Fluent Form

Hailing from Melbourne’s south east, Fluent Form dropped his debut Chapters Of Substance last year. Independently hustled, it was a gritty, sullen introduction to the talented wordsmith. Come 2009 and he’s already knocked out another full length album, The Furnace. For the most part, it’s a dark manifesto, serving as an outlet for rage and dissatisfaction. Produced by Geko, Doc Felix and Must amongst others and featuring Brad Strut, Ciecmate and Fatty Phew amongst a host of Melbourne talent, The Furnace is another praiseworthy notch in the MC’s belt.

Over what sort of timeframe was The Furnace recorded?
This album took about 7 to 8 months to complete. For some, that may seem like a quick amount of time for producing an album but we could have actually gotten it done in an even shorter amount of time. I’m diligent with my writing and I make sure to write everyday and as Geko handles most of the production, we share a similar work ethic. He’s always pumping out the beats and that allows us to make quality music without taking strenuous amounts of time to do so.

What lessons did you take from Chapters Of Substance into the process this time?
Not to rush into things. Don’t be to eager to drop a release. Hone your style, find your niche and really deliver your best work. Also, doing the distribution myself for Chapters Of Substance was a good lesson on how things operate outside the musical part of this game. I had great feedback which I drew upon when creating The Furnace.

Every Step exhibits perspective on your path thus far. What has most profoundly influenced the music you make?
Definitely my environment and life’s lessons. I’ve matured so much in the last few years and looking back on the shit I used to get up to, I can’t help but think to myself “what the hell were you doing?” But like most musicians, inspiration can come from anywhere. I draw upon everything.

The video is fairly simple but potent at the same time. Who made it?
My man Discourse produced that gem. I oversaw the clip, But Discourse really brought it to life with his vision. Classic clip, I’m very happy with it. It is definitely the most budget clip haha. Was awesome to see our method work so well. We didn’t even have a green screen. We just took out an old green blanket from the cupboard and used that!

How do you interpret the title The Furnace?
Good question. For me it entails everything. My burning desires, rage, my fuel that feeds me, burning wack toys haha, life, lessons, greed, envy, growth, anger, obstacles, reward, death, life…everything.

What’s the response to the album been like so far?
I’ve been blessed to always receive great feedback. I must be doing something right. People have definitely seen it as a big step up from my previous work and that’s what I wanna hear. Some of the heads that I really respect and look up to have all loved it. So it’s great. I’m proud of this album, just hoping I can reach a lot more heads with it. You gotta keep evolving.

“…I wanna tap into your soul, your mind, your being and make you think. Make you feel a rush, make you see where I’m coming from or even bring you down into my depths with it…”

The Furnace is filled with vivid concepts and imagery, especially on tracks like Short Stories, Do you enjoy operating in this voyeuristic vein?
Definitely…I wanna tap into your soul, your mind, your being and make you think. Make you feel a rush, make you see where I’m coming from or even bring you down into my depths with it. The power of music is phenomenal and to be able to make another person stop and think about something you’ve written, is the reason why I do this.

Paper Chase Days discusses good ol’, elusive scrilla. What do you work as a day job?
Nothing at the moment haha. I’ve done all kinds of jobs, from your typical laboring in a factory and call centre shit, to working with disabled children. At the moment, I’m literally living off the music. But I got a kid to feed, so I gotta get the old looking for work section out of the paper and find myself something new. I ain’t moving units in the thousands you know, haha  But I’m doing alright with the hand to hand hustle, centrelink and waiting for my quarterly payment from sales in the stores.

Is Endless Road an epilogue of sorts to Every Step?
You could look at it that way. It’s more like no matter what I do to try and better myself, I always end up back where I was. Back on the antidepressants, back on the dole, back into trouble. Back on that endless road.

The last handful of tracks on The Furnace take a slight turn in vibe with some subtle injections of funk. Was this a conscious placement? Finishing on a not-so-dark note?
Yeah, I wanted to add in a few beats that weren’t expected. The album is pretty dark for the most part, so I thought I’d chuck in a little bit of a twist and hit the listener with something different. Something they wouldn’t have expected on first listen. It might not fit the template of how to keep continuity in an album, But I like how it takes that new vibe and brings you back into the album via a different process.

4 Aces with Mata, Must and 1/6 is a nice touch of variety. How did you reach out to these fellows?
They’re all friends of mine. Once again I’ve been blessed to be surrounded by great mates who are all extremely talented and really bring their A-game to the table. It’s always fun to get your friends on a bit of a posse joint, especially when the outcome is so dope, haha.

What can you tell me about the Crate Cartel collective?
Crate Cartel consists of Geko, Raven, Discourse and myself. Just four guys doing their thing and who pride themselves on nothing but the highest quality production. Whether it’s rhymes and beats, or artwork and music videos. We’re coming!

What’s on the agenda for the next few months? Any shows in the pipeline?
Yeah, just organizing interstate shows, got a few launches in the next month and opening up for some big acts. So I’ll be keeping myself pretty busy for the next few months. Plus I’m always working on new music and ways to continue growing and establishing myself as a premier wordsmith in this country.

www.myspace.com/fluentformmusic