Three years after his last full-length, fans of Sydney-based Dialectrix, aka Ryan Leaf, are rejoicing over the recent release of his third album, The Cold Light Of Day.
The album features a creative collaboration with longtime musical cohort Plutonic Lab (Leigh Ryan), again demonstrating the formidable talents of a pair who seem destined to make music together.
While it has been a busy period for Leaf, ever the thought-provoking lyricist, it is evident from the album that his music hasn’t suffered. Instead, the quality of his work has apparently flourished as the result of a tireless work ethic.
Leaf highlights a shift in methods with this release, displaying an intention to create a contrast with his earlier works – both as a soloist and as a member of other hip hop groups like Gully Platoon.
“This record has had a concerted effort to make it different,” admits Leaf. “ I consciously decided to do things differently to what I do normally.”
According to the MC, the approach was a lot more freeform this time around as compared to previous efforts. In particular, experimentation with Plutonic Lab in the album’s production helped to generate a fresh songwriting flavour.
“This record has had a concerted effort to make it different,” admits Leaf. “ I consciously decided to do things differently to what I do normally.”“The album features more live instrumentation, a lot more synth than I’ve ever used and the breaking up of normal song structures,” says the MC. “By having big instrumental breakdowns and rapid tempo changes, it’s definitely more experimental.”
The move was a natural fit for both Dialectrix and Plutonic, who seem to thrive when going against the norm.
“I’ve played instruments as a kid, as has Plutonic, so going against sample based hip hop was pretty natural for us,” explains Leaf. “I’d just shoot ideas to Plutonic and he’d make them a reality. We would filter each other with what we thought was in the right direction for this style.”
In terms of developing a systematic approach to the lyrical material of his works, Leaf acknowledges he is his own harshest critic, often pushing himself beyond a base standard and striving for the creation of a unique product.
“I rewrote a lot of the songs; there was a lot of changing and being malleable without being stern and hard-headed about it. The whole process was really forgiving in terms of trying new ideas,” says Leaf. “I was looking at previous works and trying to fix what I wasn’t good at. If I can find those things, I work really hard to fix them.”
The MC credits his musical partners for helping him develop his art to a level of perfection. “I work around people who are honest enough to show these to me and tell me that, for instance, my patterns are a bit similar, or my topics are a bit confined. I want to make sure I can better those things next time around.”
His approach to writing offers a combination of the conventional and the unique. “I’m writing all the time, it’s not always good stuff though,” says Leaf with some humility. “I’ll write down ‘the sky is blue, the bird is yellow’. And as long as you keep writing, you might get two cool rhyming words in the whole page, then two months down the track you need two bars and those pages of dribble might end up providing the important rhyming words you need. “
“I don’t think rap is literature, I think they’re completely different, I think rap is a conversation.”The spontaneous inspiration that drives the poetic nature of Leaf’s lyrics and themes are undoubtedly among his biggest talents. On the other end of the spectrum, his ability to create a structured story within his music demonstrates his versatility. The Cold Light Of Day contains a showcase of both these abilities.
“A lot of the record was written on the fly in the studio, but some of the conceptual tracks that feature a lot more storytelling have a lot more structure, and I find it’s hard to get that bang on straight up,” he says, before adding, “I don’t think you should stick to one discipline when it comes to writing tracks. The more techniques you can implement when writing makes it such a multidimensional talent.”
The active deployment of different styles in each of his works is another characteristic that demonstrates the thoughtful nature of the Sydney based artist, who aims to provide listeners with a cross section of hip hop.
“I love rap, I love dense records, but sometimes that denseness is just like a jackhammer of information and technicality for an hours,” relates Leaf. “Listening to it, it’s like someone has played heavy metal to me for an hour, or I’ve just listened to Adele sing a falsetto note for an hour.”
As for drawing inspiration, books have provided an ocean of content for the ever-expanding vocabulary evident in Leaf’s music – although he readily acknowledges the differences between the written word and what he does on stage.
“I don’t think rap is literature, I think they’re completely different, I think rap is a conversation. But I do think the more you read the better you will at rap. If you’re a good rapper, and you read more, you’ll have that extra element to add.”
Whether you are fascinated by the rich lyrical repertoire or the hip hop charisma sported by Dialectrix, The Cold Light Of Day displays an artist performing at the top of his game. With it’s shifts in technique and diverse instrumentation, it represents a welcome evolution for one the genre’s finest artistic ambassadors. Patient fans have been duly rewarded.
The Cold Light Of Day is out now through Obese Records.
