AKD & Deepstar Interview |
|
For readers who aren’t familiar with Arise King David (AKD) and Deepstar, tell us a bit about yourselves. AKD - you’re from the UK, based in New York, and Deepstar - you’re based in Perth, Australia, how did you two link up?
AKD - Yeah we met through a popular online hip hop radio station called Conspiracy Worldwide. They had a Beta social network up and running and I was promoting my first LP called Free Music. Deepstar reached out to me, he was already working on a track with Tragedy Khadafi and he asked me to feature and I jumped at the opportunity. He had a heap of other beats and I was impressed with what I heard, we kept going back and forth and we vibed, it was easy.
Deepstar – Yeah at first we spoke on doing a song, which became an EP which became the LP Universal Language.
How does the long distance relationship influence your collaborative works?
AKD - It means that if it’s not possible to be in the studio with artists we send tracks over the net. The world is a small place now days so its no hindrance, we're in contact all the time, and when we do link up in person we bounce off each other at a faster rate.
Deepstar – It's an interesting one, AKD and I became fam over the course of the project through nothing but text alone, I mean fam to the point that he is probably a closer friend than most people I know in OZ. We never even spoke on the phone before meeting at the airport in London when I flew over for the launch party. I think it would be a wonderful thing if we and other collaborators could hook up in person more but we make it work with what we've got. The separation can be good in terms of allowing us to really think on something before we speak and that often leads to in depth communication and dope results.
Last year you released the album Universal Language, that features Masta Ace, Sadat X and AG, what was the creative process?
AKD - So our story is a testament to the fact that Hip Hop is a Universal Language and brings people together from all over the world. So we wanted to create something that was an ode to that in terms of international collaborations and including themes that were universally relatable or understood. With that in mind, Deepstar would send me beats and a subject matter would come to me instantly depending on what I heard. In some cases, features would lay their verses before me but we always communicated on the theme. We had artists that we both wanted to work with and had built relationships with through time and we reached out and found the perfect blend. There were some artists that didn't come through for various reasons but we got most of the people we wanted on the project so it was very satisfying.
Deepstar – AKD pretty much summed that one up.
How did the collaborations with the features such as Masta Ace, Sadat X and AG come about?
AKD - I had spoken to Masta Ace about a collab a while back when promoting Free Music', I sent him my material and he was down. So when Deepstar and I started working on Universal Language it was a perfect opportunity. Deepstar sent me the beat and I thought it would be perfect for Ace so I sent it to him, then when he came to the UK with eMC we linked up and shot a vid at the Jazz Cafe with Global Faction.
It was a similar thing with AG, Deepstar sent another gem and I thought AG would sound perfect on it so I forwarded it on. He had heard my tracks from the Free Music LP which he felt, so he was like 'yes lets do this.' I went to the Bronx, we linked up and shot a vid.
Deepstar hooked up the Sadat X collab because he had built a relationship with him already, I was excited. You have to understand, these are some of my favourite artists so it is a really big deal for me.
Deepstar – In terms of collabs, it's an interesting thing, every artist has their own personalit. With Sadat, the first thing he did was test me [laughs] without pause asked me, “Who I was? What I'd done?” At that time I had only hooked up the Tragedy and Nutso Collabs and I admitted my low level of experience, but lucky for us, he loves those dudes and was down from that point. Tragedy came about because I actually saw an interview where he said he wanted fans to reach out and work with him, so that's exactly what I did.
G.dot & Born were just down from the start and we've been tight ever since. I feel with Rapsody we might have got in at the right time because shortly after that collab was recorded [Kendrick Lamar’s] How To Pimp A Butterfly dropped and from that day forward I felt she would've been out of reach for us, so it's extra dope that we got to work with her when we did on an underground soul tip.
There's also a handful of UK artists involved and that's because as a music listener I've been in love with UK hip hop for a few years and these artists we worked with are people I've been a fan of, in some cases AKD already had a relationship.
AKD - Yeah we met through a popular online hip hop radio station called Conspiracy Worldwide. They had a Beta social network up and running and I was promoting my first LP called Free Music. Deepstar reached out to me, he was already working on a track with Tragedy Khadafi and he asked me to feature and I jumped at the opportunity. He had a heap of other beats and I was impressed with what I heard, we kept going back and forth and we vibed, it was easy.
Deepstar – Yeah at first we spoke on doing a song, which became an EP which became the LP Universal Language.
How does the long distance relationship influence your collaborative works?
AKD - It means that if it’s not possible to be in the studio with artists we send tracks over the net. The world is a small place now days so its no hindrance, we're in contact all the time, and when we do link up in person we bounce off each other at a faster rate.
Deepstar – It's an interesting one, AKD and I became fam over the course of the project through nothing but text alone, I mean fam to the point that he is probably a closer friend than most people I know in OZ. We never even spoke on the phone before meeting at the airport in London when I flew over for the launch party. I think it would be a wonderful thing if we and other collaborators could hook up in person more but we make it work with what we've got. The separation can be good in terms of allowing us to really think on something before we speak and that often leads to in depth communication and dope results.
