Premiere: Phondupe continues to strive with adventurous new single, NeptunoWith a string of singles throughout the last year, the Sydney-based producer focuses his eyes on his debut album, out later this year.
Exclusive: Ukiyo takes us behind his Bali songwriting trip with electronic favs
There's also a spicy take on My Kitchen Rules titled My Beat Rules, featuring many of the songwriting trip's guests.
Posted By Hayden Davies
4 years ago
Header image by Matsu.
A name we constantly find ourselves coming back to within Perth's electronic scene is beat-maker Ukiyo, who over the last four years, has gone from somewhat of a cult-favourite unearthed from the depths of Soundcloud's once-notorious 'future-bass' world, right through to someone amongst the upper echelon of Australian electronic's future, working with names also found nestled within these lists. Throughout this time, his electronic influences have merged with mannerisms plucked from indie and pop alike; the swirling rhythms of his earliest work now refined and slick, often paired with guest collaborators that include both local Perth heavyweights - Your Girl Pho, for example - right through to people like Chymes and Feelds (who both make an appearance on his 2018 Fantasy EP).
In 2020, however, it seems that he's really stepping it up. His latest single, last month's Good Enough, feels like all his learnings and growth over the years encapsulated in one bright-eyed release, showing how far he's come over the years as his warping, high-tier productions meet the vocal of Maribelle - someone who can't stop winning within the Australian pop world, both as someone in the spotlight and as a songwriter behind-the-scenes.
It's a taste of a forthcoming album expected later this year, that according to Ukiyo, is set to dive amongst the beauty of Australia's electronic world, enlisting guest collaborators that span the wide-ranging variety of our rich dance music culture. "I’m absolutely in love with the Australian music scene, so in the unique position I’m in as a producer, I knew I wanted my album to be a showcase of some of the incredible talent we’ve got here," he explains. "These singles and the album are as Australian as it gets with production (obviously), and all features, mixing, mastering and artwork all done by Aussies."
Today, we get a little taste of how some of this collaboration went down. It comes in the form of a clip taking us behind-the-scenes of a songwriting trip to Bali, featuring Ukiyo and a range of producers often listed amongst the most exciting of Australian electronic's future, as well as a couple who may be there very, very shortly: Crave (formerly known as Perth's Oriental Cravings), Rando, Yung Jalapeño, Just a Gent, Luceo, Mr Mit, DJ Sven, Odd Mob, Mr Zweck and Enji Benji.
The 18-minute mini-doco gives us a bit of insight into what went down, while also showcasing what we should come to expect from the trip, and the plethora of creativity that thrived amongst the group in their time away. "I’d never been on a writing camp before this, the energy we had over there was really something incredible," Ukiyo says on the time. "There was just something in the air, incredible music being made left and right and more importantly, everyone just having the time of their life, even the guys with Bali belly were laughing.
"A lot of us hadn’t met before this, even in the doco I’m mispronouncing names that I’d probably only first heard a day before. We’ve all stayed super close since & it’s definitely something we’ll be doing again as soon as we’re allowed. It’s crazy to look back and see how much the world has changed just in the time since."
There's also a little side piece to the doco, titled My Beats Rules. It's a quirky and fun little off-shoot of My Kitchen Rules and the cliché drama that the show often gives the world, from the over-the-top reality TV music that's about 50 notches too loud, to the random 'fights' needed to make the adverts look at least a little bit drama-filled (or something like that).
"My Beat Rules was a silly idea I’d had floating around my for a while before we were in Bali," Ukiyo continues. "I went totally overboard planning, it had a whole script and everything. In the end we were having too much fun just making the most of our time together that it got pushed to the side a bit. Maybe if it gets enough love I can convince them to make episode 2."
Dive into that clip below:
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