Things are continuing to look up for Canberra musicians Erica Mallet and Sally Coleman, better known as the fascinating hip-hop duo Coda Conduct, who have been receiving regular play on Triple J with their irreverent rhyme games and tongue-in-cheek humour.
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Now based in Sydney, Mallet and Coleman have been booked for everything from footy half-time matches and support slots to Sydney gigs. Yet the thrill of hearing themselves on a national radio station that has supported many diverse acts was quite a buzz.
"I think it is the most surreal moment we've had so far, waking up to hear ourselves being played on Triple J on the breakfast show," Mallet says.
"I thought 'wow' people are actually starting to take us seriously and it was sort of a self-affirming feeling knowing that they heard this music and they thought it was worthy for the radio."
Coleman is also in disbelief but is enjoying the attention.
"We are always joking about what we are going to do and what we are going to win, who will love our music and when will we be played on the radio. Now all the stuff we have been joking about has been kind of happening."
Coleman and Mallet are both studying in Sydney and are realistic about the prospects of Coda Conduct breaking into a full-time hip-hop venture that will set them up as superstars. It is a possibility for these two talented, free-wheeling lyricists, but they are keeping their feet anchored to the ground - for now, anyway!
"I think in the Australian music industry you are very lucky to make any kind of income off music cause there is just a small population who are going to buy that music, and from what I've heard from speaking to artists there are very few Australian artists who don't have a second job."
Mallet agrees: "We had a friend from Canberra and he has just been touring with Seth Sentry and he always jokes that he's just been on this tour with Seth Sentry Australia-wide and then he got back to Canberra and he went back to his job at Kingsleys."
Reality aside, the energetic performances of Coda Conduct has gained deserved attention and they recently supported Pharoahe Monch, Tkay Maidza and Joelistics, and won a slot on the Rise tour to perform alongside Briggs, Mantra, and Remi.
The duo has just released their debut EP, Butter Side Up, which continues their play on words and reflects their inimitable sense of humour.
"There is already a lack of women in hip-hop all over the world, and especially so in Australia, but I think it is quite rare to find women using humour as part of their lyrical arsenal," Mallet says.
"Hip-hop is a genre that really encourages you to speak your mind, but I guess our personalities mean that when we speak our mind it is a bit tongue-in-cheek and we didn't realise until we started doing it that people find that refreshing and different, which has worked well for us."
Coleman also offers another perspective which highlights how Australian-bred hip-hop is influencing a whole generation of artistic Australians.
"For a lot of people 10 years before us, their influences were American rappers, whereas for me I am only just learning about American hip-hop now and was born and bred on Aussie hip-hop music."
CODA CONDUCT
When: March 21, 8pm
Where: Transit Bar, Civic
Tickets: $10 on the door
