Power Of Two: How Wovensound and Ihasamic! Are Invigorating Local Hip-Hop

The dynamic duo of Wovensound [left] and Ihasamic! [right] has been shaking up the Singaporean hip-hop scene (Credit: Provided by Umami Records)

Never underestimate the power of a congruous producer-rapper combo. Delivering this double whammy in the local hip-hop scene is the tight relationship between Wovensound and Ihasamic!, frequent collaborators whose beatmaking and verse-writing fortes click into place. Smooth like clockwork, their undeniable rapport has unleashed tracks that brandish old-school hues and stirring lyrical poetry.

Boasting a production temperament that’s worlds apart from his hardcore origins in the metal scene, Wovensound applies a delicate touch when he’s got his hip-hop hat on. Organic snap-snares, muzak pianos, jazzy chords and lo-fi loops are just some of the constituents you’ll find in his sample-conscious approach, mirroring the lost era of Golden Age hip-hop.

As for the oral storytelling, Ihasamic! applies his astute perception of his surroundings – with professional experience as a new media art director – to his lexicon. Articulate, crisp and well-paced, the versatile rapper crafts colourful narratives that range from the jest of nursery rhymes to the gravity of mental health.  

While both have wandered down their solo paths, they often link up with the comfort and confidence of what each can offer. Their collaborative projects have included stray singles, album contributions, and their profound REPACK EP released earlier this year. The joint four-track project was complemented with a 10-minute short film directed by Ihasamic!, which even scored a full-house screening upon its release. It’s achievements like this that show the boundless potential of what these two can offer whenever their imaginations coalesce, effortlessly in sync without overshadowing one another.

The two artistes come together once more for this interview feature, where they share how they met, individual inclinations, and how they liken their studio chemistry to the assembly of a dope sandwich.    

“The both of us just happen to work very well together and know each other's interests and skill sets well too.” (Credit: Provided by Umami Records)

How did the two of you get to know each other, and was your transition into music as partners a natural one?

Wovensound: We were brought together when Ultrasupernew needed a metal band to feature in a documentary production. They got in contact with Mucus Mortuary [his previous band] and that’s how we got connected. Our whole relationship was built from collaboration, so it is very much a big part of how we work. It was a very natural progression.

I got familiar with some of Ihasamic!’s works and really liked how he did visuals and really wanted him to do our next music video. During the time we were planning for the MV, I chanced upon some old music videos of him rapping and was just getting into beatmaking myself at the time, so I was like, “Collab bro?” and he was like, “Can”. 

The beatmaker and rapper have been collaborating for a few years now (Credit: Provided by Umami Records)

Do you foresee yourselves progressing as an artistic duo, or do you think it’s important to leave some gap in your musical paths? 

Wovensound: We don’t see ourselves as a duo. It has always been friends coming together making music and our songs have always grown to be more than just us. We still very much work on our projects outside of the things we do together.

Ihasamic!: The both of us just happen to work very well together and know each other's interests and skill sets well too. I still go around just discovering musicians and artistes by myself, but most of the time, I go back to Wovensound either because I know he can bring it to the next level, or at least be interested in trying to.

Can you tell us about your chemistry when working on a track? How do y’all accommodate each other with your individual preferences?

Wovensound: We approach it like sandwich-making, I will start by making the plain bread at the bottom which is the beat or instrumental, then Ihasamic! comes back with the meat and cheese and sends it back and I’ll continue to add in some sauce. So there is some back and forth going on until, finally, I’ll send the sandwich to be toasted with the mix and master – toasted cheesy goodness.

The artistic progress of Wovensound has certainly been a unique one (Credit: Provided by Umami Records)

Wovensound, you came from the metal scene growing up. What made you make this huge swerve in your musical direction, and do you apply any lessons you grasped from the hardcore scene then?

Wovensound: I’ve always loved and will continue to love heavy music. There is power in that artform which I like to bring to my productions. Although I’ve been in metal bands all my life, I also love other forms of music and have always wanted to try them out. The Circuit Breaker just kicked in at the right time. I had already started experimenting, and with jamming out of the question, I went full tilt into beatmaking and hip-hop production.

And what dictates or influences the way you approach production? The flowy, jazzy nuances seem to be a recurring interest of yours.

Wovensound: I’ve always been drawn to jazzy and bluesy piano/guitar pieces. And when I discovered Nujabes for the first time courtesy of Samurai Champloo, I just went down a lo-fi hip-hop rabbit hole – that was the first time I was so powerfully drawn into hip-hop production. So that is where I started from, trying to recreate that same feeling when I started making my own stuff. I was always looking for cool jazzy sounds to resample, or  playing with interesting chords of the same feeling.

The acute creativity of Ihasamic! brings visions to life (Credit: Provided by Umami Records)

Over to Ihasamic!. How does your eye for art and design influence the way you pen your pieces?

Ihasamic!: If there was one thing I learnt from working in media and advertising, it’s that a lot of things I do are meaningless, but necessary (economy and shit, you know?). But as meaningless as it is, I'm blessed to be at Ultrasupernew where I've been given a lot of space and opportunities to explore and work with really cool – and equally jaded people – who also want to be less jaded and find or create more meaning in life.