Last year you released the album Universal Language, that features Masta Ace, Sadat X and AG, what was the creative process?
AKD - So our story is a testament to the fact that Hip Hop is a Universal Language and brings people together from all over the world. So we wanted to create something that was an ode to that in terms of international collaborations and including themes that were universally relatable or understood. With that in mind, Deepstar would send me beats and a subject matter would come to me instantly depending on what I heard. In some cases, features would lay their verses before me but we always communicated on the theme. We had artists that we both wanted to work with and had built relationships with through time and we reached out and found the perfect blend. There were some artists that didn't come through for various reasons but we got most of the people we wanted on the project so it was very satisfying.
Deepstar – AKD pretty much summed that one up.
How did the collaborations with the features such as Masta Ace, Sadat X and AG come about?
AKD - I had spoken to Masta Ace about a collab a while back when promoting Free Music', I sent him my material and he was down. So when Deepstar and I started working on Universal Language it was a perfect opportunity. Deepstar sent me the beat and I thought it would be perfect for Ace so I sent it to him, then when he came to the UK with eMC we linked up and shot a vid at the Jazz Cafe with Global Faction.
It was a similar thing with AG, Deepstar sent another gem and I thought AG would sound perfect on it so I forwarded it on. He had heard my tracks from the Free Music LP which he felt, so he was like 'yes lets do this.' I went to the Bronx, we linked up and shot a vid.
Deepstar hooked up the Sadat X collab because he had built a relationship with him already, I was excited. You have to understand, these are some of my favourite artists so it is a really big deal for me.
Deepstar – In terms of collabs, it's an interesting thing, every artist has their own personalit. With Sadat, the first thing he did was test me [laughs] without pause asked me, “Who I was? What I'd done?” At that time I had only hooked up the Tragedy and Nutso Collabs and I admitted my low level of experience, but lucky for us, he loves those dudes and was down from that point. Tragedy came about because I actually saw an interview where he said he wanted fans to reach out and work with him, so that's exactly what I did.
G.dot & Born were just down from the start and we've been tight ever since. I feel with Rapsody we might have got in at the right time because shortly after that collab was recorded [Kendrick Lamar’s] How To Pimp A Butterfly dropped and from that day forward I felt she would've been out of reach for us, so it's extra dope that we got to work with her when we did on an underground soul tip.
There's also a handful of UK artists involved and that's because as a music listener I've been in love with UK hip hop for a few years and these artists we worked with are people I've been a fan of, in some cases AKD already had a relationship.
AKD, Deepstar & Cyclonious at the Universal Language launch.
The album has a classic 90’s boom bap sound. AKD - who are some of your rapping influences and Deepstar - who are some of your producer influences?
AKD - I listened to a lot of Wu Tang, Biggie, A Tribe Called Quest, Nas, Rakim, 2Pac, KRS ONE, Roots Manuva, Gangstarr, there’s a long list.
Deepstar – The list is almost endless Roots Manuva, Tribe, Dälek, Madlib, Buckwild, Preemo, Pete Rock, Shawn J Period, DJ Krush. Really there's a massive list of producers who I couldn’t even name for their productions with various emcees and groups, but I've taken inspiration from all over the place, not just hip hop. From the age of 15 to 22 I only played electric guitar, I wanted to make music like the band Isis and other post-rock style stuff. But I already loved Roots Manuva at that point and after I got my first real introduction to hip hop through O.C. Word... Life and The Roots’ Illadelph Halflife, that was it, I had to start producing.
If you listen to the track Lauryn Said the hook in that is me playing guitar post-rock style. I love some Southern, West Coast, East Coast and Canadian hip hop. I love a lot of electronic music too and I produce it as well from time to time.
This album was boom bap and I guess that's probably going to be my main trajectory for a while, but in the vault I've also got a lot of neo-soul and other vibes I plan on bringing out over the next few years. One day, I may even form a post-rock band again, if I find the right people.
Are there any plans to tour the album?
AKD - We're working on that at the moment, if we can build up enough momentum we want to go round the world with it so any promoters locked in take note.
Deepstar - As he said, that's the plan. I think next time we drop an album we'll definitely tour, we already have much more of a fan base than we did when that album dropped. And next time we'll have plenty of music for the stage old and new.
I will say though the one show we did was amazing for me. It was my first live performance as a musician, my first DJ set ever, and it was my first time overseas alone, not to mention only my second time overseas at all. At the end of that night, I really realised how disappointed I was I didn’t anticipate how great it would be and try to hook up more shows. When the next album drops, I think you can expect we'll be trying to come to every city in every country we possibly can.
What’s next for AKD and Deepstar in 2016?
