Fraksha is a UK expat who’s played with some of his country’s best, including Klashnekoff and Skinnyman.
Oh, and he has no problem dropping names like Obese owner Pegz and Aria-winning producer M-Phazes, as if they’ve been mates from way back.
“I’ve been in Australia for seven years and this is my home... Music for me is not something I ever wanted as a career. As soon as you’re involved in music and want money, it becomes something different, and I don’t want to do that.”
Hailing from the traditional homeland of grime, Fraksha’s new album, ‘My Way’, is a hard hitting, bass driven affair released via Obese. Sonically, it’s an uncompromising listen, the majority of the tracks packed with basslines so dirty you’re probably going to need a bath to wash them off.
“What I do is grime with a hip hop influence... Soundwise I don’t think it sounds like anything else released recently [in Australia]. Lyrically it’s a similar place to a lot of Australian artists. We’re all coming from the same place; we can take the piss, a laugh and a joke. It’s been quite easy to fit in.”
The latest single from the album, ‘Creepin’, places sneaker pimping and polo tees back on the agenda, and he isn’t afraid to declare that old school street culture plays a huge part in his musical inclinations.
“I feel like if you are going to step on stage and entertain people, you gotta make an effort with yourself. Whether you or the next person think I dress like a dickhead, that’s your opinion. Lots of people that follow what we do are coming from areas where they haven’t got the access to some of these clothes necessarily, so they are going out and robbing them all over.”
This take-all mentality is evident when perusing the producer talent on ‘My Way’, including Australian stalwarts M-Phazes, Torntz and Megatroid, while Fraksha revels in the freedom of the studio process.
“Some MCs are like, ‘I don’t want to record the verse unless it’s all 16 bars in one take’. It’s cool... but you have things around you to utilise. We can all spit bars on stage, but you’re in the studio man... You can do whatever the hell you want.”
‘My Way’ is available now.