Still on a high after touring the country earlier in the year with 360, local MC Seven is stoked to be heading on the road again, this time headlining his own tour.
“That was wild,” laughs Seven (aka Zach Humphrey) about the 360 tour. “It was very cool to play to crowds that are that hyped. It was sold out everywhere and they were obviously large crowds. The kids who are fans of 360 were really receptive and we had a lot of fun.”
Seven has come a long way from playing gigs at the Jubilee Hotel six years ago, when he was then known as Pursuit. “Seven's based on these things called enneagrams, which is basically an assessment of your personality that my Mum made me look at ‘cause she's a super hippie. It was a seven and it was pretty much spot on,” he says.
He demanded Australia's attention in 2010 when he won the Triple J/ M-Phazes competition with the song 'Possums', which he describes as a shock. “It was just a suggestion. I'd moved down to the Gold Coast and one of my mates from Brisbane told me to come into the studio and record something. It was pretty ad-hoc, we did it last minute and I didn't expect it to win. It felt good and it's obviously opened up a lot of doors,” he says.
Not one to care for making money, Seven has released his latest EP, 'Floated', to his fans for free. Still based on the Gold Coast, 'Floated' is a reflection of where Seven is in life, what he does, and how he has fun.
“I wanted to follow up the 'Seven' EP. [But] I don't want to make an LP until I can sit down and properly make an album, and I don't have that opportunity just yet just due to work and everything so I'll keep making EPs. We had a lot of problems with the 'Seven' EP being distributed so I didn't bother with that, I wanted to release it free and get it to as big of an audience as I possibly could.”
This approach is paying off in its own way with 'Floated' receiving a much wider response. “I'll probably keep doing EPs that are free until I do an LP. I think the scope for releasing music has changed obviously because of piracy [and] the ability to download it for free and things like Spotify; it's just taking the value out of releases anyway. If you can open up a forum where people can download it easier then you reach more people who may enjoy it. I've had a far wider response to 'Floated' than I did to 'Seven'.
“I'm not really that phased on money because if nothing works out I have a career to fall back on. I don't see why we should be putting it out for any cost.”
And how would Seven sum up his 'No Way Home' tour in one word? Fun. With Mr. Hill and Rahjconkas no longer able to make it, Purpose will join Seven on the road, along with Vegas Aces. “I try to have as much fun as possible, it'll be a bit silly. I'll be playing stuff from the 'Floated' EP that I released in February. I'm working with Mr. Hill on a new project and there are a few songs from there that we'll be doing. Mr. Hill will come to some shows with me,” he says. “We just have heaps of fun and try to get people involved as much as possible.”
Seven is well on his way to making 2012 his year, with plans for two more tours and another EP release. “It's pretty stressful but it’s good, I'm looking forward to touring again. I really like travelling around and doing shows. I think it's going to be a busy, but a good year,” he says.
Seven plays Alhambra Lounge this Friday, May 25. ‘Floated’ is available for free. sevensies.com
