Ratking

I OH YOU & Frontier Touring can confirm that joining brutal hip-hop tour de force Ratking for their Australian performances will be electronic wunderkind Cassius Select in Sydney and local producer, multi-instrumentalist and singer Silent Jay in Melbourne.

You might recognize the bedroom ready vocals of Lavurn Lee from Sydney underground mainstay Guerre. As Cassius Select, Lee compliments those distinct vocals with a serving of vintage house, techno and rhythm laden beats. His debut EP One (out now through Hunter Gatherer Records) unveils his uncanny knack for creating music that is equally at home in a club or in your headphones, subverting electronic tropes and weaving a tapestry of sounds into an experimental work of art.

Cassius Select also released Tuff Sherm collaboration (out now through Plastic World), remixed Rainbow Chan’s ‘Milk’ and has supported electronic heavyweights Four Tet, Jamie XX and Jagwa Ma.

Alejandro Jay Abapo may only be 22 years old but has quickly made a name for himself as singer and performer in Grammy-nominated future-soul group Hiatus Kaiyote, saxophonist of up and coming experimental-cinematic jazz quintet Demian and production lord in solo project Silent Jay. After studying jazz improvisation at the Victorian College of Arts, Jay begun to explore the nuances of production and combined his multi-instrumentalist, musical prowess with bombastic beats, electronic loops and guest vocals or his own unique voice.

Having cemented his place in the Melbourne beat scene, Jay has supported the likes of Gaslamp Killer, Hudson Mohawke, Shlohmo and Mono/Poly as well as performing on globally esteemed music platform Boiler Room TV and the innovative New Year’s Day boutique festival Let Them Eat Cake.

Ratking is 20-year-old rappers Wiki and Hak and producer Sporting Life (aka Sport) influenced by the underground culture of New York City. They’ve supported a veritable who’s who of on point artists including GZA, Death Grips, King Krule and Trash Talk and genre-obliterating debut album So It Goes rated #1 in Noisey’s 25 best albums of 2014 scoring a swag load of critical acclaim along the way:

‘There's a pulsing, lived-in energy to So It Goes that captures what New York feels like and pushes at the boundaries of lyrically-driven rap. Beyond conversations about their city or genre, Ratking's greatest success is confidently offering a sound that feels untethered from expectations and bristles with the exhilarating energy of trying something new’– Pitchfork

‘Unrelenting and abrasive it may be, but So It Goes turns a new page in New York hip-hop.’ – The Guardian

The video for new single ‘Snow Beach’ is a haunted, black and white saunter through an icy Coney Island during winter. The song itself is a ferocious anthem for their hometown but still hits the heart of anyone who inhabits the underground of culture. The trio also made an appearance on Boiler Room TV for a balls-to-the-wall London Live Show and at the 2014 Governors Ball as well as performances at SXW, Lollapalooza, Coachella and The Great Escape UK.

Subversive, brutal and fearless - these shows promise to set Sydney and Melbourne ablaze with talent. Don’t miss out on what are sure to be some of early 2015’s most talked about performances.

I OH YOU & Frontier Touring can confirm that joining brutal hip-hop tour de force Ratking for their Australian performances will be electronic wunderkind Cassius Select in Sydney and local producer, multi-instrumentalist and singer Silent Jay in Melbourne.

You might recognize the bedroom ready vocals of Lavurn Lee from Sydney underground mainstay Guerre. As Cassius Select, Lee compliments those distinct vocals with a serving of vintage house, techno and rhythm laden beats. His debut EP One (out now through Hunter Gatherer Records) unveils his uncanny knack for creating music that is equally at home in a club or in your headphones, subverting electronic tropes and weaving a tapestry of sounds into an experimental work of art.

Cassius Select also released Tuff Sherm collaboration (out now through Plastic World), remixed Rainbow Chan’s ‘Milk’ and has supported electronic heavyweights Four Tet, Jamie XX and Jagwa Ma.

