Introducing a compelling collaborative project, an album uniting the depths of contemporary poetry with the limitless embrace of creative production. DJ Jace and R.K. Gandhi join forces to provoke and inspire, with the bold escapism and gripping topical implications of the Red Pill Rhymes Experience.
We caught an interview with the two artists behind the new album, to find out more about the process for collaborating, the ideas utilised within, the musical partnership, and plenty more. Here’s the conversation in full.
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Hi guys, great to connect with you – huge congrats for the powerful new album. To introduce things – how did you to first meet, and what inspired this collaboration?
Thanks so much! We’re super excited about this collab!
We have been friends for a long time, and live in the same city pretty much. We met through mutual friends in the party and nightclub scene. DJ Jace would be spinning on certain nights at a popular night club, and we kind of just been buddies since.
When Red Pill Rhymes the book came out, it was always the intention to perform with music in the background to some of the poems. It just seemed like a natural fit for us to try and create something together.
“We both viewed the world, especially the last few years, the same way, and so the tone in music came pretty easy when matching with the book.”
DJ Jace – this approach seems like something completely new for your repertoire. Why these stories or poems and why at this particular time?
Well, R.K. has been a long-time friend that I have a lot of respect for, so it was a no brainer to jump on board with this project when he asked. I love the opportunity to do music with a message, so I really liked the idea.
I have dabbled in ambient and hip hop, so bringing those vibes was natural for me, however the cinematic and orchestral sounds were definitely something completely different and I really enjoyed that challenge! I really want to branch out and experiment more outside of club music.
In what way does a lyrical guide impact the manner in which you compose and produce?
I tried to match the emotions in the poems to the music. In my club music, I would mainly keep it to one emotion throughout a song. With the poems, emotions would change, so I would use that as my cue to switch the mood of the music. If R.K. used a certain word, I put in an effect or sound to match it.
What was it about R.K’s Red Pill Rhymes that drew such passion from you, and what sort of impact do you hope the project has on the contemporary world?
I love that R.K just questions things and his poems are very thought provoking! I really liked the uncomfortable tension that he created, thus giving me an opportunity to match it! I hope people give it a listen, open their ears and minds and hopefully take a look around and question things!
What would make for a worthy answer to the question ‘are you awake’?
I would say the meaning and answer to the question can be broken down in two ways. First, are you awake to some of the illusions being sold to humanity on a regular basis. Whether it’s propaganda, advertisements, politicians lying to us, what’s really in our food, and the list goes on and on from a broader sense.
I think more importantly, and concurrently, are you awake really proposes a question for inner awareness. Are you self-aware on behaviour and actions that have been shaped by experience? Are you taking the steps necessary to get back to who you really are, after the layers of ego and fakeness have been pounded into us since childhood? Back or source.
R.K.Gandhi – a pleasure to discover your work through this project. For those who don’t know, how long have you been writing poetry and stories, and what first motivated the inception of this collection?
I have been writing off and on my whole life. What I found was, whenever I stopped writing, I wasn’t myself. I wasn’t happy or content. During the madness over the last few years, it was evident that I need to get back to poetry and writing to feel some semblance of myself in the world. It was therapeutic and a haven for me. I often view writing as meditative, and so I now know, this is who I am. Writing is part of me.
“This particular collection grew from that period of my life. It comments on some of wild things that were happening in society, but also an inner turbulence and subsequent calming once realizing truth.”
What do you feel that the musical aspect brings out in the literary work?
I think they go hand in hand. Poetry is music. Music is poetry. I never write without music. Even in nature, I consider the sounds of wilderness music. When adding in Jace’s incredible production, it gives a deeper perspective and ambience to the words. It can add sombreness, power, or happiness depending on the poem. An atmosphere that surrounds the words in a way that a music score does with film.
I thought about film soundtracks a lot for this collaboration. Whether it was Blade Runner, or Inception, or 2001: Space Odyssey, some of the most iconic movie scenes in history have powerful music playing to further add to the experience. Take that music out, and it’s just not the same.
In fact when Jace and I spoke, we both agreed this album had to have a score feel to it. Cinematic. And he did such an awesome job creating this type of evocative sound to the poetry.
Which poem or track from this collection would you say is the most striking or that you would recommend if you only had one chance to draw someone in, and why?
He did such an amazing job on all the tracks. Standout for me is the feature track ‘Red Pill Rhymes’, but I quite enjoyed ‘Carousel’, and ‘Unchained’ as the last track to lead as the final track in the album. Those three would really do the album some justice if it was just those three alone. I think the album starts powerful but dystopian, and yet ends with the same type of power, but more in terms of hope.
Who were your first influences as a writer, and what now is your goal as a modern writer – what do you hope your audience takes away from your work?
Always a great question, because it really has changed over time. When I was younger I would it ranged from people like Shel Silverstein, Orwell, to even hip hop artists. But now it’s really evolved to enjoy the works of Rumi, Gibran, Bukowski, Rilke, and Mary Oliver.
I’d hope for audiences and readers to sense that range I have with writing and words.
“I can bring something powerful and raw within the darkness, and yet, soften the edges with more spiritual and hopeful themes. And everything in between.”
I love testing and challenging myself with words. This includes more prose and work that doesn’t even involve rhyme, even though that’s where my heart lies. I try to create each poem with a sense of wonder, to draw people in, and then always have some sort of payoff at the end. Whether it’s a twist or a lesson, that makes people really think or feel something inside them.
Will there be any visual components or live performance to coincide with the release?
We have discussed the idea of having a live set with visuals, but I think this might be something we save for our next collaboration. Which could be as early as summer 2025 with the release of a new book.
Is there anything else we should know about the Red Pill Rhymes Experience?
I think people should know going in, it’s a bit different than a traditional album. This is like a movie score with words laced over top. It gives listeners something unique to their ears, as that’s not something you hear every day. We hope you enjoy the experience!
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Find DJ Jace on Soundcloud & Instagram. Follow R.K Gandhi on Instagram or visit the Red Pill Rhymes Website.
