1300 announce signing to Eastern Margins + share new single/video ‘Lalaland’
PRAISE FOR 1300
“Foreign Language”
“Foreign Language”
“Foreign Language”
“Foreign Language”
“Foreign Language”
“Foreign Language”
“Foreign Language”
“Even so 1300 made a name for itself among listeners in Australia for its unique sound, and now it has turned its attention to Korea, where there is an audience that will immediately understand their lyrics”
“Their punchy rap flows, energetic production, melodic singing and off-the-wall beats have grasped the Australian and Korean ear”
“Reshaping the local hip hop landscape”
“1300 make music for car chases. Over just a handful of releases and their accompanying music videos, the five-piece rap collective have forged an entire cinematic universe of smoking guns and blood-pumping heists, name-checking any and everything – Muhammad Ali, Steve Jobs, Smashmouth – in their skittish, frenzied race to the top”
“Their music evades simple definition – it’s a mix of hip-hop, punk, pop and more. Above all, though, it’s highly danceable”
“Don't try to describe their sound. Just enjoy it”
“From their inception, 1300 have steadily showcased a multifaceted approach to modern hip-hop”
“Rapping in both Korean and English, it’s an impressive, totally magnetic display”
“With bilingual lyrics, slick flows, and an almost never-ending sense of movement in each and every bar, 1300 are a truly inimitable creation that defies categorisation”
“If you need a real musical kick up the ass today or something to get your brain firmly locked into Friday Mode, this run at “Gangnam Style” from 1300 is absolutely perfect for that”
‘Lalaland’ is out now, buy/stream it here.
Australia’s leading alt-rap phenomenon 1300 stake their place for world dominion with the announcement of their signing to label, agency and promotor, Eastern Margins (Tohji, LVRA, Rainbow Chan). With the news the Korean-Australian supergroup share their latest offering ‘Lalaland’. LISTEN + WATCH HERE.
‘Laland’ arrives via Eastern Margins, the UK based label / collective that’s home to Alternative Asian culture. 1300’s partnership with Eastern Margins taps into the East and South-East Asian creative scene bubbling up worldwide, emblematic of the global collaboration across the East and South-East Asian diaspora. Recognised inernationally as tastemakers on the forefront of culture, applauded by DJ Mag for “their relative longevity and prominence as a collective for ESEA artists means that they’re also in a position to influence up-and-comers”; and Metal Magazine, as “a family that uplifts each other and shares their own experiences”.
Of the signing, 1300 share: “We love Eastern Margins and we’re excited to join forces with a group of people who are dedicated to community and artistic integrity. They understand where we’re coming from because they’ve lived it, and are the perfect indie label for us to work with.”
Celebrating the signing sees the group deliver their latest megalomanic mash-up of genre, ‘Lalaland’, a frenetic electro-clash of acid house, trance-like percussion and bass that pushes the waveform’s total limit. “This track is for the ravers, the chronically online,” the outfit explains. “It’s hard, nasty, confusing, it’s very 1300. It’s inspired by old school tr808 drum machines like patterns, the big 808 behind it is what gives it a modern hip hop feel, electro and acid like sounds then felt appropriate.”
Breaking the fourth wall on ‘Lalaland’s meaning, they continue, “It comes from a feeling that we all have after releasing all this music and being confused about what we want from ourselves and our relationship with our audience. Music is a communal experience so it can get disconnected because of this relationship with other people and the wider audience. So it’s easy to get lost in what other people’s perceptions of you as an artist is, and not purpose yourself as a music maker.”
‘Lalaland’ arrives with music video co-directed by frequent collaborator Raghav Rampal (triple j and RAGE Australian Music Video of the Year for ‘Oldboy’) and Nerdie reflective of the single’s genesis, hastily written and produced while isolated in the Blue Mountains cabin: “We were kinda going crazy because we were stuck in this cabin in the woods for a few days, so yeah, we were kinda just like, manic.”
Today’s release caps off a consistent stream of activity for 1300. Just this March the group followed up their acclaimed debut mixtape Foreign Language with a stream of collaborations, ‘CARDIO!’ produced by SOLLYY and ‘Steve Jobs’ featuring Kwame, both of which scored playlisting on triple j alongside praise from The Guardian, Complex Australia, VICE, Pedestrian, Junkee, Red Bull Music, triple j, RAGE, MTV, The Music, Music Feeds, and national community radio support, for their Valentines Day dedicated mixtape <3.
Side by side with Muulalo, Srirachi, GOLD DIGGERS CLUB, SOLLYY, Sidney Philips, Lil Ket and stealthyn00b in their sold out debut headline tour in May – made possible as recipients of the Australia Council for the Arts’ Contemporary Music Touring grant – 1300 illustrated just how they have become one of the most exciting underground-turned-mainstream players in the live music circuit including support slots for Danny Brown, Theophilus London, Ateez, Stray Kids, Kid Milli and more. Presenting the eclectic nature of their influences front and centre, the dynamic five-piece have enhanced their hip-hop-come-electronic sound to previously unseen or heard corners of their artistry.
Amongst landmark syncs with NBA2K24 and Australia Born Chinese on Disney+, later this year 1300steady to tour Seoul and Tokyo, with upcoming performances on Dingo Freestyle and CURV Livealongside Eastern Margin’s recently announced Road 2 Redline East Asia tour. Consistently pushing the boundary margins of their peers and industry alike across all formats – audio and visual – we can only hazard a guess on what 1300 will continue to attain in the near future.
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