Sage Francis

Sage Francis has been a leading figure in the underground hip-hop scene for over a decade now. The Rhode Island native got his start in the late 90s battle-rapping and releasing mixtapes until his debut release Personal Journals in 2002, which used leftfield production and deft, emotionally charged rhymes to redefine the sound of independent rap. So it's a bit of a surprise that his latest album Li(f)e plays like an indie rock release.

"[It happened] when I first learned how to play guitar with my feet," explains Francis. "I had to grow my big toenail out just long enough so I didn't have to ever own a pick. That itself should have sold records, but people are very demanding these days."

His music has changed, but his sense of humour hasn't. The new sound was no accident though. "The goal was to step outside of what people typically understand as hip hop, while still having it be a hip-hop record. Whether it is considered hip hop or not really is of no concern to me, but that's how I write. I write hip-hop lyrics – my craft is rap. I went about writing this record in a similar way to all my other records, but what I wanted was a different soundscape backing my lyrics."

Francis didn't get just any old slumps to help with his backing tracks. The roster of musicians that joined him on Li(f)e includes such luminaries as Jason Lytle (late of Grandaddy), Chris Walla from Death Cab for Cutie, Mark Linkous from Sparklehorse and French composer Yann Tiersen. Even with the extra players, Francis still considered it within the bounds of his chosen genre. "Hip hop's always been great at appropriating other genres. I think the difference between that tradition and this record is that I didn't give it the usual ‘boom-bap' sound. I wanted an organic feel for the album."

Longtime listeners will also notice that Francis has, well, calmed down a bit. His trademark vitriol is missing from many of the tracks, a move that he saw as necessary and natural: "I suppose with the kind of music I was performing over for this album I needed to pay attention to how I delivered my raps, and I realised that it wasn't appropriate for me to bring the fire and brimstone delivery. I guess it comes with older age too. I definitely am not as ready to scream out all my shit or be mad all the time."

Although he has toured the album with a full band, a move he described as "pretty crazy and very, very expensive," Sydney will be a solo show, and most likely the last time he will be making his way down here: "I'm gonna hang up my touring gloves. I'm stepping out of the ring for a while, if not forever. I've toured steadily for the past ten years, and I'm happy with what I've achieved during that time, but it's taken a considerable toll, and I'm being fair to myself and my family. I wanted to make sure that I supported this record as much as I could, but I know that I can't do this for too much longer. I'm not 20 anymore.'" Jonathon Valenzuela