(Inertia)

Hailing from Sydney town, and working with some of its finest MCs, this debut EP shows that there’s more than enough content to get me excited about the beats from the man who calls himself Chasm. At eight tracks deep Chasm’s debut is far from a quick snapshot of his talent. Bringing in a number of MCs and a variety of beats he has created one of the years most varied releases, which should have a little something for all hip hop fans.

Relying heavily on the influences of dub the beats, each MC captures the mood perfectly. There are quite a few tracks of the deep plodding nature where subtle samples are complimented by MCs with an appropriate monotone, reflective delivery. Whether it is Ozi Batla on Rockit Fuel, Icarus and Point A Pen Like A Torch At The Night Ahead, or Joelistics on Never Sleep, these tracks capture the dark moody bass that Chasm is obviously a huge fan of. These are all tight tracks and have their place both here and in the wider scene, they’re just a little too dark for my personal tastes.

However, all is not lost if you prefer things a little more up-tempo, as there are four gems here that lift the BPMs a little with brilliant results. Talk Your Wrist Off featuring Ozi Battla has already garnered airplay from Triple J and his partner in rhyme Urthboy also shines on Outlander. The two other standouts feature Hykoo on the closer, Anti-Gravity, and Mantra on my pick of the EP Metamorphed Tongues, where the aggressive delivery elevates the beat to a whole new level. For me the extra energy brought by the MCs on these tracks is what makes them and although the other four more chilled tracks are well put together I would love to see Chasm head down the more up-tempo route for future releases.

Chasm is clearly a talented producer whose love of dub brings something unique to the Oz hip hop scene. As a debut EP this is an impressive effort and I’m sure his name will be a part of the hip hop scene for a long time to come.