Plutonic Lab

Bona-fide Aussie hip hop legend Plutonic Lab and his current partner in crime from Philadelphia, G-Love, are geared up to release their forthcoming album Moonshine Lemonade, one that Pluto shares is held with great excitement. "We’re about to put out this record and it should be awesome. We shot a video and all that stuff so the thing is about to hit and so we’re doing a bit of press and promoting for that record right now. That’s really the main thing, but there are always a few other projects on the go."

Indeed, Pluto is probably best known for his work with Muph – one of the foremost local hip hop producers ever to grace a mixing desk. And with Pluto, they form a formidable duo that can knock down doors. The fusion of the two great minds created a series of brilliant albums in Hunger Pains, Silence the Sirens as well as And Then Tomorrow Came. But they never stopped there, even while taking the time out to consider new opportunities and directions. "Basically it has been a little while since I started working on different things; I just wanted to get into other stuff. I wanted to try to move away from what I was doing. I think I was sort of getting a bit stale so I wanted to know how I could mix things up a little bit. I don’t want to be a one-trick-pony you know?"

Yet don’t be fooled – this isn’t a guy into music for the sake of it. He knows what he likes and how he likes it. Never one to settle with mediocrity, he’s about the most solid output he can muster. "I’m not into the whole supermarket beat culture that is going on right now. I don’t want to choose a beat off the shelf, I want to work with an artist and collaborate on a specific set of material. It needs to be something that works in unison, not something created with lyrics layered over the top."

"Sure things have changed up for me over the times. That’s the nature of what we do. It has always happened and it will always continue to happen. When I first started putting out records, it was definitely darker and things like that. It was kind of Beatminerz and guys like that who were influencing us. Nowadays, there isn’t a lot of hip hop influencing the music I want to make, but I’m not chasing whatever is in fashion; I really want to develop on a path and it’s sort of like this weird thing."

"I’ve branched out into so many different kinds of styles; I want to connect it so that things are fresh. I’m into stuff that’s funky so whether it’s sad or happy it has got to have a good vibe to it. Whether you want to party and drink your face off or self reflect, it has to have that quality component that is going to allow you to do that."

Likewise, it’s that never say die approach that has always worked for Pluto that keeps him at the top of his game. If he slows down somewhere, he’ll accelerate somewhere else. He has never been afraid to work with different artists and emcees and that is what differentiates him from his peers is many ways. And for the enquiring minds that want to know – Muph has also been keeping himself occupied. "Yeah, he has been doing his thing and also stretches out a little bit. That’s the beauty of hip hop though – you have a fair bit of flexibility to experiment and do your own thing."

Plutonic Lab [AUS] plays with Oh No [USA] Friday February 25 at Roxanne Parlour.

RK