music Archives

Posted on August 24, 2022November 4, 2022 by Admin — 1 Comment

New Music Spotlight: Risk for Reward – Poets 1

Editor Note:

Beatbay is proud to have been a part of this new release. All the beats on this 6 track CD were Beatbay exclusives. This is the first release to be entirely powered by Beatbay producers. Props go out to Poets 1 for rolling the dice and believing in himself.

Poets 1 discovered hip hop at a young age via his older brother’s mixtapes. Influential artists in these early days included Xzibit, Cypress Hill, Dr. Dre and 2 Pac. Moving to Melbourne in his teens Poets discovered the Oz Hip Hop scene. Poets was immediately hooked on the Melbourne scene and in his own words:

“I didn’t truly discover the Oz Hip Hop scene until about the age of 15 (which was when I moved to the Burn). I fell in love with the culture – the graff and the music had me deeply intrigued and still does to this day – 13 years later.”

Fast forward to 2022 and Poets 1’s debut EP “Risk for Reward” was a spontaneous release. Poets spent the last 6 years away from recording music due his own self doubt and personal struggles, but with encouragement from his old friend Ruwems, Poets got back into recording again.

“Just something as simple as that from an old mate got me thinking. I had been following Ciecmate on Instagram for quite a while and saw he was slanging some beats. Clicked the link, headed to Beatbay and started going through his catalogue – the beats were BANGING! It was a complete risk for reward situation, I had no idea what I was doing or where it would lead. Once I left that studio on the first session, I was so amped up, I took the risk and came out with the reward of self-achievement. I didn’t care if a single person listened to it, it was about my own art form. A long passion I had always desired and love I have for the culture. Nothing more, nothing less.”

Produced, mixed and mastered by the Generalissimo of BTE – Ciecmate (who also features on track 4 “Heaven”) – this release is a 6 tracker of Hip Hop bangers. Stand out tracks like “Risk for Reward”, “Heaven” and “Verbal Assault” showcases Poets lyrical flow and skill.

Poets 1 – Risk for Reward is available now on Poets 1’s bandcamp site

Listen here on Spotify

CIecmate Beatbay

Posted on July 7, 2022October 1, 2025 by Admin — 1 Comment

New Music Spotlight: Miasma – Viliani x Ciecmate

This month’s spotlight is on the new Viliani x Ciecmate collab entitled “Miasma”. Produced during the year long lockdown in Melbourne , this release served as a creative outlet, as well as therapy; to cope with the draconian laws being inflicted upon the Victorian population. This musical masterpiece touches on some serious subjects fuelled by the uncertainty and the chaotic nature of our current society. Miasma questions the status quo and the absurdity that came along with the lockdown. It also comments on attitudes and the divisiveness in society caused by the pandemic. Take my advice! Get yourself a copy of “Miasma”, it is guaranteed to be a 2022 certified classic.

“We some firestarters, we the livest partners hitting all kinds of targets, better try your hardest, it’s a buyers market. Look inside your heart, it’s a flying dart, this the hypest art, try to start us we some firestarters, firestarters!”

This 11 track release boasts production by the new Oz Hip Hop power couple – Viliani x Ciecmate and features guest MCs Gutz and Selzy. Standout tracks on Miasma for me include “Lasting Impressions” (that old school boom bap style beat always gets me and Vili kills her verse on the track). “How Dare You” (a dark grimy beat with schooling from both Vili and Ciec); and the excellent “Menticide” (a grungy beat coupled with the conscious rhymes of Vili, Ciecmate and their featured guests). Call it what you want but there are questions that need to be answered by the powers above when the time comes.

For your information the medical definition of menticide: a systematic and intentional undermining of a person’s conscious mind : brainwashing.

Available on CD (from the official BTE website) as well as digitally from the BTE bandcamp page and Spotify.

Posted on May 11, 2022October 1, 2025 by Admin — 1 Comment

Producer Spotlight: Shape Shifter

Producer Spotlight: Shape Shifter – Residing in the South East of Melbourne, sample-based producer Shape Shifter has been carving out his own lane as a beat producer. Inspired by the sounds of J Dilla, Dj Premier, Madlib, 9th Wonder and Pete Rock, Shape has been creating his own sound that ranges from soulful compositions to dark gritty beats. He has worked with some of Melbourne’s finest emcees and everywhere in between.

His introduction to the scene was producing the Bronkx and Ruwems track “Mysterians – Lost Lands” in early 2021. Later that year he produced New Jersey based rapper Nic Mercers EP “7 seconds.” Recently Shape has linked up with Ruwem to release the single “Curl Up” and produced Nurchas EP – “Clean Slate.”

Look out in 2022 for the release of Shape Shifter’s debut production album later in the year entitled “Polarity”.

