Brisbane brothers Bill and Dan Hazard, also known as the dynamic duo ‘Soma Rasa’ have been making waves around Australia for almost 10 years now with their unique style that is a far cry from contemporary electronica as we know it. With a number of productions under their belt and more to shortly hit the airwaves, the boys caught up with ITM for a quick chat about what they have been up to lately.

Rumour has it that you recently returned from a trip to L.A. and were involved in the Musexpo in Hollywood – Can you tell us a little bit about the trip and any memorable highlights worth noting?
L.A. was a buzz. We hooked up with Digital Underground for a show at the Roxy and also played with Metaphysical at the Key Club. The shows went off and we can assure you that the U.S. crowd love their breaks – don’t believe all the hype from the U.K.; the U.S. certainly knows how to party as well. We stayed at the Hyatt on Sunset which is known as the ‘Riot House’ (a notorious band hotel) and set up a studio and vocal booth with help from D.U. We ended up recording tracks with Metaphysical, MC Handy and U.K. acts Bassboosa and The Brand New Heavies late into the night and first thing in the mornings. All up we spent a couple of weeks on Sunset Blvd in L.A. just surrounded by music non-stop.

It has been a while since your last release and I am sure a lot of fans are getting a little anxious – What is on the cards for the rest of 2006?
We’re finishing a record at the moment, most of it has been done for a while now but we just had so much on that it had to be delayed. We had also been setting up our Freefall label since 2003 and released the Statler, Whispa and Teschnik EPs last year as well as our last single and the On The Run Ep before that; it’s just been nonstop! Freefall has also been heavily involved in promoting shows over the last couple of years from the original BBQ breaks events to Roots Manuva, Blackalicious, Q-bert and recently the Grandmaster Flash show. I guess when you are independent you have to branch out in order to set yourself up so you can continue to be independent and create your own opportunities.

While we were in L.A. we secured a release for the album in Europe this year to coincide with the tour we are doing through Germany, Austria and Switzerland in September. We will then return to Australia and release it here over the summer.

The Soma Rasa sound is something that has definitely evolved over the years, how would you best describe its direction at present and what things have influenced this direction?
We never really analyse our direction as far as music goes. We just write what we like and work at the things we do best. Our sound has always been about breaks, but it has always had a diverse range of sounds and an open format over the beats so we have been lucky to be able to take our sound wherever we want with out straying away from what is Soma Rasa. I guess working with vocalists such as Mc Handy, Kina, Digital Underground, DNO and Miss Brown on recent tracks has taken our songs on a totally new direction but the music and the beats are still very much the sound and energy we started off with back in ‘97.

You have done a number of remarkable support slots over the years, including slots beside the likes of Moby, Fatboy Slim and the Chemical Brothers to name just a few – If you could have any 3 acts in the world support you on an international tour, who would it be? And why?
The Propellerheads – these guys inspired us to start out as a live band after we saw them at a festival in Brisbane in ‘96 and Will White is a mad drummer.
Leftfield – the fattest breaks act on the planet!
Lee Scratch Perry – for the after party!

Many acts from Brisbane that have gone on to achieve national and international success often get the urge to relocate from Brisbane to larger cities such as Melbourne or Sydney or furthermore overseas in search for further success – Do you ever feel this urge?
Yeah we always get the urge, but there is something about Brisbane whenever we come back, we love it and we have such a strong network and industry up here. At the same time we are planning on touring a lot overseas over the next 12 months, so who knows our days left here may be numbered.

You have collaborated with a variety of different vocalists over the years from numerous genres – Is there anyone recently that has caught your ear and who you wouldn’t mind a possible collaboration with?
Numskull from the Luniz and Reno crew Element; he has been working a lot with DU’s Metaphysical and his band Element. We heard a lot of his new stuff while we were over in L.A. and the syncopation of his lyric is wild. The pitch sometimes reminds me of Busta Rhymes and would sound sick over a break. Keep an eye out for his new album out soon!

Which Australian artists have caught your attention lately and why?
Nfa’s new EP / album is off the hook, he played it to me late last year when he came up to do the Roots Manuva support with us in Brisbane and I’ve had his bass lines ringing thru my head for a bout 6 months. I heard it on the radio recently and it just took me back – it is quality hip-hop and the lyrics are sharp.

Last, but not least – Name your ultimate top 5 tracks of all time:
Phat Planet – Leftfield
Mindstream – Meat Beat Manifesto
Scram – Plump DJs
LL Cool J – The Greatest of all Time
Bernard Purdie – Souldrums / King of the Beat