Gao The Arsonist
Gao the Arsonist is a UK-based Alternative Hip Hop rapper and producer who expresses his melancholy take on life through a wide range of harsh tones. FORENSICS, his most recent experimental hip hop track, is a dark, abrasive exploration of identity and what it means to be estranged from one's cultural origins. It makes extensive use of the idea of a faceless, untraceable murderer committing horrible atrocities while leaving no evidence of their existence. The combination of burning lyricism and visceral production creates a sickeningly emotional experience.
Earl Sweatshirt's deceptive, premeditated flows and razor-sharp wordplay, as well as a spectrum of manic cadences spanning from J.I.D to Danny Brown, are among Gao's influences. A JPEGMAFIA-Esque willingness to welcome experimental and genre-shattering production acts as a delightfully chaotic framework, providing Gao with a joyfully chaotic basis.
Gao turns poignant issues into inventive, hard-hitting rhythms by going deep into emotions that are rarely expressed. With FORENSICS, he introduces a new sound to the scene: dangerous, uncontrolled, and lustrously interesting experimental hip hop. In an interview with the artist, we find out all about it and more!
How are you finding the music scene right now?
When thinking in a more general sense, the barriers to entry for music are almost non-existent. Because of how accessible it is now, along with the development of online communities, we’re getting some of the most innovative, boundary-pushing movements in history. Despite this, when zooming in on the UK, I’ve personally struggled to find established scenes that are as open to embracing the experimental. The artists definitely exist but what would be a “community” seems fragmented and decentralized. My experience with the “scene” so far has been balancing navigating online, international spaces, and those that exist here.
Describe your journey into music?
I was always surrounded by music as a child, mostly gospel as I grew up in church. Even though it was all around me, I never started actively listening to music until I was in secondary school. I find that quite ironic as I started writing shitty love songs as early as 8. When I was 13, my best friend hung around some of the older kids at school who were really into production. As he fell into it, I didn’t want to be left out so I pirated Ableton and became completely obsessed. In my environment, EDM was the only reference I had for production so I transitioned from making shitty love songs to making shitty house music. As I became more familiar with the software I started recording. When I was 14 I remember the distinct moment I thought to myself: “It would be way easier for me to learn to rap than to learn to sing” and that’s exactly what I did. Eventually, that practicality turned into a genuine passion for hip hop.
And, how did your identity develop?
I guess the “Gao the Arsonist” persona is an amalgamation of a lot of things over the years. I’ve always been captivated by darkness in art and media, even as a child I couldn’t get enough of cartoons like Adventure Time delving into more “mature” subject matter. That proximity to darkness has always been evident in my music so when I stumbled across “Yonkers” by Tyler the Creator, something clicked. Old Odd Future became the foundation of my musical identity and as I explored hip hop more deeply, my style mutated and evolved. When I began releasing music consistently, I initially struggled to cultivate a fanbase for a long time. This confused me because other artists and stray individuals seemed to connect deeply with the music. Eventually, I came to the realization that the common person doesn’t want to be a “fan” of another common person. After this, I became more aware of the importance of branding, aesthetics, social media, and making yourself appear like something larger than life. That’s why I donned the mask. Plus it looks cool.
You take influence from artists like Earl Sweatshirt, how do you channel your influences in your music?
I fell in love with Odd Future, namely Tyler and Earl. The dark, gritty production and off-kilter, multisyllabic rhyme schemes completely sucked me in. I remember when I first heard Yonkers, I made a song completely ripping it off and sent a video of me performing it to my partner. We were both convinced that I was the next coming of Christ in the form of a 15-year-old rapper. Even though what I make now is vastly different from those early Odd Future days, it’s still in the DNA of my style. Listening to Tyler and Earl so heavily with their deep, gravely voices made me feel quite insecure about my own so I used to pitch down my vocals to match the sound. I told myself “once my voice breaks I’ll be fine”. Unfortunately, it did break and I sound like a prepubescent child to this day. Hearing J.I.D for the first time liberated me from that insecurity. His naturally high-pitched, melodic voice and the way he constructed his flows, using it to his advantage made me feel like I could embrace my own. I felt similarly empowered by Danny Brown and BROCKHAMPTON’s Joba.
Can you tell us a bit about your latest release FORENSICS, what does this track mean to you?
Contrary to popular belief, FORENSICS isn’t actually about brutally murdering people. You’re forgiven if you thought so, though. The song is actually an exploration of my own lack of identity. I was born into a sheltered Jamaican household in the UK so my connection to both my ethnic background and home country were both watered down and diluted. This was already enough for me to feel like a stranger to my own way of life but the knife was soon driven deeper when I moved to Beijing. I spent my entire adolescence in cultural limbo growing up in an environment where it was commonplace to not have your roots anchored to anywhere specific. Because of these repeated blows to my sense of belonging, I truly feel like I have no home. My accent isn't identifiable, my speech isn't dictated by geography and I’m not connected to any culture in any meaningful way.
FORENSICS is me exploring this through the metaphor of a faceless, untraceable killer who is impossible to track down. The murderer's lack of identifiable or distinguishing features mirrors my own relationship with identity.
How do you want people to feel whilst listening to the single?
The flows and production on FORENSICS are chaotic and disorienting. I want people to feel almost nauseated when listening to it. My fanbase has dubbed this subgenre "SLUDGE" and I think that's perfect imagery. I want it to feel like you're slowly sinking into sludge with each beat switch being something to momentarily cling onto before shortly slipping back into it.
Where do you see your music progressing over the next couple of years?
Honestly, I have no idea. I obviously want to keep experimenting because that's what keeps me excited about music. I've made it a habit of making short EPs to explore different sounds and concepts in self-contained spaces. I've already made and released a SLUDGE project and a sci-fi dystopian fiction narrative. I'm currently working on a more electronic EP that explores different facets of internet culture. As for full-length projects, I'm waiting until I cultivate a more sizable fanbase before releasing a larger body of work.
interview IZABEL ROSE
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