Hip-Hop

Los Angeles resident Steven Ellison. a.k.a. Juno Leed a.k.a. Flying Lotus is an electronic artist/hip-hop beat-maker, occasionally linked to artists such as Madlib , J Dilla and fellow LA resident The Gaslamp Killer for his more abstract and sometimes jazz-tinted style. Flying Lotus, often abbreviated to FlyLo, is currently signed to Warp Records, although he released his first album, 1983 on Plug Research Records, the label to which he belonged from 2006-2007. His June 2008 release, Los Angeles, with cover art designed by Build & Timothy Saccenti, was released to positive critical reviews.

Comprised of a world-class DJ and an equally as impressive MC, Koolism is a visionary collaboration. DJ Danielsan and MC Hau are that exceptional duo, supplying the noise from the hip hop group that reigns as Australia's most innovative and musically advanced. Formed in 1992, Koolism engineered their musicianship around a strong friendship and a mutual respect for each other's work. Being based in the Nation's Capital, Canberra, Hau and Daniel were able to utilise their isolation to create a sound like no other.

Onra is a French beatmaker currently residing in Paris. He released his first album with other french producer and friend Quetzal (Al Quetz) in 2006. A hip-hop tribute to soul music which was played several times by Gilles Peterson, Benji B, and covered on Okayplayer.com. At the same time, he started collaborating with American keyboard player called Byron The Aquarius and released an album under the name of The Big Payback in 2007 on Japanese label Circulations. A project full of different influences such as futuristic hip-hop, spaced out and jazzy broken beats.

The Optimen are an Australian hip hop group, originating from Brisbane, Queensland.
The crew consisting of Sammsonite, Datsun, K-West and DJ Damage released their first album "02 Breath Control" in 2002. The album 02 Breath Control is a solid Hip-Hop journey with little emphasis on the battle style that seems to be so prevalent in Aus releases. They tend to focus on entertaining picture painting style tracks with solid but not too technical flows.