While he may be a rising star in Australian hip hop, Axe Alkins already has an impressive history behind him. Forged in the fires of professional athleticism, former Canberra Raider and West Belconnen #1 son, Axe burst onto the Australian music scene in 2003, rapidly linking up with renowned Australian hip hop pioneers Koolism and the KOA massive. Apart from touring extensively with Koolism across the country, Aklins featured on the track Control from Koolism’s 2004 ARIA award winning release Random Thoughts, and followed it up with the duet Raw Steak from Koolism’s 2006 critically acclaimed follow-up New Old Ground. He also featured on the 2006 Australian hip hop compilation Airheads 2 with a more personal effort, the sombre but uplifting solo effort Desperate Man and then followed that up by a guest appearance on ACT compatriots D’Opus and Roshambo’s EP The Question,
Having paid his dues on the live stage for many years, Axe has also been quietly working on his own solo record Limb by Limb released on Grindin’ on January 19th. ITM caught up with Axe and had a chat about making his new album, performing solo and head-high tackles.
Good morning axe, take the time to introduce yourself to the people, outline who you are and why they call you Axe Aklins!
Axe Aklins comes from my rugby days, I was originally known as just Axe due to my tackling style, the Aklins came about from a friend mispronouncing my second name as he introduced me to his parents during his 21st Birthday party. He had only known me for three years so I can see how he messed it up haha. After that incident it became a running gag, so I decided to combine my two nicknames into one and thought it flowed nicely together.
You’ve just released your debut solo album Limb By Limb. Explain the concept behind the title and what you set out to achieve with the record?
I originally just set out to have fun and record some tracks. All that changed once I started doing live shows as an unofficial 3rd member of Koolism, it wasn’t until then I released I had the ability to do more than just the hype man duties. Limb by Limb is me basically branching out on my own, although the Koolism affiliation remains very strong this is my opportunity to embark on my own journey.
Limb By Limb is out through the well-respected Glabel who have release quality records from 13th Son and Mr.Thing + Yungun. How did you hook up with them?
I have to say honestly Hau played a major role in me being signed with Grindin’. Hau and I both had faith in the demo, so with Hau’s backing he managed to organise a meeting with Sam Dutch, where he played him three tracks to see if Grindin’ would be interested in releasing the product. From there it took a couple of day’s to negotiate certain aspects of the contract and with help from Hau, Danielsan and Tunks we came to an agreement with the label and signed the deal.
You’ve been rapping and performing for a long time and are one of the countries more quiet achieving veterans. Your debut solo album has been a long time in the making, what sort of obstacles have stood in your way over the years?
Yeah I have been doing my thing for a while in the scene now, but it’s all part of the process “paying ya dues” is what it is commonly referred to in the music industry. As far as obstacles are concerned I would simply put that down to life and working a full-time job, plus the process of mixing down an album can be time consuming. The writing the recording of the album took a matter of weekends but the mix down and mastering of the album took a couple of years as we all have life’s obstacles slowing us down or bringing us to a complete halt.
The majority of the lyrical content on the album is underpinned by a very autobiographical and personal approach, such as on songs like Everyday Struggle and Chopping Trees – how important is music as a tool for you to talk about your life experiences?
I feel it’s very important, not only to vent or speak about my life in personal way but to also give the listener something real along with giving them the chance to get to know me not only as an artist but as a person as well.
You are known for your straight up, no-holds barred humour, as features on tracks such as Raw Steak on Koolism’s New Old Ground. I note you’ve described one tune Main Ingredient as being ‘one big dick and fart joke’. A lot of people say that rap used to be fun! Do you think that emcees these days are being too serious and self-conscious? How important is humour to hip-hop for you?
I think humour is extremely important, It’s equally important not too take yourself to seriously. Remember why you got into music or why you loved music as a child and feed off that.
Triple J has recently got behind Protest Song and given it strong support. What do you think it is about this song in particular that has struck a chord with people?
I think it’s the contrast of the track, strong message with a soulful production. It has an up tempo feel to it as well as a story line, giving the listener more than just a catchy hook.
How did you decide which emcee features to include on the album and talk a little about their contributions?
I was honoured to have Hau do his thing as he is a major factor In me believing I could achieve the dream of making an album, Carts2deadly long time friend and K.O.A member jumps on board on a track called Papa’s Gone and Roshambo on a track called Doze. All MC’s are friends of mine and have all contributed to my life and my album being an extension of my life I felt I really needed them to be a part of it.
You’ve toured extensively across Australia as part of the Koolism live show. How integral has been that support from Koolism for your career thus far and how will your solo live shows differ from what you’ve been doing so far?
It’s been amazing touring with Koolism and I am honoured to be a part of that. Everything I am musically I owe largely to them and Tunks as well as my willingness to succeed. As for my live shows I will have to take the reigns instead of playing Hau’s side kick, I will have to be the main focal point, It’s going to be an interesting and enjoyable change.
You are part of the extensive and talented K.O.A. crew championed in tunes by Koolism over the years? Can you let the people know a little bit about K.O.A. and your involvement?
K.O.A is much bigger than me and was started by legendary members Metro and Seth in 1988, even though K.O.A is mainly a graffiti crew spanning not only nation wide but world wide my contribution is purely on a music and friends scale. Koolism put me on and I was fortunate to join the crew some years back thanks to Seth and Metro. Koolism’s last album New Old Ground features a track called K.O.A which is basically an overview of the crew and it’s individual members, well worth checking out.
You’ve also got a sporting history, having played with the Canberra Raiders and high-tackled some of the countries best, past and present. Which league player past/present do you think could make it good as an emcee?
[Laughing] nice question. Well, as far as the present game goes I would have no idea! Though if there is any that actually exist I would like to hear from them [laughs].
What are your future plans? What’s next in the life of Axe Aklins?
Just baby steps to begin with, first will be the launch at Transit Bar on 9th of February with supports from Koolism’s DJ Danielsan, 13th Son, D’Opus & Roshambo and Jemist, followed by Good Vibrations on the 16th of Feb. I will just try to build on whatever success I may be fortunate enough to have and look to move forward in a positive way.
Limb By Limb by Axe Aklins is out now through Grindin’/MRA, and you can catch him in Canberra at Transit Bar on 9th Februaryas well as at the Good Vibrations festival in Sydney on the 16th February.
