This week we caught up with MC Hasta from Edinburgh-based hip-hop/funk/crossover act The Ordinary Allstars for a quick chat. Find their stuff on MySpaz HERE
I Don't Like Hip Hop by The Ordinary Allstars
G'day Mr Hasta, where did the name come from?
Howdy! This might sound strange, which I swear I need to say that more than I should... But it comes from 'Hasta La Victoria Siempre' or 'forever until victory' a Cuban thing. Hasta is 'until', cos for me I always thought that it wasn't a question of 'if' but 'when', you see!
Oh sorry, how rude of me, we need drinks for this interview! My round (it's on expenses), what are you having?
Always rum & coke brother! Appleton's Estate if they got it!
Nice choice, I'm an Angostura 1919 man myself. So, which was the best gig you ever played?
Best is tough... I still think the one I enjoyed most was in a hotel room in the Alps at a gig we were playing out in France. We were playing a bigger stage show the following night, so we just put out a quiet word and packed out our room the night before and jammed, so it was just super personal and intimate. It was real nice to see people react outside of the usual environments we play in, I just loved it.
Best gig you've ever seen?
Michael Franti & Spearhead at The Arches in Glasgow - the guy is just so magnetic live. Proper feel good tunes and a great performer to see, make sure you catch him if you get the chance.
Favourite album of all time?
Of all time?! That's impossible! Has Big Willie Style ever been bettered? How about The Score? Illmatic? The Miseducation..? Moment Of Truth?
Yeah, Will Smith has made some classic albums...Who are your heroes in life?
Other than the most cliched (I can't help but say Che), really my heroes are the people that do the things that I wish I could and without praise or reward. Wow, I sound like a Miss World contestant!
You would make a class Miss World contestant - really shake the shit up! Anyway, Tim 'Westside' Westwood: Figure of fun or the John Peel of UK Hip Hop?
John Peel might be a step too far, but love him or hate him he's been around in UK hip hop ever since.
DROP THE BOMB!!!! So, best after-show party you ever made it to?
You know the best after-show parties are ours man! And the next one's always gonna be better too!
True man, very true. Main interests outside of music?
I'm just into simple pleasures really!
Scottish band that is rocking your world most just now?
The Proclaimers never stop rocking.
Oh very dear. I nearly died at a Proclaimers gig one time. Terrible way to go. Favourite authors?
Haruki Murakami, Gabriel Garcia Marquez & Isabel Allende.
Best rapper of all time?
Talib Kweli. No doubt. Every rapper's favourite I think! Sick flow and the dopest lyrics.
Jacko: kiddie-fiddler or musical legend?
Kiddie-fiddling musical legend?
Ha, that's a fair compromise! Phil Spector: Gun-toting big haired lunatic or mercurial sound pioneer?
I don't know enough about his music, but I do know his hair game is off the hook so......
His hair is pure class. I'm going for the same look. Favourite 3 things about Edinburgh?
The skyline - everywhere you look it's like living in a postcard, really special. Its super chilled out nature, and its people. And who can't love the tropical climate?
As an Aberdonian, I find the climate a bit too warm. What are the main influences on your music?
It's all just life and love, isn't it?
If you had to lose one member of the Allstars to a tragic fence-impaling accident, which one would you sacrifice?
Most likely it'd be Johnny Drama, he's kinda accident prone - just coming back from breaking his leg in a pretty savage choc-ice shopping accident. But I can't see my boy go out like that, so I'll take the bullet this time and dive on!
Oh man, we've lost a lot of good men to choc-ice shopping accidents. I believe they are all buried in a massive cemetery in France. Alas, it's good to end on a happy note - always keep 'em smiling. When is the next Allstars gig (without you, after you just agreed to kill yourself to save the others)?
Haha! Yeah, well I guess I'll have to be there in spirit! We've got a bunch of stuff coming up over the next little while, best to keep up with us online at our website and on facebook and we'll keep you up to date with the latest... One that sticks in my mind for is the 28th October at The Caves in Edinburgh for the Red Dog Music Magazine launch.
Cool man, that's us! Ridiculous? Yes, but it's been a pleasure.
All good, thanks for having me down!
No comments:
Post a Comment