TITLE- [ BREAKING NEW GROUND ] TIME OFF MAGAZINE INTERVIEW PUBLISHED: JUNE 2005     WRITER: KRIS SWALES

A legendary US hip-hop act are holidaying on the Gold Coast, looking for some local producers to hook up with. Meanwhile, local electro-breaks veterans have a handful of tracks ready and waiting for some vocal input. Hey presto, the two crews come together, share some drinks, enter the studio and emerge with a certified dancefloor stormer.

As unlikely as it sounds, this is the story behind Brisbane breaks act Soma Rasa and their collaboration with US hip-hop legends Digital Underground on the anthemic ‘Say What You Say’. With its cheeky homage to ‘Rock The Casbah’ and even cheekier lyrics, it’s no surprise the track is all over Australian airwaves at the moment.

“It’s going off man!” Soma Rasa’s synth/samplist and drummer Dan Hazard says. “It’s by far the most awesome response we’ve had for any track we’ve put out. Just looking at where it’s been played and the response, it’s really positive and it’s taken us back a bit. It definitely wasn’t on the agenda as an approach to getting commercial airplay, but you always hope that it’s going to get heard by as many people as possible and pay off all the years of work you put in.”

Although they found themselves working alongside the crew credited with discovering Tupac Shakur and creating the infamous ‘Humpty Dance’, Hazard says there was little time to dwell on the enormity of what they were doing.

“More so in retrospect,” Hazard explains. “At the time it was all a bit of a blur. It was just like, ‘Let’s get into the studio and get some tracks done’. We didn’t really think about the prestige of it, but fuck, man, we just went into the studios and did a track with Digital Underground and now it’s on the shelves!”

Despite the whirlwind nature of the initial recording sessions, ‘Say What You Say’ was a major collaborative effort that looks like being the first of many. DJ NuStyles and MC Metaphysical are both keen to contribute more material to the forthcoming album and prospects of an international release for the first single are also on the horizon.

“That’s something they’ve been pushing for,” Hazard says. “It’s not the kind of track they’ve done in the past. It’s a pretty new kind of sound for them to be involved in, so they’re keen for it to get as much exposure as it can, and we’re definitely keen to get something out there.”

‘Say What You Say’ is the first taste of the long-awaited follow-up album to 2000’s I Mix Therefore I Am. Like most of their devoted fan base, Hazard is delighted at the prospect of the record seeing the light of day before 2005 is out.

“It’s pretty heavily centred on breaks – that’s where our heads have been at for the last while. There are some surprises in there and some diversions from breaks, but it definitely revolves around that tempo and pace.”

Soma Rasa play The Empire Hotel Saturday Jul 9. ‘Say What You Say’ out now on Freefall.

KRIS SWALES