With a concept EP and remix album about to drop, HHC Digital got up to date with the Australian spitter currently living in London…

Where did the idea for the ‘last man on earth’ concept on ‘Fallout Shelter’ come from?
“Basically a bout of cabin fever, a lot of high grade, contemplation, and a fascination with The End. ‘Fallout Shelter is a metaphor within a metaphor, it was used as a medium for getting my feelings about my relationship with life, hip-hop and myself out of my system.”

In your opinion, what’s the biggest issue that the world is going to face over the next few years?
“I’m far from any sort of authority on these things but I’ll go with overpopulation, which in turn feeds the heating of the Earth, which in turn melts the ice caps, which in turn raises the sea levels, which in turn will take us back to our original roots. Gills, anyone?”

If the world was going to end and you could have one last meal, listen to one last tune, and sleep with one last woman, what would they all be?
“My last meal would be anything I could get my hands on, I’d share whatever that is with the missus before ‘sleeping’ with her listening to the pandemonium of the end.”

If you had to pack three items in a Brad Strut time capsule for a future generation to dig up, what would they be?
“The new release ‘Fallout Shelter’, some batteries and a CD player to spin it through.”

How did you hook up with Beat Butcha, Chemo and Jehst?
“I met Butcha through Disorda originally. Disorda visited Oz a few years back and we became friends, he was a fan of the music and had Butcha working for him at the time so the obvious thing was we were both going to hear of one another’s works through him, and from there we made contact through mutual respect via email and set about one day doing some work. I moved to London in 2006, took my time settling, doing a bit of travel and the like. After a while man threw me a beat disc and from there we set about doing the record and building.

“I met Chemo through the same network of heads, basically they’re all family like that. The man is super talented, with the beats and with his level of professionalism in sessions. A great find. And with Jehst, it was the same again. Dude is ill like that – beats, words, steez, human.”

Have you found your emcee style and vocal tone has changed since you moved over to London?
“I’d say it’s helped push me to a new level of craft. Vocal tone is same as it ever was, maybe a little more range if anything, and stylistically I’d say the sound is more matured, less aggy, more reflective and focussed. Beat Butcha’s beats forced me to look outside the box I was accustomed to and venture beyond the pigeon hole that heads wanna place you in. I’d also say being in London can’t help but have an influence on your work – the city can be really good for a writer, she is on the go, always alive, with lots of inspiration, hope and despair all in the same place.”

What’s your favourite piece of UK slang?
“‘Dun kno’, cos I really dunno what the hell it means!? Oh, and ‘all my days’ is a classic too.”

How would you describe the difference between life in Melbourne and London in one sentence?
“A whole lot more of hectic, hustle and creativity.”

Finally, what can people look out for from you music-wise in the next six months?
“Push the new record ‘Fallout Shelter’ and the remix project ‘Rejuvenation’ as much as possible through retail, iTunes, myspace.com/bradstrut, facebook.com/brad strut, twitter.com/BradStrutLC and all them other spots, to make sure it’s heard by as many people as possible. A whole lot of material popping up on other artists’ releases including names like COTD (’Just Drink/Sucker Free Zone’ (7-inch plus CD pack available now at www.blahrecords.com), Kingz Konekted, Fluent Form, Clandestien, Skandal, Sonny Jim and a few others, won’t jinx ‘em.

“Then live wise, we’ve got the UK ‘Fallout Shelter’ album launch alongside Micall Parknsuns’ ‘First Second time Round’ launch on the 24th of July at the Jazz Cafe, Camden that will also feature a bevy of acts including Jehst, Dubbledge, Joker Starr, Kyza, Kashmere and deejays Sarah Love, Konny Kon, Beat Butcha and Jazz T. Beyond that, hopefully I’ll make another trip to the Czech Republic for Hip-Hop Kemp 2009 and some more regional UK dates with the like of COTD. Then we’re working on a tour of Australia with Beat Butcha and some other UK guests later in the year. Stay tuned!”

(Check out the review of Brad Strut’s latest in HHC Digital 003 here.)