Alejandro Jay Abapo may only be 22 years old but has quickly made a name for himself as singer and performer in Grammy-nominated future-soul group Hiatus Kaiyote, saxophonist of up and coming experimental-cinematic jazz quintet Demian and production lord in solo project Silent Jay. After studying jazz improvisation at the Victorian College of Arts, Jay begun to explore the nuances of production and combined his multi-instrumentalist, musical prowess with bombastic beats, electronic loops and guest vocals or his own unique voice.

Having cemented his place in the Melbourne beat scene, Jay has supported the likes of Gaslamp Killer, Hudson Mohawke, Shlohmo and Mono/Poly as well as performing on globally esteemed music platform Boiler Room TV and the innovative New Year’s Day boutique festival Let Them Eat Cake.

Ratking is 20-year-old rappers Wiki and Hak and producer Sporting Life (aka Sport) influenced by the underground culture of New York City. They’ve supported a veritable who’s who of on point artists including GZA, Death Grips, King Krule and Trash Talk and genre-obliterating debut album So It Goes rated #1 in Noisey’s 25 best albums of 2014 scoring a swag load of critical acclaim along the way:

‘There's a pulsing, lived-in energy to So It Goes that captures what New York feels like and pushes at the boundaries of lyrically-driven rap. Beyond conversations about their city or genre, Ratking's greatest success is confidently offering a sound that feels untethered from expectations and bristles with the exhilarating energy of trying something new’– Pitchfork

‘Unrelenting and abrasive it may be, but So It Goes turns a new page in New York hip-hop.’ – The Guardian

The video for new single ‘Snow Beach’ is a haunted, black and white saunter through an icy Coney Island during winter. The song itself is a ferocious anthem for their hometown but still hits the heart of anyone who inhabits the underground of culture. The trio also made an appearance on Boiler Room TV for a balls-to-the-wall London Live Show and at the 2014 Governors Ball as well as performances at SXW, Lollapalooza, Coachella and The Great Escape UK.

Subversive, brutal and fearless - these shows promise to set Sydney and Melbourne ablaze with talent. Don’t miss out on what are sure to be some of early 2015’s most talked about performances.

Frontier Touring and I OH YOU will be bringing NYC hip-hop act Ratking to Australia for the first time, playing Melbourne and Sydney headline shows while in the country for Laneway Festival!

Earlier this year, Ratking released their debut album So It Goes (out now through Hot Charity / Remote Control) – a raw and daring collection of tracks which although exerts creativity and uniqueness, has elements that pays homage to old school golden-era pioneers; understandably so, especially with Young Guru (Jay-Z, Beyonce, Kanye West and Notorious B.I.G), stepping into the engineering role for the record. All those elements can be heard in lead single ‘Canal’ (click here to watch) and title track ‘So It Goes’ (click here to watch).

‘Ratking is another breath of fresh air in a continually revitalised genre’ – The Music ????

‘So It Goes doesn’t so much as develop on that existing material than it does blaze a new trail…Brutally hip-hop with post-punk tendencies, Ratking’s debut album is a wonderfully dystopic record that is as progressive as it is anarchist. Ratking really is that thing.’ – Drowned In Sound 9/10

Further separating Ratking from the rest are the company they keep. Seeing the trio in full force in the studio or on stage, it is hard to imagine anyone else stepping into the picture, but in true form, their collaborators are so diverse it just works - very well at that. The album features appearances from female MC Wavy Spice, contributing her Latin-flavoured vibes and King Krule, providing some contrastingly brilliant jazz-hazed raw vocals on ‘So Sick Stories’ (click here to watch).

The last year saw Ratking on everyone’s to-watch list as they played shows with the likes of GZA, Death Grips, King Krule and Trash Talk. However, they have proven themselves to be a force of their own, their talents and diversity exceeding all expectations and genres. The dynamic of the trio is something you just have to witness live!