BAYANG (tha Bushranger) today shares his debut solo mixtape Antarctica, cementing the multi-hyphenate creative as a singular entity in the hip hop space bound by spiritually led ambition. LISTEN HERE.

Musically rich with nods as wide as Corbin to Kerser, Antarctica posits BAYANG (tha Bushranger) as a skinhead with soul. Away from the perceived eshay surface, the mixtape’s depth sees him determined at all costs to share the marvel of the everyday, to fill an agnostically felt hole, as the rapper is committed to running amuck through genre. Mining the microcosm of cloud rap Antarctica is a flurry of plugg, drain and trap, eclectic in style and collaboration.

Of the release BAYANG shares “For the first time in my life it feels like I’m writing love songs. Not just to my lover and my friends, but to creation itself. A toast to life! This wasn’t really a cohesive project that had a deliberate beginning and end – it’s more of a loose collection of tracks I’ve done over time. Because of that it’s come to represent a transitory period. For myself, I find it very special because of that. It’s still a bit left of centre, but I let myself have a bit of fun here making ones that maybe belong in the sun more than they do in the abandoned warehouse.”

Reflective of his broader artistic growth and personal development – a far cry from the grindcore the longstanding scene member came up through – Antarctica is assertive through intent and message. Straddling as unpredictable a next step as his last courtesy of production by a bande à past in Ryan Fennis, Grasps, Ninajirachi, P44PI, Bobby Flowers with guest features from lil ket, Sidney Phillips, Sevy, Agony, Lil Pixie, TT and FRIDAY*, together they extend BAYANG’s range, piecing together random, off-kilter sessions into a curated narrative arc.

Indebted to “hope as a discipline and faith as a rock,” BAYANG reveals, “these songs were definitely written as I was rediscovering my spiritual discipline, and they’re definitely the outcomes of new perspectives on life in general. Of the urge to find beauty (and God?) in everything. I’m not just one note, I love being a vibekiller – but people contain a lot of complexity, a lot of different faces, and I wanna be true to that in my art. In a way it captures a process in my life that’s been latent and in waiting for a long time. It’s the spring after the long winter!”

The project of community lynchpin, rapper, DJ and creative Harry Bonifacio Baughan, BAYANG (tha Bushranger) rises with the release of Antarctica. Boasting “one of the toughest appearances in the booth this year” on triple j’s Bars of Steel, BAYANG’s thwarting idioms have collaborated with 1300’s Nerdie, Too Birds’ Teether, Kuya Neil, Jamaica Moana, Behind You, Marcus Whale, Voidhood and more. Last month GUILD, a joint project with Sevy, Grasps and Slim Set’s Uncle Kal came to fruition with their debut EP following a joint release with BRACT on REDBRICKGOTHIK (nominated for Record of the Year at the FBi Radio SMAC Awards).

No stranger to the Eora / Sydney creative scene as a member of Dispossesed and Plea Unit, recently BAYANG’s live show took to FBi Radio’s SXSW Sydney showcase with previous appearances at Soft Centre, Sydney Festival and the Sydney Opera House forecourt’s BARRA BUWARI showcase. Wearing the area, his politics, and cutthroat verbiage firmly on his sleeve, BAYANG (tha Bushranger) continues to assert his position as a leading voice, as self-assured and unapologetic with intent as always.