MC Solo Is Staying True To What He Does In Horrorshow

Sydney hip hop outfit Horrorshow - MC Solo (Nick Bryant-Smith) and producer Adit Gauchan - enjoyed huge success as part of the supercrew One Day. But now they're returning with Horrorshow's first album in four years - Bardo State, which rocketed into ARIA's Top 5. In June, they'll tour it. Says Bryant-Smith, "We're really excited to get back out on the road and rock out with people and be able to play them all this new music that we've been working so hard on."

Horrorshow were still high schoolers when they commenced what became 2008's debut, The Grey Space, on the credible label Elefant Traks. Their fourth outing, Bardo State is cerebral - and grown-up. Taking its title from Bardo Thodol, the Tibetan Book Of The Dead, the album thematises life passages. "There's definitely some darkness on this record, but I think it's also balanced out by probably some of the lightest songs that we've ever made," he ponders.

Bryant-Smith wrote about personal experiences. "Each record we make is a snapshot of the last few years of our lives," he says. "We're getting a little bit older and people around us are starting to get married and things like that. But, also, life's getting a bit more real and things are happening - like friends of ours passing away." Yet Bardo State has its macro-themes. "The world is in a dark place at the moment, it seems - there's a lot of xenophobia and backwards-thinking out there," Bryant-Smith rues, citing the rise of Donald Trump and, at home, Pauline Hanson.

In the socially attuned Ceiling Fan, Bryant-Smith (joined by hip hop polymath Omar Musa) combats that very xenophobia. Indigenous superstar Briggs has spoken of latent ignorance - and racism, and Bryant-Smith says, "I have had moments over the years where I've encountered that, and it does kind of astound me a little bit." Fortunately, Horrorshow audiences are "switched-on".

The Australian hip hop landscape has changed since Horrorshow's advent, and Bryant-Smith welcomes the new diversity. "I'm a hip hop fan, above all else, so I'm always trying to pay attention to what new music is coming out and what new artists are coming out." Drake has "popularised" an introspective, or emo, rap - but Bryant-Smith is ambivalent. "Obviously he's a great songwriter, and [he] writes incredible songs that people love, but I also find him pretty self-absorbed and obsessed with himself, basically!" he admits. "I think there's always been hip hop artists using rap to be more introspective or to look inwards. Some of my favourite artists - people like Brother Ali or Atmosphere have been doing that for years."

Horrorshow are "really proud" of Bardo State. "I think we've evolved our sound and stayed true to what it is that we do with Horrorshow, while also introducing some new flavours and pushing ourselves into new directions." In addition to Musa, they sought as guests Kai (Jackie Onassis/One Day) and Canberran "rising star" Turquoise Prince. However, the most surprising cameo is surely Hayley Mary, The Jezabels' frontwoman, who sings After Dark. "I've known Hayley for many years," Bryant-Smith reveals. "We first met at a photo shoot for Come Together festival in Sydney. We hit it off that day. We had a conversation about hip hop. She's actually a big hip hop fan. We were talking that day about Eminem and how much she loves his lyrics, but also feels a bit conflicted about some of his messages, you know?" Sticky Fingers' keysman Freddy Crabs contributes to Push (with teen busker Taj Ralph). "He's played on every single one of our records and he's played live with us in our band before." Indeed, Horrorshow primarily collaborate with "friends" - the exception on Bardo State being London R&B-type Dan Caplen, whom Bryant-Smith discovered online.

Last October Horrorshow toured behind the single If You Know What I Mean. With Bardo State out, they're preparing to headline their largest venues nationally. "We're definitely gonna take things to the next level," Bryant-Smith promises. "We'll be putting together a new set featuring tracks from the new record, but also tracks from old records." The goal is for a more ambitious stage production. "We wanna be more intricate and more planned with it." The MC confirms that tour support Turquoise Prince will perform with them. Horrorshow may even expand their band. "There's a lotta ideas in the mix but, whatever we deliver, we'll certainly be bigger and better than whatever we've done before."