ShapeShifter BeatBay

Posted on September 24, 2021September 24, 2021 by Admin — 1 Comment

Producer Spotlight – Viliani

Viliani

On Producer Spotlight this month BeatBay presents: Viliani – an Australian Emcee/Producer who is heavily influenced by art as a means of expression. Originally from Canberra but now residing in Melbourne, Vili has been expressing herself through music & art for over 10 years, as well as writing poetry since her early teens. After being introduced to the local hip hop scene in Canberra she was heavily influenced by friends who were writing lyrics and making beats. It wasn’t long until Vili turned her poetry into raps and dropped her first single “At Ease” in 2015. She has since released a full length album titled “The Burial” which will take you through her personal journeys of self reflection and introspection. Vili is vulnerable to her audience as her music is deeply reflective, fiery, raw, honest and personal.

Musically Vili is inspired by a multitude of sounds and genres such as boom bap, grime, metal, drum and bass and hard dance. Artists such as MC Layla, Ed Scissor, Rhyme Asylum, Korn & Tool are just some musicians who have influenced her diverse sound. It is how Viliani draws from all the elements of her past experiences, her creative personality and her individual style which separates her from any other emcee.

She began to focus and channel her creative energy into making beats in 2019. Her signature sound is emotional & eclectic, creating ambient brooding melodies with earthy tones, haunting vocals, industrial synths & percussion with heavy kicks and bass lines building unique sounds to envelop the listener. She is currently working on projects with dual production by Ciecmate & Viliani release date tba, Vili is also preparing on releasing a new self produced solo project in 2022.

Visit her Beatbay store below or direct message on Instagram

Posted on September 10, 2021October 10, 2025 by Admin — Leave a comment

Producer Spotlight – Tommy Staples

Tommy Staples

This month we put the spotlight on: Tommy Staples – a beatsmith from Melbourne and producer for How Many Deep and Decent Company. His influences include many of the greats, notably those who have been notorious for taking bold risks. While the word “melting pot” gets loosely thrown around a lot, there is a certain singularity about that Tommy Staples formula that keeps you coming back for more. Tommy Staples has spent well over a decade building his creative and technical skill sets, and now it is time to let him take you through an aural landscape of sounds.

His 2015 solo joint “You & Me” garnered much domestic acclaim and was featured on Triple J’s unearthed program.

Check out the videos below for some of TSP’s finest beats.

Keep your eyes out for the release of his debut EP “The Black Lotus” in September 2021

TSP Soundcloud

TSP Beatbay Store

Kerbstomp – Holdenin (produced by Tommy Staples)

Damian ILLIC – In The Shadows ft. Lucas Miller (produced by Tommy Staples)

Posted on March 24, 2021October 10, 2025 by Ciecmate — 1 Comment

Product Spotlight: AKAI MPC Live II

Akai MPC Live II

This product spotlight has been brought to you by our partners.

From time to time we will showcase the equipment used by most of the Beatbay producers. This month we do a quick review on the Akai MPC Live II. A relative new-comer to the MPC family – the Live II was released in 2020 as the successor to the MPC One. Once again, Akai has completely redefined the portable sampler workstation. The MPC Live II offers everything its predecessor had, plus a built-in stereo speaker system, CV/gate outputs, and a cache of user-requested features.

Portability

This ultra-portable, battery-powered workstation boasts a 7-inch multitouch display, which complements 16 velocity-/pressure-sensitive pads and an array of streamlined controls. The MPC Live II runs the MPC 2.0 software platform for completely standalone operation, but you can also connect it to your computer, and thanks to MIDI Multi capability, it can easily become the centerpiece of your MIDI-based studio. You also get 16GB of internal storage, plus external hard drive support, a full-size SD card slot, and USB-A 3.0 slots for thumb drives. Complete with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, along with Splice and Ableton Live integration, the MPC Live II is Akai’s most powerful portable music production center yet.

MIDI Multi Capability

New to Akai Professional’s standalone series is MIDI Multi capability. Transforming your MPC into the ultimate MIDI sequencing studio centerpiece that allows you to simultaneously connect and route all the MIDI gear in your studio. Including class-compliant USB keyboards, MIDI interfaces, and USB to CV modules and giving you, even more, I/O capability.

Storage

Sporting 16GB of internal storage, the MPC Live II offers you plenty of space for your sample collection. If you’re a sample hoarder, then you’ll appreciate being able to hook up any hard drive (HDDs and SSDs) via the 2.5″ SATA drive connector, or to plug an SD card or USB flash drive directly into the MPC Live II and only load up a few extra GB of samples.

It is the Beat Maker Essential – Standalone MPC, sampler, drum machine and MIDI controller (for the included MPC Software – Mac / PC) with the powerful MutiCore System from the MPC One and MPC X.

Click on the image (or link below) to buy your own portable Beat machine.