No Rest is the aptly named second album from Canberra hip hop eight-piece Casual Projects. The first catchy single from the album Move Along has seen nation-wide radio airplay, and spawned a video clip for the young group. Now bussing their jazzy jams around the country and with a second single due for release on May 19th, Patrick Lillicrap takes time out from his busy schedule to catch up with ITM on fame, friendships and frivolities.
You’re still currently touring up and down the East Coast to promote your new album No Rest. How is the group feeling about being on the road?
We love the road. The road loves us. It’s nice to have that understanding! It almost feels like we’ve been gearing towards this tour for about 2 years – in a sense it’s one of our first rewards in a long time for putting everything into the band. We’ve just purchased, bartered actually, a 12 seater bus to take our many band members around the country, which definitely makes for an interesting time. Nick also added a few creature comforts to the van before we hit the road last tour that everyone is most appreciative of.
Any rock n roll moments that you’d like to share?
We’re going to be featured in Sticky Point Magazine – Australia’s answer to ‘weed magazine’. It’ll be something that I shall pull out when my own kids think that I’m lame. We came across the editor by chance and did him a favour by running some of his magazines he’d forgotten to give to his normal distributor to Byron.
I think the album launch in Canberra is also worth mentioning. We had over 500 people in the room, and after the show some of us came out to the merch stand where a swarm of people wanted us to sign this and that… Then 5 minutes later everyone was asked to leave, and good ol’ Casual Projects were left to pack up the monster PA till 4am. Top to the bottom in less than 5.
Including the current tour, you’ve played over 150 live shows in the past three years and yet your on-stage energy is never short of amazing. What do you love most about performing live?
Occasionally there are these supreme moments where everything is sitting in the pocket, and there’s a glow on stage, perhaps from the lights, perhaps from the energy. But I was reading Kate Miller-Heidke’s latest album, and she said the closest thing she’d had to a spiritual experience was performing music. I thought that was pretty cool; for a heathen. Just jokes, great album though! The crowds have definitely been getting a lot bigger as well. The other thing that I love is when people are singing along. Who doesn’t like a good sing along?
The first single, Move Along, is getting heaps of airplay at the moment and you’ve built up a huge fan base around the country. Are you finding that fans are starting to recognise you more?
I think I’m starting to recognise fans a lot more! There’s definitely been a lot more sightings of our shirts and other exciting merch range. I’m still hanging out for the day that I’m walking along and I hear someone cranking the song on their car stereo; that’s pretty much at the top of my wishlist.
You also filmed a video for the single where you’re all farming clouds. The track is essentially about a breakup. I (and I’m sure others) often wonder about the connections between artists’ tracks and their film clips. Can you explain the cloud farm idea?
The original concept for the film clip was written around the drought. But then we heard ‘Marge, the rains are ere’ and the landscapes started changing from a dusty, droughty, filmer’s paradise to a lush, green, wasteland. The Volley Film crew had to modify the idea to compensate for the lack of drought-esque areas. They still wanted it to be influenced by the weather, and I’m sure they had their hearts set on using some of the post effects.
The new album is very different to the last; would I be right in calling it a little more mature?
We’ve all matured immensely over the last few years. Being in a huge band you are forced to accommodate personality clashes, and as a result, we’ve become a lot more tolerant to each other and each other’s musical tastes as well. We’ve all come so far as musicians and songwriters since the last album and also learned a lot more about the recording process. Having a great producer also helped! Thanks Buchman!
What’s your personal opinion on the current state and direction of Australian hip hop?
I’m excited. There are definitely some heavy hitters that are girt by this beautiful sea and some up and coming names that are climbing the ranks. I’m right into Diafrix & Illzilla at the moment. It’s inspiring to see Aussie MCs and producers honing their craft to an internationally competitive level.
Is the unique Casual Projects sound being received well everywhere you go, or more so in certain areas?
We toured around on our last album in 2004/05 with no radio support, so we had to fly by word of mouth, street press, and that sort of thing, so sometimes we were grateful when we had a reception at all. As most bands would know, sometimes it’s just a freak night. This attitude has seemed to carry over onto the next album, which is great, because the freak nights are occurring less and less, and we can now tailor our show to a more intimate crowd.
Melbourne has always provided us with terrific crowds, and is definitely one of the more favourite destinations for the band. Coolum Beach up north – more specifically the SolBar, has always rocked every time we stop by.
Yours is such an unusually large group with each member bringing a certain special talent and flavour. How did Casual Projects come to form?
Casual Projects began with freestyle jams over an acoustic guitar and beers on my back patio. It became apparent early that there was some chemistry, and we were soon discussing the possibility of a band so we could bring the fun vibe of our jams to a real audience. Some of the lads also knew a few players that mentioned they were keen to get involved with something incorporating hip hop. We booked a couple of gigs, recorded the first album within the first six months, and have never looked back!
Is having eight members a help, a hindrance, or both?
We’ve been together for 4 years with the same line-up. We’ve learned to be patient, assertive, and very flexible. I don’t think hindrance is the right word anymore, but it is certainly expensive to accommodate eight band members + sound guy & merch guy on a tour. We spent a lot of time camping on our last tour to save money. The majority of the band play basketball too, so that always helps keep the bubble guts away!
The obvious inspiration source for a hip hop artist is personal experience. What’s the writing process between eight members? If you were to write about the life experiences of all eight you’d be set for material for a very long time!
The writing process has been very different for a lot of songs. The seed for a song has quite often come from a personal experience, but then been taken away by another band member sparking another idea. Something that was very apparent with the song writing for No Rest is a different perspective on an idea. With multiple MCs on every track it’s something that keeps it interesting.
What’s next for Casual Projects? Another single perhaps?
The album No Rest was released nationally on May 10 and the next single Golden Eggs is dropping May 19. Then we’re going to tour and live the lavish life that a poor musician should. We’re also finalists in the JD Set – a national 10 show tour sponsored by Jack Daniels, and we’re mad keen on getting on that bill – help us out by visiting our myspace and vote!
One final question in light of Mother’s Day last weekend; what does your Mum think about Casual Projects and hip hop?
My mum has always told me she has no idea what I’m saying when rapping but she’s always been more into chopped and screwed hip hop. I played my grandma Move Along at our family’s mother’s day gathering, and she on the other hand loved it! She laughed at the rapping though.
You can catch Casual Project on their No Rest tour at the following venues…
June 6 – Triselies, Katoomba
June 7 – The Mac Hotel, Sydney
June 14 – Transit Bar, Canberra
June 19 – Beach Road Hotel, Bondi
June 21 – Oxford Tavern, Wollongong
June 27 – Bar Open, Melbourne
July 4 – Yamba Hotel, Yamba
July 5 – Hoey Moey, Coffs Harbour
July 6 – Byron Bay (Venue TBA)
More tour dates to be announced
