Urthboy

Urthboy

Urthboy (alias Tim Levinson) is a Hip-hop MC and producer from Sydney, best known as part of the band The Herd. He has also released two solo albums, Distant Sense Of Random Menace and The Signal.

Biography

Levinson grew up in the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, it was his brother who influenced his love of music. The older Levinson went on to be a DJ and co-edit a music magazine, but not before giving his younger brother the gift of a wide-reaching education in eclectic music. The two shared a room and a stereo and the older and bigger of the two brothers had the ultimate say in what they listened to.

In 1998 he co-formed Explanetary, featuring Elgusto and Luke Dubs from the band that would later become Hermitude playing keys and drums respectively, while Urthboy was on vocals. The other members included Realistix on vocals (and sometimes production), No Mumbles aka Nug on vocals, Aja Stuart (sister of Elgusto) on bass and DJ ALF on cuts. Explanetary released one EP, In On the Deal in July, 2001 but the members went their separate ways just before the second was due for completion. Levinson went on to form The Herd alongside many other Elefant Traks artists, but the friendship with Hermitude prospered despite the end of the band and many collaborations have occurred since (including "Fallen Giants" from Tales of the Drift, 2005). The Herd’s debut album, The Herd (2001) went considerably better than expectations and soon enough, a second album, An Elefant Never Forgets was released in 2003.

After three non-stop years of touring, Urthboy released his first solo album, Distant Sense of Random Menace in 2004. It featured radio songs like "No Rider" and "Come Around". He then toured the album with old friends Elgusto acting as DJ and The Herd's Ozi Batla as co-MC. The video for "No Rider", made by production comapny Broken Yellow, won the Sunscreen Music Video competition at the Festival of the Sun Music Festival (FOTSUN).

In 2006 The Herd released their third album, The Sun Never Sets establishing them as one of the premier hip hop groups in Australia, performing at almost every festival and selling out large capacity venues.

Urthboy then headed into the studio once more to record his second solo album, The Signal, with mates Count Bounce (TZU) and Elgusto (Hermitude) released in July, 2007.

The Signal was nominated for the 2007 AIR Charts Awards and in November, 2007 was nominated for Triple J's J Award. The song, "We Get Around", reached #25 on Triple J's Hottest 100 for 2007. The album was also nominated for the 2007 Australian Music Prize.

Urthboy undertook a national tour of Australia, 'The Three Strikes Tour, together with The Tongue and Hermitude in late 2007, to support the album.

Musical Style

While The Herd focuses on political lyrics, Urthboy's solo career allows him more room to discuss personal experiences. As an MC, he feels comfortable lyrically incorporating situations beyond his own realm, but he still tries to ground them in a frame of reference, which gives the music more authenticity. The music that he makes and produces is very much influenced by Australian hip-hop's rock-n-roll roots, but is beginning to take on a more global flavor, incorporating beats, melodies, and rhythms from reggae, latin, and even folk genres. Nevertheless, Urthboy still claims that it is hip-hop, despite what critics say. He would like audiences to let go of all their preconceived notions and ideas about Australian hip-hop and just listen to it and enjoy it, with all of its humour and stories and introspection and contradictions. He says that he makes music for the way it sounds, not because he can fiddle around with the technology, and people should enjoy it as just that, regardless of what reviewers write, because their "analysis doesn't judge the music on its own terms."

Discography

Solo

Albums

• Distant Sense Of Random Menace - Elefant Traks (2004)
• The Signal - Elefant Traks (July, 2007)

Singles

• "Come Around" - Elefant Traks (October 13, 2004)

Explanetary

• In For The Deal - Elefant Traks (July, 2001)

The Herd

• The Herd - Elefant Traks (2001)
• An Elefant Never Forgets - Elefant Traks (2003)
• The Sun Never Sets - Elefant Traks (2005)

Compilation appearances

• Culture of Kings - Volume 2 - Obese Records (2002) (song: "Unify")
• Straight From The Art - Warner Bros. Records (2003) (song: "The Path")
• Trampled - The Elephant Traks Remix Album - Elefant Traks (2006) (songs: "No Disclaimer", "Keep It Relevant", "Take My Hand", "The Last Chance", "Apocalypta", "Can't Breathe", "The Metres Gain", "I Was Only 19")

Guest appearances

• "Beastly" by Upshot (Upshot (2003) Obese Records)
• "Alleys to Valleys" by Hermitude (Alleys to Valleys (2003) Elefant Traks)
• "About To Break" by Upshot (Make It Happen (2004) Creative Vibes)
• "Outlander" by Chasm (Chasm (2004) Awakenings/Inertia Recordings)
• "Shoot from the Hip" by Unkle Ho (Roads to Roma (2005) Elefant/Inertia)
• "Fallen Giants" by Hermitude (Tales of the Drift (2005) Elefant/Inertia)
• "The Wash" by Jase (Beat Hedz Volume 1 (2006) Obese Records)
• "Goin On Tour" by Muph & Plutonic (Silence the Sirens (2006) Obese Records)

External links

• Elefant Traks Artist profile
• Myspace Page
• Interview with Urthboy at syn.org.au
• Sydney Morning Herald interview
• North Rivers Echo article