The Many Faces Of Bliss N Eso

It seems the highs and lows of producing a record of Bliss N Eso's magnitude are reflected in a lyrical complexity and general all-encompassing variety. In a recent interview, MC Bliss (front man, Jonathan Notley) attempts to explain the motivations behind what they do and how they have adapted to not only survive, but thrive.

"The key thing for us is that we like to have a lot of variety on the albums, and if you listen back to all of our albums it definitely takes the listener on a journey through a lot of different vibes, emotions, topics, themes – all that kind of stuff and that's kind of the crux of our record making I think so that was kind of an important part of this process. Just allowing us to see where we're headed before we get there.”

Bliss reflects on Sunshine as a perfect example from the new record. “It opens up with like a classic 'boom bap' kind of beat, and you're listening to it and you're like, 'Damn! This is dope!' It's kind of like a Cypress Hill reminiscent thing and then suddenly it flips up into some down south Timbaland type vibe. I just love that juxtaposition of the old and the new because I think it's all relevant and I think it's important to keep creating and not just rehashing old shit.”

“Eso and I are like ideas machines,” he continues, focussing on the future. “We have so many ideas, we're constantly thinking of stuff and as you go, the more you start realising your dreams and executing these ideas and actually doing it – figuring out how it works and keeping a positive frame of mind and really just staying on track with your ambitions. Once we realised the snowball was growing we knew we had to just keep rolling down the hill faster and building this thing up. The momentum gives birth to more momentum, and success breeds success.”

Bliss N Eso's latest contribution to their on-going hip-hop legacy is Circus In The Sky, due to be released in Australia Friday 28 June.