Heightened Modus Operandi, the debut offering from South Coast producer and MC, HMO, is a tasteful collection of tunes questioning the state of the world through poetry and rhyme.
His humble expositions on distinct social and political issues, enlisting big names like Jim Jones, amounts in an exceptional collection of hip-hop gold. HMO gave us a further insight into his startlingly, complex creations.
Track by Track with HMO as he walks us through his politically charged, expositions with style and grace. This is hip hop at it’s finest.
Let HMO take you for a walk through the concepts and crises behind his remarkable, hip hop debut.
Relax, Everything’s Fine
‘Relax, Everything’s Fine’ is a piece written about always being on the edge of sanity, dealing with mental health issues and knowing the fragility of your own conscious existence. Trying to stay sane in a world where there is an overload of media stimulus, where we are constantly overworked and where we see corruption and injustice on every level. It is a piece that delves into the fears and helplessness we all feel in this world. It discusses the environmental, political and social injustices inflicted by a world in crisis and ultimately toys with the idea that once your bubble of sanity is gone it is hard to comeback.
Utopia
Utopia was inspired by John Pilger’s film of the same name which Illustrated the conditions our First Nation’s Peoples are living in within remote communities around Australia and within all regional and urban centres. It was also written around the time of the homeless crisis in Melbourne where people where being driven off the streets. The track attempts to evoke the sense of hopelessness that disenfranchised people are feeling in a society where the financial gap keeps widening and many things become out of reach. With a strong reggae influence it sits as one of the more musically laid back and slower pieces on the EP.
Human Erace
Human Erace (not a spelling mistake) is really questioning whether we are a humane race or, if through our own careless actions we will eventually be erased from this planet. Strongly influenced by the crisis in syria at the time, the election of Trump and the west’s inability to care about conflict resolution It discusses the issues of starvation millions are facing in many nations around the world and the prolific and careless arms trading that creates death and turmoil. There is so much that we, as a human race are responsible for and if we don’t change it may well be too late. Also, it speaks about our negative attitudes toward the environment and our reliance on fossil fuels.
Warehouse Dayz
Warehouse Dayz is one of the lighter tracks on the album. It is, the party song I guess. The track talks about living in Surry Hills and hanging out in Hibernian House. It is about having hectic warehouse parties, chilling with like minded people, being careless and enjoying life. It is about not regretting our actions but rather, through a process of reflection realising that all the good times, and even negative things can shape us and make us who we are as people.
The Existential Crisis
The Existential Crisis deals with that time in your life when you question everything. It was partly Inspired by someone very close to me that was dealing with the fear of death, the fear of life and the process of watching them try to come to grips with that existential question ‘Why are we here?’ strongly influenced my writing. I am very influenced by the work of William Blake and the dualities of existence. Blake talks about many things, but good and evil and many other dualities must coexist for either to be quantifiable. There are many themes from his work that are discussed within this track. The day I recorded the vocals I found out that an amazing musician and acquaintance had passed away surfing in Bali at a young age. It really rocked me and this track pays tribute to him and all the people in my life who have crossed into whatever other realm of existence there may be at either an early age or at the end of their lives.
Catch HMO live at any of the following dates:
August 9th – Stoic Brewing, Gerringong
August 23rd – Laundry Bar, Fitzroy
