Foreign Heights - Music To Live By

Three of Sydney's leading hip hop talents - MC Trey, Maya Jupiter and Nick Toth - have formed a supergroup. This month Foreign Heights are dropping their first single, Picture This, and, with an LP to follow early next year, not to mention an East Coast tour, they're destined for a long hot summer.
 
The posse has been vibing together for around six years, orchestrating hip hop youth programs. Nevertheless, Foreign Heights evolved out of stage performances, here and abroad.

Says Trey, "I met Maya in the late '90's during Urban Xpressions and, as for Nick, I met him in the mid-'90s when he was working with Meta Bass 'n' Breath, so we've been mates for a while. The collaboration process has been easy.

"When Maya and I went to London a few years ago, we did a lotta shows together. The whole process was quite effortless and our styles very compatible, so it only seemed natural to take it the next step further and do a release together."

Modest Nick declined to participate in this interview in order to spotlight the femcees, yet his role is vital. "He's the token male," Maya quips. "We thought we should have one for something different." Trey concurs playfully. "Yep, he's the stunner of the group, sumthin' for the ladies, nah mean? But, seriously, his input has been priceless. He oversees the musical side of things. It's been a great help to have a third ear."

The three 'foreigners' may have forged individual careers but a group project seemed a "natural progression," and anything but calculated, Maya affirms.

"We were working together running workshops and seemed to always be at the same shows jumping on each other's tracks, so we thought, Why not do an EP together? - which turned into an album, and here we are!" Trey adds, "Also, as an artist, I think it's important to work with other artists and try different things to bring out the best in each other. I've released two solo albums and [I've] been working solo since the mid-'90's, so I'm glad I have the opportunity to work with other like-minded artists.”

The collective's name Foreign Heights reflects the multiculturalism of Australian hip hop, since Trey's heritage is Fijian, Maya is half Mexican and half Turkish, and Toth hails from Austria. However, Foreign Heights' aspirations transcend the Australian underground.

"An Australian 'voice' talks about Australian issues, so if we remain true to our experiences as Australians, then we are doing the listener justice," Maya says. "But Australia is one country in a big world. As much as I'm a huge advocator of supporting the local music scene, I also believe we should focus on what role our home is playing in the politics of the planet."

Trey believes that, in Australia, hip hop is conducive to multicultural harmony. "It's a space where multicultural MCs can share their thoughts and educate others about different cultures and musical styles. Hip hop also encourages multiculturalism - come to a jam, listen to the tunes. Hip hop culture creates multicultural families."

Originally Foreign Heights intended to air their album, surfacing on the new hip hop imprint Grindin', before summer but, as things often go, it's been necessarily delayed until February. In the meantime, fans can satisfy themselves with Picture This, produced by Mr Zux. "It's a song about persistence, survival and the love of this culture," Maya says. "We also get to flex our lyrical abilities. It's one of my favourite verses 'cause usually I am quite literal when I write, but I get to play around with this one."

Trey: "Yeah, we were at Zux's place, it was the last track we wrote, we chose some sounds, Zux put the beats together and we all wrote on the spot.

"'Effort for gain, baby' - that verse basically summarises how I feel about hip hop music. It's always been the love of my life.
"When I had my daughter, I took a break from expressing [myself] through music for a while and focussed on her and doing community music programs. I stopped going to gigs and stuff - I needed a break from everything. But now she's a bit older and I've managed to settle into motherhood and I have perfected my time management skills, I've been able to return bigger and badder - 'still building the blocks, connect like carriage of trains.'"

Aside from securing Nick's beatmaking prowess, the Foreign Heights MCs have recorded with New Zealand's P-Money and, from LA, Kutmasta Kurt, while the emergent Macromantics, currently promoting an album of her own, counts among the guest vocalists. In spite of their hectic schedules, Foreign Heights have spent two years on the LP. So how does it sound?

"I can tell you what it's not," says Maya. "It's not quirky, fashionable or retro. For me, it's a solid hip hop album, a collection of ideas, stories and experiences we've had.

"I had a great time making this album and learned a lot about co-writing. Trey helped me get out of my writer's block, too, which I felt after releasing my debut album. The whole business side of things really took it out of me and, with this album, it was more about having fun. It was also a release where I get to be an artist again, which for me has always been number one."

As for Trey's perspective?

"This album has songs for everyone. There are club tracks, insightful, conscious rhymes, love songs, political songs, something for everybody - music to live by, I call it. You won't want to skip a track - it all flows together quite nicely."

All of the Foreign Heights members are committed to the project but, in the case of Trey and Maya, where does that leave their solo work? "On pause," Maya responds, "We'll get to that after the storm has subsided." Trey backs her up. "This is the next step in my career."

Maya is an MC with many talents. She has performed with the band Son Veneno, cameo-ed as a dance teacher in the acclaimed Australian film Lantana, presented Channel [V]'s Soul Kitchen, produced Triple J's Hip Hop Show, and hosted Sydney's RNB Superclub. She debuted with the album Today in 2003. Trey has been similarly industrious. She cut the early dance/rap hit Creepin', has issued those two aforementioned albums, Daily Affirmations and Tapastry Tunes, and, most significantly, established herself as Australia's first female hip hop star. Self-effacing Nick has recently promoted a classy mix-CD, Gimme Some More!, for Jam Recordings.

So what do the MCs feel that Foreign Heights are bringing to Australian hip hop?

"Our sounds are like no other in the country or overseas," Trey says. "We say what we want to say - 'we mean and we mean what we meanin'!' "Generally, we're all pretty selective with what we listen to in our own time and what we like, so we've made sure the album is the best it can be.

"We re-worked our songs and fine-tuned them to perfection - that's why this album has taken a while to put together." Indeed.

WHO: Foreign Heights
WHAT: Play Amnesty Freedom Festival at Century Theatre
WHEN: Saturday 14 October
MORE: www.amnesty.org.au/freedom