Father Beats

A collaboration of three writer/ producers from multifarious backgrounds, hip hop laced production collective Fort Kilsby were formed from a surplus of talent.

“We just had a bunch of music,” says drummer/ producer Tony McCall. “We weren’t that keen to push it that hard or do anything — we’d all been burnt out by normal avenues, so we were just doing something for fun. Then one day, Dave and Katch from Hydrofunk (Records) called us.”

McCall and Matt Napier are members of Dave Atkins and DJ Katch’s Resin Dogs, who’ve run the independent Hydrofunk Records since 1994. It was the spare-time collaboration between McCall and Napier that ultimately became Fort Kilsby.

“Even though we play in their band, they called us on a business level and said ‘hey, we’re in the car listening to this stuff, we really like it —  can we put it on our label?’ We were quite flattered to get that call. We were like, ‘why not, yeah, let’s put it out’. It’s available already on Bandcamp for free. I think we’re gonna go to old school tapes as well. The CD format’s a bit of a dead thing so we’re gonna go for wax, do the artwork ourselves and put some out on tape. We’re all fans of tape. There’s something cool about tape. I have an old Volvo and I rock all my old tapes on it, so that was kind of the inspiration.”

Respect for the old-school. As a reminder of just how old-school he now is, Tony’s 12-month-old daughter gurgles from the background. He takes a moment to wipe cake from her face and whisper some cutesy warblings. As a stay-at-home husband during the day, fatherhood has forced some changes.

“It forces you to grow up, and it forces you to be responsible. When you’re floating around nomadically by yourself you can just do whatever. It makes you realise that there is someone who is really dependent on you … and it’s really good for music. Some people it doesn’t work out for, but the last 12 months have been the best of my life, just hanging out with her and being creative. Such a wealth of inspiration comes out of it. It really is a unique experience. I can’t say enough good things about being a father. That’s the truth.”

Dirty nappies aside, Fort Kilsby will be playing their first live gigs early next month. “To be honest I’m not sure how that’s going to turn out but I’m excited and shit scared at the same time. Which means it will be fun, hopefully. Hopefully people can see a bit of that nervousness, and hopefully it’s cute, not bad.

“I’m doing live drums, Damien (aka Monkwhy) is on turntables and MPC keys. He’s playing samples live plus doing all the vocals, cuts, scratching and handling bass duties as well. Matthew is the guitarist and he’s going to be on guitar, obviously, but also keyboard lines and he’s playing MPC as well. There’s going to be sections where we’re all laying MPC together, and we’re going to mix it up.

“We are going to be swapping around a fair bit, so visually hopefully it’s exciting and people can see what happens. It’s pretty hard to see what goes on in a hip hop gig. They can hear it but people aren’t really sure what happens behind the scenes. Hopefully we can break it down for them.”

Technology, eh? One might envisage future musicians on desk chairs, pounding out beats on their laptops as they fist pump the sky. It’s a dark and dystopian future. One where auto-tuned dubstep reigns supreme and cyborgs cannibalise each other like walking tins of tomato soup. For Tony, who seems like much more of a realist, the future is bright.

“It’s an amazing time for Aussie hip hop. We did the Sprung Festival down at the Riverstage and it’s very evident that it’s alive and well. It’s come a long way. I remember talking about hip hop records and people just drawing a blank on their face. But now everybody knows who Drapht is; everyone knows who the Hilltop Hoods are – they’re one of the biggest bands in Australia. It’s exciting that it’s acceptable and that people take it seriously. In all the genres it’s an exciting time for Australian music. I think as a country, we’re slaying it. It can only go forward.”

Fort Kilsby play Juicy at the Mustang February 2 and The Loft, Chevron Island, February 3.