INTERVIEW: Hilltop Hoods
- Posted on June 6, 2008 11:38 AM
- 0 comments
MC Suffa – Hilltop Hoods
By Katie Spain
There’s nothing like a bit of contact with home. You call up, ask what the time is there, enquire about the weather and marvel when you hear birds (real birds) chirping in the background. Who better to hear about life back in Adelaide from than MC Suffa of The Hilltop Hoods? The Hip Hop masters head over to the UK in June for two Astoria gigs and a stint at Glastonbury. I caught up with Suffa to chat about the year ahead (and about possums).
What have you been up to today?
I’ve been kicking around today. I’ve just moved into a new house so I’ve been accommodating tradesmen.
You’re still in Adelaide aren’t you?
Yeah, I have gone further into the hills – I’m almost in the country.
Have you got a block of land and some chickens, or are you keeping it simple?
(Laughs) I don’t need chickens, I’ve got possums.
Last time I chatted to Pressure he said that his Grandma is his biggest fan. Is your family the same?
I think my mum can be a bit embarrassing sometimes. She has been known to go in to a pub with our CD to help promote the band. I actually saw his Grandma the other day.
Let’s go back into the music memory vault. What is your first musical memory?
Probably listening to Elvis around the house, and Janis Joplin. After that, I don’t know. I have three brothers and we all have really individual taste. One was in to Punk and Reggae, one was into The Cure and Siouxsie and the Banshees and the other was in to Rap. I had an eclectic mix of music around me.
What do you think of the UK?
I really love London. It’s one of my favourite places. Playing there is awesome. We get to do record shopping over there as well which is cool.
You are going to be back here at the end of the month. Can fans expect something different at the gig?
Yeah, we will do a couple of new tracks that we are working on for the album.
I have heard rumblings of the album for 2008 and 2009. Can you give us a pre-view on the subject matter?
It’s really hard to say. When we are working on records, I have to accept that when making ten or twenty songs, only one or two will show up on the album. At the moment, it is really hard to say.
You guys recently released a Hilltop Hoods Remix shoe. Did you design it?
Yeah, we knew the artists. We choose a shoe, and then liaised with the artists about what and how we wanted things done. So yeah, we had a lot of input on it.
Now that you are pros in the shoe department, tell me what makes a good shoe.
I think it involves staying away from trying to do too much. What is really tempting, when you are giving free range to design a shoe, is to put shit everywhere; why don’t we make the sole glow in the dark and put something on the tongue that plays a tune and when you flip it inside out, it can be worn as a hat.
There is a series of shoes in you, I reckon.
I think we might be doing more.
Are you releasing them in the UK?
Yeah, you can get them worldwide.. you need to go to specialty stores.
I think the girls in the Sex and the City film should get a pair of Hill Top Hoods – they might be able to walk a bit faster.
I couldn’t think of anything worse than watching that film.
I wouldn't recommend it. Is the clothing side of it something that you would ever consider doing?
No, not really. We are not visually creative people.
Maybe you could do some hoodies or something? Or those tops that change colour in the heat. You could wear them on stage.
Yeah, bring back the Hypercolours!
I see that you are involved in something called the Hill Top Hoods Initiative. Have any rising stars come out of it?
We have given away four grants now. Two of which have got CDs out now. There are a thousand different sub genres in Hip Hop. They are really different to each other.
Who do you rate out there at the moment?
The new Roots album is great. There is so much music that I am listening to at the moment. I listen to so much; I don’t get enough time to listen to all the music that I want to listen to.
I bet your I-Pod is packed. Is what you’d save in a fire?
Yeah, that and my hard drive.
Your MySpace has reached 50,000 friends. You are re-mixing a Smashing Pumpkins tune for each 25,000. Let’s get the UK people on board…
I’m not a massive Smashing Pumpkins fan but I really like Billy Corgan – it was just something that I did for shits and giggles. It wasn’t something that we even planned. I have more tunes ready to go though – when we hit 75,000.
Is there anything else in life that you secretly want to achieve?
My life is a bit mapped out for the next five years. I’ll be studying palaeontology and then hopefully become a palaeontologist. I’m a nerd!
Pressure told me that he likes footie and beer to relax. Are you a Port Power or Crows man?
I pretty much only watch cartoons. Well, I will watch any sport but I will pretty much only watch cartoons!
You are a nerd.
Yeah!
What is the most memorable gig that you have been to as an audience member?
Probably public enemy when I was about twelve or thirteen. It was a Hip Hop gig that I saw live and thought was f***** amazing. The whole night was crazy; at that age you don’t really know how concerts go down. You don’t appreciate concerts and music like you do now.
Related links:
Hilltop Hoods listings and tickets.
Hilltop Hoods official site.
Hilltop Hoods MySpace.
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