How did you approach the recording process this time with the experience you'd gained from making 'Magnasound'?
Gentleman Gene: When we recorded ‘Magnasound’ we were still figuring out how to put songs together and there was a lot of trial and error involved - it ended up being quite a laborious process. This time around, we were much better prepared and more confident about what we were doing in the studio, so the whole recording process was a lot more fun and spontaneous.
The sound of 'Laserdisc' - it's funky, it's hip hop, it's soulful, it has groove. What were you looking to craft sound-wise with this album?
Debonair P: I guess the main thing we were trying to do was to make something a bit different - both from all the other hip hop albums that are on the market at the moment, and also different from the music we'd recorded previously. We really tried to give the album a unique flavour that will hopefully catch people's ears and that will be closely associated with us.
When it came to mixing in dancefloor fillers with laidback joints on the album, did you want a mixture of moods across the record?
Debonair P: Definitely - it would have been boring for us creatively to record 14 tracks that all sounded similar, and it would have resulted in an album that was boring to listen to as well. While we tried to incorporate a variety of styles and moods, we also aimed to make the album cohesive as a whole. A lot of albums that are coming out at the moment can sound quite disjointed and sound more like a bunch of tracks than a single album, and this is something we really tried to avoid.
The production of this record is anything but low budget!! Crafting such a polished, but warm sound - that can't be easy?
Debonair P: ‘Laserdisc’ was still produced and recorded at a low cost as we handle everything ourselves - there aren't any guest producers or MC's on the album. I used the same equipment for producing and mixing the songs on ‘Laserdisc’ as I did on ‘Magnasound’, but I had a much better idea about making it all sound nice and clean this time around which is why this album sounds more polished.
Have you had a chance to road test these new tracks yet?
Gentleman Gene: ‘Laserdisc’ was highly influenced by the process of crafting songs for our live shows, and a lot of the tracks we recorded for the album were the ones that we'd had the best response to when we played them live. We've put together a really energetic and upbeat live show and so far we've been getting a really good response, both from hip hop heads and people who you wouldn't necessarily expect to like hip hop.
Away from the music, studio, tour van - how do you guys chill? A Saturday arvo game of badminton perhaps?
Debonair P: We're both really busy people outside of music so Low Budget is pretty much what we do with our free time. Being independent artists, we handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes aspects ourselves, be it editing videos or getting t-shirts printed up, so there's always something new to be done whenever we have a spare moment.
New album in your back pocket - what else is on the bulletin board for Low Budget in 2009?
Gentleman Gene: We finished recording ‘Laserdisc’ last year, so since then we've been working on some new songs that we'll hopefully be able to release as an EP later this year. We've been taking a bit of a break from doing shows recently while getting the album ready, but we're definitely itching to get back on the stage. There are still a few places like Brisbane where we haven't yet had a chance to play a proper show, so hopefully that'll happen real soon.
The Matchstick
‘Laserdisc’ is to be released February 14 through Shogun Distribution. Keep your eyes out for a Low Budget tour later in the year.
