Soaring at second spot on the ARIA Albums Chart, Sydney hip hop duo Horrorshow’s new record tells of the darkness rooted in our history.
The combined project of lyricist Solo and music producer Adit, the duo have finally, after a four year gap, released their third album 'King Amongst Many'; it’s no wonder it was devoured by fans, hungry for some bold new creations. Industry commentary has also propelled Horrorshow to kingly status.
Solo's lyrics are starkly honest and Adit's diversion from traditional tones gives the album a cutting edge. But if there's one thing that centres the pair, it's their understanding of the craft.
“Hip hop touches on a variety of moods and this record is definitely something on the darker side of that spectrum,” Solo says. “But it's really just me, identifying topics that I think are important and that deserve to be spoken and thought about a bit more.”
Despite the early success of their latest record, the duo retain a large slice of humility.
“It's just a claim,” Solo says about the assertion that 'King Amongst Many' is one of the best rap albums to come out of Australia. “As an artist – as the guys who made the thing in question – we take claims like that with a grain of salt. But we've worked really, really hard with this record and we've tried to push ourselves to take it to places and sounds outside our comfort zone. I hope, in the process, we've made a record that pushes the envelope a bit.”
A careful carver of songs, Solo organises concepts into lyrics and develops them as photographers once developed film in darkrooms. For this latest album, he drew inspiration from the social oppressions swept into the nooks of Australian history.
“A large part of our country is very well-off and comfortable. But some of the things that have happened in order for us to be in this situation – and indeed some of the things that are still going on – show darker sides to the comfortable living most of us enjoy.
“One thing I wanted to do with the record was to encourage people to reflect on that. But not just the dark side. Being so young, [Australia] has the opportunity to set itself on the path we want to go down.”
Horrorshow play Sprung Festival September 21. ‘King Amongst Many’ is out now.
