The quality of the production surprising, due to the fact it was helmed by Styalz Fuego, the man responsible for other huge Australian hip hop releases such as 360’s multi-platinum Falling And Flying, not to mention releases by Aston Shuffle and Aus hip hop’s new poster boy Seth Sentry.
“Yeah yeah,” Momo stutters, tripping over his words as he fires them out like a hyperactive kid, “we’re really happy with it and can’t wait for it to drop so the masses can hear it. It took a little while to get done and we’re really happy with the way it’s sounding so yeah, we’re excited. [Styalz Fuego] is such an amazing guy to work with, he’s just so talented bro, and prolific and he always delivers.
As well as a top class production, Pocket Full of Dreams has also been spiced up by big names in Australian pop/hip hop such as the aforementioned 360, as well as features by Daniel Merriweather, Stan Walker, Dwele and N’Fa Jones.
With all these artist doing their own thing too, it goes without saying that the Australian hip hop scene is in a healthy state right now. Momo agrees. “What do I think of the Aus hip hop scene? I think it’s something that every year there’s something new and new artists now are getting a bit more exposure whereas before it was like The Hilltop Hoods were so far ahead of everyone else and it’s great ‘cos they opened up so many doors for everyone else so it’s great to see so many more artists and diverse artists coming through.”
Perhaps it’s the sheer diversity of Diafrix’s music that has meant that it appeals to such a wide audience. There are moments of soulful hip hop, electro-pop and even indie rock on the new record. Talking to Momo it’s clear that this was not just an attempt to cover as much ground and please as many people as possible, but it was more out of a plain and simple eclectic taste in music.
“One of my other favourite songs [on Pocket Full of Dreams] is called Throwback which is reminiscing about old school ‘90s hip hop and R&B and the shit that we grew up on. As a kid I listened to old soul stuff like Gladys Knight, Marvin Gaye, Sam Cook, all the way to Bob Marley. My hip hop phase was J Dilla, Jurassic 5 all that sort of stuff. [These days] I’m listening to all kinds of music. I’ve been bumping a lot of Miike Snow lately, I love Kendrick Lamar, and another dude called BJ The Chicago Kid is awesome. There’s so much music on Spotify now so every day you learn a new artist. It’s awesome!”
All of the above influences can be heard running throughout Diafrix’s music, however there is also another obvious influence that comes from their African heritage. Momo himself arrived in Australia at the age of three, when his family sought refuge from their homeland of the Comoros Islands. His partner in Diafrix, Azmarino hails from Eritrea but has also lived in Jordan, Italy and Switzerland before settling as a refugee in Australia.
The pair are proud of their heritage and are glad to be able to use music as a positive force to raise awareness of their plight. “We’ve both had different experiences and there are many people in Australia that share similar experiences and over the years it’s come out in our music, kind of being a voice for people that can relate to these experiences who don’t really get the opportunity to be heard in a beautiful kind of perspective. It’s usually media telling us their view on what it is or how they live so us being able to say that, to express that to the public I think it’s a great thing.”
Diafrix will be expressing themselves to the public later this month as they tour in support of the new record, starting with two dates at the Northcote Social Club. Momo is in high spirits about getting out and playing live. “We’re actually going into rehearsal tomorrow,” he exclaims. “We’ve got a drummer on board now, we’ve got our DJ and we’ve got three backup singers as well just to fatten up everything.” With festival season upon us, it’s a damn good time to be performing live for any Australian band. You’ll be able to catch Diafrix on the festival circuit this summer. “Yep the one that I definitely can say is Homebake which is one we’ve never played before and I’ve heard a lot of good things so I’m looking forward to heading down there and playing that”.
If you do go catch Diafrix, be sure to look up their track Helicopter and learn the accompanying dance. Does Momo have any tips on how to do it? “Yeah,” he laughs, “just put your hands in the air and wave them around. I think they’ve got to watch some Bounty Killer clips before they try it!”
BY ADAM ROBERTSHAW
