NO COMPLY on their EP ‘BKATIT’

Recently opening for bbno$, the phenomenal experimental NZ hip-hop duo NO COMPLY have dropped their highly anticipated sophomore EP ‘BKATIT’ and are on tour throughout Aotearoa to celebrate!

Congrats on your new EP 'BKATIT'! Thanks so much for taking the time to tell us about your new music. How did you land on the name of the EP and what are the central themes you delve into lyrically?

Thank you very much team! Well we had a long hiatus between this project and the last so the title is literally just to inform people that we are "back at it" haha. Nothing too complex or deep. We always try to stay fluid with sonics and themes. A core theme that we will always talk about and never part with is mental health. We also just wanted to give people a little insight as to what we have been up to since the last EP. A taster for what’s to come.

Love that! What were your main artistic influences for the tracks on this EP?

It was such a pleasure to be able to work with some really talented kiwi's on this project. I think they each influenced the tracks they featured on a lot. I (Fynn) was listening to a lot of hyper pop and house music at the time and Ethan was listening to all kinds of funky shit. It's hard to name select artists when you're inspired by so many.

We absolutely love the song "BKATIT" - can you tell us about the concept of this song?

It serves as an opener for the project as a whole. A "we're back" statement piece that tries to quickly summarise some of the things life has been throwing at us for the past couple of years. We wanted it to be short and fast with an ominous feel to it so that people didn't really know what to expect next. It can be tricky to condense two years into sub two minutes but we think it did the trick.

For sure, and you did an incredible job with it! And we're obsessed with the heavy production in "No Mercy" as well as the phenomenal raps - what was the writing/production process like for this track and how did the collaboration with INF came about?

Ahhh thats all credit to INF! Ethan was actually introduced to him during lockdown I believe through our manager on Whatsapp. I think they were looking at doing some commercial work together but I could be wrong. INF sent us a beat with his verse and hook. I wrote a verse and put it down in 30 minutes (saying I was excited and over the moon is a huge understatement) - he barely tweaked the mix and that was it! Our first time meeting him face to face was when he jumped up to guest at a show with no practice and our second was the music video haha.

So good! Another excellent track of yours is "I'll Be Fine"! Can you tell us what inspired you to write this track?

I think a lot of the tracks you hear about depression or the Monday after a big weekend are mostly always melancholic and downbeat. We just wanted to flip it. Write a song about feeling shit and coming down on a funky ass beat that would get people dancing/moving. Ethan took inspiration from Mac Miller (R.I.P) and Anderson .Paak's 2016 heater ‘Dang!’ and nailed it. There is light at the end of the tunnel and nothing bad lasts forever.

Yes, it’s the perfect song to start your Monday morning with. Lastly from the EP, we have the amazing hyper pop tune "All My Friends" ft. local legend Wells* - a song about not wanting to get drunk again! Definitely feel that. What do you think are the next steps around normalising non-drinking culture in NZ?

That is a great question and one that I think a lot of us are still trying to find the answer for. I think it starts from a young age with the bullshit tough guy ‘harden up, she'll be fine’ culture. This country is way too small and insular for that kind of shit. Life isn't all about sports and shit chat. We need to teach the youth that openly talking about our emotions and helping others is strength. Too many people feel alienated and fear speaking up.

Hard, that’s such an important point of discussion. What were some of your highlights and core memories made throughout the journey of making this EP?

Getting the masters back and sending it off hahaha. No definitely the collaborative process this time around. Just branching out, learning new skills from others and incorporating more of our ever changing/growing selves/personalities into the music.

What were some of the challenges that you faced breaking into the hip-hop scene in NZ?

Being two white guys from a middle class family in Takapuna with parents that are still married, you really have to respect the culture and boundaries. It's all about respect and artistry. We will never hide our upbringing/childhood nor will we ever take it for granted. It's better to own those things because it's easy to catch people out that lie. We honestly had a good start. We started releasing music in lockdown and at the time everyone was on the internet getting behind artists and trying to start trends to keep people involved and captivated, so what we thought was going to be a negative kind of turned into a positive. Not being able to play gigs for a while sucked though.

But now you’re on tour! What’s the most exciting part around performing live again?

Hopefully we will have a live band joining us for our AKL show which is something we haven't done before! Fingers crossed.

Lastly, what are some words of wisdom you'd like to share to upcoming artists in Aotearoa?

Be your fricking self homies <3

Thanks so much lads! Make sure you keep up with NO COMPLY on Instagram, Facebook, Spotify or Apple Music.