VIRTUAL MIXTAPE: Making

Illustrations by Lucy Roleff 

Sydney trio Making have been crushing skulls on the Sydney live music scene for a few years now, and after a number of setbacks their full-length debut Highlife was released via Trait Records in September this year.

Following on from their debut EP and a couple of standalone singles, Highlife is a decidedly darker affair full of discordant guitar, razor sharp bass lines and complex rhythms. The album is an uncompromising aural assault, showcasing the band’s evolution both sonically and technically.

Fans of My Disco, Ohana and New York band Extra Life take note; Making are your new favourite band.

For the fifth instalment of the Virtual Mixtape series, the trio reminisce on avant-rap royalty Kool Keith and his somewhat chaotic discography.

Making:

Kool Keith is a pretty hard sell in the current rap climate – most people are into Drake and Rich Gang (so are we), but sometimes you need to go a bit more fringe. This video is probably the best intro – really let yourself become acclimatised to the logic at play here. 

Kool Keith – ’98 Year Old Refrigerator’:

About ten years ago I (Pete) became aware of Dr. Octagon. I think I ended up picking up Dr. Dooom next (check out his ongoing obsession with food…) The vibe here is split destroying the rap game (this track, ‘You Live At Home With Your Mom’ etc.) and brutal serial killer (‘Apartment 223’ etc.). Key line:

“Your fans are mad – your performance was garbage bag,

Look at these videotapes,

Walkin back and forth grabbin’ your nuts like the Planet of the Apes”

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Dr. Dooom (Kool Keith) – ‘First Come, First Served – No Chorus’:

Like a modern-day Georges Bataille, Kool Keith explores transgression via sex, death and violence. 1997’s Sex Style is probably his best-known work after Dr. Octagon. I remember reading an interview where he said that he had a condo in LA filled with porn solely for self-pleasure. After his show at the Metro years ago the lights came on and he started talking to people in the front row, asking who wanted to come back to his hotel room and hang out. He seemed pretty genuine. 

Kool Keith – ‘Make Up Your Mind’:

Black Elvis was Keith’s only major label record. He vented about this experience via a few diss tracks, so if Roger Troutman can’t make you a hit probably nothing will:

Black Elvis/Lost in Space – Master of the Game:

Cereal/murder – both key tropes. Keith has made about 5000 albums so at this point you should probably just go and download everything. The more DIY and weird the artwork, the better, probably. Oh yeah, he’s 50 next year and is still weirder than whatever Trap guy is meme-ing on Tumblr this week. 

Masters Of Illusion – Masters Of Illusion:

More food:

Just after we wrote this up a friend reminded us about the time that Keith borderline harassed him via Instagram for weed while he was in Sydney. Friend didn’t come through and copped a lengthy punish.

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