This thirst has built up in me over the years from a day job of making pretty things for brands, so I always make it a point not to waste a verse or beat to mindless abandon. From an experience standpoint, directing, shooting and editing films have trained me to be purposeful and concise in storytelling (and also becoming over-sensitive to millisecond off-beats in a delivery of a verse which annoys Mr. Wovensound sometimes lol).

“The ‘rapping’ that I do now leans more towards darker-themed spoken word and poetry, albeit with a sarcastic or comedic tone to balance it out.” (Credit: Provided by Umami Records)

Was rapping something that came naturally for you? How did you build your style and find confidence in your voice?

Ihasamic!: I like to talk a lot. I used to like talking just to hear my voice when I was younger, but after realising how narcissistic that is, I went to the other extreme of not voicing my opinions and keeping to myself, which built up a lot of internal anger.

Rapping was a good outlet because I figured, if I could weave words of anger into poetry, at least it would be fun and entertaining instead of just annoying. Writing songs kinda works too, but I was shit at singing so there's that.

Over time, it turned from just an outlet for my discontent into a kind of therapy. The ‘rapping’ that I do now leans more towards darker-themed spoken word and poetry, albeit with a sarcastic or comedic tone to balance it out.

After meeting ‘proper’ Singaporean rappers and rap producers (namely the boys from ROTB collective) whom I respect and am personally a fan of, I learnt a lot more about technical aspects of rap and am steadily growing as I listen, hang out and record with them.

Previously, the two of you released your Repack EP, which was based on the looping agony of mental distress. What did its release mean for you?

Wovensound: It was a milestone for us in many ways. That day brought together many elements of why we do what we do.  It was the first full body of work we released with a physical experience, instead of just something virtual. That release day had a different energy brought by all the people who showed up for support: Jason from Umami, the wonderful people from Big Duck, the awesome talented ladies featured on the tracks, the crazy insane crew that was part of the video production, and of course all our friends and family.

Ihasamic!: It's a ‘based on a true story’ situation for me. It was an opening-up moment to myself about the psychological and mental health shit I've been experiencing over a number of years. A catharsis, maybe? It just felt like something I needed to do at that point to be able to keep going with life itself. Also, my fiancée of three years dumped me over text the night before the release and screening day, so that was fun.

What would you say influences the stories in your tracks? Do they come from personal experience?

Ihasamic!: Kinda depends on the situation. If they are short one-off free verses on stock music or ‘type beats’, then yes it's usually to address a certain situation or person, or a way that I'm feeling at the moment.

If it's for a proper body of work, or a beat that Mr. Producer Friend (be it Wovensound or whoever else) worked on, then I approach it the same way I would direct a film – concept, plot, theatrics and all. These works are usually the ones paired with a music video shoot.

It’s no secret that you guys are open to other collaborators. What sort of collaborators do you look out for in your works?

Wovensound: We look for different spices, dips and cheeses to bring out the flavours to hit specific points on the tongue. We always look for the right voice or texture to bring the point of the story across. We love finding everyday people like you and me who really enjoy the process of creation, and who also just happen to have an insanely beautiful voice.

Ihasamic!: Yes, everyday people who don't know where to start, without access to recording studios, equipment or communities but with access to a lot of talent and just fresh perspectives. We love those.

Can you tell us more about what’s coming next? What is your headspace going into that record?

Wovensound: We have some tracks in the pipeline already; it’s going to be a more mature and focused sound on a bigger scale with a coherent theme. It is in the same vein of repack where it is a body of work. It is quite a departure from Vertigoes Fufilled, which was our first collaborative effort. In that EP, it was more experimental and we were trying out different elements and genres.

Ihasamic!: We're also planning shows with Ultrasupernew Gallery, as a platform involving the ‘everyday people’ musicians we talked about, with school and day jobs and a lot of talent in tow.

For my solo work, I'm just exploring and practising my vocals and writing with short free verses on my Instagram in between Spotify releases, just to keep the gears (and my sanity) running well.

Also more conceptual music videos. We love those too.

And what are your thoughts about the local hip-hop scene, and what role do you think the two of you play in it?

Wovensound: We bring different perspectives at different points. I’m a complete newcomer in the scene, and it’s been nothing but love and it’s been inspiring to meet and interact with so many talented people who just support one another. Sound-wise, I bring a jazzier and more melancholic sound, with focus on more lo-fi textures with my music and hope to share it with more of the scene.

Ihasamic!: I bring concepts, visual storytelling translated into writing, and emotions translated into flows and cadences.

The local rap scene has a lot of beautifully tough, threatening, violent deliveries of the streets and confident bravados artistically masking emotional insecurities. There's a lot of raw energy, but unrefined. I see my role as that of a catalyst, crafting these energies into something more coherent, be it through collaboration on music or music videos.

Follow Wovensound and Ihasamic! on their respective social media channels.