. What was it like having him there?
JE: Always good with Adit, man; been doing it for a while. He brings a whole other element to the process, to bounce ideas off. He stayed at our house for the last two months of the record; it was a collaborative effort. He’s a freak man, a genius, always down to try new things out, so can’t wait to see what people think of his production, and what we did on top.
MF: In Towards The Light you covered a lot of specific subjects. Is it the same approach on Exile?
JE: I think it’s a little more advanced; bigger issues. Like the first album, we kind of recorded songs we thought our friends would dig at the time. We didn’t have a broader perspective. With this one we had the greater audience in mind, we had a better idea on how people would respond, so we reacted. Also, we thought about how it’d go live, because that’s important. With this album, compared to first, we have more live tracks, but all around I think it’s more well conceived.
MF: In terms of collaborations, is Sarah Corry back?
JE: Sarah Corry is most definitely back; she’s moved overseas, she’s in Europe, tearing it up. We got Joyride, he’s on the album, and a solo from Horrorshow, which is sweet.
MF: A lot is made about the Australian hip-hop community, it always seems to have a good vibe?
JE: Definitely man, nowadays people are all down with each other, supporting each other’s releases, collaborating from all over. I think because the bar keeps getting raised every year, people are looking out for releases. Definitely in Sydney the scene is getting tighter, and stronger, but on this record we wanted to keep the collaborations in house, and the album is better for it.
MF: Have you talked about doing stuff overseas with your label, or just concentrating on domestic?
JE: Only really thinking here, you never know. People like Bliss n Eso and Urthboy are making moves over there, but for us we’ve got to be realistic and work on here first.
MF: I saw on your website people from the US and Europe pledging their love?
JE: Yeah! That always trips me, I guess that’s the beauty of the Internet, how they got their hands on it.
MF: The thing about your music is that it’s easy to relate to, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it translated well anywhere?
JE: Yeah! I think that one day it’ll pick up, but I would like to think that in a few years we’d be able to do that kind of thing.
MF: You took two and a half years off between albums. Is that a good idea; reckon you’ll do it again?
JE: No, I don’t think so, we’ve already got ideas for new songs, and if we keep this music as a constant then we’ll get the best work out of each other. Plus, I don’t want to be rushing, because that’s when you tend to fuck up, so we’ll just work on it slowly; keep making music, so we put out the best work.
