Aussie hip-hop supergroup One Day have just dropped their debut album, Mainline. The group features members of Horrorshow, Jackie Onassis, Spit Syndicate and MC Joyride. Starting life in 2006 the crew have largely been friends since high-school. Alongside Joyride, the collective includes Adit and Solo (Horrorshow), Raph and Kai Tan (Jackie Onassis) and Nick Lupi and Jimmy Nice of Spit Syndicate. TOM caught up with Jimmy Nice to discuss Mainline.
TOM: I wondered how long it took you guys to make the record. I can’t imagine how it must be to wrangle that many people into a room to work.
Jimmy: Yeah, that’s exactly right. I guess since we first started compiling the beats and song ideas for Mainline was probably around September of last year. Initially the plan was to put together a mix tape and maybe even some remixes of respective crude tracks. Then we though if it’s going to be a mix tape of all original beats and original work, why don’t we go the extra mile and make it an album.
I guess the only way to try and get the seven of us together and in a creative zone is to kind of take a little trip away from Sydney and our responsibilities. We did that late last year at the end of Horrorshow’s King Amongst Many tour. We got a place in Byron and stayed a week there, and that’s kind of where this whole thing started. It’s where we started to gather songs, titles, and the vibe for the album.
TOM: Did you bring gear up to Byron? Is there a recording facility there?
Jimmy: Yeah, a lot of the things we had in our home studio in Byron was rented. Other things like keyboards and external gear we also took up, but it was just a bit of both. We’ve already had a vibe and we’ve got a good relationship with this space. We just thought it was the perfect spot to kill a week and work on tunes. It was mad. It was a mad time, and that’s kind of how we want to write all the albums now.
TOM: Were you living in the same house where you were recording?
Jimmy: Yeah, definitely. We kind of had two houses that were next to each other and we would go in between. Some were for the living quarters, and some rooms were set up for recording vocals. Some were set up for whatnot. We’re all best of friends back home so it wasn’t a difficult task, all us living in the same space.
TOM: You said the rappers did their thing. When you prepare for a rap do you have stuff in a book or journal or do you just listen and react to the track?
Jimmy: Everyone writes their stuff down. We place a lot of importance on rapping and making sure that we say something and say it in a certain way that’s going to stand the test of time. These are the things you want from a verse. Usually the idea for the song is conceived — could be one person comes up with the idea and then we throw that out to the rest of the crew. But the music will always dictate the lyrics for us, and melodies and whatnot.
I write my stuff down on paper still. I just like the act of pen and paper. We all sit around and different songs jump out. Having the producers there working on songs while the rappers are working on raps meant that not everything had to be done at the same time. If a certain song jumped out to you, you could spend that afternoon writing that song. Also, we had mics set up so as soon as you record it and wanted to capture that vibe, you could lay it down. It was good. Especially good to work with other rappers on things which you don’t always get to do.
TOM: Tell me about “Love Me Less” — how did that song come around?
Jimmy: That was probably the most natural and organic way a song has come about. That was a guitar cold progression that Joyride came up with, I think when we were in Sydney, and we just tried it out when we were up there one morning. I actually got woken up by the boys at 9 a.m. and I don’t even know if they’d slept. I went out and that rhythm for the “Love Me Less” chorus came into my head.
The recording that you hear at home is the actual recording from the bedroom in Byron about ten minutes after we heard the song. That’s probably the only one on the album that still has recordings from the bedroom in Byron. I kind of worked off rhythm and melody there. And then just had to figure out an idea for the song, and lyrics to fit the pockets.
TOM: Did you go away and record in Byron and take it somewhere to mix?
Jimmy: Yeah, we have a similar setup now that we use for our solo albums, like for group albums. Once we and the producers arrange the music around the rap, everything gets sent off to be mixed. This album was mixed by Mitch Kenny who’s also a dear friend of ours. He’s done so much work. But since moving, coming back to Australia, he’s done the Sunday Gentleman album for us. King Amongst Many by Horrorshow. That’s kind of the set up. We record it and send it off to get mixed and mastered.
TOM: If someone said to you is there any kind of thematic thread hanging this album together or themes running through it, could you answer that question?
Jimmy: It’s hard to tell because I know there is because I knew the chemistry going into it, although it was difficult at times, the amount of fun we had making it. I guess the common thread I would say is we wanted to make something that was relative to where we all are now. We’re all in a really good place. We’re just in a good place, doing the things we’re talking about in this album. This is not an album that’s vague. It’s really what we’re doing. We’re talking about stuff we’re going out there and living now. I think we’re just more certain about our own craft and about where we want to be musically and what we want to say.
TOM: Is the record getting released overseas and what are your thoughts on the upcoming tour?
Jimmy: The record getting release overseas we’ll have to wait. We’re more focused on making a splash here and locking everything down at home. But of course, making inroads overseas is always a goal for any of us.
In terms of the tour, the vibe is going to be the same as when we’re all together anytime, is just a whole lot of fun. We have a mad time. We don’t take each other seriously. And we’re just out to do what we do, and this is going to be the most perfect display of it. We’ve got Jackie Onassis, Joyride, and the Horrorshow all doing separate sets throughout the night. Then we’ll do a combined set from the material off the album and other tracks where we’ve collaborated in the past. It’s going to be crazy all seven of us on stage together for the first time. I’m actually at a rehearsal studio now, so we’re getting in early working on it. It’ll be a masterpiece, if you will, by the time it hits everyone.
One Day’s Mainline is out now through Sony.
Friday 5 September
170 Russell St.
Melbourne
Saturday 6 September
Waratah Hotel
Hobart
Friday 12 September
HQ
Adelaide
Saturday 13 September
Capitol
Perth
Friday 19 September
Enmore Theatre
Sydney
Saturday 20 September
The Hifi
Brisbane
Friday 26 September
ANU Bar
Canberra
