|
Written by Melita Pereira
|
|
Sunday, 18 May 2008 |
 While Australian hip hop has
been progressively generatingits own distinctive musical culture in
Australia since the 1980s, renegade crew Curse ov Dialect have been galvanising their own place in the hip hop genre, but for entirely different reasons.
Rebellious and challenging, Curse ov Dialect’s brand of hip hop emerged through the commonality of the crew’s experiences of difference, rejection, acceptance and belonging. Curse ov Dialect’s musical style is distinguished from that of Australian hip hop at large since the musical sensibilities inherent in Curse ov Dialect’s hip hop are an avid tribute to the crew’s ethnic origins. As a result, Curse ov Dialect’s beats and samples incorporate an eclectic miscellany of traditional ethnic sounds uniquely set to thumping beats.
The current line up for Curse ov Dialect
has been in existence since 2000. The crew consists of MCs ‘Raceless’,
‘Vulk Makedonski’ and vocalists ‘Nothing’ and ‘August the 2nd' with
DJ Paso Bionic on the turntables. Altogether, these members represent
a diverse range of backgrounds encompassing Pakistani, Anglo-Indian,
Maori, Maltese and Macedonian ethnicities which inform the crew’s sound
and message. However, Curse ov Dialect’s music
is not restricted to any specific ethnicity; rather, it is designed
to resonate with the experiences of many people throughout Melbourne.
Their music is about
the expression of personal experiences and themes, aimed at raising
consciousness about racism, identity and difference.
This
concert, directed by Elena Vereker, was touted as representing an
innovation for the hip hop genre and its presentation. As part of the Urbanology Festival, Curse ov Dialect’s special concert aspired to fuse hip hop with theatre in a hybrid performance at the North Melbourne Town Hall. The North Melbourne Town Hall
provided additional space which enabled the crew to perform
choreographed renditions of their songs; however, the audio was at times
unclear, diminishing some of the clarity of significant lyrics
which importantly position the crew’s music in the realm of satire. The
unclear acoustics also displaced some of the significance of the vivid
array of multi-media images which served as the backdrop to the stage.
Projecting a series of shifting images and text, the multi-media display
bolstered the overall visual impact of Curse ov Dialect’s performance. Perhaps maintaining a greater balance between the juxtaposition of these images and text with Curse ov Dialect’s
lyrics would have better reinforced the potency of the crew’s ultimate
message. Despite these complications which partially hindered the
execution of Curse ov Dialect’s message,
the crew attracted a diverse audience eager to hear different sorts of
thoughts and feelings and on this, the crew certainly delivered.
While hip hop has always aspired to offer alternative avenues of musical experience, Curse ov Dialect’s challenge
to the current institution of Australian hip hop has brought an
innovative performative element to the genre. The fervency with which Curse ov Dialect seek
to experiment with the genre of hip hop will prompt many
audience members to investigate the reasoning behind the crew’s artistic
choices and ultimately uncover Curse ov Dialect’s true message.
Arts House in association with Ambiguous Horse and Baddums present
Curse ov Dialect
Venue: Arts House, North Melbourne Town Hall
Dates: Friday 9 May 2008
Time: 8pm
Tickets: $12/$10
Bookings: www.easytix.com.au/artshouse or 03 9639 0096
 Quote this review on your site | E-mail
Powered by AkoComment Tweaked Special Edition v.1.4.4 |
