Sydney make sure you head down to Skryptcha's album launch tomorrow night at the Standard. Going to be a big night with amazing support acts, including Crochet Crooks who if you remember we interview a few months ago check it out below.
Your first EP, All Roads dropped not too long ago now. How has the response from the public and industry been?
S: Really good man, we road tested it with our friends and fam before we released it and got a really good response which made us a lot more confident in it. Since it’s dropped we’ve moved a few hundred hard copies and managed to get ourselves some love on Triple J courtesy of Hau (Hip Hop Show), and on FBi. So overall, real stoked.
All Roads isn’t one particular style of music, there’s Boom Bap, a bit of Dubstep and even an Acoustic track. What is your process of choosing beats, and who produces your
music?
J: We listen to whatever we’re given and we try and write to most of it. If we can build the track up nicely and it fits the vibe of what we we’re trying to write about, it makes the cut.
On the EP we had a few different producers, Daniel Neurath (SS, Horrorshow), Jacob Giles and the Jackie Onassis boys. For our upcoming mixtape and album, a lot of the production workload will be handled by the new addition to the crew, Jmaculate. He’s a real boss with a beat.
The track Cold Streets reflects on the city of Sydney. “See I’m walking city streets but I’m sick of the concrete, from Sydney’s inner city all the way to long beach” How has coming from the Inner West Suburbs of Sydney inspired your music?
J: Man, all of Sydney is a beautiful place, but there’s just something special about the I-Dub. It’s birthed a heap of talented artists and seems to have and endless supply of stories. So I guess growing up here has inspired it a lot. The inner west has something in the water.
What and or who is your greatest inspiration for your music and what was the concept behind the ep?
J: I’d have to say our friends, fam, and experiences. The feeling you get from telling a story. It’s amazing. Concept? I guess the concept was, “there is no concept”. We wanted to tell what we’d been through and seen, good-bad, beautiful-ugly. Just showcase a whole range of things.
How did the two of you, Jax and Sayso first meet and form a bond which has led to this point in your life?
J: We grew up in the same friendship circles, so we always knew of each other, I dunno. We lived close and went to the same gigs so eventually we started kicking it and writing the EP. It kinda just happened...
S: Have you ever heard of a Chinese finger trap? We got caught in one one time. Down there. Haven’t managed to break free yet ay..
Growing up in the Inner West of Sydney what sort of music did you listen to? Was there much hip hop around and did that have much of an impact on who you are today?
S: Man, growing up I was that kid bumping hip hop from home to school, all day during class and then back at home til early in the morning...and I never heard the end of it, everyone gave me shit about it...fast forward ten years and everyone’s a rap kid; it’s practically my DNA.
What do you wish to achieve through your music? and where do you see yourself in 5 years?
S: Getting laid mostly...nahh...but yeah. Haha man I want to make something that reflects me and what I’m about and gives me the opportunity to do what I love doing most, which is hip hop. And we wanna have some fun, meet some cool people along the way.
J: As above, in 5 years. It’s 10:30 on a Saturday night right now though,...so hopefully something more exciting than sitting at a computer.
The name Crochet Crooks, what does it mean and where did it come from?
S: Man we kicked it with a few different names for a while, and then one day we were just knitting some sweaters with gran and it kind of clicked. I like the way it sounds, and let’s face it; it gets people talking, hard to forget.
If someone was to listen to your music for the first time which track would you recommend to them? And do either of you have a personal favourite?
J: It depends what background they come from, we feel like we have a bit to offer everyone in that regard. All sorts of different people could feel our shit. From the stay at home mum (Anywhere but Here), to hard matey down the road (Cold Streets) and the heartbroken girl or guy (All Roads). I like Cold Streets for my favourite.
S: Cold Streets.
I hear that there is a new video clip about to drop? Can you tell us about it?
S: Of all the tracks we thought we’d make a clip for, Cold Streets was the least likely in my mind. Then Hau played it on JJJ, we got some mad love from heads on it, and seeing as it’s our favourite track off the EP, we thought why the fuck not. It’s all filmed through Sydney and the IW, but you’ll have to watch it to see more.
What’s next for the Crooks?
J: Well we’re both heading to the Americas. Without each other though. Need a little break. We’ve compiled a few beats from some dope producers so we’ll be writing to them on our travels as well as writing this mixtape.
S: Both of us have got our hunger on, we’re real fired up and we wanna step to the next level. AIN’T NO SUCH THINGS AS CROCHET CROOKS!