AKD – We’re working on another LP as well as doing individual projects and collaborations, I'm over in New York working, studying, building and promoting, so it’s a very busy year. Expect to see some new videos and a few new tracks to whet your appetite.
Deepstar – Yeah I paused on AKD & Deepstar for a bit because I wanted to step my production up rather than use older work. There was more than a few instrumentals that we didn’t use on UL but still wanted to work with. I also wanted to explore some different styles that don't suit our current sound.
Right now I'm working on a few tracks with EdO G ,which will hopefully materialize as a vinyl EP this year or sometime early next year. I also have another group under the name Abyss Dwellas which is myself and another UK emcee named Cosha Don which is a bit of a danker more psychedelic vibe, featuring artists such as members of Triple Darkness (UK), Amy True, Logic (UK) and others. That's a full album and should be out either this year or next. I also have some fire with Dälek but still deciding how far to take that project.
I do have to say this though, while I'm proud of Universal Language some of those beats are already anywhere up to 4-5 years old, even the newest instrumental on the album is over two years old now. I'm a much better producer and engineer than I was, so I'm amped to put out newer stuff and the next AKD & Deepstar album will be on a whole other level, Universal Language was just a warm up for us. We both dig a lot of styles and will drop some different stuff as singles but the next LP will keep to the soundscape of UL.
You can buy Universal Language as a CD or digitally from Bandcamp here.
You can also buy Universal Language on vinyl from Effiscienz here.
Follow AKD & Deepstar on Facebook here.
AKD - I listened to a lot of Wu Tang, Biggie, A Tribe Called Quest, Nas, Rakim, 2Pac, KRS ONE, Roots Manuva, Gangstarr, there’s a long list.
Deepstar – The list is almost endless Roots Manuva, Tribe, Dälek, Madlib, Buckwild, Preemo, Pete Rock, Shawn J Period, DJ Krush. Really there's a massive list of producers who I couldn’t even name for their productions with various emcees and groups, but I've taken inspiration from all over the place, not just hip hop. From the age of 15 to 22 I only played electric guitar, I wanted to make music like the band Isis and other post-rock style stuff. But I already loved Roots Manuva at that point and after I got my first real introduction to hip hop through O.C. Word... Life and The Roots’ Illadelph Halflife, that was it, I had to start producing.
If you listen to the track Lauryn Said the hook in that is me playing guitar post-rock style. I love some Southern, West Coast, East Coast and Canadian hip hop. I love a lot of electronic music too and I produce it as well from time to time.
This album was boom bap and I guess that's probably going to be my main trajectory for a while, but in the vault I've also got a lot of neo-soul and other vibes I plan on bringing out over the next few years. One day, I may even form a post-rock band again, if I find the right people.
Are there any plans to tour the album?
AKD - We're working on that at the moment, if we can build up enough momentum we want to go round the world with it so any promoters locked in take note.
Deepstar - As he said, that's the plan. I think next time we drop an album we'll definitely tour, we already have much more of a fan base than we did when that album dropped. And next time we'll have plenty of music for the stage old and new.
I will say though the one show we did was amazing for me. It was my first live performance as a musician, my first DJ set ever, and it was my first time overseas alone, not to mention only my second time overseas at all. At the end of that night, I really realised how disappointed I was I didn’t anticipate how great it would be and try to hook up more shows. When the next album drops, I think you can expect we'll be trying to come to every city in every country we possibly can.
What’s next for AKD and Deepstar in 2016?
AKD – We’re working on another LP as well as doing individual projects and collaborations, I'm over in New York working, studying, building and promoting, so it’s a very busy year. Expect to see some new videos and a few new tracks to whet your appetite.
Deepstar – Yeah I paused on AKD & Deepstar for a bit because I wanted to step my production up rather than use older work. There was more than a few instrumentals that we didn’t use on UL but still wanted to work with. I also wanted to explore some different styles that don't suit our current sound.
Right now I'm working on a few tracks with EdO G ,which will hopefully materialize as a vinyl EP this year or sometime early next year. I also have another group under the name Abyss Dwellas which is myself and another UK emcee named Cosha Don which is a bit of a danker more psychedelic vibe, featuring artists such as members of Triple Darkness (UK), Amy True, Logic (UK) and others. That's a full album and should be out either this year or next. I also have some fire with Dälek but still deciding how far to take that project.
I do have to say this though, while I'm proud of Universal Language some of those beats are already anywhere up to 4-5 years old, even the newest instrumental on the album is over two years old now. I'm a much better producer and engineer than I was, so I'm amped to put out newer stuff and the next AKD & Deepstar album will be on a whole other level, Universal Language was just a warm up for us. We both dig a lot of styles and will drop some different stuff as singles but the next LP will keep to the soundscape of UL.
You can buy Universal Language as a CD or digitally from Bandcamp here.
You can also buy Universal Language on vinyl from Effiscienz here.
Follow AKD & Deepstar on Facebook here.