Music NT presents: Col Infinity
"One time for my city if you don't mind" is the mantra of Darwin alternative rap artist Col Infinity. Polite, passionate, furious, inspired, nostalgic, intelligent and original are all apt words to describe this hyper-talented artist who released his debut album Monophonic Minds this year – an album he wrote, recorded and produced himself. Still pumped from winning the Urban and Hip Hop Award at the 2016 NT Song of the Year Awards, Col Infinity took a moment to chat to MusicNT.
Congrats on winning at NT Song of the Year Awards. How are you feeling?
It definitely feels liberating to be a part of the NT Song of the Year Awards and I’m quite honored to say the least. I encourage anyone in the Northern Territory who has written a song in its entirety to invest in a condenser microphone, download a music-recording program and record a rough demo just to enter the awards. I did the same thing back in 2013 and made it through to the finals at the time.
What is the track 'Ruler' about and what does it mean to you?
‘Ruler’ was the last song written and produced for my album Monophonic Minds. It connotes the struggles of being financially stable while denoting the core subject of money being a ruler to those who are forced to allow it. ‘Ruler’ is meaningful to me because I focused primarily on lyrical storytelling and vocal delivery. I think I punched in a couple of vocals for the first verse but delivered the second verse in its entirety to keep the raw essence of the theme.
You did the writing/recording/production for Monophonic Minds yourself – what advice do you have for NT acts thinking of doing the same thing?
My best advice is to expect sleepless nights, expect a possible dip in finances and expect a lot of emotional turmoil that comes with doing anything yourself. All these frustrations and expectancies shouldn’t matter in the long run if you truly, unequivocally love what you are doing.
How does living in Darwin affect your music?
I once despised living in Darwin with a firm belief that moving to cities like Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide would have a greater influence and impact on becoming successful through my music. Then my definition of success changed and I decided that I would truly feel successful when my city becomes recognised amongst the rest of Australia with respect to the music scene – one time for my city if you don’t mind.
What other NT artists are you enjoying at the moment?
One love to Serina Pech (congratulations on finishing your Not Like Them tour!), Tapestry, Roy Mackonkey, Valanti, Dave Crowe, Gurrumul Yunupingu, Kouf, Requiem, Kayoss and Acid City. These guys are just some of the people I listen to on an almost regular basis. As of late, I’ve been feeling the vibes and energy from Leah Flanagan with her song ‘Chills’ and KTown (and the Indigenous Hip Hop Projects) for their song ‘Shadows’ – really bumping ‘Shadows’ because of the second verse. Kudus to Paddy Kossack and congratulations on winning the People’s Choice in the awards this year!
