Thorts is an emcee from Bunbury, Australia who has been putting out music for years, often in the form of short collaborative projects. In the past year, he’s worked with people like German producer Smokey131 and Swedish producer Joel Siméus. For his latest project, he’s now paired up with a longtime friend and producer from Perth, DJ Silence to release an EP called When the Wind Changed.

One of the nice things about how Thorts works is that with each collaboration, he’s finding a producer that will push something different out of him as an emcee. If the beats are noisy and aggressive, it might push him one direction, if they are abstract and experimental, he might go off in a completely different direction. With DJ Silence, we just get some really beautiful and laid back boom bap beats, the kind that feel familiar and comfortable, like you’re putting on your favorite pair of jeans. What this does with Thorts is just push him to be really straightforward and honest with his lyricism. Nothing too clever, nothing overthought, just sit back in the pocket and rock some rhymes about his family life, his desire to create, and his love of travel. As a result, it’s a project where you feel like you’re just catching up with a couple of old friends, maybe having a beer, and just listening to them chat about what they’ve been up to. It’s just a really pleasant listening experience.

We keep getting different looks from Thorts as an artist, with each new collaboration showing a different side of what he’s capable of. With When The Wind Changed, we get no frills Thorts. There’s nothing too fancy or pretentious about this project, just classic hip hop with honest lyricism.