Interview – Clandestien

The last several yeas have marked a distinctive change in the face of Australian hip hop. With acts such as the Hilltop Hoods and our own Downsyde making their mark and busting out into the mainstream, and with radio stations playing more local produce, things seem to have shifted. Where once it was very difficult to ever get an australian accented tracks onto the airwaves, things have now shifted rapidly into a window of opportunity.

One such name pursuing these opportunities is Perths Clandestien. Hailing from a Northern Suburbs, and part of the notoriously talented Syllabolix crew, Clandestien have been quietly chipping away at these opportunities for years, and it is now that they stand their biggest chance of breaking out. Staying true to themselves, the three lads of Clandestien, Graphic, Tommahawk and Mortar have allowed themselves to grow without making any compromises.

After almost ten year together, an amount of time that only true dedication can amount to, one would expect sweeping changes, and yet Clandestiens new album on Doublebeef records, Chasms of the Citadel, is pure Clan’. With its oft dark and heavy, yet lyrically complex tracks, the lads have allowed themselves to grow, and yet retain their trademark style. This style may not always be to every hip-hop ‘heads liking, but there is no escaping the skills that comprise the trio’s music.

“In terms of us going against what is selling and shit .. well, there’s underground shit and cult stuff, and the thing about hip-hop especially is that they (the fans) are very loyal,” Graphic remarks, citing the Clans difference of attack on the Aussie hip-hop front. “As long as you respect the audience and continue stay true to what you have done then they will support you as well. It’s really bad when someone can flip ti and start to change, the unground audience will leave you right away. You might gain a few more sales with the new audience, but they are not going to stick around because three months later there’s something else out.”

Much of hip-hop is full of the traditional elements – thus, shitbagging and taunting of competition is always present, yet Graphic realises that this can be both a strength and a tool. The Clans music, it is a multilayered thing, and beneath the lyrics there is always more than meets the eye.

“As long as people can keep doing it in an original way and come up with good punch-lines and shit, its always going to be in there. We continue to do that and put our spin on it, but at the same time there’s a ‘clandestine’ element of our music. There’s all that in there, the first impression you get and the dark stuff, but the ‘clandestine’ stuff is the more in-depth meaning and word play that most people wont pick up until a couple of listens. That’s done intentionally.”

“Everything is planned,” Graphic continues, with an unsurprising level of comfort in his voice. “At the end of the day it might just stay as this, which I am more than happy with – to go do shows and get a bit of bling and do some work,. But as you start getting older you think about maybe the legacy you can leave as a platform for other people, because the longer we go, the easier it gets for the others as well.”

At the end of the day, such a dedicated group can only be, the boys are more than thrilled at what they have produced with Chasms of The Citadel, and the pride in Dynamiks voice as he talks of the album is obvious.

“We’re fucking wrapped man,” Graphic laughs, happily and sincerely. “It had to be better than the last one. We had a rough copy of the album and took out a few tracks and put in some others. Looking at the track listing and shit, it’s done a lot better than even what it was going to be before. We are fully wrapped with it.”